LOGINDANTE’S POVI led Luca up the stairs, his shoes echoing against the marble floor. He kept looking around like he was in some goddamn museum.“Nice place,” he said, his tone light, eyes darting from the paintings to the long hallway. “You’ve done well for yourself, cousin.”I didn’t respond. I just pushed open the door to my office and walked in.The room smelled like leather and smoke. My father’s old cigar box still sat on the shelf, untouched. I walked to the cabinet, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and poured a glass for him.“Where’s yours?” Luca asked, raising a brow.“I don’t drink at night,” I said simply.He chuckled. “Still disciplined, huh? Some things never change.”Before I could reply, the door opened and Fred stepped in quietly, setting a steaming cup of coffee on the desk.“Thanks,” I muttered. Fred nodded once and left, closing the door behind him.Luca took a sip of his whiskey and looked around again. “You’ve got tight security out there,” he said, swirling the drink in
DANTE'S POV.I told myself I'd take control back but when I picked her up and placed her on the kitchen counter, all my control vanished. All I wanted to do was taste her. So I did. She tasted sweet, like nectar and I was instantly obsessed. My tongue rolled around her sensitive bud as I pinched the other nipple with my hands. And when she moaned, the sound went straight to my dick. I traced kisses, leaving hickeys all over her chest and stomach and then, I placed my nose between her legs and groaned. She smelled like home. When I looked up, her eyes met mine. She looked so beautiful, laying naked on the kitchen counter for me. For her husband. The woman that was supposed to marry my brother, now my wife. I couldn't help but smirk at the irony.My lips found hers in a soul shattering kiss. She rested against the counter with her arms. When I leaned back, I looked straight at her pussy and I couldn't help but use my finger to pack up her juices and I placed the finger in my mouth,
ISABELLA’S POVWhen he left me standing there, pressed against that wall with my heart pounding and my body still trembling, I couldn’t even breathe properly.The bastard.He had touched me, kissed me, made me feel things I didn’t want to feel—and then he’d walked away like it meant nothing.I pressed my back against the door after he left and shut my eyes. My pulse was still racing, my lips still tingling from his kiss. My legs felt weak. I hated how my body responded to him. I hated that part of me wanted more.“Get it together, Isabella,” I whispered to myself.I stormed into my room, slammed the door, and threw my heels aside. The silence inside was deafening. My reflection in the mirror looked like someone else entirely—cheeks flushed, hair wild, eyes darker than usual.I groaned under my breath and began to undress, piece by piece. The gown slid down my body like silk water, pooling at my feet. I stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water, letting it run over me. Maybe
DANTE’S POVWhen Isabella had held my hand at the gala, staking her claim without a single word, I couldn’t help but smirk.Clarissa was an old flame. A mistake from another lifetime. But the way Isabella’s fingers tightened around mine, the quiet possessiveness in her eyes, it stirred something dangerous in me. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.She would deny it, of course. She always did.But I saw it. The jealousy. The fire. The unspoken truth that beneath all our hatred, something else was growing.And it terrified her.As much as it thrilled me.Because for every time she said she hated me, her eyes told me another story. And every man who looked at her tonight made me want to carve their eyes out with my bare hands.When we returned home and she stormed inside, heels striking the marble like gunfire, I followed. I didn’t even think about it—I just did.She could pretend she wasn’t jealous. But I’d seen the way her jaw clenched when Clarissa spoke. The way she held on to me
ISABELLA’S POVAs I walked away with Fred beside me, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Dante’s body had tensed when that man, Luciano, appeared.The air had changed around him. His entire presence had gone darker, heavier.What had that man done to him?The question kept circling in my mind, but I knew better than to ask Fred. He was loyal to Dante, not to me.The hallway was quieter here, away from the music and laughter. When I entered the bathroom, the sound of running water filled the space. I leaned against the counter, staring at my reflection.My lipstick was still perfect. My hair was fine. But my eyes, they gave me away. Too many questions lived there. Too much confusion.Why did it bother me to see Dante like that? To see him angry, almost broken?I touched up my makeup anyway, adding another layer of gloss to my lips before stepping out.Fred was waiting by the door, hands clasped behind his back like a soldier.I hesitated, then asked quietly, “Who is Luciano De Luca?
DANTE’S POVLuciano De Luca.The name alone was enough to make my blood boil with rage. I hated the man. I hated everything about him. Especially because he had tried to kill me before. As he crossed the room toward me, I felt the rage and violence claw its way up my throat, raw, violent, hungry. Every instinct I had screamed to end him right there, in front of the entire goddamn city.Because behind that smooth smile and glass of whiskey was the man whose name had come up too many times in whispers about my brother’s murder.Angelo.Even thinking about it hurt.Luciano stopped a few feet away, the golden lights glinting off the dark fabric of his suit. “Dante,” he drawled, voice smooth as ever. “It’s been a long time.”I forced a smirk. “Not long enough.”He chuckled, the sound scraping against my patience. “Still as charming as ever.”I didn’t answer. My jaw clenched so tightly my teeth ached. I could see it in his eyes, the taunt, the thrill he got from being this close to me.“Ho







