Chapter 1

Dante and I had been planning this honeymoon for years.

In the six years we had been together, we’d rarely had any time that truly belonged to us.

Dante was the Don of the Moretti family.

There was always another deal to oversee, another meeting to attend, another dispute within the family that demanded his attention.

Sometimes, we would be halfway through dinner when his phone rang.

He would leave without hesitation.

By the time he came home, the food on the table would be cold.

He always apologized the same way.

He would come up behind me, wrap his arms around my waist, and rest his chin on my shoulder.

“Just a little longer.”

“Once everything settles down, I’ll take you to the coast.”

There was a white villa there, perched on the edge of a cliff.

The sea was visible from the bedroom windows, and a flight of stone steps led down to a private beach reserved for the estate.

Three years ago, Dante bought it for me as a birthday present.

Shortly before our wedding, he pressed a tender kiss to my forehead.

“You can plan the honeymoon however you want.”

“For one whole month, there’ll be no business. No meetings. No one interrupting us.”

I had been happy for weeks.

I chose every hotel myself and changed our route three times before I was satisfied.

I even had the east-facing bedroom at the coastal villa redecorated.

Dante was a light sleeper.

The sunrise would have woken him every morning in that room, so in the end, I chose another bedroom for us.

But on the second day after our wedding, Bianca appeared at the estate.

She wore a long black dress, and her eyes were slightly red.

When she heard that we were heading for the Amalfi Coast, she spoke softly.

“You’ll be passing through Naples, won’t you?”

“My parents are buried just outside the city. The anniversary of their deaths is in a few days, and I’d like to visit them.”

My hands stilled over the suitcase.

“This is Dante’s and my honeymoon.”

The smile on Bianca’s face faltered.

“I know.”

“I only want to ride with you as far as Naples. Once I’ve visited my parents, I’ll leave. I won’t follow you to the coast.”

I didn’t answer. I turned to Dante instead.

His brow furrowed slightly, but he remained silent.

Seventeen years ago, Bianca’s parents had died in an ambush while protecting Dante’s father.

Afterward, the Moretti family had taken her in.

She had grown up on the estate with Dante.

Their deaths had left Dante with a debt of guilt he believed he could never repay.

Bianca lifted her reddened eyes to us.

“All these years, the family has sent flowers in my place.”

“This time, I only want to visit them myself on the anniversary.”

“But if that makes you uncomfortable, forget I asked.”

She forced a smile and turned to leave.

Dante stopped her.

“Bianca, come with us tomorrow morning.”

I stared at him as the hope I had been holding on to slowly sank.

Dante avoided my gaze, guilt flickering across his face.

“She’s only coming as far as Naples. It won’t affect the rest of our trip.”

“The convoy is passing through the city anyway.”

My fingers tightened around the key to the villa.

“But this is our honeymoon.”

Dante frowned.

“Ariana, she has no family left.”

“She’s only riding with the convoy for part of the journey. You don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.”

His tone wasn’t harsh, but the implication was clear.

If I continued to refuse, I would be heartless.

I would be unreasonable.

I would be the woman too jealous to show compassion to an orphan who had already lost everything.

I stayed silent for a long time before finally nodding.

“All right.”

Bianca paused in the doorway and smiled back at me.

“Thank you, Ariana.”

At the time, I had no idea that I wouldn’t even reach the end of the honeymoon that was supposed to belong to Dante and me.