Chapter 2

Chloe walked over and held her screen out to him. "Do you want to see the replay? I told you she'd be scared witless this time!"

Adrian said nothing. She pouted and said, "All right, I get it. You feel sorry for her again."

She took Adrian's arm and turned to me. "Evelyn, don't blame him for having standards. Bad people won't go easy on you because you're pretty. Not everyone knows how to dodge a bullet like I do."

Adrian looked at me, his voice thick with disappointment. "It's been a year and you haven't improved in the slightest! If only you were half as capable as Chloe. I honestly doubt you're fit to be my wife."

The group joined in. "Adrian is going to marry her? We aren't getting a lady of the house. We're taking on dead weight."

"Only Ms. Castillo is fit to become his wife."

Hearing them mock me while praising the woman I really was, I suddenly knew it was time to let go.

My knee was still bleeding, and the pain kept my head clear. "There's no need to arrange anything else. There won't be a thirteenth drill."

Adrian frowned at this. Chloe laughed at once. "Please, Evelyn. You aren't going to make a scene because Adrian said a few harsh words."

"I'm not talking to you. Adrian, we're finished."

I was Evelyn Castillo, the Castillo heiress.

I was the one who had sought Adrian out in the first place.

At the time, the Morettis were under pressure from rival families. They approached my family more than a dozen times and offered control of two docks if my father would consider marrying me into their family.

Through the alliance, they hoped to use the Castillos' power to keep the other families in check and secure their territory in Sicily.

So this marriage was never theirs to decide.

My father loved me dearly, so he chose to respect my wishes.

I kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public, so no one knew who I really was.

I asked my father for some time so I could see for myself what my future husband, Adrian Moretti, was really like.

My plan was simple. I dropped the Castillo name and pretended to be an ordinary woman.

Using only my first name, Evelyn, I took a job at a gallery in Manhattan.

I first met Adrian at a charity dinner, where I deliberately spilled champagne on his sleeve.

He glanced at his damp clothes but did not lose his temper. He asked, "Is this your first time at an event like this?"

I nodded nervously.

Chloe later told me Adrian had never met a woman like me, someone as timid and vulnerable as a rabbit among wolves. To him, the novelty was the entire appeal.

For the next two weeks, he came to the gallery every day to talk to me, waited until I finished work, and drove me home.

Two months later, three shots went off across the street. He shielded me with his body until the shooter was gone.

That night, he sat on the edge of my bed and told me, "Life with a man like me won't be peaceful."

I nearly told him who I was that night, but stopped myself. Protecting me from a bullet proved his love was real, but real love could still change overnight.

I wanted to know whether he would still choose an ordinary woman who could give him nothing once the novelty wore off.

Not long after we started seeing each other, Adrian had Chloe arrange the first robbery drill to teach me how to protect myself.

Then last night, I heard him say to Chloe, "You're in a bad mood. Let's move the robbery drill up to tomorrow. Watching Evelyn will cheer you up."

I listened as they frantically placed bets on the rescheduled drill and discussed having me thrown into the ocean for Chloe's next drill.

For the first time, I realized how ridiculous the past year had been. They were using my fear for entertainment, betting on how long it would take me to panic. And Adrian stood by and never once tried to stop them.

So I called my father.

"Dad, turn the Morettis down for me, and find out which families are moving against them right now."