Chapter 2

I was at the bar playing dice games with a growing crowd of men.

My companions, Alessandro and Angelo, circled me. Plenty of other men who thought themselves attractive enough grew bold, crowding around my table to offer themselves up.

Round after round of dice clattered across the table. No matter what I rolled, they found ways to keep me entertained.

Glass after glass went down.

Valentina finally snapped. She stormed over, practically vibrating with fury and humiliation.

"Grazia! What the hell are you doing? Don't you have any shame? Who are these people?"

I lifted my head and gave her a lazy look, then smiled. The smile didn't quite reach my eyes.

"What's wrong?"

I threw her own message back at her, word for word. "Your brother gets to work hard out here for our future, but I can't?"

I paused, my gaze sliding past her to Vincenzo, whose expression had gone dark as thunder. "Or is it that Vincenzo's future doesn't include me anymore?"

Valentina's face flushed red, then white. I'd backed her into a corner, and she had nothing to say.

"Y-You're talking nonsense! Vincenzo was handling legitimate business!"

Vincenzo finally stepped forward, his expression murderous. He grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight my bones creaked.

"Enough. Come home with me right now. Stop making a fool of yourself."

Pain shot through my wrist. I frowned, but before I could say anything, Alessandro and Angelo both rose to their feet, blocking him from me.

Alessandro reached out. His movement was graceful, but his strength was undeniable as he separated Vincenzo's hand from my wrist.

"Signor, manhandling a lady is hardly gentlemanly behavior."

Angelo's voice was colder. "Signorina Gatti clearly doesn't belong to you tonight."

Vincenzo froze in place.

"Isn't that Vincenzo from the Rossi family?"

"How interesting. The engaged couple, one with a mistress, one with male escorts."

"Look at Vincenzo's face. He's green with rage. This is gonna be good."

To them, I was nothing more than Vincenzo's accessory—a pretty ornament with no place in their world of blood and bullets.

But I didn't care about their mocking or pitying stares. The moment Vincenzo betrayed me, he stopped being my fiance.

The stares and whispers stripped away Vincenzo's pride piece by piece. His face flushed with rage, and he raised his hand to strike.

Two massive club security guards stepped forward immediately. "Signor, we don't tolerate fighting. You'll be banned if you continue."

Vincenzo's hand hung in mid-air like he was a clown in a bad show. I stood slowly and smoothed out the wrinkles he'd left in my dress.

I raised my glass toward him and the club woman behind him, whose face had gone pale with fear.

"Vincenzo, happy New Year's Eve."

My voice wasn't loud, but it carried through the entire room. "I hope you both have a wonderful time."

Then I leaned in and pressed a bright red kiss onto Alessandro's sharp cheekbone. The entire club gasped in unison.

I saw the murderous rage blazing in Vincenzo's eyes. Under his murderous glare, I took Alessandro and Angelo by the arms and walked out of the club without looking back.