Chapter 3

The dressing room fell dead silent.

I was stunned by his words.

He stared at me, the dark, swirling possessiveness and borderline obsessive sincerity crashing into me with zero restraint.

My heart skipped a beat.

Seeing my silence, the panic in Cassian’s eyes deepened.

He grabbed my hands desperately, his voice going rough with anxiety. "Serafina, marry me. That idiot Julian humiliated you in front of everyone. Do you not want payback? There is no better revenge than becoming the queen of the Russo family."

Revenge on Julian.

That definitely hit my sweet spot.

I looked at the impossibly powerful man in front of me, who was currently sweating like a nervous teenager, and my amusement grew.

This marriage was all pros and no cons for me. Why would I say no?

"Alright. I accept," I said, squeezing his hands back.

Cassian’s tense jaw instantly slacked, and a look of wild, raw ecstasy exploded in his eyes.

But I brought up a practical issue. "But how do we explain this to my father? And the hundreds of guests outside? The wedding is starting."

Cassian gave me a genuinely dazzling smile.

He leaned down and pressed a reverent kiss to my forehead.

"Change into your dress, my Don's wife," he promised softly. "Leave the rest to me."

Half an hour later.

The wedding march played right on time.

When I stepped into the banquet hall, I truly witnessed the terrifying power of the Russo family.

On the massive LED screens, the name Julian Simpson had been completely wiped and replaced with Cassian Russo.

The front row seats meant for the Simpson family were empty. Julian’s parents had clearly been escorted out.

The hundreds of guests acted completely normal, raising their glasses to me as if Cassian had been the groom all along.

I looked at my father next to me.

He had a tight expression, but he did not do a single thing to stop it.

Cassian certainly did not disappoint.

At the end of the aisle, Cassian stood in his black suit, his burning gaze locked onto me.

He took my hand and led me to the priest.

The vows went unbelievably smooth.

Until the priest asked for the ring exchange.

Cassian did not recite the standard lines. He grabbed the microphone, his eyes locking onto mine.

"I, Cassian Russo, swear to my wife Serafina," his voice boomed across the hall. "From this day forward, eighty percent of my personal assets, shares, and territory revenues will be unconditionally transferred to Serafina’s name."

The crowd gasped.

Even my father stood up in shock.

Eighty percent of his personal wealth! That was enough to buy a third of New York!

I looked at Cassian. The madness and deep devotion in his eyes were completely real.

When he said he wanted me, he was not playing. He was literally handing me his entire empire.

The ceremony ended in a state of sheer shock.

I went back to the dressing room to change out of my gown.

I was about to ask Cassian to come in and help me untie the back of my dress, but I caught him on the phone.

Julian’s hurried, excited voice came through the speaker.

"Cassian, how did it go? Serafina did not notice, right?"