Chapter 1

I could not understand how a man who was fiercely tangled up with me just a second ago could casually ask for another woman's number.

Let alone my family's maid.

It suddenly hit me, the last time Julian came over to my estate, Essa accidentally spilled his tea.

As she scrambled to clean it up, her hand brushed against his lower abdomen.

They exchanged a look.

I guess that was when she caught his eye.

Like a puppet, I gave Julian her number.

He was in a great mood. He hooked an arm around my waist, trying to pull me back into his embrace.

I put a hand against his chest. Feeling sick to my stomach, I shoved him away.

I got out of bed, picked up my scattered shirt from the floor, and pulled it on.

My head was buzzing, filled entirely with those careless words he had just thrown at me.

My fingertips were shaking so badly I messed up the buttons a few times.

Julian leaned back against the headboard, watching me with a raised eyebrow.

"What is wrong?"

The thin sheet had slipped off him, putting his tattooed abs and sharp V-line on full display.

The fresh marks I had just left on his shoulder glared under the dim bedside lamp.

I looked away.

"I am heading back to the estate."

"Valentina, do not throw a tantrum. It is late."

"I have a family meeting tomorrow morning."

Julian clicked his tongue.

He sat up, reaching out a long arm to grab my wrist.

"Be a good girl. It is not like you haven't spent the night here before. I will have someone drive you back in the morning."

I pressed my lips into a tight line. Without a word, I forcefully yanked my hand free.

I walked over to the nightstand, swept my lipstick and phone into my bag, and zipped it up.

Julian never had much patience.

He was only coaxing me because he was satisfied and in a good mood.

Seeing that I was shutting him out, his face turned ice-cold.

He leaned back against the headboard and lit a cigar.

"Suit yourself."

"I am not sending anyone to escort you. You are being a brat, so if anything happens to you on the road, that is on you."

I felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head.

I was freezing from the inside out.

Clenching my jaw tight, I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my throat and forced my body to stop trembling.

"Do not worry. I do not need you to care."

I grabbed my bag and stormed out.

When I got back to the estate, I caught Essa aggressively typing on her phone.

The text bubbles were popping up fast.

Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and she kept covering her mouth, giggling uncontrollably.

It felt like a needle pricking my heart, a dull, suffocating ache.

I did not even have to guess who she was texting.

"Miss Valentina, you are back?" She finally noticed me.

"I thought you weren't coming home tonight."

I just gave a vague nod.

In the past, whenever I did not come home, my men assumed I was staying at my best friend's place.

In reality, most of those nights were spent tangled up in Julian's penthouse.

Essa smiled, pressing her lips together.

"That gentleman who visited the other day... so he is just a friend of yours? I thought..."

My fingers paused as I set my things down.

Just a friend.

So that is what he called me.

The Marinos and the Russos were the top Mafia families in New York, and longtime allies.

Julian and I had known each other since we were kids.

We started dating in secret when we were teenagers. It had been exactly five years.

He used to promise that as soon as he fully took over his family's syndicate, we would officially get married.

I never expected his heart to change so quickly. He was already bored of me, reducing me to just a friend.

This was not the first time he had messed around with other women.

I had seen flirty texts on his phone before.

I cried, I screamed, I threw things.

Every time, he would sweet-talk me, swearing those women meant nothing, that they were just temporary distractions and I was the only one in his heart.

I had begged him to make our relationship public.

He never agreed.

He claimed that if we went public now, our parents would hijack our relationship and force us into an arranged marriage, ruining the purity of what we had.

I could not bear to throw away years of love, so I swallowed my pride time and time again.

But this time, I was truly done waiting for him.

"Miss Valentina? Is everything okay?" Essa tilted her head, looking at me with wide, innocent eyes.

I snapped back to reality and forced a smile. "Nothing. Just a little tired."

She did not suspect a thing and excitedly shoved her phone in my face.

"He asked me to go to the street races with him tomorrow! He is going to let me sit in the passenger seat!"

"Which outfit do you think I should wear? You definitely know what kind of style he likes, right?"

Julian always said the racetrack was his second kingdom.

For five years, I was the only one allowed in his passenger seat.

Now, just to please Essa, he was giving that spot to her.

The loyalty I thought we had was nothing but a joke.

Looking at the unconcealed ambition in Essa's eyes, I suddenly felt incredibly light.

It was as if the crushing boulder on my chest had finally shattered.

"Wear this one," I said.

I pulled a custom dark-red corset from my walk-in closet and tossed it to her.

"He likes girls who play wild."