FAZER LOGINI told myself that I was overreacting. There is no way a girl I had known for years would do anything to me. But she was asking me to go with her wherever she wanted to prove I wasn’t mad at her.I should have said no, but the urge not to burn any bridges was high. I kept telling myself that Lily was my best friend and whatever Nero and Tally thought of her didn’t matter to me. I could go out with her as usual, and everything would be okay.“Okay. I’ll go out with you, but you have to stay with me until late to make sure I’m done with the work I was supposed to do. I can’t fall behind, especially with all I’m planning.”She squealed in joy and started dragging me out. I yelled out for someone to get Emily some water and followed her out. She had driven her own car there. While we were leaving, I told Nero I was leaving and demanded that I bring bodyguards.He warned me not to go anywhere with Lily, but I didn’t listen. Until he proved my best friend was suspicious, she was innocent in
Ever since Nero expressed his concerns regarding Lily’s behavior, I had been avoiding her. I didn’t have it in me to lie to her face or pretend my husband wasn’t looking into her. I felt guilty that she was helping plan my wedding.Now that my fashion line was taking off, Nero was thriving, Viktor was getting cornered, and everything was in place, I wanted to marry the man of my dreams. While Lily and I didn’t meet in person, we still talked on the phone.She helped me pick out flowers, a venue, and hire a DJ. I knew I was taking advantage of her when I already suspected her, but suddenly telling her not to help me would only make everything look suspicious.“Do you think she’s suspicious?” I asked Luca for the fifth time since Nero told me his concerns. He and I started making sure we spoke at least once every two days. Sometimes we spoke every day over the phone."No, and your fiancé is paranoid. Lily acts weird from time to time, but she was your age when our parents died. Her only
At first, we thought the Sovereign justice was giving us an allowance of hours, but then days passed, and Nero’s whole world didn’t implode. The suspense of knowing why people who specialized in taking down unholy, powerful men—all of them—didn’t seize the opportunity to do it to Nero was greater than ever.Nero thought they were waiting to get his hopes up and then crush them when he thought he was safe. However, according to everything Luca has said about them, they didn’t seem like the kind to go back on their word.It was on the third day that they sent a text to Nero telling him that he was in the clear at the moment, and that they still had evidence against him, and they were going to come and collect their debt one day.They also said they would make him pay for not following their orders and surrendering when they had asked him to.Nero was, of course, mad at this because he didn’t like something like that hanging over his head for the foreseeable future. But he was happy the
The deadline was near, and Emma Beck was dead. The news hit the news a few hours after we discovered her existence. It was obvious someone knew we were looking for her and decided to shut her up for good.We didn’t know what to do, and we only had two hours left. Luca was trying for the hundredth time to hack into the first video message Nero received, but it was proving to be an impossible task.We didn’t have the luxury of sitting around doing nothing because we didn’t know Nero’s fate. All of us, minus Dominic and Lily, convened in the living room of Nero’s house. Everyone was racking their brain for a plan.Nero was drinking his whiskey as he held me close to his chest.“Maybe we should give them what they want—” I started to say.“No. I will not be a pawn in someone’s games. Today it’s the demand, and tomorrow, they take so much more. I’d rather crash and burn than allow people to control the DeLuca family.” Nero said.Tally was standing in a corner, sipping her wine as she glanc
When Nero said he was preparing a special night for both of us, I didn’t expect the show that I got. Nero took me to the freaking Met Gala. He wanted to show me that everything was possible and my work would end up there someday.He technically didn’t take me to the Met Gala. He took me inside the fashion wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was full of iconic, visually rich, and storytelling pieces of fashion.He curated a private viewing pulled from the archives just for me, and he could do this because he was a major donor for the institute. There were many pieces there for me to see, like the Charles James Ball gown from 1953, the Dior Bar Suit from 1947, the Alexander McQueen Avant-Garde piece, the Valentino Red Evening Gown, the Chanel Haute Couture suit, and many others. I was in awe as he led me through for me to see all the pieces I had only ever seen in pictures. The moment was more than special for me. Nero had just made my dreams come true. I never thought I would
Within an hour of launching the website and my clothing brand, 80% of my clothes sold out. Emily and I squealed in joy and hugged each other. It was our combined effort that made us make masterpieces.People were praising the clothes. They were a combination of business and casual. Emily brought her amazing casual clothing expertise, and I brought my formal clothing expertise.We merged ideas and came up with a line of unique office wear that was fun and fashionable. It made people feel confident, and the clothes could also be worn to a semi-casual occasion.It had been more of a success than we imagined. Maybe it was all the publicity from the trial with Viktor. All I knew was that all that publicity wouldn’t have helped if Emily and I hadn’t made amazing clothes.The moment felt surreal. I had always dreamt of seeing people wear my clothes on the runway. I wasn’t there yet, but I wouldn’t stop until I achieved my dreams.Emily and I popped champagne together and celebrated our wins
“Zio,” I greeted as I walked into his mansion.He was there to greet me along with Matteo. They each hugged me and welcomed me into the house. The dinner table was already set when I got there, and none other than Viktor was in one of the seats.I looked at Zio, but he had an innocent look on his f
“It’s hard for you to know what I am thinking since you’re not in my mind, Viktor. I appreciate, but I am not even Nero’s type. All you are saying is not resonating with me because I am not seeing my boss in anything but a professional setting.”“Serena, what are you talking about? You are exactly
Viktor was getting on my last nerve. He was talking to my woman and telling her how bad I was, but neglecting to mention that he was worse. The only thing he was good at was making sure he came off as a good guy.I could see why women fell for it. He was very good at selling his act as if it were t
“I would like to meet your uncle,” Nero said during breakfast. I choked on my tea, and he handed me water.“No—”“Yes. I want people to know you belong to me. I will not have anything less.”“But the NDA—”“The NDA only covers not talking about our Dom-Sub contract, and the things you will see me d







