1. Tradition is a virtue

Angeline Verona-Marielle Lombardi

It was a name spoken so often that his ears were on the verge of bleeding if it was spoken one more time. It was a name that haunted him day and night without guilt. It was a name he couldn't go a day without hearing or thinking of. It was a name he hated with passion.

His mother and father spoke of her more and more as the wedding drew closer and all he wanted to do was pull his hair out.

Angeline this. Angeline that.

'Does Angeline like pink for the table centerpieces?'

'Would Angeline want a live wedding painter at the reception or the ceremony?'

'Does Angeline like Salmon?'

'Do you think Angeline has any pearl jewelry? I know she must have diamonds but pearls symbolize good luck.'

'Does Angeline get sick often? I want plenty of Vitamin C in the house for her.'

He was on the verge of snapping. From what he had seen, they surely valued her opinion a lot. The Lombardis were painfully secretive when it came to their Angeline—never speaking or hinting at her existence. Whenever they would come to visit the Morettis in New York, his family would try to get any pinch of information about her but the subject was wholly ignored.

Angeline Lombardi must be disgustingly ugly. There was no other explanation as to why she was hidden away from the world and no one had seen her face. Only ugliness would be a reason for someone to hide.

Angeline Verona-Marielle Lombardi was a French-Italian woman born to Carmine Lombardi, an Italian Capo sent by Roman's father, the Don, to take over and expand the business to France, Spain, the UK, and a French Loanshark's daughter, Celine Moreau who Carmine had met and married.

Carmine Lombardi ended up being tremendously successful in his expansion of the business and took over Spain, France, the UK, and Portugal in the name of La Cosa Nostra. In response to this expansion and unprecedented dominance, others tried to start a war with Carmine but were fruitless when he was protected by the Famiglia. They later challenged that Carmine Lombardi and the Morettis had no blood relation to each other and therefore Carmine should be fair game.

To protect their new expansion—and keep it—the Lombardis and Morettis proposed a marriage between the two families to counteract the "no relation" excuse.

Celine Lombardi was pregnant with a daughter at the time and Don Vincenzo Moretti's youngest son, Roman Moretti, was twelve. It was decided that if the Lombardi daughter was twenty-three, they would marry.

However, a last-minute clause was added to the contract before they signed. The Lombardis added that it would be their right to keep their daughter protected and unseen from any living eye until the wedding and regretfully, the Morettis agreed. Ever since the Lombardis have never lived in one place in fear of someone from a rival family wanting to assassinate or take their Angeline. They lived in France until Angeline was seven, then moved to Italy until she was fourteen, then moved to properties, he owned two estates on New York City's outskirts—both on opposing ends.

One was his home—where he and his family slept, ate, and shit. The other was collecting dust. Seven years ago, he had the estate furnished and decorated fully—all for one guest. Angeline Lombardi—soon-to-be Moretti—was going to live there after the wedding. She was going to live there with live-in help and twenty-four-seven security. She was going to live an hour away from him and he couldn't be more happy about it. She was going to live there until she died.

Angeline was his to do what he wished with the second she took his last name. They hadn't told Angeline anything about it.

He didn't have to see or speak to her when he didn't want to. He wouldn't have to live with her or have her presence every day and would have his privacy intact. He would sleep in his own bed and use his own shower.

The bride wouldn't be allowed to see the wedding dress until the morning of the wedding day—something Roman's mother disliked. Two weeks before the wedding, the groom would be shown three options of the three dresses the bride would wear the day and he would be the one choosing the wedding dress, the reception dress, and the dinner dress.

He knew he would be choosing the clothes for their future spouse; they would each get a gift for the other person to have with them at the ceremony. Common presents were wristwatches for the groom and necklaces for the bride. This day would also be the day that the bride met with the groom's family and the groom met with the bride's family for an exchange of gifts from each family as a welcome.

This tradition has never been broken and although Roman tried his hardest to break it this time, his parents were unrelenting. He knew all. The thought made him smile, satisfied with the thought of her discomfort.

"You look unusually happy," a man to his left approached him. Turning his head, Roman met the gaze of Cruz Moretti, his cousin, and underboss. Although he was family, Cruz was one of Roman's closest friends. Being in Roman Moretti's inner circle came with an unfathomable amount of trust and only three men were in it—one being Cruz, the other was his father, and the last was his future brother-in-law.

"Will do. I feel sorry for you, I might send a gift to the casino tonight," Cruz winked, looking around to make sure no one heard. Roman's lips twitched upwards but fell when he looked across the fountain and saw an unfamiliar armored SUV. The Lombardis were already here. Damn it.

His mother made a sound of fear that sounded a lot like a curse word. He looked over to see her nervously hooking her arm around his father's, anxiousness written all over her face by the way her eyebrows were pulled together and her lips were set.

In his mind, Angeline would have liked big, extravagant dresses with as much lace, glitter, and puffiness as possible. Maybe she would've liked a big ballgown style like her...

The first thing he noticed was the corseted torso, wrapped in white chiffon that complimented the square neck and thin straps. The dress was column-styled like the first one, falling in silk layers. Accompanying the dress, the mannequin wore a pair of white elbow-length gloves.

The dress in the center is what caught his attention though. Like other dresses, this one is a mix between a column and a sheath-styled dress. It cascades well past the others and pools on the ground, training back the farthest. It's tight... looks elegant and he knew when sun hit it like it was doing... fabric would look like it was glimmering.

There was no choice between the dresses when there was already a winner. He had already made his choice in less than two minutes.