CHAPTER 5: THE DEVIL'S CHOICE

The hand over June’s mouth reeked of fancy tobacco and cold rain. She tried to scream, but the sound just stuck in her throat. Her heart pounded against her chest, wild and frantic. Someone shoved her into the shadows, away from the bright lights and blaring music of the gala.

“Be quiet, June! It’s me!”

The shadow shifted, and she caught a glimpse of a face in the dim light. Her breath caught. Marcus. Dante’s younger brother—the one who’d vanished years ago and turned into the family’s black sheep. He looked worn out, haunted almost, with fear swimming in his eyes.

“Marcus?” June whispered when he finally released her. “What are you doing here? I have to get to Leo! Someone texted me, said they were in his room!”

“No one’s in his room, June. That text was a setup. I sent it to get you away from the cameras,” Marcus said, fast and urgent. He gripped her shoulders, staring straight into her. “Listen. Dante didn’t bring you back because he loves you. He brought you back because he needs a shield.”

“Dante is dying, June,” Marcus whispered. His words hit like a sucker punch. “His heart’s failing. He’s weak. The only way he keeps his company is by showing off a perfect family. If anyone finds out he’s sick, they’ll kill him and take Leo.”

The world spun. Dante—dying? The man who acted untouchable, always so cold and strong, was actually falling apart?

“He’s using you,” Marcus pressed. “He wants all eyes on you, so nobody looks for his medical records. That video Bianca showed the crowd? Dante already knew. He knew his mother paid you five years ago. He let Bianca show it tonight just to see if you’d run or stay loyal.”

“He knew?” June’s chest tightened. All the shame she’d felt in front of those cameras—just another part of his game. Dante hadn’t been blindsided. He’d been testing her like some caged animal. He let the world call her a gold-digger just to see if she’d still stand with him.

Suddenly, boots thundered down the hall. Marcus vanished into the darkness as Dante stormed in, looking like a brewing storm. His jacket was gone, white shirt rumpled, and his glare was sharp, but behind it—fear.

“June! Why did you run?” Dante barked. He grabbed her arm. “Do you have any idea how many people want to hurt you right now?”

June didn’t cry. She didn’t flinch. She just stared him down—the man who lied, who used her. His skin looked too pale. His hand, the one gripping her arm, shook just a little.

“Are you sick, Dante?” Her voice cut like glass.

Dante froze. The silence pressed in. He didn’t deny it. He just squeezed her arm harder. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is we go back out there. We have to tell everyone the video was fake. If we don’t, we lose everything. Leo loses his future.”

June glanced at the ballroom doors. Behind them—the cameras, the whispers, all the lies. She eyed the exit, but running wasn’t an option. The enemies would find her and Leo in no time.

She saw it, clear as day. To save her son, she had to save the man who broke her heart. No more being a victim. Time to play the game.

“I’ll go back,” June said, voice flat and steady. Dante’s eyes went wide. “But I’m not just going to say the video was a lie. I’ll tell them your mother threatened my family. That’s why I took the money. I’ll be the wife you need, Dante. But you don’t own me. We’re partners now. Lie to me again, and I’ll be the one who destroys you.”

Dante just stared at her. For the first time, he didn’t see a scared girl from a bakery. He saw her—really saw her. He touched her cheek.

“Deal,” he murmured. “Welcome to the Romano family, June.”

They walked into the ballroom hand in hand, king and queen. The crowd fell silent as they stepped onto the stage. June stood tall and spun the story they’d agreed on. She turned shame into power, and the crowd started to clap. For a second, it felt like they’d actually won.

Then the doors at the back banged open.

June’s father walked in, cheap suit and a wicked grin. He wasn’t alone. The Vancent family, Dante’s worst enemies, flanked him. June’s father held up a piece of paper for everyone to see.

Dante’s hand went ice-cold in hers. He leaned in, his voice shaking for the first time.

“June, your father just did something terrible.” He signed the paper the day Leo was born. Just like that, he handed the Vancent family the right to claim Leo as their own if I ever can’t run the company. It was as if my father hadn’t even hesitated, as if he cared more about preserving the business than the dreams or well-being of his own family. The ink had barely dried before the consequences began to settle like lead in my chest.

June’s heart broke. Her own father had traded her son’s future away before Leo even took his first breath. She saw the proud grin on her dad’s face, that hungry look in the Vancents’ eyes, and wanted to scream. The room was thick with unspoken expectations, suffocating her hope for anything different. All she could see in that moment was the web of promises and threats binding her and Leo, spun by the people who should have protected them most.

June stared at the paper, then at the man she was now stuck calling her husband. The fight wasn’t just about her or Leo anymore; it was way bigger than that. This was about legacy, power, and the silent wars waged behind closed doors. She turned to Dante and asked the question that was stuck in her throat, one that went deeper than fear and pride.

“If the only way to save Leo is for you to step aside—are you willing to die so I can lead this family?” The words hung in the air, heavy and electric, demanding an answer that could change everything.