Chapter 1 — Leo

Leo's POV

People say Monaco is paradise. They see the yachts, the champagne, the terraces spilling over the sea like the world was built just to please them. What they don’t see is how heavy gold feels when it’s chained around your neck.

My name is Leonardo D’Angelo, heir to a dynasty of luxury hotels and private islands. Every morning of my life begins the same, with applause I didn’t earn and expectations I never agreed to carry.

“Your schedule for today, sir,” my assistant, Luca, says as he trails me down the marble staircase of the D’Angelo estate. “Board meeting at ten, lunch with your father, and dinner with the Morettis to finalize the engagement arrangements.”

I button my cuff. “Cancel the last one.”

Luca stumbles. “Sir… you can’t. The Morettis—”

“I said cancel it.”

My father’s voice cuts through the air before Luca can answer. He stands at the end of the hall, immaculate in a tailored suit, eyes sharp enough to slice through hesitation. “Leo,” he says flatly. “We do not cancel when the Morettis are involved.”

I give him a practiced half smile. “You can attend without me. It’s not like Valentina needs me there.”

His jaw tightens. “She is your fiancée.”

“Fiancée?” I let out a laugh. “You chose that title for me before I had a say in anything.”

I walk past him, his silence following me like a shadow. Outside, the courtyard is swarmed with photographers.

“Leonardo! Over here!”

“Smile for Vogue, Leo!”

“Any wedding date yet?”

I give them the same grin I’ve worn since childhood, a perfect lie shaped into a smile. They cheer. The flashes go off. And all I feel is tired.

Inside the Ferrari, the world finally mutes. The engine’s roar fills my chest, chasing out every thought that doesn’t belong. For a few miles, I’m just Leo — not the heir, not the puppet, not the brand. Not the man chained to a woman he doesn’t love, aching for someone who might one day see him as more than a name.

Then the phone buzzes. I glance down.

Valentina: We need to talk. It’s important. Come to the penthouse at 7 p.m.

Of course, she wants to talk, only when it’s convenient for her. But then, curiosity wins. I turn the car toward the Moretti Tower.

The penthouse door is ajar when I arrive. “Val?” I call out.

No answer. Just the faint scent of her jasmin perfume hanging in the air. That cold, expensive kind that lingers too long.

Then I hear it. A breath. A low gasp. A sound that doesn’t belong to solitude.

My stomach knots. I move toward the bedroom, every step heavier than the last. The door is half open. I push it wider. And the world stops.

Valentina is tangled in silk sheets, her bare shoulder, and his hand the kind of scene that doesn’t need explaining.

Her eyes go wide. “Leo,” she stammers, clutching the sheet to her chest. “It’s not what you think, you weren’t supposed to come yet.”

I just stare. All the late nights, the excuses, the fake smiles — they pile up inside me, something sharp pressing against my ribs.The man beside her, some faceless suit I don’t recognize.

He scrambles for his clothes and mutters something, an apology maybe, and bolts out the side door.

Valentina stands there, trembling but defiant. Her hair’s a mess, her lipstick smeared, but her pride’s intact. “Say something,” she says.

“What do you want me to say?” My voice doesn’t even sound like mine. “Congratulations? You’ve outplayed us all?”

Her eyes flash. “Don’t be dramatic, Leo. It’s not like we sleep together. You barely look at me. You barely even touch me. What did you expect?”

She was right. I never looked at her — not the way I wanted to be looked at. Not the way I craved to be seen.

I blink, stunned by the coldness. “So, this is my fault now?”

“I’m lonely!” she snaps, her voice cracking. “You think money fixes everything. You think being untouchable makes you strong but I needed something real.”

Something inside me tears quietly. I take a step back, then another. “I didn’t do that because of the respect I have for myself,” I say quietly, “for you. Maybe I thought things would change. That someday I’d actually start loving you.”

She reaches for me, but I move first. The look I give her is enough. Then I walk out calm on the outside but chaos underneath.

My pulse won’t slow. I don’t love her. I never truly did. But still, watching her with someone else, something burns, deep and ugly. Maybe pride. Maybe pain. Or maybe both.

By the time I hit the street, my hands are shaking. I climb into the Ferrari, start the engine, and floor it. The cliffs blur past.

I drive faster, the curve comes out of nowhere. Tires scream and metal groans. Just before everything goes black, one thought cuts through the chaos:

Maybe I was never meant to survive this life. Maybe somewhere, someone could have seen me — not the heir, not the brand, just Leo.