Chapter 2

ELENA

I sat stiffly in the back of the sleek black limousine, my fingers curled into my lap as I stared out the tinted window. The grand cathedral loomed ahead, its towering stone facade casting an ominous shadow over the crowded street. The bells tolled, marking the hour of my doom.

My wedding.

My prison sentence.

My hair had been curled to perfection by the best stylists in the country. My makeup, flawless.

The soft lace clung to my skin from my neck down to my waist, before flaring out into the most beautiful wedding dress I had ever set my eyes on. Too bad it was for a day like this.

Between my father and my groom, they had spared no expense.

I couldn't feel a thing.

Numbness had become my new favorite emotion.

It was the only way to forget what I had seen in that room that day.

Had I not been enough for him? I had given him almost everything he could have ever wanted.

Had I been that horrible of a girlfriend that he had opted for a threesome?

The thought made my stomach turn.

My eyes burned as tears threatened to fall, but I held tight to my emotions.

"Principessa, you are too quiet," my father’s voice cut through the thick tension inside the car, drawing me away from my thoughts to the worse situation at hand.

Don Alberto Ricci’s sharp gaze settled on me through the rearview mirror. "You understand your duty. You will not shame me."

My lips pressed into a thin line. Duty. That was what my life had always been about. Not love. Not dreams. Just obedience.

My father had made it his life's mission to cage me and bend me to his will, monitoring my every move, all in a bid to keep me in line and not stain his very important name.

“I understand,” I murmured, my voice void of emotion.

It's not like I had any reason to object anymore. My father had hated Donavan, had tried his best to make me end it, but I had been stubborn. Now I had lost, and he had been right.

"You know the reason why you are doing this." His voice came again, just when I hoped he would just shut up.

I nodded but remembered I had to use my voice. "Yes, Father."

I looked up to see him staring back at me, with an eye color that matched mine. We held gazes, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flash in his gaze, but it was gone before I could even begin to read what it possibly meant.

"You will do his bidding, girl."

It was a command. One I already knew.

"Yes, Father."

One thing I had learned about Don Alberto Ricci was the fact that he didn't want me showing even a bit of weakness. None whatsoever.

Weakness and defiance had earned me a slap.

~

The car pulled to a stop, and before I could steel myself further, the door swung open. The Ricci guards flanked me as I stepped out, my white gown cascading around me like a cruel mockery of purity. My heart pounded violently in my chest as I lifted my gaze, locking onto the man standing at the altar, waiting for me.

Luca De Santis.

He was an imposing figure, broad-shouldered and exuding a dominance that made my pulse quicken in resentment. His cold, piercing blue eyes held no warmth, no affection. Just possession. A man used to taking what he wanted.

And today, he was taking me.

Dressed in the most elegant of suits, the man looked like he belonged in a magazine, not just for eligible bachelors, but one for dangerous people. What was left was a cigar in his damn hands, and he was good to go.

Nothing about him screamed innocence, and I should know. This was the world I had grown up in.

I let my eyes sweep over the man whom I was about to spend probably the rest of my life with.

From his dark charcoal hair that matched his suit, to his nose that wasn't completely straight but was somehow perfect, and down to his full lips that shone in the light. A thought so fleeting hit me, but I quenched it!

No, I wasn’t anticipating kissing the man.

But…

Memories from the day we had officially met for the first time in my father's office rushed through my mind.

He had leaned in so close to me that day, that I had almost melted. And for the life of me, I could already taste him, even if he had not kissed me.

The way his fingers had traced my jawline, even if it was the most fleeting of touches, had made me feel things I had never felt before.

And the way those icy blue eyes, as I had come to realize their actual color, had stared down at me, commanding, and dangerously so...

My cheeks instantly burned, and I forced my gaze away, focusing on why I was here. A move that brought my resolve back.

I wasn't going to dwell on those things.

I needed to remember, and always focus on the fact that what I should feel for him was hate.

This life of mine was like jumping from the frying pan to the fire.

I craved warmth. The warmth of Donavan's eyes, the warmth in his smile, the warmth in his arms...

But the blue eyes that met mine right now had no trace of that. Which was sad because this was my new reality.

Had he known then, when he had said those words to me, that Donavan had been cheating on me?

I lifted my chin, my spine stiffening as I took the first step toward him. Each stride felt heavier than the last, dragging me toward a fate I couldn’t escape.

But as I reached his side, standing inches away from the ruthless Don, I silently vowed. I might be his wife, but I would never belong to him.