Chapter 1

[Alessia's POV]

Everyone called me Nuvak's most dangerous rose—soft curves, hourglass figure, and flawless skin.

I was halfway through a reckless summer in Prisa when my father, Paolo Moretti, who only cared about the family's interests, summoned me home with a single text.

"Get back to Nuvak, now. You're marrying into the Luca family."

I snorted at his message.

Vito Luca. The living legend of Nuvak's underworld and the youngest Don in the city.

Everyone said he was cold-blooded and restrained. He never lost control in front of anyone, nor did he waste a single second on anything or anyone meaningless.

He loved staying shut away in his study, pulling strings behind the scenes. I loved soaking in the neon haze of nightclubs, doing whatever the hell I wanted. He acted like every step was part of a plan. I acted on impulse.

Marrying a man like that? Just imagining it made me feel smothered.

…

Three days later, I stood in Moretti Manor's living room, staring at my father's perpetually stone-cold face. "I'm not marrying him."

"You don't have a choice." He sat at the head of the room, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table. His tone made it clear there was no room for negotiation.

I stared at him. He stared right back. It was the same standoff we'd been locked in for 20 years. There'd never been a real winner.

But this time, I wasn't planning to lose.

…

The wedding was set for three months later. In those three months, I turned all of Nuvak upside down.

I went to the wildest club in the Reign district and danced on the pole for three days and three nights straight.

On the fourth day, Vita showed up in a perfectly tailored suit, expression blank as ever. He hauled me off the dance floor, threw me over his shoulder, and shoved me into his car. Then, he took me back to his villa, tucked me into bed, and said quietly, "Sleep."

I drove my car straight through the garden wall of a rival family's estate and got arrested on the spot. Vito rushed over in the middle of the night to bail me out, then went personally to apologize and paid double for the damage. He didn't so much as frown throughout the whole thing.

I got into a fight and ended up with a face full of blood. I was thrown into a cell again. When Vito arrived, there were still bloodstains on his suit and red veins in his eyes—obvious signs he'd just come from a battle. He hadn't even changed his clothes before coming straight to me.

He crouched down in front of me and took my hand, his gaze dropping to the thin cut on my finger. He pulled a first-aid kit and carefully disinfected it, pressing a bandage over it. Then, he lifted his head, looked straight into my eyes, and asked, "Does it hurt?"

That made me freeze. No one had ever asked me that in my entire life.

My father had only ever yelled at me for embarrassing him, for being ungrateful, for being the shame of the Moretti family. My stepmother just watched from the sidelines, waiting for the day I finally crashed and burned.

No one had ever asked me if I was in pain.

I stared into Vito's unfathomable eyes. Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out. "Vito Luca, I'll marry you."

A flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes but was quickly drowned by his usual calm.

"But before that, I need to ask you something." I locked my gaze on his, enunciating every word. "Do you have someone you love but can't have? Because my man can only belong to me. There can't be anyone else in his heart."

He held my gaze without the slightest hint of avoidance. "No. There's only you."

I believed him.

On the day of the wedding, I wore a couture gown and stood at the church's altar. Vito stood across from me in a black custom suit, his gaze deep and calm.

The priest asked, "Do you take this man?"

"I do," I answered.

Vito lowered his head and kissed me. At that moment, I genuinely thought I'd melted the ice around his heart.

After we married, a saying started circling through Nuvak's underworld—people could mess with anyone but me, Alessia Moretti. Because the cold-blooded, ruthless Don Vito Luca would always be right behind me to back me up.

Every mess I made, he cleaned up. Every disaster I caused, he dealt with. Everything I wanted, he put into my hands.

I thought that was love… until the day I went to the estate to drop off some files he'd forgotten.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, the sunlight warm and golden as I drove through the gates. No one stopped me. I was the Donna of the Luca family and the lady of the household, after all. Everyone there knew who I was.

I went into the main house, but Vito wasn't there. One of the staff told me he was in the back garden. I walked down the hallway, and just as I reached the door leading outside, I heard laughter spill in.

A few of the family's key members were gathered around a table playing cards. Vito sat in the middle, a pile of chips stacked high in front of him, his face almost expressionless.

Someone lost a hand and, amid loud jeers, had to answer a truth-or-dare style penalty question. When it was Vito's turn, someone got bold and called out, "Don Luca, tell us what's the biggest lie you've ever told in your life."

I stopped at the doorway, my feet suddenly rooted to the floor.

Vito picked up his glass and took a sip of whiskey. His voice wasn't loud when he spoke, but every word slipped clearly through the crack in the door and stabbed straight into my ears.

"Someone once asked me if there was a woman I loved but couldn't have. I lied to her and said no."