LOGINMy fiancé, Luciano Marino, was the Don of the Marino family, and he was an extremely careful man. For the five years we'd known each other, he'd kept me on his estate outside the city. "Eleanor, you're my weak spot. I'll never let any of my enemies lay a finger on you." "The fewer people who know about you, the safer you are." So I'd never once appeared in public with him, let alone met his family. Three days before our wedding, I was outside the study when I overheard him talking to the butler. "Don, are you sure you want to schedule your wedding to Ms. Vanderhall for the same day, three days from now?" "That's right." "Then... what about Ms. Ashford?" He took a deep drag on his cigar. "Eleanor has always been understanding. She won't mind if I'm a little late." My hand froze before I could push the door open, and my mind went blank. Hands shaking, I opened Instagram on my phone and searched for Eileen Vanderhall's account. Her feed was filled with photos of the two of them. She came and went from Luciano's armory as she pleased, attended his family dinners, and even sat in on meetings with his crew. "He says that when you love someone, you share every part of your life with them." So it wasn't that he refused to let the woman he loved into his life. It was just that the woman wasn't me. Back in my room, I dialed a number. "Dad, I lost the bet. I'm ready to come home and marry the man you picked." ...
View MoreAlistair immediately stepped in front of me, but Luciano roughly shoved him aside."Eleanor is my fiancée! She doesn't remember agreeing to marry me. This man is taking advantage of her memory loss. This wedding can't go ahead!"An uproar swept through the chapel.I gently squeezed Alistair's hand."I'll handle this myself."He nodded and stepped aside without hesitation, then stopped a few paces behind me.I walked up to Luciano.I hadn't seen him in a while. He seemed thinner, and the old spark had vanished from his eyes, replaced by the desperate urgency of a man with nothing left to lose.I frowned in distaste and looked at him coldly."Mr. Marino, I know exactly what I'm doing. I don't know you, and I don't want to. This wedding has nothing to do with you."Pain filled his eyes."That's all right. You don't have to remember right away. You can get to know me all over again."Please, Eleanor. Don't marry someone else. Please?"I looked at him in silence, then shook my head firmly.
My mind went blank as the lack of oxygen left me struggling to breathe.Then Alistair realized something was wrong. Without a word, he pulled off his own oxygen mask and put it over my face!As the air flowed in, I could breathe again.But the lack of oxygen quickly drained the color from his face, and his chest began to heave. Even as he gasped for air, he kept the mask firmly over my face. His expression was resolute yet relieved.The plane kept plunging through the storm. The flight attendants did their best to keep order, but the whole cabin had already descended into chaos.After another violent jolt, the plane finally broke out of the storm and leveled off.After a moment of silence, the cabin erupted in applause and cheers. "We made it!"I burst into tears and hugged Alistair tightly, pouring all my lingering fear and gratitude into the embrace. The words came out before I could stop them. "Let's get married."Alistair froze, his whole body going stiff. Then he held me just as t
Raynefield Manor, near Oundle, Northamptonshire.Back at the home where I'd grown up, the air smelled of earth and freshly cut grass. It was both familiar and faintly strange after so long.The table was covered with all my favorite foods.My mother brought over a steaming plate of scrambled eggs with white truffle butter."I made these myself. They're your favorite, so go on, try them. Oh, and I've arranged a proper welcome-home dinner for the day after tomorrow. Alistair will be there too."Alistair Vance was the man I was supposed to marry.My family was part of the old aristocracy but kept a low profile, and my parents had always doted on me. They sent me to the finest private schools and expected me to study business when I turned 18 so that I could one day inherit the family fortune and take over its businesses.But I refused to follow the path they'd laid out for me.Instead, I followed my own interests. I secretly applied to an American university and chose wildlife conservatio
Eileen didn't notice his anger. In fact, she was secretly pleased with herself.But the next moment, Luciano raised his paddle to bid.Before he could even call out a number, someone who looked like an assistant hurried onto the stage and whispered in the auctioneer's ear.The auctioneer looked stunned, then announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've just been informed that a gentleman who wishes to remain anonymous has purchased every item in tonight's blind auction!"Luciano froze. A vein bulged on his forehead.No one had ever dared to take something from him so openly.He turned to his assistant and asked in a low voice, "Who bought it?"The assistant wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and replied cautiously, "Don, he's the charity's principal sponsor. All we know is that he has connections in Europe. We can't find anything else."At the sight, jealousy and resentment surged through Eileen."Why are you so fixated on that necklace? Is it because you still can't forget that woman?












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