Cassandra Ashford is a dedicated nurse with a quiet life and a burning hatred for the mafia—especially after they took the life of her undercover agent father. But everything changes the day she unknowingly saves a critically wounded stranger... only to discover he's no ordinary man. He’s Adriano Moretti—the ruthless and dangerously magnetic Don of the most feared mafia family in the country. Worse? He insists she’s destined to be his wife. Already engaged and building her dream life, Cassandra tries to run from Adriano’s dark pull. But betrayal hits hard when her fiancé shatters her trust, and her mother’s sudden, life-threatening illness threatens to crush her entirely. Left with no choice and buried in desperation, Cassandra signs a one-year contract marriage with the man she swore to hate. The Don. The danger. The devil in disguise. But nothing could prepare her for the twisted world she’s about to enter—a world where power rules, passion burns, and one wrong move could cost her everything. Including her heart. Will she survive the game of blood and seduction, or will the shadows of the mafia consume her completely?
View MoreADRIANO'S POV~The moment her scent hit me, every taut muscle in my body melted. Fuck. My entire system went lax as I pulled her tighter into my arms, burying my face in her hair and breathing her in like she was the last drop of oxygen in a world gone toxic.God, this woman was my drug. My anchor. My goddamn undoing."I missed you so fucking much, tesoro," I whispered into her hair, my voice hoarse, soaked in everything I hadn’t said since we fought. "Couldn’t sleep without you next to me. Couldn’t even breathe right."For the first time all day, I started to relax. Her warmth against me, the rise and fall of her chest, the faint scent of her shampoo—fuck, I was drifting. I’d just begun to doze off, barely halfway to peace, when she stirred.And shoved me.What the—My eyes snapped open, brows furrowing as I looked at her, confused. I thought she was asleep. But no, of course not. She was wide awake now, eyes narrowed with a fiery glare that had no business being so fucking cute.She
CASSANDRA'S POV~I swallowed hard, yanking Adriano’s sleeve a little harder now as I silently begged him not to do something reckless—like bash Dario’s head into the concrete. “Please,” I whispered under my breath, “for the love of God, just walk away. Don’t give these people a show.”Cameras were out. Phones lifted. The internet was probably live-streaming this circus. Two men fighting over me? No, thank you. That’s not the kind of viral I wanted to be.Thankfully—miraculously—Adriano threw one last glare at Dario that looked like it could murder three generations of his bloodline, then turned sharply to me. Without a word, his hand clamped around my wrist, his grip firm but not painful, and he dragged me out of the restaurant like I was some briefcase.I looked back over my shoulder, only to see Dario standing there, smiling like a damn lunatic and waving at me like we were old friends parting after brunch. My throat tightened. I wanted to punch that smugness off his stupidly handso
CASSANDRA'S POV~My jaw nearly hit the damn floor.I stared at Dario, wide-eyed, breath caught in my throat as if he’d just told me the sky was green or that gravity had stopped working. My ears buzzed, actually buzzed like someone had clapped cymbals against both sides of my skull.Was this a prank?Was he joking?Or worse... was I dreaming?A sudden wave of doubt washed over me and I panicked. I bit the inside of my cheek hard.“Shit,” I gasped under my breath when the sharp sting made my eyes water. That pain was too real.I wasn't dreaming.“Oh my God—are you serious?” I squealed, my voice coming out breathless, borderline hysterical.Dario’s brows drew together. “Are you okay? Do you need water?”Before I could even answer, he was already reaching for the bottle on the table, uncapping it and pouring it into my glass. I watched him, stunned by how calm he was while my entire nervous system felt like it was short-circuiting.I shook my head quickly, blinking away the shock. “Y-Yea
CASSANDRA'S POV~I walked out of the hospital with my shoulders heavy, dragging behind me. My feet moved, but my spirit didn’t follow. It stayed somewhere back in that office, crushed beneath the weight of a suspension letter and pitying glances.God, I hated this feeling.The same old, soul-sucking feeling that clung to me like a shadow—like I was never enough. Never smart enough. Never strong enough. Never anything enough.And as if the universe hadn’t mocked me enough already today, thunder cracked violently across the sky. A warning. But I didn’t flinch.The rain followed almost instantly, pouring in thick sheets, drenching my scrubs and hair within seconds. I didn’t run. I didn’t even blink. I just stood there, arms limp at my sides, and let it soak me. Maybe, if I stood still long enough, the storm would wash this pain off me—scrub away the shame, the helplessness, the cruel sense of déjà vu that clung to my chest like a noose.I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. The rain
ADRIANO'S POV~The city of Antwerp looked like a jewel box scattered open under the pale sunlight. Glass skyscrapers sparkled against the horizon, trimmed with gold and steel like a high-society necklace. I should’ve been impressed. I wasn’t. I sat at the head of a long, obsidian conference table in the penthouse of a luxury business tower—my tower. One floor below my diamond refinery, where billions worth of stones were processed every year. The room stank of money. Of ambition. Of suits with soft hands pretending they’d ever held power. A sleek woman in a fitted navy pantsuit stood beside the massive projector screen, tapping her laser pointer against an illuminated chart filled with graphs and numbers. “…and if we tap into Sierra Leone’s underutilized supply routes, we can increase exports by twelve percent while keeping taxation under the radar,” she explained in her best ‘please take me seriously’ voice. The room was a roundtable of European, Russian, and African diamond entr
CASSANDRA'S POV~The moment I turned around and saw my mother still standing, eyes wide, staring right at me… and then at Adriano… and then back at me, my soul nearly flew out of my body.I turned crimson red on the spot, my whole face heating up like a microwave had just blasted me.Adriano, the shameless devil, just straightened like he was about to accept an award. And before I could even think of saving the situation, he smirked and said — loudly,"Mrs. Ashford, your daughter’s sweeter than all the desserts in Italy combined. And I’m starving."Oh. My. God.My heart stopped. My soul left my body. I almost blacked out right there.My mother’s jaw dropped. She flushed so deep a red, I was honestly concerned she might combust. Meanwhile, Adriano just stood there, looking proud of himself, like he’d just delivered the line of the century.Without thinking, I moved so fast I surprised myself — and pinched his butt. Hard.Adriano jumped a full foot off the ground like a startled cat, s
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