Chapter 1. The Woman He Never Forgot

The Cuban cigar resting beside a crystal ashtray released a thin trail of smoke into the dimly lit office, where black marble, dark wood, and antique gold created an atmosphere of understated extravagance. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the ancient city of Sicily stretched beneath the night sky, its narrow streets illuminated by scattered golden lights while the distant harbor remained busy with vessels crossing the Mediterranean.

Elio Cruz Orsanti stood before the glass, one hand tucked into the pocket of his tailored black trousers. His broad shoulders and imposing frame carried the quiet authority of a man accustomed to being obeyed, while the faint scars scattered across his back served as reminders of the brutal path that had brought him to the head of one of Sicily's oldest and most powerful dynasties.

As the Don of the Orsanti family, he commanded an empire whose influence extended far beyond the island. Men twice his age answered to him, business rivals measured their words carefully in his presence, and even those who considered themselves untouchable understood the consequences of crossing his family. Yet none of that authority could reach the one place where he remained utterly powerless.

His thoughts had drifted to Averon, the city where he had left behind a life he once believed would last forever.

A photograph attached to the glass caught his attention. It showed a beautiful brunette holding a red rose, its delicate petals brushing her cheek as she smiled at the camera. Her warm brown eyes and familiar dimples were enough to stir memories he had spent years trying to keep buried.

Andrea Willow Romanof.

His fingers traced the edge of her face through the photograph, lingering near the smile that had once greeted him every morning. He could still picture the way she tilted her head whenever she suspected he was hiding something, or how a small crease appeared between her brows when she concentrated on a difficult problem. Even her habit of pretending not to notice his teasing had become something he found himself longing for.

"Andrea..." His voice softened as he looked at her picture. "Do you ever miss me?"

Silence filled the office, offering no comfort beyond the faint hum of the city outside.

A restrained smile touched his lips as he lowered his head slightly.

"I miss you more than you could ever imagine, amore."

His prolonged absence from women's company had become a subject of speculation among those familiar with his private life. Some believed the Don had deliberately embraced celibacy, while others assumed his position left him with little interest in romantic attachments. Elio had never considered any of those rumors worth addressing. He had already found the woman he wanted to spend his life with, and no amount of wealth or influence could persuade him to replace her.

The sound of a knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Enter."

The double doors opened, revealing Diego, his personal assistant and trusted driver. Carrying a dark leather folder beneath his arm, Diego approached the desk with the quiet efficiency that had made him indispensable to Elio's daily affairs.

"Don, I've gathered the information you requested regarding the attorney assigned to the ECO Construction dispute."

Elio remained facing the windows, his attention still resting on Andrea's photograph.

"Who is it?"

Diego placed the folder on the desk before answering.

"Andrea Willow Romanof."

The name struck with an impact no business rival had ever managed to deliver. Elio's fingers stopped against the glass, and for several seconds he remained perfectly still, as though he needed to make certain he had heard correctly.

"Say that again."

"Andrea Willow Romanof," Diego repeated. "She's a senior corporate attorney at Preston Firm and has been assigned to represent the legal interests involved in the dispute concerning our construction project in Averon."

Elio finally turned around.

A slow smile spread across his face, transforming his usually stern expression into something Diego rarely witnessed. Of all the attorneys who could have been assigned to the case, it was the woman whose absence had accompanied him through every stage of his new life.

He crossed the room and opened the folder, although his attention settled almost immediately on the photograph printed beneath her professional credentials. Andrea looked different from the woman he remembered, carrying herself with a composure that suggested she had learned to keep certain parts of herself beyond the reach of others. Her elegance remained familiar, but there was a firmness in her expression that made him wonder what life had taught her while he was away.

Had she changed because of him?

Did she still think about what happened between them, or had she finally managed to build a life in which his absence no longer mattered?

"Finally, my girl," he murmured, brushing his thumb over the photograph. "I'm coming back to you."

Diego watched his employer in silence, recognizing the rare excitement beneath Elio's composed exterior. He had witnessed the Don negotiate with ruthless men and make decisions that affected the entire Orsanti dynasty without displaying the slightest hesitation. Andrea Romanof, however, remained the one name capable of disrupting his concentration.

"Prepare my departure for Averon," Elio instructed as he closed the folder. "I'll leave Armano in charge of the matters here."

Diego's expression tightened, although he quickly concealed his concern.

"Don, what about Santiago?"

Elio placed the folder on his desk and reached for the cigar that had been burning unattended beside the ashtray.

"Our people found another lead," Diego continued. "It may be connected to the information we've been pursuing."

Elio took one final draw before extinguishing the cigar against the crystal surface. His earlier smile disappeared, replaced by the cold expression familiar to everyone who served the Orsanti family.

"What happened two weeks ago must not happen again."

Diego straightened immediately.

"Understood, Don."

"Have the team follow up on the lead. I want a complete report before my departure, and make certain nothing is overlooked this time."

"Yes, Don."

Elio gave him a brief nod, but Diego remained where he stood for another moment.

"Is there something else?" Elio asked without looking up.

"Nothing, Don. I'll arrange everything."

"Good. Handle the Averon arrangements personally. I don't want unnecessary delays."

Diego acknowledged the instruction before leaving the office. He understood the urgency behind Elio's decision, although abandoning an ongoing investigation involving Santiago was hardly ideal. Nevertheless, questioning the Don's priorities was not his place, particularly when the matter concerned Andrea Romanof.

Once the doors closed, Elio returned his attention to the photograph. He picked it up carefully, holding it between his fingers as memories of their unfinished wedding surfaced with painful clarity.

They had chosen a date, discussed the ceremony, and made plans for a future that seemed perfectly attainable. Andrea had once stood beside him with the certainty of a woman who believed she knew the man she was going to marry. He had allowed her to believe that their happiness was secure, even when circumstances beyond her knowledge were already closing in around them.

Then he had canceled everything and disappeared.

He had offered her no explanation, no proper farewell, not even the courtesy of a final conversation in which she could demand answers. Whatever she thought of him afterward, he had given her every reason to believe that their relationship had meant nothing.

The memory remained difficult to bear, but regret had never been enough to change what he had done.

Elio carried the photograph with him as he left the office and entered the private quarters of the mansion. Unlike the imposing workspace where he conducted family affairs, his bedroom offered a quieter atmosphere, with warm lighting, dark walnut furniture, and carefully chosen furnishings that reflected a more personal side of his life.

He placed Andrea's photograph on the bedside table before loosening his collar and removing his watch. His reflection stared back at him from the bathroom mirror, revealing the faint scars across his shoulders and back, each one a reminder of the brutal years that had transformed him from an architecture student into the heir of a dynasty built on power, loyalty, and blood.

After turning on the shower, he stepped beneath the warm stream of water, allowing it to run over his shoulders while his thoughts returned to the woman waiting in Averon.

He could still recall the warmth of her skin beneath his hands, the quiet sounds she made when he kissed her, and the way she sometimes pulled him closer whenever he tried to tease her. Their intimacy had never been confined to physical desire; it was woven into the ordinary moments they shared, from lazy mornings in her apartment to the whispered conversations that continued long after midnight.

Those memories had remained with him through every sleepless night, becoming an unwelcome reminder of the life he had sacrificed.

He rested one hand against the glass wall of the shower, closing his eyes as he imagined Andrea standing in front of him with her familiar expression of disapproval. He could almost hear her telling him that he was impossible, that his stubbornness would eventually become his downfall, and that he should stop behaving as though the entire world existed to follow his decisions.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

He missed the arguments, the laughter, and even the little disagreements that had once seemed insignificant. More than anything, he missed having someone who could look past the title of Don and see the man beneath it.

When he finished showering, Elio dried himself and returned to the bedroom, where Andrea's photograph remained on the bedside table. He picked it up again, studying her expression with a longing he no longer bothered to conceal from himself.

"Andrea, my love..." His thumb moved gently across the edge of the picture. "I'm coming home to you."

He knew that returning to Averon would not erase the damage he had caused. She might refuse to see him, reject every explanation he offered, or remind him that he had forfeited the right to call her his own. He would have to face the consequences of his decision, however painful they proved to be.

But he could no longer remain satisfied with loving her from a distance.

There were things he had never told her, truths that had forced him to make the most devastating decision of his life. He had once believed that keeping her away from the Orsanti family was the only way to protect her, even if doing so meant destroying the future they had planned together.

Whether that decision had truly saved her was something he still did not know.

Elio placed the photograph back on the bedside table before reaching for his phone. A brief message to Diego was enough to confirm that the arrangements for his departure were underway.

Averon was waiting, and somewhere within that city lived the woman whose heart he had broken.

He had no illusions about what awaited him. Andrea might no longer want him, and the sight of her wearing another man's ring might prove more painful than anything he had endured in Sicily. Even so, he was determined to stand before her again and face the consequences of the choice he had made.

He had once walked away from the woman he intended to marry.

This time, he would not run from her.