เข้าสู่ระบบThe ride through the city was quiet and deeply peaceful. I closed my eyes, resting my head back against the soft leather seat, listening to the hum of the engine. Sometimes, when the night was this quiet, a brief, terrifying fear crept into my chest—a dark whisper that this peace was just a beautiful dream, and it would all be violently snatched away from me again. But then I opened my eyes, looked at the strong, steady profile of the man sitting beside me, and the fear evaporated. I knew with absolute certainty that he would burn the world to ashes before he let anything ruin the peace we built. "Doll."His deep voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned my head to look at him.Killian was holding a soft, black silk blindfold in his large hands.I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. "What is that?""May I put it on you?" he asked. His tone was perfectly serious, but a faint, teasing spark danced in his gray eyes."Killian Alatorre," I said, using h
Marco’s eyes went completely dead in the mirror. The hardened underboss stared back at me with absolute, chilling emptiness."The Boss kept him alive for three years. He tortured him every single day. Dario lost his tongue a long time ago, Madam. He begged for death," Marco said flatly. "And one week before the Boss came to New York to find you... he finally ended it. He threw Dario into a pit with feral, starving dogs. There is absolutely nothing left of him."I closed my eyes. I waited for the guilt, for the horror, but it never came. Instead, a strange, profound, freezing cold relief washed over my skin. A deep shudder ran through my spine, and a small, bitter smile touched my lips. The monster who tormented me and my mother, the man who sold me, finally got exactly what he deserved. It was truly, finally over.By the time the SUV pulled up to the penthouse where Killian was finishing his meeting, my emotions had completely overwhelmed me. I was a crying, hyperventilating mess. I c
It was the afternoon Marco showed up at the café to pick me up instead of Killian.Seeing Marco standing by the SUV that day made me incredibly emotional. Looking back at the nightmare of my past, Marco was the closest thing to a protective older brother I ever had. He was the one who tried to save me, taking a bullet to the chest because he refused to let Dario's men kill me.When I slid into the back seat of his car, the silence between us felt comfortable. But a burning, heavy curiosity had been building inside my chest for weeks, and it finally got the better of me. Killian never talked about the last three years. He never explained where he went, the scars he carried, or what he did to clear his conscience. And I knew Killian wasn't going to tell me anytime soon."Marco," I asked quietly, watching the blur of the city pass by the tinted window. "What was his life like for the last three years?"The atmosphere in the car instantly shifted. Marco’s large hands visibly tightened on
2 MONTHS LATERLUNA POVI stood in front of the full-length vanity mirror in my bedroom, my hands slowly smoothing down the delicate, flowing silk of my pale pink dress.Killian had sent it over to my apartment earlier this afternoon in a sleek, unmarked black box, accompanied by a simple handwritten note. He had told me that tonight, he was hosting a crucial dinner party for a high-profile client who had just flown into New York, and he wanted me there by his side as his date. The fabric felt like cool water against my skin, draping perfectly over my curves and flowing softly down to my ankles.A soft, irrepressible smile touched my lips as I looked at my reflection. It felt as if an entire lifetime had passed in just sixty days. In two months, so much changed. The hollow, aching piece of my chest finally slotted back into place. I found myself waking up with a lightness in my bones, smiling more than I ever thought possible.I couldn't even put into words how much Killian had surpr
We sat at a small, candlelit table near the edge of the terrace. The waiter approached, handing us the menus. I opened mine, scanning the French options, but before I could decide, Killian closed his menu and smoothly ordered my absolute favorite dish, along with the exact dessert I loved.When the food arrived, the nervous tension between us began to melt into something warm and personal. We didn't talk about the past or the trauma. We just talked like two people on a date.At one point, he reached across the table with his fork. Without saying a word, he carefully moved a piece of garnish off my plate that he knew I didn't like, and quietly placed a perfectly cooked piece of prawn onto my dish instead. It was such a small, instinctual gesture, but it made my chest ache with how much he still remembered."What is your favorite part of the day?" Killian asked, resting his arm on the table, his gray eyes completely focused on me.I smiled, tracing the edge of my wine glass. "Opening th
"May I have this dance?" he asked.I smiled. "Yes."I stood up, and he led me to a quiet, open spot on the terrace. He offered his hand, and I placed mine into his palm. Then, he moved his other hand, placing it incredibly carefully on my waist. He held me with a gentle reverence, so delicately that it felt as if he was afraid I would break if he held too tight.We started to sway to the slow rhythm of the music.Neither of us spoke. We didn't need to. His hand remained steady against my waist while our joined hands rested comfortably between us. We moved slowly, almost cautiously, as though we were both afraid that moving too quickly might shatter the fragile peace we had finally found.Every now and then our eyes met before I looked away again with a shy smile. The silence wasn't awkward. It was comforting. After everything we had survived, simply standing in each other's arms felt like a dream neither of us wanted to wake from.Little by little, without either of us realizing it, t
The room had a window.I stood in front of it, my fingertips pressed against the glass. Outside, trees swayed in the wind. Real trees. Green leaves catching afternoon light.I could see sky.I lifted my right hand and placed it against the glass beside my left. The gauze was gone now. The bandage r
Soft. Like silk. Just like Mama always said."You were vain," he murmured to my reflection. "You thought your beauty was currency. Thought if you looked pretty enough, someone would save you."Carmina cut the last long piece from the back.It fell.I was shorn.My hair stuck out in jagged uneven spi
The morning began with hands that weren't mine pulling me from sleep.I opened my eyes to find three women already in my room, moving with efficient silence. One carried a garment bag. One held a case of cosmetics that looked more like surgical instruments. The third was setting up lights around my
[Third-Person POV]Don Dario Vitiello sat behind his mahogany desk, looking every inch the weary king burdened by duty.The study was dim. Just the green banker's lamp and dying embers in the fireplace providing light.Dante stood by the door, hand resting on the brass handle."Go to her room," Dari







