Chapter Three. Amelia

I've been engaged to Alberto for over three months and never has he raised his voice at me, talk less of his hands. But here he is, staring at me like he'll love to strangle me.

He slaps me a second time and my head whips to the side, the sting blooming across my cheek so violently my eyes water on instinct.

For a second, I can’t even breathe. I just stare at the floor, frozen, pulse hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal.

“Alberto…” I choke out, but my voice barely forms. Not to mention my throat still burns.

He grabs my chin in a bruising grip, forcing my gaze up to meet his. His pupils are blown wide with fury, jaw clenched so tightly a vein pulses at his temple.

“You dare fraternize with other men like some common whore?” he spits. “You dare embarrass me? In the midst of others?” His eyes flick down my body with disgust, not desire. He throws a stack of pictures at me. “Is this what you do now? Why, Amelia? What exactly are you trying to prove?”

I take a look at the photos, and my stomach drops.

Oh God.

They're pictures of me and Jonah, a close friend of mine. I remember the day these pictures must have been taken. It was the night before I moved into the Romano estate. My friends, Luxe and Jonah had decided to take me out to have fun for probably the last time.

“I’m… I'm sorry I…this is…it's not what it seems,” I manage, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “It's just a harmless photo. I didn’t…”

Another slap.

This time so hard that my ears ring.

“You think I’m a fool?” he roars. “You think I don’t know when my fiancée is acting like she has something to hide? When she's romancing someone else?”

I stumble back, hitting the corner of a table, gripping it to stay upright. My throat burns, both from the earlier assault and the effort not to scream at him. My cheek throbs with each heartbeat.

“Alberto, please…” My voice cracks. “I’m not hiding anything.”

“Liar.”

He steps closer, chest rising and falling with the promise of more violence. I recoil instinctively, and that only enrages him further.

From the corner of my eye, I see the brothers stiffen.

Rafè shifts uncomfortably, Alessio looks away, jaw tight.

But Valiente?

He just watches the scene unfold with a bored expression on his face. You'd think he is watching a soap opera with the way he's seated

Alberto grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back so sharply a cry escapes my lips. “I’ve been patient with you. Too patient. But it seems you need to be reminded whom you belong to.”

My breath stutters.

And just when I brace myself for another strike, a hand clamps around Alberto’s wrist.

“Enough”

Valiente’s voice is quiet, but it cuts through the room like a blade.

Alberto turns sharply, fury flashing in his eyes. “Don’t interfere in my household.”

“This is our household,” Valiente replies, tone calm but unyielding. “And you’re about to make a mistake you can’t walk away from.”

Alberto’s grip loosens just a fraction. I pull away, hair slipping from his hand, stumbling back with a tight gasp. A pair of hands wrap around my middle and I turn to see Alessio.

When did he leave his seat?

Valiente steps between us, towering and controlled. “If she has disrespected this family in any way, we will handle it,” he says firmly. “We will discipline her, my brothers and I. You don't get to lay your hands on her. She's your fianceè, not your dog.”

Alberto’s chest heaves as he glares over Valiente’s shoulder at me. “She will be punished.”

Valiente nods once. “I will make sure of that.”

Alberto sucks in a breath through his teeth, nostrils flaring. His fists clench, then unclench slowly.

“Fine,” he finally snaps. “I don’t want to see her face until she's learnt her lessons. I won't have this repeating itself.”

My blood turns to ice.

Valiente turns toward me, his expression unreadable.

“Bring her, Alessio,” he says quietly turning around and heading to the elevator.

I swallow hard, my cheek still burning, my throat aching, and something inside me screaming that whatever happens next…is going to be worse.

Much worse.

The three brothers surround me in the elevator and the moment it stops at the top floor, I'm dragged into what I assume is Valiente’s office.

The moment the office door slams shut behind us, the air shifts, thickening, tightening, turning into something dangerous.

Alessio releases me gently, but I stumble forward a step, still dizzy from Alberto’s blows. My cheek throbs. My throat feels raw. My entire body trembles with the sickening knowledge that I’ve just gone from one cage… into another.

Rafè paces like a storm barely contained.

“That asshole,” he snarls, raking a hand through his hair. “How dare he put his hands on her? On what’s ours?”

Ours?

My stomach twists.

Valiente, on the other hand, stands behind his desk, calm as winter ice. His composure is worse than Rafè’s rage. it means he’s thinking. Calculating. Deciding.

“Sit,” Valiente says.

I know that isn’t a request.

My knees nearly buckle, but I lower myself into the chair opposite his desk. Alessio stands behind me like a quiet wall of heat and protection, but his hands remain clasped tight behind him, tension simmering beneath his skin.

Rafè stops pacing and leans against the edge of the desk, staring at me with those unnervingly sharp amber eyes.

“You’re shaking,” he notes, voice low. “Good. Fear means you understand what’s at stake.”

I swallow hard, throat screaming in protest. “I didn’t do anything,” I whisper. “Those pictures…Jonah is just a friend…”

“We know,” Alessio says softly from behind me.

I twist, startled. “You do?”

“We’ve had eyes on you since the night Alberto decided you’d be his,” Valiente replies, tone matter-of-fact. “We know every friend. Every classmate. Every step you’ve taken. Jonah isn’t a threat.”

“Alberto doesn’t see it that way,” I mutter.

“And that’s precisely why he can’t be allowed to handle you,” Valiente continues. “He acts out of paranoia. Emotion. Weakness.” His gaze spears me. “We don’t.”

I shift in my seat. “I don’t—I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

Alessio steps to my side, crouching slightly until his face is level with mine. His expression is gentle, but his voice is unyielding.

“It has everything to do with you, ma belle.”

Rafè pushes off the desk, closing the distance between us in two slow, deliberate steps. He grips the back of my chair, leaning down until his breath fans my cheek.

“You’re Alberto’s fiancée,” he says softly, dangerously. “But you’re ours”

Valiente folds his arms over his chest. “Alberto may have chosen you. But in this family, a woman tied to one of us answers to all of us.”

My breath catches.

All three stare at me, different expressions, same meaning.

Possession.

“You made a mistake,” Valiente continues, “but not the one Alberto thinks. Your mistake was believing you belong to him.” He tilts his head slightly. “You don’t.”

Rafè’s fingers brush my jaw, stopping at the swollen skin on my cheek. He doesn’t touch the bruise, he just hovers there, close enough to make my heart stop.

“You belong to this family,” he says quietly. “Which means you belong to us.”

“To me,” he adds, eyes locking onto mine in a way that steals my breath.

Then Alessio: “To me.”

Finally, Valiente, voice low as a verdict “And to me.”

My pulse stutters violently.

“I…I didn’t agree to that,” I whisper.

Valiente’s mouth curves, not quite a smile. “You don't get a choice.”

I stare at the brothers and know instantly that this is going to be a long nightmare. I can't have them targeting Elsie if I refuse their crude demands.

No!

I can't let Elsie get harmed again. But then Alberto will also kill Elsie if he finds out I have anything to do with his nephews.

I take a deep breath, finally coming to a decision.

“Well…”