Traded for an Heir, Claimed by a Kingpin

"Don Ricci, look. Isn't that your obsessed little admirer?"

At the familiar name, I instinctively turned toward the voice.

The moment I saw the man standing there, I froze.

Elio Ricci.

My ex-boyfriend. The man I'd loved for five years.

The same man who, at our engagement party, had taken the ring meant to name me the future Donna of the Ricci family and slipped it onto his widowed sister-in-law's finger instead.

In the four years since I'd left, Elio hadn't sent me a single message. He hadn't even bothered to ask where I'd gone.

And apparently, nothing had changed.

Marianne Fabbri, his brother's widow, was still at his side, surrounded by the same pack of loyal lackeys who had always hung on Elio's every word.

Elio himself stood in the most conspicuous spot by the harbor, holding up a sign that read, "Mrs. Costa."

So, this was the man Renato had sent to pick me up.

I collected myself and walked toward them.

The instant Elio's eyes met mine, something flickered across his face.

Shock, perhaps.

It vanished almost immediately.

His expression settled into the same careless arrogance I remembered as he looked me over.

"Well, well. If it isn't Stella Moretti." His lips curled faintly. "Still dreaming about becoming a Donna?"

One of the men beside him burst out laughing. "I knew it! Marianne said it the day Stella disappeared. Give her a few years out there in the real world, and once she'd suffered enough, she'd come crawling right back to Don Ricci."

"Can you blame her?" another chimed in. "Don Ricci isn't just the head of the Ricci family now. We're doing business with the Costa family, the most powerful family in North Amrea. You know how many people would kill to have connections like his?"

The praise kept coming.

Then someone gave me a mocking once-over and laughed.

"Some people could spend their entire lives trying to climb the ladder and still never get close enough to meet Don Costa."

The entire group erupted into laughter.

I looked at their smug faces and had to suppress a smile. They had no idea that the great Don they were talking about was my husband.

Four years ago, I left Elio behind and agreed to the marriage my family had arranged for me.

The man I married was none other than Renato Costa, the head of the Costa family and the very Don these people spoke of with such reverence.

Renato was nothing like Elio.

For the first time in my life, I learned what it felt like to be cherished.

Renato made me his Donna without hesitation. He cared about how I felt, noticed the smallest changes in my mood, and spoiled me in ways I still wasn't used to.

Once, when I accidentally nicked my finger on a broken wineglass, he refused to let anyone else tend to it.

The great Don Costa, a man who had half the criminal underworld watching his every move, sat me down and carefully bandaged the tiny cut himself.

To everyone, Renato was untouchable.

For me, he would bend.

Of course, Elio knew none of that.

As far as he was concerned, I was still the pathetic woman I'd been four years ago, forever trailing after him, desperately waiting for the day he would finally give me a place at his side.

I watched them in silence.

Maybe the awkwardness finally became too much, because one of Elio's men suddenly spoke up.

"It's good that you're back, Stella. You probably don't know this, but after you disappeared, Don Ricci had me asking around about you. He wanted us to find out where you'd gone. And now that you're finally…"

"Enough." Elio's sharp command cut him off.

The man immediately fell silent.

Elio turned back to me and cleared his throat, rearranging his expression into one of practiced indifference.

"I suppose I can let you come back," he said. "But whether you get to stay depends on how well you behave."

I almost wondered if I'd heard him correctly.

He continued as though he were offering me the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Marianne and I have a son now. He's the Ricci heir, and he needs someone trustworthy to look after him. If you prove you can take good care of him, I'll consider letting you stay by my side."

There it was again.

That same arrogant expression. That same condescending tone.

Nothing about him had changed.

He still believed all he had to do was crook a finger, and I'd come running, grateful for whatever scraps he was willing to throw my way.

Looking at him now, I felt nothing but disbelief at my younger self.

I wondered how I had ever been so blind.

"Actually, I…"

Before I could finish, Marianne cut me off.

"Stella, you need to understand Elio's position. Don Ricci has an entire family on his shoulders now. He can't indulge every little whim of yours the way he used to. Besides, you disappeared for four years. God only knows what you've been doing all this time."

She gave me another once-over before letting out a laugh. "Just look at you. Things must've been rough after you left Elio, huh? You can't even afford a decent designer dress anymore.

"But don't worry. If you take good care of my son, I'll make sure you're paid enough to put food on the table."

She laughed as if she'd said something terribly clever.

I merely smiled.

What Marianne didn't know was that the supposedly cheap, unbranded dress I wore had been made exclusively for me.

Renato had commissioned a private tailor to create an entire wardrobe around my preferences. The fabric was soft, the fit effortless, and there wasn't a label in sight because there didn't need to be.

Renato never cared whether I looked like a Don's wife.

With him, I only had to look like myself.

Still, I didn't bother explaining.

At this point, I was almost curious to see what other ridiculous assumptions they could come up with.

"There's no need to pay her," Elio said suddenly. "She ran away over something so trivial, disappeared for four years, and now she's shameless enough to come crawling back. She could use a lesson."

Trivial?

A bitter laugh almost escaped me.

I'd spent five years waiting for Elio to marry me, only to watch him break one promise after another.

There had been a time when he'd sworn he would protect me for the rest of his life.

And once, he'd proved it.

When gunfire erupted around us, Elio had thrown himself between me and the bullets without a second thought. He'd taken a shot to the shoulder protecting me, leaving behind a scar that would never completely fade.

That was the man I'd fallen in love with.

But somewhere over those five years, that Elio had disappeared.

Looking at the man standing before me now, I could only feel sorry for the woman I'd once been. The woman who had wasted so much of herself waiting for him.

My fingers drifted over the ruby ring on my hand.

At least I'd eventually found someone who truly loved me.

And tomorrow, Renato would arrive in the city with our daughter.

The thought immediately lightened my mood.

I smiled, then pointed at the "Mrs. Costa" sign Elio was still holding.

"Come on," I said casually. "You came here to pick me up, didn't you?"