Chapter 1

The mafia coalition’s family banquet had reached its liveliest point.

Someone started stirring things up and steered the conversation toward the youngest Don of the Fumagalli family, Dante Fumagalli.

“Dante, before you came to power, all those old Dons from the major families were falling over themselves to push their daughters at you. Was there ever one you actually wanted?”

I stood half a step behind him, and my knuckles turned white around my wine glass.

Dante did not answer right away.

His gaze swept over me, cool and indifferent, before he turned toward Viviana Lombardi, who still held the crowd’s attention.

“I wanted her.”

Viviana spun around so fast that wine splashed from her glass onto her wrist. “Then why did you not come when I gave you that hotel key card all those years ago?”

The calm on Dante’s face finally cracked. He frowned. “Your key card? Was that not for Enzo Ricci?”

“How could it have been for Enzo?” Viviana’s eyes reddened. “He is my first cousin.”

One question led to another and the truth emerged.

That hotel key card had been handed to the wrong person by a Soldato. Because of that mistake, they had missed each other.

Viviana burst into tears on the spot. Regret shadowed Dante’s expression.

Just then, someone laughed softly.

“What a coincidence. Was the key card really delivered to the wrong person, or did someone make sure it ended up in the wrong hands?”

In an instant, every eye in the room turned to me.

Everyone remembered me. I was the woman who used to trail after Dante Fumagalli like a lovesick fool.

I turned to look at Dante and hoped he would say something for me. I hoped he would tell them we had been secretly married for five years and that he had been the one who pursued me back then. He said nothing.

He did not defend me. He did not deny anything. He stared ahead in silence as if none of this had anything to do with him.

In that moment, I pulled off the wedding ring I had worn for five years.

I told myself it was over.

...

I watched Viviana Lombardi stumble across the banquet hall and throw herself into my husband’s arms.

“All these years…” She sobbed and struggled to speak.

“It was just a misunderstanding. One stupid misunderstanding, and we lost seven years.”

Dante did not push her away. He even patted her back gently to comfort her.

“No one could have predicted it.” His voice was low and steady.

“That Soldato who delivered the message swore he had given it to the right person. By the time I found out the truth—”

“You were already gone.” Viviana lifted her tear‑streaked face. “We had both already left.”

Someone refilled her wine glass. Another person handed Dante a handkerchief.

He used it to wipe the tears from her cheeks, smooth the wrinkles at her collar, then hand her the wine glass. He was too busy to spare me a single glance.

Around them, the entire hall erupted over the sudden turn of events.

“Look at them,” an Underboss called out loudly. “Seven years late, and they still have not forgotten each other. Who would have seen this coming?”

“Anyone would have seen it,” a Consigliere scoffed. “We all knew. Those two were always like planets orbiting each other. If they had gotten married back then, their eldest would probably be learning piano by now.”

A sharper voice cut through the noise. “They might have gotten married if some shameless woman had not gotten in the way back then.”

A few people ducked their heads and snickered into their wine glasses. Their eyes drifted toward me with vicious intent.

I kept my spine straight. My nails dug into my palm and left crescent‑shaped marks.

Then a gossipy Don’s wife sidled over, and her brightly painted lips curled into a smile.

“Tell the truth, carina. You swapped that key card, did you not? You were that desperate to get Dante?”

I clenched my jaw. “It was not me.”

The moment the words left my mouth, laughter erupted around me.

“Oh, please. It was definitely her.”

“Why even ask? We all knew Dante and Viviana were the perfect match. Everyone could see it. Tessa never knew when to back off.”

“She was always finding excuses to be alone with him. Private balcony meetings, late‑night errands, hushed conversations. Please. It was so obvious.”

“I bet the second that key card left Viviana’s hand, Tessa swapped it.”

“Imagine chasing after a man for years when he never once looked back at you. How pathetic and desperate.”

The accusations came without evidence or hesitation. When it came to me, they never needed either.

However, they did not know the truth.

Dante Fumagalli had spent seven years in my bed, and I had worn his ring for five. Every signature on our marriage certificate had been real.