Se connecterLorenzo's hoarse voice held a tremor he couldn't hide.He stared at me, unblinking, like a prisoner awaiting his final sentence.I held his gaze, my mind flashing through a lifetime of memories.From the infuriating boy who tormented me endlessly to the fool who had hidden his love for so long.Maybe... maybe I never really hated him at all.We grew up together. Our fates were always tangled. In all those long years when I thought I despised him, my subconscious had grown used to his presence, used to him always being there, right beside me.Looking at his jaw, clenched tight with anxiety, a wicked, playful thought came to me.I lifted my chin, putting on a cold mask. "And what if I said I still don't like you?"Lorenzo's pupils constricted.He lunged, pulling me into a crushing embrace."Then I'll never let you leave!" he bit out, his voice raw with a mad obsession. "You belong by my side! Even if we go to hell, you're coming with me!"Seeing him ready to burn the world down, I couldn
The lit cigar in Lorenzo's hand burned down to his fingers, but he didn't seem to notice.He looked like a cornered animal, stripped of his disguise, and stalked toward me.Before I could speak, he had me trapped in his arms.The raw, possessive madness in his gray eyes was no longer hidden."Since you saw, there's no point in hiding it!" he snarled, his voice raw. "I am a stalker! I am a despicable coward! But let me tell you something, Daisy, don't even think about using this to divorce me!""Even if you think I'm disgusting, even if you think I'm a freak, you will stay my wife! I will never let you go, and I sure as hell won't let you run off with that piece of trash from the Bronx! You'll go to your grave an Astor!"Seeing him like this—furious, ready to tear the world apart, yet so tragically fragile—the knot of acid in my stomach dissolved into an urge to laugh.My arrogant nemesis, the feared Don of the Astor family, was acting like a junkyard dog guarding a bone—terrified I fou
I don't know why, but even though I'd done nothing wrong, a wave of guilt washed over me.In the next second, Lorenzo strode over, grabbed my wrist, and started pulling me out of the booth."Let her go, you tyrant!" Julian stood up, trying to play the hero.Lorenzo didn't even look back. Just spat a single word: "Get rid of him."Instantly, two huge bodyguards in black suits appeared and slammed Julian face-down onto the table.I tried to say something, but Lorenzo shoved me into the back of the car.The door slammed shut, and the black partition between the front and back seats began to rise.The air in the car was thick enough to choke on.Lorenzo loosened his tie, silent, radiating a violence that screamed stay away."Lorenzo, I only met with him to—" I started, daring to touch his sleeve.He yanked his arm back and turned to me, his eyes filled with a raw, disappointed pain."To get him more money? Or to plan your escape? Daisy, how many more times are you going to drag my name thr
The second my phone buzzed, Lorenzo walked out of the study with a glass of water, passing through the living room.On pure reflex, I slapped the phone facedown on the couch, my heart hammered with a guilt I couldn't place."What's wrong?" Lorenzo leaned down, his face close to mine."N-nothing." I forced a laugh, unable to meet his eyes. "Just spam. A department store sale."Lorenzo stood over me, his eyes boring into me for five solid seconds.Finally, he just straightened up."I see," he said, his voice flat. "I have a meeting this afternoon. If you need to go out, have the driver take you. Don't go wandering off."I didn't breathe a real sigh of relief until the front door clicked shut.I picked up my phone again, my gaze hardening as I stared at Julian's message.For eight years, what was it that made me hate Lorenzo so viscerally? And what tricks had Julian used to make me willingly drain my family's funds to support a man from the slums?I had to know the truth."Three o'clock.
(Daisy's POV)It was late. Dead of night when Leo and I landed in Vienna.Leo had been so wound up on the plane, he was out cold the second his head hit the pillow.I was exhausted myself. After a quick wash, I collapsed next to him.I don't know how long I slept.Bang! Bang! Bang!A pounding on the door, loud enough to break it down, jolted me awake.I crept to the door and peered through the peephole.It was Lorenzo.He was wearing nothing but a slightly rumpled black shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, his chest heaving. His normally cold, gray eyes were shot through with blood.I yanked the door open, stunned."Lorenzo? Are you insane? How did you—"Before I could finish, he shoved the door open and strode inside.The door slammed shut behind him with a heavy thud.His sharp gaze swept the suite."Where is he?" he snarled. "You were that desperate to bring my son here for a tryst with some other man?"I was floored by his logic."You're out of your mind!" I struggled against his grip,
After a few precious hours of warmth and comfort with my parents, I finally started to feel human again.My mother made my favorite pasta from scratch.After dinner, I curled up on the sofa to watch the news with my father.Suddenly, an entertainment news flash crossed the screen."World-renowned violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will hold his final farewell concert tomorrow night at the Vienna Musikverein…"I sat bolt upright, my eyes lighting up.Perlman! The god of the violin I'd worshipped since I was a child.My eighteen-year-old self had dreamed of seeing him perform live just once."I have to go!" I immediately pulled out my phone and booked a first-class ticket to Vienna without a second thought. "Mom, I have to go home and pack!""So suddenly?" my mother asked, surprised."It's his farewell concert! I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I miss it!" I gave my mother an excited hug and rushed out of the mansion.By the time I got back to Lorenzo's penthouse, it was completely d







