Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 391 - Chapitre 400

391Rosa’s POVThe ballroom was filled with men who had commanded empires, spilled blood in the name of power, and built legacies on the corpses of their enemies. They surrounded me now, waiting to see if I would falter.Too bad for them, I never had, and I never would.I stood at the head of the long mahogany table, my chin lifted. I settled my gaze faces of men who had ruled this world long before I was born. Dons, capos, underbosses—every ranking leader who mattered was here.And now, so was I.For the first time, I wasn’t standing here as the daughter of Don Romano Smith. I wasn’t a bargaining chip or a pawn in some strategic alliance.No. Today, I was the empire.“Tonight marks the end of an era,” my father’s voice rang through the room, calm but absolute.Don Romano Smith had ruled with an iron grip for decades, his name spoken in fear and respect.But even he knew that a ruler’s greatest strength was recognizing when to pass the torch.And he had chosen me.He turned to me, his

393Rosa’s POVPanic is a funny thing. It doesn’t wait for permission nor does it announce itself. It just creeps in and holds you down.I didn’t even realize I was spiraling until I heard my own breath come out too fast and shallow.My hands trembled and curled into fists against my sides. The walls of the Castillo estate was suffocating me. I had faced worse than this, walked through fire, so why did I feel like I was suffocating now?Allesio was talking with Alaric near the fireplace, their voices low while they discussed security plans for the wedding. The second wedding. The real one. The one I was supposed to walk into without fear or hesitation.But what if something went wrong?What if someone tried to take me again?What if—“Rosa.”A hand settled on my shoulder, calming me before I could completely unravel. I turned my head and met Emilia’s knowing gaze. She had seen this before. Maybe not in me, but in herself.“You’re stronger than you think,” she said quietly.I let out a

395Rosa’s POVI woke up to chaos. It was the good kind of chaos though. There was the flurry of voices, the scent of expensive perfume and fresh roses. And a curling iron dangerously close to my face.“Do not move!”I groaned. “Emilia, I just woke up.”“Well, wake up faster, because we have a wedding to get to,” she said, wielding a curling iron like it was a weapon.Gianna snickered from where she sat, casually sipping champagne. “You do realize she’s not walking down the aisle for another five hours, right?”Emilia huffed, setting the iron down. “Do you know how long it takes to get someone looking like a perfect mafia queen? Because I do. And it’s not ‘just five hours.’”I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling.Emilia had been in full best friend and maid of honor mode since sunrise, barking orders like at everyone like she was the don of the Castillo empire herself. Gianna, on the other hand, was taking a more relaxed approach, curled up in an armchair and looking effortlessly elegan

397Rosa’s POVI turned to find Allesio watching me. Devouring me with his eyes, as if he still couldn’t believe I was his.“You wiped your tears at the altar,” I teased, kicking off my heels. “I saw you.”He smirked. “Deny it all you want, Castillo, I made you cry.”His jaw clenched, and in a blink, I was pressed against the door, my wedding dress crinkling against his suit. He reached for the pins in my hair, pulling them free one by one, letting my curls fall loose.“I did cry,” he admitted, his voice low and rough. “Because you were the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”Warmth bloomed in my chest. “You’re a sap, you know that?”“Only for you.” His fingers brushed over my bare skin, igniting sparks across my skin. “Only ever for you.”My breath hitched as he traced the lace of my dress, hus touch light and possessive.I gripped his tie and pulled him down, crashing my lips to his. He groaned, his hands locking around my waist and lifting me effortlessly. I wrapped my

399Rosa’s POV.It had been way too long since I’d had a day like this. No responsibilities, no mafia politics, no overprotective husband watching my every move. Just me, Emilia, and Gianna, pretending we were normal women who had normal lives where no one carried a gun to brunch.We were on a mission, one that involved shopping until our credit cards cried, eating like we weren’t bound by the laws of metabolism, and making sure Gianna, queen of the cold shoulder, actually had fun.“Tell me again why we had to drag you out?” I asked, holding up a stunning emerald green dress. “Because I feel like I forced you into this.”Gianna, lounging in the boutique’s armchair like a disinterested mob queen, barely looked up from her phone. “You did force me.”Emilia smirked as she flipped through a rack of heels. “It took Matteo begging her to go out for her to finally agree.”Gianna scoffed. “I did not agree because of Matteo.”“Right.” I held the dress up to her. “Try this on. Matteo will lose