جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 9

When I'd met Daniel, he'd only just taken over the Rizzo family. There had been something wild and dangerous about him, but his smile had been surprisingly gentle.My family opposed our relationship from the beginning. They thought I'd lost my mind over a Mafia boss. They said a man like Daniel would never sincerely love a foreign girl with no apparent connections, much less stay faithful to her.They challenged me to a bet: hide my true identity and see whether Daniel would still choose to marry me and remain loyal.I agreed. Partly because I trusted him, and partly because I wanted my family to see that our relationship deserved their blessing.I had no idea I'd already lost so completely.Henri replied almost immediately.[There's always been a place for you here. Come home whenever you're ready.]I stared at that single line for a long time. Tears hit the screen until the words blurred.By the small hours, Daniel still hadn't come home.I changed into my pajamas and curled

Daniel and I had designed my wedding dress together. I'd spent hours with the designer deciding on every detail, happily imagining the day I'd finally wear it.Now it hung on a mannequin before me, as white and weightless as a dream. I couldn't bring myself to touch it.Daniel slipped an arm around my shoulders. "Go on. Try it."I didn't move. As the silence stretched, his face began to darken.Nikki smiled. "Why don't I try it on first? Then Anna can see how it looks on someone."She switched to French, her tone playful. "If I can't marry you, surely I can at least try on the dress."Daniel glanced at me. My expression hadn't changed, and I didn't respond."Fine. You try it."An assistant led Nikki into the fitting room. A few minutes later, she opened the door a crack and called to Daniel."Come try your suit too, and tell me how the dress looks."Then, in French, she added, "After all, you know my measurements better than I do."Daniel stood. He looked back at me and warn

She had understood everything. Every exchange between him and Nikki.Daniel struggled for breath and braced himself against the stair railing, his knuckles turning white.No. He had to find Anna. He would coax her back the way he'd always done before. He would beg her to forgive him.His Ferrari tore out of the estate.With one hand on the wheel, Daniel dialed Anna again and again with the other.No answer.He called again. Still nothing.He slammed down on the accelerator, running one red light after another as the engine roared through the streets.Then a truck came from the side, horn blaring.Screeching tires. An impact. Shattering glass.The world turned upside down.Trapped inside his overturned car, Daniel opened his eyes with difficulty. Blood covered his face. Through the broken window, he saw an airplane crossing the clear blue sky toward Paris.It carried away the last of his hope....When I landed in Paris, my mother, father, and brother were waiting at the a

Henri told me that after I left Sicily, Daniel had been in a car accident. Once he'd recovered, the first thing he'd done was throw Nikki out of the Rizzo family.Then the Rizzos lost their business in France and Switzerland. The damage was severe enough that they retreated to Sicily with their ambitions in ruins."He came to the gala hoping to find new business partners," Henri explained, swirling the wine in his glass. "As for Nikki, she couldn't get anywhere in Sicily after he threw her out. She came to France and attached herself to that old man."I nodded. I understood why Henri had made the move against their French business."But what happened in Switzerland? As far as I know, our family doesn't usually get involved in business disputes outside France."Henri grinned. "For you, I'd make an exception to any rule. But Switzerland actually wasn't us. That was Arthur. He wanted to get even with Daniel for you."Arthur's family was old Swiss money.I paused, hearing the teasin