Unscramble Tuxedo

My marriage to Lucian Hawke was hailed as the most perfect union in the mafia world. As the daughter of the Sinclair family and him being the sole heir of the Hawke family, our marriage united the two most powerful mafia families in the Northeastern. I thought we were unbreakable. Then, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As if life couldn’t get any worse, my husband's first love returned—on the very same day. That night, the man I’d been married to for years didn’t come home. The next morning, his voice was cold, distant. Indifferent. “I’ve got the divorce papers ready. When can you come sign them?” I hesitated, struggling to steady my voice. “I’m still at the hospital.” He didn’t even pause. “I don’t care if you're on your deathbed, Elara. Come home and sign the goddamn papers.” My heart shattered, but I refused to let it show. “As you wish, Lucian.” What he didn’t know was that I was dying—literally. A week later, at my funeral, Lucian wearing a tuxedo, weeping at my grave, whispering regrets he should have voiced when I was still breathing. Ironically, my funeral day, was also his wedding day with his sweetheart. But it was too late, my love. This time, you’ll never see me again.

“You don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to, Lilliana,” Dante reassured me, standing in his tuxedo, looking far too delicious to be saying that on my wedding day. “But everything is settled,” I said, trying not to smear too much of my makeup as I cried uncontrollably. “Why doesn’t he love me, Dante?” A sob tore through me. “Come with me,” he said, his voice low and dark—practically a command. “What?” I asked, looking up at the stoic, dangerous man in front of me. “Come with me,” he repeated, holding out his hand. “I’ll make sure everything goes away, fiorellino.” I looked down at his hand, at the tattoos swirling around his fingers. And even though a hand like Dante Gallo’s should have scared me, nothing had ever felt so safe. So I stepped forward, took his hand in mine, and looked up at him. “Take me away.” ** Two ruthless men. One stolen bride. A love too wild to be contained. Lillian thought she had finally secured the life she always dreamed of — until her perfect engagement crumbles in one night of shocking betrayal. Whisked away from the wreckage of her wedding by the dangerous and devastating Dante Gallo, she finds herself caught between two powerful forces: Dante, the mafia king who has loved her from afar, and Damien Volkov, the lethal enemy who refuses to let her slip through his fingers. Torn between loyalty, passion, and a fierce desire for freedom, Lillian faces a choice that could break all three of them. But what if she refuses to choose at all? In a world of power, obsession, and forbidden love, some hearts aren't meant to be divided — they're meant to be shared.

Sa mundo ng mga makapangyarihan, ang pag-ibig ay hindi isang pagpipilian—ito'y isang kasunduan. Para kay Klarise Olive, isang mailap at napakagandang ballerina sa Paris, at kay Louie Ray, isang mapagmataas at aroganteng billionaire cosmetic surgeon, ang kasal ay isang tanikalang pilit isinuklob sa kanila. Isang kulungang hindi nila ginusto. Isang sumpaang hindi nila pinili. Isang umaga, dinala sila ng kanilang mga magulang sa isang seremonyang inakala nilang isang simpleng pagtitipon—hindi nila alam, sila pala ang mga bida sa isang kasalang hindi nila alam na kanila. Sa puting bestida at tuxedo, natagpuan nila ang kanilang mga sarili sa harap ng altar, walang ibang pagpipilian kundi ang lumakad at bumigkas ng panatang hindi nagmula sa kanilang puso. At sa simula pa lamang, ang kanilang pagsasama ay puno ng tensyon at pangamba. Si Klarise, na buong buhay niyang inalay sa sining at kalayaan, ay ngayon nakagapos sa isang relasyong hindi niya ginusto. Si Louie, isang lalaking hindi kailanman naniwala sa kasal, ay napilitang pakasalan ang babaeng hindi niya hinangad. Ang digmaan ng mga titig, sagutan, at matitinding emosyon ay namayani sa kanilang pagsasama. Ngunit sa bawat pagtatalo, sa bawat sulyap na puno ng galit at pangungutya, isang pagnanais ng pag-unawa at pagmamahal ang unti-unting sumisilip sa kanilang mga puso. Galit nga ba talaga ang namamagitan sa kanila? O mayroon bang alon ng pagmamahal na higit pa sa lahat ng kasunduan ? O may isang damdaming mas malalim, mas totoo, at mas mahirap ipagkaila? Sa gitna ng kanilang magkaibang mundo at personalidad, magsisimula silang hanapin ang kabuluhan ng kanilang piniling kasunduan.