Chapter 1: A nightmare

Slap!!

The loud, piercing sound of a slap echoed through the enormous living room of the Black Mansion.

“Lucas…? Why did you slap me?” Reina asked. But Lucas only smirked at the woman in front of him with a stone cold expression on his face.

(Warning: Chapter 1 and 2 contains details of killing, trauma, and blood, and may not be suitable for all readers. If you are easily triggered by any of these subjects, it is recommended that you skip them and refrain from reading ahead for your mental health. Read at your own risk.)

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A few minutes ago, a woman dressed in a black lace gown that enhanced her flawless fair skin walked out of the kitchen. Her face was swollen and her eyes were red; you could tell she had been crying for a very long time.

Yes, Reina just returned from her parents' burial; she was mourning their sudden death. But the first thing her husband demanded on reaching home was for her to prepare him a cup of coffee. Knowing how much he loved her coffee, she went to the kitchen and prepared it, hot and creamy, just like he liked. With elegant steps, she approached her husband holding the mug of coffee.

“Here is your coffee, mi amor,” Reina said, handing the coffee to the devilishly handsome man seated in the sofa, his thick eyebrows that were knitted together as he looked on his phone, bold jawline, prominent cheekbones, a small nose, and his piercing silver gray eyes, his confidence, and the powerful aura around him that was hard to ignore. Lucas smiled, taking the coffee from Reina.

Doe-amber eyes filled with anticipation looked down at Lucas as he took the mug to his lips for a sip. This wasn't the first time Reina was serving Lucas coffee, but the expression that appeared on Lucas' face after he tasted her coffee and the compliment he gives her always makes her day. She couldn't be proud of her decision when she decided to learn how to make coffee from her nanny.

However, a grin so cruel and so wicked washed over Lucas' features after taking a sip, and he chuckled with mirthless humor, his eyes darkening as he looked up at Reina's love-struck face. He stood up and walked over to her.

Slap!!

The loud, piercing sound of a slap echoed through the enormous living room of the Black Mansion. Reina, the receiver of the cruel slap, moved her hand to her burning cheek, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She wasn't expecting that from the man who was standing in front of her, glaring at her with a bone-chilling gaze as if she were an enemy.

“Lucas…?” she muttered in a dejected voice as the tears she badly wanted to hold back fell down her face at full speed. “Why did you slap me?” she asked.

But Lucas only smirked at the woman in front of him with a stone cold expression on his face. He must hate her more than he thought. He always had a soft spot for crying women; he was the knight in shining armor that came to the damsel in distress’ rescue. But not the fragile-looking woman standing in front of him. He lifted the coffee mug he was holding and threw the scorching hot content at Reina.

“Ah!” Reina cried, dropping to the floor as she reflexively tried to avoid the incoming attack, her hand that got burnt from the scorching coffee shaking fervently from the excruciating pain.

A loud gasp from the maids present in the living room causes Reina to look around her surroundings with her wet face. Concerned faces scrunched up with pity and sincere indignations looked down at her. She looks back up at the man in front of her. What has gotten over Lucas? Why was he hurting her? He is her beloved husband, the man who had been holding onto her gently like she was an egg that would break if mishandled just a few minutes ago.

“Lucas… What is wrong with...” Reina hadn't finished speaking when Lucas kicked her and snarled in a dark, eerie voice that caused goosebumps to erupt over her entire body. “Whore! You have no fucking right to mention my fucking name!”

“What? Lucas, I don’t understand. It’s me, the love of your life." Reina said, her voice filled with disbelief at how the man who had been her husband for a year would address her as a whore when he was her first; she gave him her innocence. Lucas smirked and said,

“For a mafia princess, you sure are stupid; I can't believe I was able to spend two fucking years trying to get you to love me, trying to please you and your parents, especially that old jerk dad of yours, always doubting my intentions.” Lucas laughed, throwing his head back, but looked back at her with a dark expression and said, “But he was right to doubt me all along; my intentions weren't pure; it was evil, Queeny,” Lucas said menacingly. Reina's eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat. There was only one person who used to call her that back in high school.

“Luca...?” She muttered in disbelief. No, that's impossible; Lucas can't be Luca.

She had wanted to find Luca and apologize to him for disgracing him back at prom night and let him dance with her; she had wanted to give him her first kiss in front of everyone. But she couldn't find him; he just disappeared. How can he be Lucas? Lucas is the son of the second richest family here in Colombia, but Luca was poor; he always wore rags to school, and everyone made ridicule of him because of that, but he summoned his courage and told her he likes her.

Yet, when Bianca, her best friend, told her she loved Luca and pleaded with her, asking her to break up with him, she agreed because she honestly didn't feel anything for Luca; she was with him out of pity, but Bianca would give him the love he deserves, she had thought back then. Bianca came up with a plan, but she didn't realize it would lead to Luca's embarrassment. She wasn't aware of the fact that Bianca and some girls had white paint hanging up the spot where she would ask Luca to stand, according to Bianca instructions.

“Luca, I'm sorry, is it really you?” Reina asked. But Lucas growled,

“Shut up!” He bent down and gripped her jaw tightly and said, “Luca was the mockery nickname you rich bullies gave me; my name is Lucas; you don't remember because you preferred Luca the rag boy, right?!” Lucas asked, pushing her away, she hit her head on the white tiled floor.

Antonio and Otavio, Reina bodyguards who had entered the living just when Lucas pushed Reina to the floor, drew out their guns and pointed them at Lucas,

“Bastard! Get your filthy hands away from her!” Antonio growled. He never liked Lucas; he always had a bad feeling about Lucas, but his madam, Reina, loved the jerk. So he even hid the fact that the bastard was having an affair with Reina's best friend because he didn't want to hurt Reina. But for Lucas to go as far as hurting her, that would be over his dead body.

“No, Antonio, drop your weapon; this is between us, please...” Reina said with pleading eyes. Antonio opened his mouth to retort but two gunshots from behind silenced him. He dropped on his knees, blood coming out of his mouth. “Madam… I'm sorry… I failed you.” Antonio managed to say before dropping dead. Otavio, who was shocked by the turn of events, turned to take down whoever had shot Antonio but was met with a bullet on the forehead. He dropped down without a word.

“Nooo!!” Reina shrieked, tears falling down her face as she crawled to her bodyguards dead bodies lying in their own pool of blood. “Antonio, Octavio, please don't do this to me; you guys are the only close brother figures I have. Please wake up; I just returned from my parents burial; I can't lose my brothers the same day. Please! I want all this to be a bad nightmare I will wake up from,” Reina said as she hugged Antonio. She crawled to Otavio and hugged him too, but she was snapped out of her anguish when a gun nuzzle was pressed to her temple and it clicked.

Reina, whose black lace gown she had worn to her parents’ funeral was stained with the blood of her fallen bodyguards, turned, and her wet, bruised, and bloodied face from hugging Octavio came face to face with the man she had her whole life planned with.

The man who had been whispering sweet nothings into her ears whenever they made wild, passionate love—the man who promised to burn the world to ashes if anyone dared to lay a finger on her—was squatting next to her, holding a gun to her head. She looked into Lucas' dead eyes that stared back at hers, hoping to see any glimpse of her Lucas, her beloved husband, the love of her life, but sadly...

“I should just blow your fucking brain out, but...” Lucas paused, and he said inwardly, ‘Her bastard father made it that he will lose everything he possessed if she is dead or they divorced, so from now on, he was going to make her life a living hell since he couldn't kill her or divorce her. But he was going to keep the fact that he needed her to have all the power he now has from her.'

That's why he had to kill those two meddling bodyguards. After the accident yesterday, he had an emergency meeting with all the men to test their loyalty, and they all pledged their loyalty with their lives to him. Who wouldn't though? When the only way out was death?

So, Victor, his all-in-one capo, consigliere, and right-hand, his friend who he had planned this revenge with since the day after prom night, was to eliminate Reina's guards so it would be easy to manipulate her. Now that there were no more obstacles in his way and he was the Don, there was no need to hide his woman; she had been by his side since then. She even sacrificed being close to Reina just to help him get to her.

Now he was going to give her the world, even though he can't announce their relationship to the public. All his men and the maids know better who to treat as the new madam of the house. Lucas snapped out of his thoughts when Reina spoke, her voice sounding irritating to his ears.

“Lucas, you have to trust me; I really had your best interest at heart back then. I thought I was…” Reina paused as a thought suddenly crossed her mind. ‘If Bianca loved Luca as she claimed back then, why did she pour paint on him? Did Bianca…?’

“Tell him to go and stand on the stage; I will propose to him there, but make sure you don't let him know my plan for him.” Bianca's exact words from 8 years ago played in her mind. Bianca had wanted her to take the blame. Bianca framed her? At the realization, Reina's eyes shot to Bianca, who was seated on the sofa. She was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening she had even forgotten Bianca had returned home with them from the funeral. However, the heart-wrenching part was when she met Bianca's eyes; she smirked triumphantly at her like she had won a trophy made of diamonds.

“Bianca…? You,” Reina murmured with widening eyes, turning to face Lucas. She held his knees and said with a trembling voice.“Lucas, you have to believe me; it was her,” Reina desperately explained, pointing at Bianca, “she planned everything; you have to believe me.” But Lucas pushed her away and stood up, the spot on his trousers Reina held stained with blood.

“Reina, I knew you would try to blame me again, but not this time,” Bianca said as she approached them, in her sorry excuse of a black dress she had worn to the burial to pay her last respects to Reina's parents. It was a sleeveless jumpsuit that ended under her ass and her black heels. “Reina! I'm sick and tired of taking the fall for everything you did back at school in front of your parents, but no more, I won't be forced to live in your shadow anymore, you bitch!” Bianca delivered a sharp slap on Reina's cheek after spewing her lies. “Now that your parents are dead, you didn't think I would let you continue to use me as you pleased, right?!”

“What are you talking about?” Reina asked, her hand moving to her cheek, but she swallowed her next words when Lucas wrapped his hand around Bianca's waist, pulled her to him, and began kissing her hungrily. Bianca wrapped her hands around his neck as she responded to the kiss.