I bit my lip so hard it started bleeding, trying to hold on to a bit of sanity."Angelo, do you really have to do this?" I asked.Angelo's hair, which was neatly slicked back earlier, now had a few strands falling out. His usual gentle eyes were now filled with a madness I didn’t recognize.“From now on, there will be no Moretti family, only the Conti family! The mafia can only have one king!” He said, leaning closer to me. His scent overwhelmed me, and it made me feel sick. All I could think of was hoping that my parents would be able to escape safely.I didn’t want my wedding to be the most painful day of my life.But he seemed to have misunderstood my silence. "Don’t worry, as long as you cooperate, you’ll still be my wife. I'll make sure you're treated just like my mother. You'll always be the queen of the mafia king."I had no interest in his twisted monologue; I was desperately scanning the chaos, searching for my family. But all I could see were panicked guests running in all d
The door was slightly ajar, leaving a narrow gap that gave me a view of what was happening inside—though I couldn't see everything, it was enough.A girl in a pink dress was kneeling on the floor, crying. And in front of her, sitting in the main chair of Conti's study, was none other than my stepbrother—Marco.The sobbing voice was unmistakable; it was Sophia. I could never forget her expression at my wedding.It was a pity I fainted afterward, knowing nothing more than the fact that Angelo got shot.And now she was here, pleading with Marco? What could she offer? What had Marco done to her?Curiosity got the best of me, and I continued listening.Marco looked completely indifferent, showing no sympathy toward the beautiful young woman. "Isn’t this something your Conti family brought on yourselves? You betrayed us first."Sophia’s sobs paused as she collapsed on the floor. "I'll do whatever you ask, as long as you spare them."Marco was silent. Was he hesitating?After a moment, his v
I had no reason to stay here any longer. Everything about this place made me sick.Marco seemed like he wanted to say something, but I didn't want to hear it. These people never put their true feelings on the line. In their world, there was no family, no friends, no lovers—only eternal interests.What difference was there between Marco, Sophia, and Lily?They were all selfish and indifferent at their core."No, Harper, it's not like that."He reached out, trying to grab me, but this was the Conti estate, and not far from us was the church where I was supposed to get married. His outstretched hand felt like that of a devil trying to drag me into an irreversible abyss.I ignored him, kicked the door open, and tears started streaming down my face without me even realizing it. "I’m just a tool to be used and discarded. I’m not really your sister, so you think you can treat me however you want. I never want to see you again! I never want to see any of you again!"His expression turned dark
"What's left to say? You've succeeded. You and your son have joined forces to take down a rival family. How glorious. But now my daughter has to bear the name of a traitor. In everyone's eyes, she wore her wedding gown and helped you kill her husband. Who would dare to marry Harper now?"Solana's voice was cold, and even my father, who was rarely fazed by anything, frowned deeply.I took a breath, adjusting my clothes. "I'll take responsibility for Harper. I'm going to find her now. Please, don't worry."Solana looked at me, while my father put his hand on her shoulder, comforting her softly. "It's all right. Marco will protect Harper, always. I'll talk to her when she's back..."They misunderstood what I meant, but ultimately, what I wanted and what they hoped for were, in a way, the same. The means didn't need to be discussed.Harper's POVAs I walked out of that house, I felt lost. I didn't know where to go, but I knew I couldn't stay.I had some money with me—always kept some emer
The locker door had the word "B.ITCH!" scrawled across it in thick, red paint, along with other offensive slurs and scratches. I glanced around, trying to understand what was going on. People avoided my gaze, but their faces showed a hint of satisfaction.My chest felt tight, as if it was stuffed with cotton, unable to breathe freely. Nobody would give me an explanation, and all I could do was yank the locker door open. Inside, my things were in disarray, some of them ripped apart. And someone had even placed a dead rat in there.I gripped my bag strap tightly, my nails digging into my palm. It didn’t hurt at all. I suddenly felt that I couldn't stand it anymore. But right now, I had to get to class. I hastily cleaned up my locker and left.When I walked into the classroom, the teacher asked everyone to welcome me back, and only a few people clapped.I knew whoever was behind all this had been waiting for my return. But they were wrong if they thought I’d crumble because of this. That
The next time I ran into Joseph was at school, and I learned he was the vice-captain of the baseball team. Oh, and the day after our run-in, we sat on the bleachers and exchanged names.I asked him, "Why did you help me that day?"He laughed sheepishly, looking a little naïve. "I actually recognized you, Harper. I attended the same summer camp as Matthew once. We saw each other as rivals, so when you started dating him, I knew about it."Our meeting felt almost premeditated, and I found it hard to be happy about it."So, you saved me because of Matthew? Was it some kind of competition?"He waved his hands in a panic. "No, no, Harper, it wasn’t like that at all. We weren’t even in the same sport. I just thought you seemed friendly and pretty. I just wanted to help, and I would've stepped in for any other girl too. I swear."He looked even more frustrated as he spoke."But because it was you, I had a bit of a selfish motive. I've heard things about you lately—Sophia's been spreading rum
The next morning, Marco drove me to school. He looked serious, like he was on some kind of important mafia mission.I deliberately wore a ballerina-style dress and put a lot of effort into getting ready. When we got to the school gate, I was surprised to see Joseph waiting for me there.It made me think about Matthew. When we were together, everything seemed fine, but whenever I had issues with someone, he always took their side, telling me not to make a fuss. After we broke up, Angelo sent someone to scare him away, to make sure he stayed away from me. He’d been begging me to get back together just the day before but quickly promised he'd never see me again after that.So now, when it comes to men, actions speak louder than words.Joseph was doing more than I could've expected. I never asked him to wait for me, but there he was, looking like a puppy waiting for his owner, pacing around. My heart felt a little warmer.Just as I was about to get out of the car, Marco grabbed my wrist.
Marco’s POV I was sitting in the back seat of my car, working on some business while waiting for her after school. But instead, I got an unexpected visitor.Joseph, his face bruised, looked a bit dazed. I internally scoffed—what an i.diot. I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you want?""I need to talk to you." He still had that dumb look, and the smell of antiseptic was clinging to him."Oh? Changed your mind? Or did you mess up and now you need my family to clean it up?" The more I looked at him, the more annoying he seemed."I'm leaving the country," he stuttered out. "I haven’t told Harper yet, but I wanted to talk to you first. My mom found out I’ve been in fights a lot recently, so she applied for a new school for me. I’m moving to the UK soon. I wanted to ask you, do you even know Harper is getting bullied every day?"The mocking smile on my face froze. "What do you mean?""Today, her ex-boyfriend and her so-called best friend called her a homewrecker. I got into a fight wit