Prologue.

“You fucking carry my name now, Bella. You're Mrs Bella Enzo Barine. You no more belong to Marino's.”, Enzo roared. “I'm not a piece of land or some property that you own, Enzo. I'm a human and I breathe. I'm married to you, not sold.” Bella spoke with tears in her eyes as the grip on her arm was getting harder which might leave a bruise later. 

I will not be dictated by a mandate to marry someone like Enzo De Luca, the sole heir of the Barone Clan. Despite his reputation for ruthlessness and his animosity towards the Marino’s, I refuse to be coerced into a marriage with a man I haven't seen in years. His grey eyes may have been my first love and my first heartbreak, but I will not allow him to break me. 

As the daughter of his greatest enemy, I am confident that I will not be bent to his will.

 The real question is not whether love can emerge from violence and hatred, but whether I will allow myself to be controlled in a perpetual struggle.

Prologue

12 years ago 

Bella Marino 

Peeking through the mirror of the microwave, Bella squealed, seeing her favourite cupcakes being baked along with those of Enzo’s. He loves double chocolate muffins, but I was a die-hard fan of strawberry muffins. 

On hearing the horn of the car, I ran towards the parking lot to search for a familiar vehicle. I ran to Enzo as he jumped out of the car, but he looked upset as he did not run towards me as usual, but today was different. 

I decided right then to cheer him up, just like I do with Fabio. He used to be sad all the time, but not anymore. 

Fabio is 4 years older than me, almost the same age as Enzo. He came to live with us almost 4 months ago after his parents died. I don't know how they died, and he won't tell me when I ask. 

Moving to Enzo, I ran to hug him to cheer him up but he pushed me so hard that I fell onto my knees and hands, scraping the gravel. 

“Why would you do this, Enzo?”I asked him with big fat tears in my eyes as the little cuts didn't hurt me much more than the hatred I saw in his little grey eyes that I loved. 

“Because you're a Marino.”

“So what, Enzo? What's wrong with that?”

“Well, you're a Marino, and my dad told me that Baroness hate the Marino, and so do I.” 

My eyes are blurry as I watch him run away from me like I've some sort of disease that he could catch. 

Fabio runs over to me and helps me brush up the dirt on my knees. “Are you okay?”, he asks. Fabio is like a big brother to me; protective and caring. 

I watched Enzo's car park out of the lot, and my lips trembled, and tears fell from my cheeks as I watched them drive away. 

“He's a jerk.”, Fabio blurted reassuringly.

I ran towards my room as fast as my little legs could carry me and bumped into my mother who just dished out our favorite cupcakes. Another stream of tears ran down my eyes and I ran to my room. 

I cry over the loss of my new friend or the first boy I ever loved. I had told my mother that I'd marry Enzo someday so that I could stare into his grey eyes forever. 

But it turned out that the first boy I ever loved was also the first boy to ever break my heart.