Chapter 0002

ROSALINE

What I appreciated most was the view from atop the terrace. From the thirteenth floor of the building, everything below glimmered—the string of lights, lanterns and candles of the wedding venue. Everything was perfect, the silence, the chill in the air and the barely audible music... until Luciano joined.

De Luca had a half-half personality. He was a Capo and was as cold and monstrous as those Mafiosos around me, but he had a funky aura about him as well.

I did not know what I was thinking when I agreed to him joining me up here, though. I figured with the state of mind he was in, he would want a friend, but it was not the wisest decision. Dom would kill me if he ever knew.

De Luca let out a heavy gasp as he took off his navy blue blazer, tossed it to the side, and tried to peek down at the venue. His movements were so calm, despite the chaos in his eyes.

Both Outfit and the Cosa Nostra had wronged him. The whole marriage scheme between Adonis and Bella was nothing but a façade to fool Luciano and more men like him. Adonis and Bella had not been married for eight years. They had only met three months ago. And they sure as hell did not have a daughter together. Adonis’s daughter was not biologically Bella’s. Technically, they were biologically related but Alessia was not her daughter.

I pinched the back of his shirt to pull him back. “Don’t do it. You may not see anyone down there, but that doesn’t mean they can’t see you either.”

He arched a brow. “I don’t think they can, though, with all the lights blurring their vision.”

“Still. I don’t want to take any chances.” I sighed. “Destroying my peace is the last thing I want.”

He looked back at the folding ladder and smirked. “I doubt your peace would be in problem.”

Both Bella and her cousin-sister Fabiola had some kind of problem with De Luca, which De Luca had very little to do with. He had blatantly admitted wanting Bella, but, according to her, it was his way of trying to claim ownership of her. Stupid of Bella to think Adonis would not claim ownership of her at some point. Men in our world were dominating, and they were not in the habit of sharing what belonged to them. We, as the women of this world, were bound to them, no matter what the price. That was how things worked.

Whereas the thought of being ignored devastated Fabiola Rossi, the one forcefully promised to Luciano ten years ago after Bella’s mother had faked their deaths. She did not want to be his second, and I was sure she wanted him to fall in love with her... whichever way possible.

“You have no idea what I would have to deal with if I get caught here,” I muttered, “especially with you.”

“Enlighten me,” De Luca tittered. “What would happen if you get caught?”

His rich cologne mixed with the awful smell of the cigar between his fingers wafted to my nose in the light breeze. How could a man’s perfume define power?

I cleared my throat and answered, “Hours of lecture on how everyone around me has failed to make me a refined lady.”

He let out a low chuckle. “That’d be bad, no?”

“I’m already a big disappointment.” His smile dropped. Seeing the confusion on his face, I added, “I’m just kidding. Everyone loves me and the others are afraid of saying anything to my face because they fear my family.”

“You haven’t told me your name yet.”

My reputation was not the best out there. Fathers gave my name as an example to their daughters to teach them of the fate of girls who were defiant and dared to look for freedom in a world as terse as ours. I was the girl who broke the rules—that rule being getting married before hitting twenty—among many other things, and now no man wanted me. Many thought I was a whore, not pure enough or not fit enough to be a wife. Even though those words were just rumours, everyone believed them, and that, despite the reality, made it the truth.

I had stopped denying it after some time.

Ignoring him, I pulled out a cigarette from my purse and extended a hand toward him. He cocked a brow. I wanted to see the colour of his eyes right about this moment. They were no doubt beautiful, like the shape of them, hooded with long lashes.

“I need to light it,” I said. Lighting my cigarette with the burning tip of the cigar, I turned back to him, only to find him staring at me. “What?” He took a sharp breath and shook his head. “Don’t tell me you’re shocked to see me smoke.”

Mafiosos’ women did not smoke, at least not until they were married or their men had permitted them. And I had none.

“No, I’m just awed by how skilfully you smoke and still manage to keep your lips pink.”

I laughed with a snort. “Oh, good lord, that’s the worst compliment I’ve... No, the one about my hair being soft as a horse’s tail would be the worst. Yours could be the second.”

He smirked. “I can do far worse, but I'm just telling the truth. What is that?”

“Marlboro,” I answered immediately, offering him a hit, and he complied.

He closed his mouth around the filter, straight from my hands, his lips lightly brushing against my finger. A fleeting current shot through my hand. I wanted to pull away but, at the same time, I did not.

“I haven’t had a Marlboro in ages,” he confessed.

“And why is that?” He showed me the cigar. “Is that Cohiba?” He nodded, and I said, “I have people around me who live for Cohiba and Fonseca. I hate the smell of both, though.”

He regarded me for a second before throwing his cigar off the terrace. “Don’t be too flattered. I figured since you’re stuck with me, I might as well do you this favour.”

“You think too highly of yourself, don’t you?” He did not answer. “I didn’t ask for the favour,” I said, “but thank you.”

His eyes drifted down to the venue again, and he heaved a stressful sigh. There were clear signs of guilt and pain in his eyes. For a quick second, I felt bad for him, but that feeling left as soon as it came.

Adonis was happy, and that was all that mattered to me. With the way he had suffered over the years, this was his shot at happiness.

De Luca did not deserve this, but he would understand. He was better off without Bella because she loved Adonis. Bella had confessed how badly she had tried to love Luciano back when she had no other option but to marry him as the elders had decreed. Now she had a choice, and she had made hers.

“You’re overthinking.” He shrugged. “I know that look when I see it. Even from miles away. Care to tell me? I could use no silence right now.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I truly felt bad for him. “I was thinking about you?” His eyes snapped up to mine, and I blurted, “Not romantically, of course. I was just—”

“Feeling bad because my fiancé betrayed me,” he completed.

I scowled. “She didn’t betray you.”

“It’s betrayal in my eyes and in that of my people.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “My fiancé left me for the enemy.”

“She didn’t leave you. Have you ever thought that maybe you’re better off without her? That you two aren’t meant to be?” My voice lowered. “That maybe fate tore you apart?”

“I don’t believe in all those bullshit.”

“Of course, you don’t. You wouldn’t be a Mafioso if you did.” The disapproval in my voice was quite clear.

“I can’t do anything about it. Though I want to kill Adonis very much." I shuddered at the thought. He continued, "But... that wouldn’t help me with Belle, as much as I know her. The way she looks at him, she has never looked at me. I doubt she ever would, and I cannot force her.”

“She’ll hate you forever,” I mumbled. “And so will her daughter.”

The truth about who Alessia’s mother was had been buried for the sake of the alliances between ‘Ndrangheta, Outfit and Cosa Nostra.

Silence wrapped around us, and uneasiness spread through my nerves, knowing he watched me. “She made her choice,” I finally said, “and you’ll make yours someday. You’ll understand why she did what she did.” My eyes met his. “Maybe now you can concentrate on Fabiola Rossi.”

His chest rose as he took a deep breath and with a forced smile, he questioned, “Are you saving that for some other occasion?” I turned to look at where he had pointed. “Or are we allowed to open that?”

I took the bottle of whiskey I had carefully placed away from me, considering how clumsy I was, and handed it to him. Drinking with him seemed like a bad idea. He was Luciano De Luca, an ally yet still an enemy. But right now, he was... broken and suffering.

Besides, it was just a damn drink.

What could go wrong?