Chapter 2

The bundle of cash struck the polished marble with a dull slap, the bills scattering in every direction.

For a brief moment, the entire ballroom seemed to freeze.

The string quartet continued playing, yet the music felt impossibly distant. Conversations died away, champagne glasses paused halfway to waiting lips, and an uncomfortable silence settled over the hall.

Every gaze landed on me.

The city's wealthiest families, mafia leaders and their wives, influential businessmen, and politicians all watched with open curiosity, as though I had suddenly become the evening's entertainment.

Then the murmurs began.

“Isn't that Don Lucian's former wife?”

“I heard she lost her mind after the baby died.”

“So she actually came here to ask him for money. How humiliating.”

I remained where I was, my hands clenched so tightly that my nails bit into my palms.

Arabella, meanwhile, performed her role with practiced perfection.

She shrank behind Lucian, wrapping one arm protectively around her swollen belly while gripping his sleeve with the other.

“Lucian...” she whispered just loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear. “She's frightening me. I think she's been following us. What if she's angry enough to hurt our baby?”

Lucian immediately pulled her against him, glaring at me as though I were some dangerous animal that had wandered into the banquet.

Then Arabella took another step forward.

“Oh dear,” she murmured as her jeweled clutch slipped from her hand and landed beside my feet.

She bent to retrieve it.

As she did, the pointed heel of her designer shoe deliberately crushed the scattered bills before sliding onto the hem of my emerald silk gown.

The expensive fabric stretched beneath her weight.

She leaned closer until only I could hear her.

“No matter how expensive your dress is,” she whispered with a smile, “you'll always belong beneath my feet.”

The words struck somewhere far deeper than they should have.

Suddenly, I wasn't standing in the ballroom anymore.

I was back inside the mansion.

Night after night, I had sat beside Arabella's bed while she cried herself to sleep, insisting she was nothing more than a forgotten orphan with nowhere to belong. I had brushed her hair, wiped away her tears, and promised she would never be alone again.

I had opened my home to her.

I had paid her tuition.

I had bought her very first designer dress because she had been too embarrassed to attend a charity gala in borrowed clothes.

“You're the closest thing I've ever had to a sister,” she had whispered against my shoulder one evening. “You've given me everything. I'd rather die than ever betray you.”

I had believed every word.

I never noticed the way her eyes followed Lucian whenever she thought I wasn't looking.

I never questioned why she always found reasons to linger outside his study after everyone else had gone to bed.

I had mistaken calculation for innocence.

Just as I had mistaken Lucian's affection for love.

To everyone else, Lucian had always been feared as a ruthless Don.

With me, he had been patient, attentive, and gentle.

I truly believed I was the one person capable of reaching the man behind the violence.

Until the night I carried tea to his office.

The study door hadn't been fully closed.

As I reached for the handle, I heard his underboss speaking from inside.

“You're getting attached to her, Boss. The men have started noticing.”

Lucian laughed.

It wasn't the warm laugh I thought I knew.

It was empty.

Cold.

Mocking.

“Attached?” he scoffed. “Don't insult me.”

The tray in my hands suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

“Her father owed the Syndicate five million dollars. Since he couldn't repay the debt, he handed over his daughter instead. That's all she is. Payment.”

The porcelain cup rattled violently against its saucer.

“So she actually believes you married her for love?” the underboss asked with amusement.

“If believing that keeps her obedient, then let her keep believing it,” Lucian replied without the slightest hesitation. “She's attractive enough to produce an heir with the proper family name. Once she gives birth, I'll have no further use for her.”

I had stood frozen outside that door while my entire world collapsed.

Every kiss.

Every embrace.

Every promise whispered in the middle of the night.

None of it had been real.

I hadn't been his wife.

Arabella had never been my sister.

I was simply the daughter offered to settle a mafia debt, while she quietly waited to take everything that belonged to me.

The memory dissolved, leaving me once again beneath the crystal chandeliers.

Arabella straightened, clutching her purse as satisfaction flickered across her face.

Lucian pointed toward the ballroom entrance.

“You heard my wife,” he said coldly. “Pick up the money and disappear before I have someone drag you out.”

Three years ago, those words would have destroyed me.

I would have cried.

I would have begged.

I would have left in humiliation.

But that woman no longer existed.

My eyes dropped briefly to the money scattered around my shoes before lifting calmly to meet Lucian's.

“You can keep it,” I said, my voice carrying effortlessly through the silent ballroom. “I don't need your charity anymore. My husband provides everything I could ever want.”

Arabella let out an exaggerated laugh, but I didn't spare her another glance.

“I wasn't here because of either of you,” I continued. “I'm waiting for someone. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

Without another word, I turned away.

The silk of my gown swept gracefully across the marble as I walked, leaving every dollar exactly where it had fallen.

I could feel countless eyes following me, but I refused to lower my head.

I had crossed barely half the room when strong fingers suddenly closed around my arm.

The force jerked me backward so abruptly that I nearly lost my footing.

I turned to find Lucian standing inches away.

The composed smile he wore for society had vanished completely.

His jaw was rigid, and a pulse beat visibly in his cheek. The fury burning in his eyes wasn't simply anger.

It was possessiveness.

“How dare you marry someone else?” he said under his breath, tightening his grip until it hurt. “Where are the tears? Where's the woman who swore she'd spend the rest of her life loving only me? You once said I was the only man you'd ever belong to.”

He was waiting for me to break.

Waiting for the frightened woman he had discarded three years ago.

Instead, I held his gaze without the slightest hint of fear.

A slow smile spread across my lips.

“People change,” I replied softly.

Then I leaned in just enough for only him to hear.

“And besides...” My smile deepened. “I learned from the best. I cheated too.”