Chapter 3

Seeing Lorenzo and Bianca about to slip back into their usual teasing, I reached across the table and grabbed the bottle of wine.

"So all I have to do is drink, and you'll consider the matter settled?"

Bianca's lips curved into a smug smile.

"That's right. Finish the bottle, and I'll forgive you."

I smiled back and lifted the bottle slightly.

"You helped Marco with his."

I stepped closer.

"Then you can help me with mine."

Before anyone could react, I tipped the bottle over Bianca's head.

Wine poured through her hair and down the front of her dress.

Her scream tore through the private dining room.

"Adriana!"

The room erupted into chaos.

Chairs scraped violently against the floor. Men cursed and jumped to their feet while Bianca stood frozen beside the table, wine dripping from her hair and running down her face.

I set the empty bottle down.

Then I turned and walked out.

I didn't wait for Lorenzo to stop me.

I left the Valente club, got into my car, and drove home.

The moment I stepped inside the penthouse, I stopped.

White flowers and ivory ribbons covered the living room. Tomorrow, cars from both Families were supposed to line the street below. My father had arranged the security, the reception, and accommodations for every important guest coming to witness the union between the Romano and Valente families.

Everything was ready.

All I had to do was put on the dress and say yes.

Looking at it all, my chest suddenly tightened.

I pressed a hand over my heart and leaned against the wall before slowly sinking to the floor.

Tears blurred my vision.

Lorenzo and I had met in college.

Back then, I knew the Valente name carried a dangerous reputation, but I hadn't cared. At first, I'd simply thought Lorenzo was handsome. When he pursued me, I agreed to date him.

Then the Romano family's legitimate businesses nearly collapsed.

For months, my father fought to keep everything together. People who had once crowded around us disappeared one after another.

Lorenzo didn't.

He emptied his savings and put the money in my hands.

"Give it to your father. We'll figure out the rest later."

It wasn't enough to save the Romano businesses, but I never forgot what that gesture meant.

When he realized I could no longer afford the things I'd once taken for granted, he spent an entire summer working outside the protection of the Valente name.

At the end of that summer, he bought me a small designer cardholder.

I could still remember the embarrassment on his face when he handed me the box.

That was when I decided Lorenzo Valente was the man I wanted to marry.

Eventually, the Romano family recovered. Our businesses expanded again, and my father rebuilt everything he had nearly lost.

After graduation, my parents weren't pleased when I told them I intended to marry Lorenzo. The Valentes were powerful, but Lorenzo himself had little standing inside the Family at the time.

I didn't care.

I believed he was the man who would stay beside me when everything else disappeared.

So I insisted.

Eventually, my parents gave in. My father placed one of the Romano family's companies under Lorenzo's management and bought us this penthouse as a wedding gift.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to become Lorenzo Valente's wife.

Yet tonight, his closest friends had stood around a table and cheered while I was pressured to drink something that could put me in the hospital.

And Lorenzo had known exactly what could happen.

The thought turned my stomach.

I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up.

Not long afterward, the front door slammed open.

Heavy footsteps crossed the penthouse.

Lorenzo appeared in the bathroom doorway, his face dark with anger.

"Adriana, what the hell was that back there?"

I was still bent over the sink.

He didn't ask why I was sick.

He didn't ask why I'd left alone.

He didn't even seem to notice that I'd been crying.

All he cared about was what I'd done to Bianca.

"You poured an entire bottle of wine over her in front of everyone."

I slowly straightened and looked at him through the mirror.

"Bianca? Is she secretly running the Valente Family now, or did you hand your authority over to her years ago?"

His jaw tightened.

"Adriana, enough."

I turned around.

"No. You wanted me to apologize to her. You wanted me to drink for her. Now you've chased me all the way home because I embarrassed her."

My voice trembled despite my best efforts to keep it steady.

"So tell me, Lorenzo. Exactly which one of us are you marrying tomorrow?"

His expression shifted.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he dragged a hand over his face and exhaled heavily.

"Baby, don't do this."

His voice softened as he stepped toward me.

"Bianca is my childhood friend. That's all she is. There has never been anything between us."

I said nothing.

Lorenzo continued.

"We're getting married tomorrow. Your family has already spent a fortune arranging this wedding. The Romanos and Valentes have people coming from all over the country to witness it."

He spoke as if those facts should be enough to end the argument.

"We can't throw all of that away because of one stupid fight."

He reached for me.

I stepped back before he could touch me.

"Are you threatening me with my family's reputation?"

"I'm telling you the truth."

"No. You're reminding me how humiliating it would be for my family if I walked away tomorrow."

Lorenzo's expression tightened.

Then he said, "Bianca is still standing with me at the ceremony. I'm not removing her from the wedding over this."

I stared at him.

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard.

"After tonight?"

"Yes."

"After she humiliated me in front of your entire circle, tried to force me to drink, and then mocked our relationship?"

"She was joking."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

"Of course she was."

"Adriana."

"She's always joking, isn't she?"

His brows drew together.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I looked directly into his eyes.

"What about Valentine's Day?"

His expression changed slightly.

"I reserved a private room at the best restaurant in the city six months in advance. I waited there for you all night."

Lorenzo went quiet.

"You promised you'd be there."

I could still remember the candles burning lower and lower as the restaurant emptied around me.

"Then Bianca called."

My voice grew quieter.

"And you left me sitting there alone."

His jaw tightened.

I held his gaze.

"Was that insignificant too?"