Chapter 4

Lorenzo frowned.

"That night was different. Bianca said someone had been following her. She was afraid to go home alone, so I went to make sure she was safe."

I stared at him.

"Bianca spent all night calling herself the boss of your crew. Since when does she need you to escort her home because she's afraid of some stranger?"

Lorenzo's expression tightened.

"And what about your birthday?" I continued. "I was out of the country handling business for my father. I came back early to surprise you."

My throat tightened at the memory.

"Instead, I found you and Bianca all over each other in a private room at that restaurant."

His face changed.

"You kissed her, Lorenzo."

He froze.

Only for a second.

Then his voice rose.

"Who told you that? That's bullshit. Nothing happened between us."

I didn't bother arguing.

I picked up my phone, found the video, and tossed it onto the bed in front of him.

"Look for yourself."

Lorenzo picked it up.

"Bianca posted it herself. Don't stand there and tell me nothing happened."

His expression darkened as the video played.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he dragged a hand through his hair.

"Enough, Adriana."

He tossed the phone onto the bed.

"It was a stupid drunken kiss. It meant nothing."

I almost laughed.

Nothing.

Apparently, anything could become nothing as long as Bianca was involved.

Lorenzo's patience finally snapped.

"Why are you acting like this? If you were half as understanding as Bianca, we wouldn't even be having this argument."

I stared at him in disbelief.

He pointed at me.

"Listen carefully. You're going to apologize to Bianca."

His voice turned cold.

"If you don't, I won't be standing at that altar tomorrow."

I said nothing.

Lorenzo took my silence for fear.

He stepped closer.

"Think about what that means, Adriana. No Valente groom. Hundreds of guests already here. Families and allies waiting to watch the Romanos and Valentes join together."

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"I'd like to see how your family explains that."

Before I could answer, his phone rang.

The moment Lorenzo saw the name on the screen, his expression changed.

His voice softened.

"Where are you?"

A pause.

Then his brows drew together.

"Don't be scared. Stay there. I'm coming."

I saw the name clearly.

Bianca.

Lorenzo ended the call and grabbed his jacket.

At the door, he looked back at me.

"Think carefully about what I said."

Then he left.

The front door slammed behind him.

I stood there for a long time.

Less than an hour later, my phone buzzed.

It was Marco.

There was only one sentence.

[You should see this before tomorrow.]

A video followed.

Bianca was sitting at the bar inside one of the Valente clubs, a glass in her hand.

Then Lorenzo appeared.

He sat beside her and pulled her against him.

Bianca rested her head on his shoulder.

Lorenzo didn't push her away.

A few seconds later, she lifted her face.

And kissed him.

This time, Lorenzo kissed her back.

I watched the video once.

That was enough.

A few minutes later, several photos came through from an unfamiliar number.

Bianca and Lorenzo.

Kissing.

Her message appeared beneath them.

[Oops. Wrong person, Adriana. You don't mind, do you?]

I stared at the screen for several seconds.

Then I blocked the number.

There was nothing left to say to her.

I walked into the bedroom and began packing Lorenzo's belongings.

Shirts.

Suits.

Watches.

Shoes.

Everything that belonged to him went into suitcases.

When I opened the drawer beside his bed, I noticed a small locked box pushed into the back.

I'd seen it before.

I'd never asked what was inside.

Tonight, I stopped caring about his privacy.

I forced it open.

Inside were old photographs, receipts, and letters.

Most of the letters were between Lorenzo and Bianca.

I recognized Lorenzo's handwriting immediately.

At first, they were harmless. Old jokes. Memories from school. Bianca teasing him about me.

Then I found one from three years ago.

[I don't even recognize myself around Adriana anymore. Everything with her is about the Romanos, the businesses, the wedding, what her father expects from me. Sometimes I think you're the only person I can still breathe around.]

My fingers tightened around the paper.

Underneath it was Bianca's reply.

[Then leave her.]

Another letter.

This one was more recent.

Bianca had written:

[If I asked you to walk away from the wedding and leave with me, would you?]

Lorenzo's reply was tucked behind it.

[I want to. You know I do. But not yet.]

My heart seemed to stop.

I kept reading.

[Romano has finally started trusting me with the company. Once the merger is complete, I'll have enough leverage to stop depending on either family.]

The next line was worse.

[Give me a little more time, Bianca. After that, no one gets to decide who I stay with.]

I stared at the words until they blurred.

Maybe Lorenzo had loved me once.

Maybe the boy who emptied his savings to help my father had been real.

Maybe the man who worked all summer just to buy me a gift had been real too.

But that man was gone.

Somewhere along the way, love had become resentment.

And I had become useful.

A Romano daughter.

A company.

A marriage that could give him the power he wanted.

I folded the letter and slipped it into my bag.

Then my phone rang.

My mother.

"Adriana? How did the dinner go? Your father has been asking whether everything is ready for tomorrow."

I looked at the suitcases lined up beside the bedroom door.

"Everything's ready."

My mother hesitated.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

I looked down at Lorenzo's letter.

"There's just one change."

"What change?"

I smiled.

"The groom."

Silence.

Then my mother's voice sharpened.

"Adriana, what happened?"

"I'll explain later."

I walked toward the window.

"But right now, I need you to call someone for me."

"Who?"

I was quiet for a moment.

Then a face I hadn't seen in years came to mind.

The boy who had followed me everywhere when we were children.

The one who used to call me his big sister no matter how many times I told him to stop.

"If Lorenzo has a childhood friend he can't live without..."

My smile slowly faded.

"Then it's time I called mine."

The next morning, I sat in the bridal suite of the Romano family's hotel while the makeup artist applied the finishing touches.

No one mentioned what had happened the night before.

Outside, the hotel was already filling with guests.

At exactly ten minutes before the ceremony, the door opened.

Lorenzo walked in.

He was already dressed for the wedding.

The moment he saw me sitting there in my gown, relief flickered across his face.

Then came satisfaction.

He walked behind me and placed both hands on my shoulders.

Our eyes met in the mirror.

"I knew you'd come to your senses."

I said nothing.

He leaned closer.

"Bianca agreed to let this go, so the wedding can proceed as planned."

As if Bianca had been the one with the authority to decide whether my wedding happened.

"You can apologize to her after the ceremony."

His eyes dropped briefly to the jewelry arranged beside me.

Then he seemed to remember something.

"By the way, you bought that limited-edition Hermès bag last month, didn't you?"

I looked at him through the mirror.

Lorenzo smiled.

"Give it to Bianca as an apology. She wanted that one too."

His hand gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

"Do that, and this whole mess is over."

I slowly lifted my eyes until they met his in the mirror.

For the first time all morning, I smiled.

"Of course."

Lorenzo's smile widened.

He thought I'd surrendered.

He had no idea that in ten minutes, when the doors opened and every Valente and Romano turned toward the altar, he wouldn't be the man waiting for me there.