Chapter 2

Adriana's POV

For more than ten years, Rosaria and I have made it a tradition to climb up to Saint Jude's chapel every year, like clockwork, past the soldiers posted along the mountain road who dipped their heads as the matriarch's car went by.

When the old chaplain saw me this time, he gave me that same calm smile he always had.

Gentle, warm, but also layered. It was meaningful.

Then, the chaplain repeated what he had told me years ago:

Lorenzo and I were tied together by fate, bound by a blood-oath our fathers had sworn, destined to cross paths again and again. He saved me more than once in the past, and that's how we ended up sealed to each other.

Hearing this revelation, Rosaria lit up like it was a sign from the heavens.

She grabbed my hand, teary-eyed and glowing. "Adriana, this is wonderful news! You and Lorenzo are truly meant for each other. That's fate!"

Fate. Yeah.

Except fate isn't always kind. And it's never simple.

Later, Lorenzo really did save me.

Of all things, it was an avalanche that came down the mountain like the wrath of God. However, he wasn't quick enough to save Tessa. She was also trapped, but by the time they dug her out, there was little left. She merely had a weak heartbeat and spent many years in the Family's private clinic, waiting to die.

And death truly claimed her.

Lorenzo never forgave me, not even once. Every bit of his grief, pain, guilt, and heartbreak was directed right at me, blaming me for being there. Perhaps if I hadn't been there, he might have been able to save her instead.

And yet, when it came down to it, he still chose me. The oath bound him, and a Moretti does not break his father's word.

I used to think the chaplain's words were beautiful. I remember how they filled my chest with this ridiculous hope. I clung to them like they meant something divine, like maybe heaven itself had a stake in the arrangement.

Now I know better.

It wasn't a blessing. It was a warning.

The fate that connected Lorenzo and me wasn't some golden ribbon of destiny.

It was a chain. Heavy. Tight. Unforgiving. The kind of chain a made man wears until they bury him with it.

And I'd been too happy, too stupid, to see that look in the chaplain's eyes when he smiled.

I'd mistaken his pity for reassurance. And that blind, naive hope kicked off a whole storm of heartbreak I never saw coming.

At the altar, I handed the two fate stones to the chaplain.

He squinted at the carvings, his expression going cautious. "Adriana, if the names on these are wrong, the blessing transfers to someone else."

I looked him straight in the eye and nodded. My thumb found the thin band on my left ring finger, turned it once, then went still. "This is how it's supposed to be."

It wasn't too late, not yet. I could still make sure Lorenzo got what he really wanted.

As I stepped out of the chapel, a couple passed us on their way in, no soldiers at their backs, no debts written into their names.

The girl was practically glowing, clinging to her boyfriend's arm like they were the only two people in the world.

"I heard the magnolias in the garden are about to bloom," she said, bouncing on her toes. "And they're holding a ceremony for the fate stones when they're at their peak. Let's stick around a few more days, okay?"

The guy smiled and reached out, playfully rubbing her nose. "Alright, alright. Whatever you want."

I watched them walk away, maybe longer than I should've. There was just something about them. The ease. The comfort. The softness.

But Lorenzo and I never had that. Not even once.

Of course, he noticed. Nothing moved in his orbit that he didn't catalog.

He laughed, sharp and cold, like he couldn't believe I'd even dream about something like that.

"Don't waste your time. I'm only here because my mother insisted. If your father hadn't sworn that oath with mine, there wouldn't have been the slightest chance for us."

Then he looked away as if the sight of me physically hurt him.

"I've got something important tonight. Don't try anything. If you screw it up for me, I swear to God, you'll pay for it ten times over."

I already knew what important meant. He didn't need to spell it out.

It was Tessa's birthday.

He'd been planning it for weeks, taking over an entire rooftop the Family owned, hiring choreographers for a whole light show, and syncing it to her favorite music, all to make sure her night was perfect.

I smiled. Just a little. It took effort.

"I won't get in the way."

He blinked at me like I'd spoken a foreign language.

Then his face twisted, and he scoffed. "Good. At least you're finally learning your place, Adriana."

Sal brought us down to the foot of the mountain around seven. Tessa's party was in the opposite direction from the Moretti estate. No way he could make it to both.

The car slowed to a stop. Sal tapped the wheel twice with his thumb but held whatever he'd meant to say.

Lorenzo glanced at me, suddenly unsure of himself. It was rare to see even a flicker of hesitation in him.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and said, "I'll get out here. I can find my own way home."

He blinked again. "What's up with you? Did praying knock some sense into you? You usually throw a tantrum whenever I so much as look at Tessa and try to ruin it."

I turned to him and smiled. A real one this time. Soft. Calm. Resigned.

"I'm tired, Lorenzo. I don't want to always be the villain in your story. I'm not going to fight it anymore. And I won't stop you from seeing Tessa. Just go. You'll be late."

I didn't wait for a response. My body was already starting to feel heavier, the pain simmering beneath the surface, harder to ignore.

I stepped out of the car and closed the door gently behind me, letting out a slow breath. The night air off the mountain smelled of pine and cold stone.

Lorenzo glanced at his watch and looked up at me once more.

This time, he looked different. He was still guarded but serious. Two fingers rested against his signet ring, and for a moment he went perfectly still.

"Um, thanks," he said quietly.

Then he drove off.

No goodbye, no look back.

But honestly, even before this, he never really looked back.