Chapter 1

On my wedding day, a video appeared on the screen.

It showed the darkest day of my life, the day I was raped.

My fiancé Julian tears off my wedding ring and slips it onto my bridesmaid Delphine's finger.

"Yara, don't make that face. Everyone here just saw you with another man. You're ruined."

"How am I supposed to marry you now?"

Delphine laughs. She glances at me.

"Come on, Yara. We've been best friends for years. You know me better than anyone."

"If you can't be his wife, why not let me be? Trust me, I'll take care of the man you love."

Then Delphine pretends to lose her balance and shoves me hard into the crowd.

Someone paws at me. Another person deliberately steps on my wedding dress, while someone else splashes champagne on my dress.

Suddenly, a gunshot rings out. The giant screen explodes. The crowd recoils in panic.

Roman Voss, one of the city's most powerful Mafia dons, storms in and shields me.

Then he drops to one knee in front of me.

"Yara, will you marry me?"

"Yes." I nod with the tears in my eyes.

For three years, I was happy in my marriage. The day I find out I'm pregnant, I walk to Roman's study to share the news, and hear his voice through the door.

"The Fosters care about their reputation. Ruin Yara, and they'll never take her back. Delphine wanted to marry Julian. How could I say no?"

I froze, and he continued.

"Love Yara? Don't be ridiculous. I could never fall for a woman that filthy."

--

My fingers go numb.

Then the laughter coming from inside the study turns my stomach.

"Genius, boss. Swap her vitamins for abortion pills. She can't carry a baby naturally, so she goes straight to IVF."

"And she has no idea the embryo inside her already belongs to Julian and Delphine. If she ever found out, she'd lose her mind."

Roman grinds his cigarette into the ashtray and stands.

"Better if she does. When the baby comes, we tell her it didn't survive. She'll blame herself. Women like her always do."

His eyes sweep the room, flat and cold.

"Nothing from this room goes anywhere. I need her quiet and cooperative until that child is born."

Silas laughs.

"Relax, boss. That woman is so stupid it's almost funny. We let her think she runs this house, and she actually believes it. Even cooks for us every single day."

"If she knew I was the one who handpicked every man from that night, every single one, she'd die on the spot."

Someone across the room grins.

"Silas, that's not fair. Why didn't you pick me? I would've loved a turn..."

A fruit knife slams into the table between his legs before he can finish.

The room goes dead silent.

"She may be ruined," Roman says quietly, "but she's still my wife. Anyone brings that up again loses more than just a knife."

One of his men clears his throat.

"Boss, you don't feel anything for her? She's got more backbone than she looks. Aren't you worried she finds out one day and walks?"

Roman laughs like he just heard something pathetic.

"A ruined woman desperate for love? Two soft words and she crawls back like a dog. Every time."

The room breaks into laughter.

I'm pressed against the wall outside, and I can't feel my hands.

I clamp my palm over my mouth. I'm shaking, and I can't make it stop. I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood, and I still can't stop.

Footsteps move toward the door.

I turn and walk downstairs fast.

I grab a glass of wine off the side table and throw it back in one swallow.

It burns all the way down, and I let it.

I dig my nails into my palm and stand there while it all replays in my head.

A week before my wedding to Julian, Delphine called. Her car had broken down, and she needed a ride. I went.

What happened that night took everything from me.

My dignity. My reputation. The wedding I had spent months planning.

Julian wept and swore he still loved me. Then the video played in front of the entire church, and he slid my ring onto Delphine's finger without a single word.

Roman walked in. Roman held me while the room screamed.

He dropped to one knee, had ten crates of gold bars and diamonds brought before me, and told me he'd rather die than spend his life without me.

I looked into his eyes and believed every word.

Delphine was smiling at me from the front row that day.

I thought it was sympathy.

Turns out, it was mockery. Pity.

She knew before she even walked through those doors.

That wedding was never mine. It was hers.

And I spent three years loving the man who built it all for her.

I bite down until the pain is the only thing I can feel.

Then a pair of hands lands on my shoulders from behind.

Roman pulls me into him. He takes one look at my face, and his brow furrows.

"Who made my wife cry?" he says. "Step up."