"You killed my father! Did you think you got away with it? That you had won?!" I scream at him. "Bell, what are you talking about?" he asks, confusion and hurt reflected in his eyes. "I don't..." "Liar! You are a liar. And a murderer! You.." "Enough!" Isabella thought it would just be a marriage of convenience, as common for most Mafia families, no need for their paths to ever cross. But when she overhears a conversation which revealed that Luca was in her home the day her father died, everything changed. From a union of convenience to that of revenge? Can she play this game to completion? Who will survive?
LUCA.
"Is this a joke?!" I snap at the man sitting on the leather arm chest with an expressionless face, as if he hasn't just told me to ruin my life. "After everything? Now you mention your old pact?! What do you take me for?!"
"I take you to be my son who would do anything to ensure that our family remains at the top," he responds.
"You are asking me to throw my life away! To marry a woman I have never even met!" I snap back.
"I am asking you to ensure the continuity of two bloodlines, ensuring that the power of the Romano family, our family, will not dwindle. Listen, Luca. Rocco, is an old friend of mine, we built this town and our empires side by side. It is unfortunate that he has only been blessed with a daughter but that has worked in our favor! He has promised to hand over his entire fortune to her on her wedding day, to you, to our family? Do you have any idea what that means?!"
"Dammit!" I snarl as I whirl around. "And fuck you for doing this to me," I say again as I turn back to him, anger flooding through my veins. "Now of all days. You could have told me about this when I was busy proving myself to you all these years,you could have prepared me!"
"It didn't seem to be the right time."
"Didn't seem to be - Fuck! Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Fuck you!" I snap as I whirl away, slamming the door behind me.
Unbelievable.
Just unbelievable.
I had done everything.
Every bloody thing he had asked.
I had infiltrated our rival family from the ground up, despite how risky it was I did it.
I crippled them.
Go to another country and set up a fraudulent scheme.
No worries.
Train in one of the most deadly assassin's sects for three years?
No problem.
On and on it went, for eighteen years I have carried out impossible trials and instructions and succeeded at everything.
All so that I can be worthy to one day step in his shoes, first becoming the consigliere and then the Don.
And now, today that should be one of celebrating my promotion, he tells me I have one final instruction.
To get married.
And not just to any woman, no, to the daughter of Rocco Bertelli, a girl that is rumored to have absolutely no inclinations or sympathies with the Mafia world.
"How the hell am I supposed to convince her?" I snarl to myself as I walk into the hall only to be startled by a champagne cork nearly taking off my head.
I am still catching myself when the deafening cheers of the crowd reaches my ears.
Right.
This is a celebration night.
"Congratulations, Luca!" Enzo, my close friend and right hand man, cheers as he pats me on the back. "Now, Signore(Mr.) Romano won't have any reason to delay you any further."
I scoff as I reach for a champagne flute.
"You would think so," I mutter as I gulp the contents down all at once.
"Oh no," he says as he takes in my countenance. "What did he say this time? I mean, you were brilliant! Playing the French government like that and leaving them no recourse but to let you go is a sign of pure genius, surely even he has to admit that."
"Oh, he admitted it alright," I reply as I turn to face him."Then what is the issue?" "The issue is that now, I am to get married."
"Shit," he says in a wince. "To who?"
"Isabella Bertelli."
"Bertelli... Bertelli... Rocco Bertelli?!" he exclaims before reducing his voice at the curious looks thrown our way. "Rocco Bertelli?" he asks again.
"Si."
"Hmm, that is not so bad but isn't she all the way in the USA? I heard a rumor that she had a fight with Rocco about his affiliations and left, swearing to never return."
"The very same."
"Maledetto!" he curses as he turns in agitation. "What about Giulia?"
"Giulia," I whisper in despair before giving in and reaching for another drink. A brandy this time.
Giulia has been a rock to me all these years. She as well as Enzo have been by mode all through it, supporting me, helping me... we are a team.
She is strong, smart, vicious, everything you would want in a Mafia wife.
So, it had made perfect sense for me to ask her out.
A fact that my father knew and still said nothing about.
If he knew about Rocco's condition, if he knew he wanted me to end up with Isabella, why didn't he say anything?
Why wait till now?
How am I supposed to break this to Giulia?
How can I look her in the eye and tell her that I am going to have to marry someone else.
For the family.
The same family that she had sacrificed for, had given the best of her life to.
How do I betray her like that?
"Maybe you can refuse," Enzo says after some minutes of silence. "You don't need the Bertelli fortune, you can take us to greater heights without them."
"Actually, I can't."
"What do you mean? You are the consigliere."
"According to my father, I am not. Not until I have tied the knot with Isabella."
"No offense, Luca. But your father is an asshole."
"I agree."
"So, what now? What is our play? Are you going to talk to Giulia?"
"No. Not now at least. Not before I talk to Rocco first."
"What do you plan on doing?" he asks as he falls in step with me.
"I don't know. But I am going to try to get out of this... unwanted ultimatum. If he agrees, then father can get off my case."
"What are the chances he will give in?"
"Slim to none."
"Hmm, that has never stopped you from achieving your goals before."
"No, it hasn't."
As if her world hadn't crumbled enough, Kendall got drunk and had a one-night stand with a stranger, hours after being diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian cancer. Told that she may never get pregnant, and she spent her lifesaving on IVF. Luckily, she got a job as a PA to the CEO, Jason. On her first day, she made him her enemy, and to redeem herself, she had to be his girlfriend for the weekend. Things got complicated when Jason's mother planned an impromptu wedding, forcing Jason to get into a contract marriage with Kendall. She framed Jason, pinning the pregnancy on him. Gradually, Jason began to fall in love with her, only for chaos to visit, Jason's stepbrother, Thane's sperm was used for Kendall's IVF. Desperate for revenge, Thane would do anything to ruin the couple. Caught in the web of family feud and drama, will Kendall be able to save their union, even though she has to put everything at stake?
The day Raina gave birth should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, it became her worst nightmare. Moments after delivering their twins, Alexander shattered her heart-divorcing her and forcing her to sign away custody of their son, Liam. With nothing but betrayal and heartbreak to her name, Raina disappeared, raising their daughter, Ava, on her own.Years later, fate comes knocking when Liam falls gravely ill. Desperate to save his son, Alexander is forced to seek out the one person he once cast aside. Alexander finds himself face to face with the woman he underestimated, pleading for a second chance-not just for himself, but for their son. But Raina is no longer the same broken woman who once loved him.No longer the woman he left behind. She has carved out a new life-one built on strength, wealth, and a long-buried legacy she expected to uncover.Raina has spent years learning to live without him.The question is... Will she risk reopening old wounds to save the son she never got to love? or has Alexander lost her forever?
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
She thought she was the love of his life, and he became the love of her life that fateful day she had seen him at the pack's party. Selene Grace was only a replica of Alpha Leo's real mate, and when he spotted her, Leo immediately claimed her as his Luna in order to suppress the rumors of him being mateless. Being unable to conceive turns Selene's marriage into a nightmare, and as if that wasn't enough, Alpha Leo finally reunites with his long time lover and mate, rejecting a pregnant Selene as a result. 5 years later, Selene, a now successful doctor, receives an invitation to the moon shadow pack in order to rid the pack of a deadly disease which has struck it. Will Selene return back to the pack which had caused her so much pain, and what would she do when she realizes that she is mated to the Alpha who had betrayed her in the past?
Betrayed by her mate and sister on the eve of her wedding, Makenna was handed to the ruthless Lycan Princes as a lover, her indifferent father ignoring her plight. Determined to escape and seek revenge, she captured the interest of the three Lycan princes, who desired her exclusively amid many admirers. This complicated her plans, trapping her and making her a rival to the future Lycan queen. Entwined in jealousy and vindictiveness, could Makenna achieve her vengeance in the intricate dance with the three princes?
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”