LA

ks of it, he wasn't affected in any way by our

offered me his arm.

ion? Yet, here he was, charming and composed, as if nothing had happened. My pride screamed at me to refuse, to walk away and never look back. But fear, the f

ath and accepted

ame? If I'm going t

are Varricchio,"

felt my chest being crushed. I hated crowded places, even more so social eve

in. What if I said the wrong thing? What if I messed up? I was in way over my head, and the fear of making a mistake in front of all these

ted a middle-aged man, who nodded at me. I returned the kindness. We

they ask that?" It was a

lay you

rying to help him lie, a

like Cesare's, approached us, looking from h

uch, brother, thi

ight to keep my expression neutral, to play along with his charade. Every instinct I had screamed that this was insa

looked me up and down now, with his m

ieve it! Is my brother

ly say this: their genetics were very good! They were both tall, stron

t it?" Cesare asked, a

ost forty, brother. You

ber with the man standing in front of me. He looked no more than thirty, maybe even younger.

with a crooked mouth. "And even though you ar

er let ou

p but notice that he had tattoos running up his wrist and, right on the back of his hand, a snake coiled in flames. I had seen

ghtly, positively. I put my hand in

over his shoulder, before looking at his broth

made me wary-his smile didn't quite reach his eyes, and I couldn't tell if his friendliness was genuine or just another layer of this family's dangerous

and I noticed that

g me around the room. However, his face was more ri

hed us. He was definitely family, because of the eyes and the p

gazza? (Who is the

calculating, as if he was sizing me up, and I couldn't shake the feeling of unease. I felt small under his scrutiny, like I was being weighed and judged. It was clear that this man wasn'

Something inside me stirred, as if this was a sign that something very d

lanie Walton," I smiled politely, and the man nodded

father's lips. He looked at me, then

and I saw how his stare at

wn in life, and... get married. Start having our

myself to smile as if everything was perfectly normal. I couldn't believe he had dragged me into something like this without even asking-pretending to be his fiancée was one thing, but talking abo

He looked at my belly, and I had to hold mysel

eep my expression neutral, even as I felt the weight of every set of eyes on us. I had to mask my emotions, to play along, or risk exposing whatever dangerous game Cesare was playing. I for

like everyone had stopped to listen. Or was it just my impress

ing at Cesare. I couldn't tell if it was shock, anger, or heartbreak, but whatever it was, it unnerved me. Did she have feelings for him? Was I stepping into something I didn't under

office," Cesar

ollowed by a woman with dark hair and eyes like the sea. Cesare released

SA

uld be happy, hand over the power of the business group to me at once,

whatever was coming for me. I would not give up on what was mine

or closed behind me, a s