Chapter 4

I leaned my back against the closed bedroom door and let out a long, slow breath.

The room was bathed in the soft glow of city lights through the windows, casting long shadows.

I walked to the bed and looked down at the nightstand.

A stack of high-end wedding planning magazines sat there, covered in a thin layer of dust.

I remembered the excitement I felt bringing them home, only for Nero to glance at them and casually mention that we weren't in a hurry.

The glossy pages were a bitter mockery now.

I sank onto the edge of the mattress, letting the shadows swallow me.

I thought about the past eight years spent in cold safe houses, waiting for him to come home.

The vibration of my burner phone broke the silence.

I picked it up to find an encrypted message from Gia.

Her text started with a string of creative curses directed at Nero and his secretary.

"My surveillance just confirmed he drove her all the way to her safe house tonight," Gia wrote, the fury almost burning through the screen.

A second message popped up immediately.

"He's blind to your loyalty, Siena."

I stared at the glowing screen, feeling the weight of my best friend's sympathy.

Then, one more message.

"If it gives you peace, I will release you from our oath to marry in the same week."

Gia was giving me an out-a way to avoid the rush of a backup plan just to keep a childhood promise.

My fingers hovered over the digital keyboard for a long time.

I thought about the man waiting in the shadows-the ruthless Don who had offered me not just a ring, but a crown.

Don Dante. The head of a rival family. A man who had been waiting for me to see the light.

I steadied my hands and typed back.

"I never break an oath."