Chapter 4 The Boss Bride

(Alessandro's POV)

The morning she found the rose, I was already watching.

Every camera. Every angle. The moment Valentina touched the bloody petals, I knew she'd question everything. And she did.

Good. Let her. That fire in her veins? It was better than fear. Fear was useless. Fear made people weak. But anger...

Anger made her dangerous. And I liked dangerous.

I stood in the observatory, one level above the main atrium, nursing a glass of espresso. The estate stretched beneath me like a chessboard-guards at every post, doors locked with biometric codes, corridors mapped in my mind. It was a kingdom, and I was its goddamn king.

Yet even kings had enemies.

The footage flickered on the screen beside me. Valentina with my cousin Lorenzo snooping where she shouldn't. I clenched my jaw.

"Of course," I muttered, eyes narrowing. Lorenzo had that effect. Like a pretty poison sweet to taste, fatal when swallowed.

"You always did like my leftovers," I said aloud, though he wasn't there to hear it.

I tapped the glass with one knuckle.

"She's mine."

Not by choice. But now, by blood.

Twelve Hours Earlier

"Sir," Marco, my second in command, had said that morning. "We intercepted a call. Encrypted. But the source is local."

He placed a device on my desk, playing back the distorted audio.

A woman's voice.

"I placed it. She found it. She's beginning to ask questions."

Then silence.

Marco's eyes met mine. "Could be Serafina."

Serafina. The sister who ran. The bride who vanished. The perfect pawn who refused to play.

"Dig deeper," I snapped. "If it's her, I want her found. If it's someone else..."

"We eliminate?"

"Not yet. Not until I know what they want."

I returned to the footage. Valentina had entered the surveillance room. My cousin let her in. I should have had them both dragged out.

But I watched.

She was smart. Too smart. Most women in this world played at seduction. Valentina played at war.

She wasn't his. She wasn't mine yet either. But she was no longer innocent. And that made her useful.

Now

The door to my study creaked open. I didn't turn.

I knew the rhythm of her footsteps now measured, unyielding. She was trying to hide her fear. Admirable.

"Were you watching me?" she asked.

Straight to the throat. No pleasantries. No 'good morning.'

I turned. She stood in black silk and fire. Her eyes dared me to lie.

"I watch everyone."

"Did you see the rose?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who sent it?"

"I'm working on it."

She scoffed. "That's not good enough."

I crossed the space between us in two strides, towering over her. "You forget where you are."

She didn't flinch. "No. I remember. I just don't care."

Lightning. That's what she was. Wild and unpredictable. And it thrilled me.

"Careful," I said quietly. "My world isn't made for rebellion."

"Your world is already trying to kill me."

I leaned closer, voice low. "Only if you let it."

Silence stretched. Then she dropped the photograph on my desk.

Her sister. Bound. Bleeding. A warning.

"You knew," she said. "Didn't you?"

I picked up the photo, studied it. "No. But now I do."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

I smiled darkly. "Find out who's threatening what's mine."

Her jaw tightened. "I'm not yours."

I stepped closer. "You married me. You wear my name. In this world, that makes you a possession."

"I'm not a ring. I'm not a title. I'm not a pawn."

"You're not. You're something else."

"What?"

"A wildcard."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you like that?"

"Because I do."

I poured her a glass of water. She didn't take it. Fine.

"If you want protection, you'll follow my rules."

"And if I don't?"

I let the silence answer.

She turned to leave but paused at the door.

"One more thing," she said. "Tell your cousin to stay out of my way."

I arched a brow. "Or what?"

She smiled, fierce and cold. "Or I'll remind him I'm not Serafina."

She walked out, and I was left staring at the photo of her sister.

Valentina was fire.

And fire, if untamed, burned kingdoms to the ground.

I picked up the phone.

"Marco. Shadow her. And send someone to watch Lorenzo too."

"Think he's playing both sides?"

"I think he's in love with my wife."

"And you?"

I stared at the closed door she left behind.

"I'm not sure what I feel yet. But I know one thing."

I crushed the rose petal still on my desk into a pulp.

"If anyone tries to take her from me... they won't live to regret it."