Chapter 1

For three years, I warmed the Don’s bed in another woman’s place.

Every night, I endured the Don’s ruthless possession in the dark. By dawn, I would kneel before Tiffany and repeat every word he had whispered against my skin.

Until one day, I finally broke.

That night, lying beneath him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and begged softly, “Could you at least give me a title? Even being your mistress would be enough.”

Chad let out a low laugh. His fingers caught my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“You’re nothing but Tiffany’s maid,” he said coldly. “Making you my mistress would be a public insult to her.”

My eyes slowly closed in despair.

Everyone in the Lynch family knew how obsessed Chad was with Tiffany.

The next morning, I knelt before the old Donna and volunteered to marry her eldest son—the one born with a congenital heart defect, the one doctors claimed would never live past thirty.

The old Donna burst into tears.

“According to old Sicilian custom, if you marry him, then when he dies, you die with him. Have you really thought this through?”

I nodded quietly.

“I’ll never regret it.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Chad and Tiffany’s faces turn pale.

…

That night, Chad walked past my room and entered Tiffany’s.

I stood silently in the hallway, listening to his low voice and her soft laughter through the door, my hands clenched tightly at my sides.

When Tiffany went to freshen up, I waited a few moments before quietly slipping inside.

The room was dark except for thin strands of moonlight spilling across the floor.

The moment I stepped through the door, Chad pinned me against it and kissed me hard.

“Why’s your skin so cold?” he murmured against my lips.

“I was outside watching the snow,” I lied softly.

The truth was, I had been standing outside in nothing but a thin nightgown, waiting for Tiffany to summon me at any moment.

Chad said nothing else. He carried me to the bed, parted my legs, and kissed me deeply.

As always, he knew exactly how to make my body surrender before finally thrusting inside me.

He kept me awake the entire night.

Just before dawn, I slipped quietly out of bed.

Tiffany was already waiting in the dressing room next door.

Ignoring the soreness in my body, I knelt on the carpet and repeated every word Chad had said during the night—word for word.

Her eyes drifted to the marks scattered across my neck, and her expression immediately darkened.

After she returned to Chad’s side, he suddenly opened his eyes, rolled over, and pinned her beneath him.

“Was last night not enough for you?” he teased lazily. “You still have energy to run around this early in the morning?”

Tiffany blushed and lightly shoved him away.

The two of them kissed again while I quietly lowered my head and slipped out of the room.

Tiffany came from one of Washington’s most powerful political families. She was beautiful, elegant, and fragile from birth.

She had remained unmarried for years simply because no man had ever caught her interest.

Until Chad Lynch.

The heir of the Lynch family fell for her at first sight during a high-society gala and pursued her relentlessly afterward.

Tiffany’s father and the old Don Lynch got along immediately and soon arranged the marriage between the two families.

As Tiffany’s personal maid, I had truly been happy for her.

Until their wedding night.

Tiffany fainted in Chad’s bed.

Chad had been raised by Don Lynch like a weapon—ruthless, domineering, terrifying in bed. Tiffany’s delicate body simply couldn’t withstand him.

For three nights straight, their marriage remained unconsummated.

Rumors quickly spread throughout the Lynch estate that the Donna would soon be replaced by a mistress.

Desperate, Tiffany came up with a solution.

Every night after the lights went out, I would take her place in Chad’s bed.

Among all her maids, my figure and voice resembled hers the most.

She promised me it would only last three years.

Once her health recovered, she would give me enough money to leave the Lynch family forever.

But my entire family served under Tiffany.

Their lives rested in her hands.

I had no choice but to agree.