Chapter 1

Serafina Valenti was the daughter of the most feared Don in the country, a man whose name made other Families lower their voices. Yet when Lucian Castellano first found her, she had been living without the protection of that name for two months. Her family had sent its heiress out to survive on her own, without money, soldiers, or anyone to whom she could reveal who she really was.

She had been sitting beneath a bridge in cheap clothes, eating a corndog, when his car pulled up.

The black sports car stopped in front of her, and its window slid down to reveal Lucian Castellano.

Don of the Castellano Family. Billionaire. Head of Castellano Holdings, the legitimate face of an empire that handled real estate, hotels, private banking, shipping, private security, and every racket that moved underneath them.

"Be my girlfriend," he said. "I'll take care of you. You won't have to worry about anything anymore."

Serafina looked at her corndog, then back at him.

Was this man serious?

Apparently, he was.

That encounter had brought Serafina into Lucian Castellano's life. For the next six years, he spoiled her rotten.

He gave her a villa behind Castellano gates, a black card drawn on Family accounts, expensive clothes, jewelry, and anything else Serafina wanted. Once, at one in the morning, she casually said she wanted strawberry cake. He actually drove across the city himself, his soldiers trailing in a second car, to buy it for her.

Yet there was just one thing he never gave her.

A ring.

He never talked about marriage.

Serafina understood the reason. To Lucian, she was only Sera Lane: a poor girl with an alcoholic, addicted father, a sick mother, and a rundown home. In the Castellanos' eyes, she had no bloodline worth naming and could never be good enough to join their Family.

So Serafina waited until her six-year trial was over.

At last, she could tell him the truth. Sera Lane could disappear, and Serafina Valenti, heir to the Valenti seal, could take the man she loved home to meet her family. She had imagined his surprise so many times.

But when Serafina reached his usual private room at the back of the club, past the two soldiers who stepped aside for her without a word, she heard cheers from inside.

"Congratulations, Don! You have two sons and a daughter now!"

"Your parents and grandparents can finally relax! The bloodline's secure!"

"Come on! Drink up!"

Serafina froze.

Two sons and a daughter?

Serafina pushed the door open slightly. Lucian was sitting inside with his capos, holding a glass of wine and wearing that same lazy smile.

One of his men laughed and slapped his shoulder. "Don, you're seriously something else. You've got your intended at home and Sera on the side, and that girl is completely crazy about you. She actually thinks she's the only woman you have."

Another man laughed.

"And you kept Celeste's second child a secret too? If the Albanese Family hadn't announced it today, we'd still have no idea you already had three kids."

Her fingers slowly tightened around the door.

Celeste?

Lucian swirled his wine. "The Family needs an heir. Celeste and I have known each other for years, and our families trust each other. It was the right choice."

Someone asked, "Then what about Sera?"

"I love her. I really do. That won't change. She's a good girl, and I'll keep taking care of her." He took another sip, and his thumb moved over the heavy Castellano signet on his finger, turning it once. "But marriage is different. I'm the Don of the Castellano Family. My wife has to come from the right blood. The same goes for my children."

"So you're never marrying Sera?"

"No. Her background is too poor. She can stay by my side, and I'll give her whatever she wants. But when it comes to marriage and children, I already have someone else in mind."

The room laughed and glasses clinked. Serafina stood outside the door, staring at nothing.

So that was the distinction. Lucian could claim to love her while still believing she was unworthy of becoming his wife.

A bitter laugh nearly escaped her. He had built his judgment on a lie, and he had never even thought to question it.

She wasn't poor.

Serafina turned and walked to the fire escape before her legs gave out. She slid down against the cold wall, covered her face, and cried until her chest hurt.

For six years, she had kept her identity hidden.

The Valenti Family had a rule for its heir. Before taking the seal, the heir had to disappear and live as an ordinary person without money, power, or the family name. No soldiers watching from the street. No Valenti favors to call in. So Serafina rented the cheapest room she could find, ate cheap food, worked for a small salary, and learned to count every coin before spending it.

She was supposed to have completed the trial and return home. Then Lucian had come into her life, and somewhere between his pursuit and his tenderness, she had fallen in love with him.

He chased her for three months before Serafina agreed to date him. He'd cover her head with his suit jacket whenever it rained, even if he got soaked and his men stood dry under umbrellas behind him. When she had a fever, he'd stay beside her all night, changing the towel on her forehead and checking her temperature.

Once, Serafina casually told him that she liked tulips. The next morning, her entire room was filled with them.

Serafina stared at him and asked, "Did you lose your mind?"

He simply smiled and said, "You said you liked them."

That was Lucian.

Serafina remembered their first kiss. He'd been slightly drunk when he backed her against his car, but his eyes were clear. He said, "Sera, don't keep running from me. If you don't want me, tell me now. But if you do, then stop pretending you don't."

And Serafina didn't run.

On her birthday, he booked out an entire restaurant. He gave her fireworks and bought her everything Serafina wanted.

Little by little, she had let her guard down and allowed herself to believe his devotion was real.

Once her trial ended, Serafina would tell him the truth… take him home, and marry him properly.

Now every plan she had made felt like a cruel joke. While she had been waiting to tell him the truth, the man who claimed to love her had been building a family with another woman.

Serafina cried until she was exhausted.

Her phone vibrated. Serafina pulled it out.

"Serafina?" her father's voice came through, low and unhurried. "Your trial is finally over, principessa. You can come home now. It's time for you to take the Valenti seal."

"Okay, Dad. I'll come back soon. I just have a few things to deal with here."

"There's something else. Once you take the seal, you need to think about marriage. You know our rules. Your husband won't just be your husband. He'll join the Valenti Family and stand beside its heir."

Serafina closed her eyes. Of course.

Her father continued, "Several powerful Families have been asking about you for years. Have you met anyone suitable?"

Lucian's face appeared in her mind.

Her heart twisted.

"Nobody," Serafina said quietly. "Dad, let's hold the Banquet of Suitors on the day of my investiture."

"The same day?"

"Yes. I'll choose my husband myself. I'll choose someone worthy of standing beside the Valenti heiress."