Chapter 1

After one reckless night with the man the Family had raised me to call Uncle.

He stared at the glass of milk on the nightstand, long gone cold, in silence for two full seconds.

Then he cut me off from the Rinaldi Family and shipped me overseas.

After I was exiled, every mistress he took bore some resemblance to me.

Until five years later, when I flew back to New York on short notice, and ran into him at a friend's birthday party.

Adriano Vittorio Rinaldi. His grip on the crystal tumbler tightened, just slightly.

But before I could read it, a girl slipped her arm through his.

She looked nothing like me.

And yet she was the first woman he had ever publicly claimed.

Marco leaned in and whispered nervously in my ear, "Their engagement's tomorrow. Don't make a scene."

Even the look Adriano fixed on me had turned guarded.

Everyone was afraid I'd start clinging again.

Adriano himself warned me, his voice cool, "Five years abroad—by now, you should have learned to behave, sweetheart."

I gave a small laugh and twisted the ring on my left hand.

"Congratulations, Uncle."

"Only—I'm getting married tomorrow. I'm afraid I won't be able to make your engagement gala."

...

Adriano's face went dark in an instant.

No one dared speak.

Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward me.

Vanessa Colombo covered her mouth and let out a small, mocking laugh.

"Oh, sweetheart. Are you feeling all right? Did you somehow confuse my engagement to Adriano with your own wedding?"

That I'd been in love with Adriano was common knowledge.

Around us, people murmured about how I'd chased him for years, told him I loved him ninety-nine times, and been rejected every single time.

Marco leaned over urgently to Adriano: "Adriano, Ceci's practically your niece. Tell your fiancée to watch her mouth."

Adriano's expression softened, and he pulled Vanessa closer by the waist.

"She's my fiancée. She can say whatever she wants."

His voice was full of indulgence—but his eyes were locked on mine.

Marco looked stricken, terrified I'd fly into hysterics the way I used to.

I just smiled, unfazed.

"I was young and reckless once. I didn't know any better. I owe your fiancée an apology for the misunderstanding."

"But I really am back to get married. And no matter what, the groom isn't going to be you."

I was just reaching for the invitation when Adriano's grip on Vanessa's waist tightened without thinking.

She staggered back two steps and crashed into the champagne tower.

The whole thing collapsed in a shower of glass.

A shard sliced Adriano's arm.

"Adriano!"

Vanessa scrambled forward to bandage him, but he raised a hand to stop her.

"I'm fine."

Marco, desperate to shut it all down, elbowed me.

"Ceci—don't joke about marriage."

He waved a waiter over for the cake.

The moment the lights went out, someone shoved me from the side.

I stumbled, unguarded, into a chest I knew too well.

He froze.

His hand—still slick with blood—hovered, hesitating, over my back. Then the lights came up.

Our eyes met, and the emotion in his eyes was so raw I couldn't breathe.

For years, I had told myself that look was our silent understanding.

Until the night of his birthday...

Crack.

Before I could recover, Vanessa slapped me hard across the face.

"Cecilia Marchetti! Have you no shame at all?"

My cheek burned.

Vanessa's tears came on cue.

"Adriano and I are engaged—engaged—and you throw yourself into his arms? Are you really that shameless? You want to be his mistress that badly?"

I clenched my teeth against the pain and knit my brows.

"I wouldn't stoop to that. Someone pushed me."

The words were barely out when Vanessa only started sobbing harder.

"To be with Adriano, you'd even slip him something. Is there anything low enough that you wouldn't do?"

Adriano's eyes went black.

That night had haunted him for five years. He'd never given me the chance to explain.

When I first landed in Palermo, I called him every day, tried every way to reach him.

Every call went unanswered. Every message stayed unread.

Back then I truly believed the world had ended.

Now, I only gave a soft laugh.

"I'm getting married tomorrow."

"And compared to my fiancé, my dear uncle—you don't hold a candle to him."

The instant the words left me, Adriano's hand shot out and locked around my wrist.

Vanessa's face changed, but she only bit her lip and stared at me.

"You keep saying you're getting married. Then where's this fiancé of yours today?"

I ignored the barb in her voice.

I only shook Adriano's hand off, and glanced at my watch.

"He'll be here in half an hour."