I clasped the delicate lace of my bridal gown so tightly that my knuckles turned an ashen white. The pristine fabric, meant to symbolize purity and new beginnings, now enshrouded me like a funerary veil, suffocating the remnants of my former freedom. I had never imagined my life would lead here, to this opulent prison, bound to a man I feared as much as I despised. "Why me?" My voice broke the silence, barely above a whisper. I dared not meet his gaze, my eyes fixed on the patterns of the Persian rug beneath my feet. Alessandro turned, his dark, hazel eyes locking onto me with a predatory intensity. "Your dear father would now learn to back off," he said, his voice smooth and cold. "Our business expansion in Galicia is inevitable. I've just ensured that." My breath hitched. I knew it had everything to do with my father being The Don of The Galician mafia, but he put my best friend's safety in the damned scale. To save her, I had made the ultimate sacrifice. I had agreed to marry the devil himself. "I never wanted this," I murmured, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes, but pride refusing to allow them to fall. Alessandro took a step closer, his presence overwhelming. "And yet here you are," he said softly, almost gently. "Your life, your freedom, in exchange for your friend's. A fair trade, don't you think?" I looked up then, meeting his gaze with a fire that surprised us both. "Fair? There's nothing fair about this," I spat, my voice trembling. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes-regret, perhaps, or a shadow of his own humanity. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the cold, unyielding mask he wore so damn well. "You belong to me now, Yasenia," he said. "Remember that. The sooner you accept it, the easier this will be for both of us." He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face with a gentleness that belied the steel beneath his touch. I flinched but held my ground, refusing to let him see me break.
53 parts