I am Sean's fiancée.

Seventy-year-old godfather Costello took a fancy to me at first sight.

He locked me in his penthouse apartment and made me conceive his child.

Six months later, Sean returned from the front lines.

The godfather made me dance for Sean, pregnant and clad only in diamond chains.

Sean drew his gun.

A bullet pierced his skull, blood splattering upon me.

I miscarried.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the dinner where I first met the Don.

This time, I disfigured my face into a pig's head first.

Unable to find me, the Don forced all the daughters of the families to attend a screening to find the woman with the beautiful profile.

I went to the front lines and subdued Sean's army.

A year later, I chopped off the Don's hands and feet, gouged out his eyes, and castrated him.

...

The family Don, Don Vito Costello, nearing seventy, took a fancy to me at first sight.

He asked his strategist beside him, "Who is that girl in the green dress?"

Falco's reply was clear: "Don, that is Gianna's youngest daughter, Chiara. She is already betrothed to Sean, your most loyal lieutenant."

Sean had just secured the Bronx turf war for the family and deserved his reward.

But the Don merely smiled, cigar smoke obscuring his deeply lined face.

"The Bronx is cold and harsh. Sean wouldn't look after such a delicate girl properly. I'll take care of her myself."

He locked me away in his penthouse above Central Park West, treating me like a trophy.

Six months later, Sean returned victorious, scarred and battered.

Costello was delighted, throwing him a triumphant feast. The evening's entertainment featured a "Diamond Dance" he'd recently learnt in Europe.

I was that dancer.

Carrying his child, I wore only sheer silk veils draped over my body, delicate diamond chains dangling from my ankles and wrists, clinking with each movement in a crisp, humiliating rhythm.

Sean's eyes blazed crimson as he drew his M9 pistol before the Godfather for the first time.

"Costello! She's my bloody fiancée!"

The Godfather's face darkened. He ordered Sean's execution, accusing him of coveting "family property".

That night, my lover fell, shot through the head, onto the expensive Persian carpet. Beneath me, the sheets were soaked with the blood of my miscarriage.

I hated.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the charity ball where I first met the Godfather.

The impeccably dressed Godfather was making his way through the crowd, his gaze fixed directly on me...

"Chiara, look! That's Cartier's latest 'Forest Star' necklace. You adore emeralds, don't you?"

My best friend Lily's voice reached my ears as vast swathes of crimson still lingered before my eyes.

Sean's celebratory banquet upon his return.

That old beast threatened my parents' lives, forcing me to dance with my former lover.

Barefoot, clad only in sheer fabric and diamonds.

The jazz began, and I danced numbly until—

Sean, who’d grown up with me, recognised me.

“Chiara?” Sean, who’d only wanted to escape this hollow affair, froze the moment he saw me.

Fury washed over his face.

He couldn't believe that fighting through hails of bullets for the family had led to this.

His fiancée was imprisoned in the Godfather's apartment.

Carrying a child not his own, dancing for a pack of men.

Shocked and enraged, he tore off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around me.

"Costello! Chiara is my woman! How dare you treat her this way?"

"Impertinent!" The godfather's voice was not loud, yet the entire hall fell silent. "This city is mine. Everything within it, naturally, is mine too."

He looked at Sean with contempt: "A mere lieutenant, and you presume to lecture me? Are you making advances towards my 'personal property'?"

Sean's eyes blazed crimson, his entire body trembling with rage.

Costello's enforcers and the men Sean had brought with him immediately drew their guns, facing off.

Alas, Sean was too loyal.

His men were too obedient.

They had drunk the celebratory whisky the Godfather had bestowed upon them, laced with a potent additive. Now, their bodies were limp and utterly powerless. The fingers that had pulled triggers to slaughter enemies were snapped one by one. The teeth that had crushed enemy bones were knocked out, one by one.

The hall was awash with blood, bone fragments, and severed fingers flying everywhere.

I knelt and begged him: "No. They're all loyal servants of the family..."

But the gunfire continued. Exhausted, Sean ultimately failed to protect me.

A bullet pierced his skull. He collapsed at my feet, warm blood splattering my ankles.

Kost...Loh roared with laughter, grabbing my numb body and slamming me onto the banquet hall's long table.

"Kiarra, Sean said you were his woman. Is that true?"

"I'll give you one chance to answer me properly. Who truly dwells in your heart?"

His stubbly beard left stinging marks upon my neck.

My eyes filled with humiliation as I summoned every ounce of strength to pull the Italian dagger pinned in my hair, seeking vengeance for Sean and his brothers.

"I'll kill you!"

The dagger failed to pierce his heart.

Instead, he seized my wrist and twisted it, driving the blade into my own abdomen...

Blood stained the white tablecloth. Before consciousness faded entirely, I heard Costello instruct Falco.

"Gianna's youngest daughter. Conspired with outsiders to assassinate the Godfather. Family assets confiscated. The body... disposed of cleanly."

"Sean, for disrespecting elders and coveting the Godfather's wealth, his body is to be dumped in the Hudson River for the fish."

One command, dozens of lives lost.

The scent of blood lingered stubbornly in my nostrils. Only when Lily called my name again did I jolt back to reality.

"Chiara, why are you crying?"

I stared blankly at my surroundings, realising I had been reborn.

At that moment, the ballroom of the Waldorf Hotel bustled with guests.

Beside the jewellery display case Lily had pointed to moments ago stood a figure that filled me with revulsion to my very core.

—The Costello family Don, Don Vito Costello.

Having just instructed Falco to purchase that emerald necklace, he caught Lily’s voice.

He seemed to sense something, shifting slightly on his feet before turning to look my way…

...

“Chiara, shall we head home now?”

The intensity of my hatred made it impossible to control my expression.

Grasping Lily’s hand, I spun around in panic.

Before locking eyes with Costello, I bent low, shielding my profile with my hair, and hurried away from this place of trouble.

Lily couldn't fathom why I'd suddenly panicked.

I had no time to explain.

Back home, I immediately instructed the butler: "Bring Duke."

Duke was a Ragdoll cat Sean had given me.

Snow-white fur, sky-blue eyes, well-fed and plump.

Alas, I'm severely allergic to cat dander, usually daring only a distant glance.

Now, Duke was swiftly brought to me.

I drew a deep breath and buried my entire face in his soft, long fur.

"Miss!"

The maids gasped in alarm.

Yet I clung to the Duke regardless, letting its fur wildly irritate my skin and airways.

Ten minutes later, the Duke was snatched away in panic.

My lips swelled like sausages, my cheeks flushed and puffed, covered in a rash. My eyes and nose streamed with tears and snot from the allergy, leaving me utterly wretched.

Lily was terrified, kneeling pale-faced at my feet.

"Chiara, I know you miss Sean, but you can't treat yourself like this..."

She didn't finish.

The villa's front door was suddenly pushed open with force.

A group of men in black suits, led by Falco, strode in.

"Who's Chiara Gianna? Come out, let me see her."

Lily's tears still streaked her face as I, my face swollen like a pig's head, stood before Falco.

"You're Chiara?"

Falco's eyes widened at my appearance. His cloudy gaze fixed on me for a long moment before he spoke.

"Miss Chiara, kneel and heed the Godfather's command."

"Don has decreed that Sean risked his life for the family's honour. Should he not return, you shall inherit all his lawful holdings without precedent and receive the family's highest level of protection."

With my face swollen and red as a pig's head, I knelt on one knee. Suppressing my hatred and the stabbing pain in my throat, I rasped, "Thank you, Godfather."

Clearly, I wasn't the "fleeting glimpse" Costello sought. Falco soon departed with his men.

As for me, having narrowly escaped death and suffering a severe allergic reaction, I passed out immediately.

Amidst the chaos, I seemed to glimpse my past life once more.

Late March, that charity gala.

Every prominent figure in New York would attend.

In my past life, after Sean went to the Bronx for a showdown, no word returned for a long time.

Worried for his safety, I sent people to investigate while praying for him at the gala.

At the time, I hadn't noticed Costello.

I merely gazed at the moon outside the window, hoping Sean would return safely.

But Costello had set his sights on me.

He fell instantly in love with my profile, disregarding the fact I was his subordinate's fiancée. He forcibly ordered Falco to have me 'escorted' to his apartment.

I loved Sean deeply and refused to yield.

Within half an hour, Lily's body was dumped in my room.

Falco's voice was ice-cold.

"Miss Chiara, for every day you refuse the Don, I'll kill someone you care about."

"Your parents, your friends, everyone in Gianna's family—do you truly wish to watch them die one by one?"

I stared blankly at Lily's eyes, frozen in death.

Staggering, I crashed into the wall.

I'd rather die than betray Sean.

But I underestimated that old bastard's shamelessness.

When I refused, he had me bound and taken to a safe house in the suburbs.

The situation in the Bronx was dire, with Sean and his men desperately needing weapons and medical supplies. Costello flung those bloodstained requests for aid at my feet, grinning with the certainty of victory.

"Kiarra, do you truly wish for the family to lose this war because of you? To send Sean and his brothers to their deaths, unarmed?"

His hair was white, yet his gaze was as sharp as a vulture's.

I couldn't bear the thought of Sean dying.

I could only close my eyes in humiliation.

But that old beast said, "Chiara, sit upon my lap. If you don't open your eyes, how will you see who your man truly is!"

He crushed my soul.

That night stretched on endlessly. By the time dawn broke outside the window, the light in my eyes had extinguished completely.

Costello, however, wore an expression of utter satisfaction.

He surveyed my broken state and issued two commands simultaneously.

First, Chiara Gianna had served him well. He was pleased and formally claimed her as his woman.

Second, the conflict in the Bronx was to be resolved by Sean and his men alone. The family's funds were to be directed towards more crucial matters.

He threatened me with Sean's life, and I acquiesced. Yet afterwards, he still refused to send reinforcements to Sean...

The tears I'd held back all night spilled forth in that instant.

Now, starting anew, I stared at my own swollen, disfigured face in the mirror and smiled.

Costello, you know nothing of loyalty—I do!

You show no regard for the brothers who risk their lives for you—I do!

The Costello family has rotted to the core because of your incompetence and greed. The seat you occupy is long overdue for a change!

...

Due to an allergic reaction, I recuperated at home for several days.

During that time, I sent men to scout Costello's movements.

That night, Costello had indeed seen me.

Just as in my past life, he was captivated.

But the light was too dim. He caught only a fleeting glimpse—remembering nothing beyond the stunning green dress and a fragment of my profile.

Falco followed the direction he pointed and found many beautiful girls, but I alone resembled a monster.

So Falco brought back several girls in green dresses for Costello to examine personally.

After seeing them, Costello declared, "None of them."

Relying on his memory, he commissioned a portrait, posted a reward, and spread the word throughout New York's underworld: "The woman in this painting possesses an unparalleled aura, worthy to be my wife!"

"A reward of one million dollars shall be given to anyone providing information leading to her!"

The moment these words were released, all of New York erupted.

One million dollars was enough to ensure generations of a common family lived in comfort.

And what's more, it offered the chance to become the Godfather's woman!

The entire New York underworld plunged into a frenzy to "find the Godfather's mysterious lady."

No one paid any heed to the fact that, at that very moment in the Bronx, Sean's group was trapped inside an abandoned warehouse, running out of ammunition and provisions after seven days and nights.

"Chiara, that dress in the painting... it looks familiar..."

Lily showed me a photocopy of the wanted poster.

I was scribbling furiously and ignored her.

She studied it intently, then suddenly covered her mouth in horror.

"Good heavens! That woman in the painting... it's you!"

She recognised it.

My letter was finished.

I sealed it with wax, looked up at Lily: "Why that expression when the Godfather has taken a fancy to you? Don't you want me to be his woman?"

Lily turned ashen and blurted out:

"Kiarra, you must flee!"

"The godfather is nearly seventy, older than your own grandfather."

"That he favours you, that he wishes to marry you—it sounds like the greatest honour."