He Used Me for Revenge, Then Lost Me Forever

Six years I had spent as the secret lover of my stepbrother, the young Don of the Falcone Family.

The night before the alliance dinner, I slipped past the soldiers at the door of the Family's back office to surprise him.

But outside his office, I happened to overhear him speaking with Matteo, his right hand.

"That little stepsister of yours. Haven't you had your fill of her yet? When are you cutting her loose? Don't tell me you've actually fallen for her?"

Lorenzo Falcone's mouth curled with mockery. He answered without a trace of concern, a glass of red set down on the desk with a soft click.

"Fallen for her? She's a plaything that walked right up to my door for free. Why turn down something free? The only woman I'll ever put a ring on is Adriana."

"Her mother clawed her way into this Family and broke my mother's marriage. These six years have been nothing but her punishment. It's exactly what she deserves."

So this whole time, what I'd taken for love was nothing but a vendetta.

Every tender thing he'd ever done was a lie he'd deliberately spun.

If that was how it was, then I would simply leave.

...

"Don't worry about me. Just see to it the wedding is ready for Adriana and me. As for Caterina Falcone, I've got plenty of ways to make her pay."

"Picture it. She fell for her own stepbrother, crawled into his bed night after night, and then gets exposed before the whole Family at the wedding for a scandal that filthy. Do you think she'll ever be able to hold her head up under the Falcone roof again? Honestly, I can hardly wait."

Matteo's face tightened. He rolled an unlit cigarette slowly between two fingers, then offered him quiet, well-meaning counsel.

"The old Don and your mother had been split three years before Rosa ever set foot in this house. You can't lay that at Caterina's feet, can you? She was barely grown back then. She had no idea what went on inside this Family. Treating her like this. Isn't it too cruel? A woman's honor is everything to her, Lorenzo. You're using her whole life as a blade in a blood feud. She loves you. If she ever learned you only kept her close to settle a score, I'm afraid she'd—"

Lorenzo pressed his lips together, impatient, then pulled out his phone and lazily fired off a message to me.

"Her life is exactly what I want."

"Don't feed me that innocent-victim line. When my mother was cast out, wasn't she innocent too?"

"She was born out of that seductress's belly. If her fate is rotten, she has only herself to blame. She chose to sink this low."

"If she'd had any pride, she never would have agreed to be with me six years ago. Every step that brought her here was her own choice. She has nothing to complain about."

Matteo let out a long breath and tucked the cigarette away unlit. He asked one last question.

"You say all that, but six years is a long time. I don't believe your heart never once stirred for her."

"Lorenzo. Let me give you one honest word. Some things, once they're done, can never be taken back."

Lorenzo's face went cold. He shot him a vicious look.

"Fall for the daughter of my enemy? What kind of man do you take me for?"

"Looking at that face of hers, eighty percent her mother's, turns my stomach even when I kiss her."

"Raised by that homewrecker, she's just another worthless piece of trash. Dragging her name through the mud is me being generous."

Seeing there was no talking him down, Matteo could only leave, resigned.

Footsteps drew closer.

I scrambled to hide, but the blue roses in my hands scattered across the floor.

Matteo and I came face to face in that rushed instant, his eyes full of pity.

Lorenzo heard the sound and came out after him.

What he saw was me, crouched and flustered, gathering up the flowers.

His expression flickered with panic for a moment before he hurried to help me up.

"Caterina? What are you doing here? When did you get in?"

I smiled, and yet the tears slipped down on their own.

"Just now. I wanted to surprise you, but my hands are so clumsy I couldn't even hold on to the flowers."

He smiled, all indulgence, and tossed the flowers aside without a second thought.

Then he led me into his office.

The moment the door shut.

He pressed my body against it, his burning heat seeping through my clothes.

Yet cold spread through every inch of me.

"I told you, you don't need to bring gifts. You being here is the best gift I could ask for."

"Tired from the trip? Rest a while. Once I've finished here, I'll take you home."