The first time Rafael betrayed me, he threw the woman from his club at my feet. His eyes were bloodshot as he told me to take my pick.

My love for him was a sickness, so I forgave the transgression.

For the second betrayal, I had the dancer sent out of New York, warning her never to set foot on the East Coast again.

On the night of our engagement party, sealing the union of our two families, Rafael pinned me against the walnut desk in the study. His eyes burned with rage as he demanded:

"Where is Nina? She's carrying a Mancini heir."

"It was a mistake. You can take your anger out on me. Nina is naive; she doesn't deserve this. I'm begging you, just let the child be born safely. I swear I'll never see her again."

"You're afraid of childbirth. This gives you an heir without the risk."

"Listen, Alessia. You are the future Donna of the Mancini family. When that child is born, it will know only you as its mother. I swear on my life."

He forced me backward until shards from the vase I'd knocked over cut into my skin, staining my silk dress with blood.

I looked at him and smiled, then gave him the address of a safe house in Brooklyn.

He slammed the heavy oak door behind him. Shaking, I pulled out my encrypted phone.

"You were right about him. Is your offer still on the table?"

The third time my fiancé, Rafael, confronted me over a dancer, she was carrying his heir.

This time, I buried all my love for him. On what should have been our wedding day, still in my gown, I left him at the altar and walked into the church on the arm of his sworn enemy.

Over the phone, the man cursed softly, his tone a mix of frustration and fond exasperation.

"Principessa, of all the times to finally come around, you pick now? I'm in Sicily. I can't do much from here."

"My dear Alessia. You're a shark at the negotiating table. How did you let a rabid dog like Rafael bite you twice? Did you forget every lesson in self-defense your father taught you?"

I pressed down hard on the bleeding wound, my voice laced with bitterness.

"I have a proposition. Control of the Newark Port shipping routes. Is that a big enough stake for you?"

The crisp sound of a lighter clicked on the other end. His tone shifted, sharp with interest.

"Send me the time and place. I'll be there, with my best shooter."

"Next time you have a mess like this, call me first. Deals like this are my favorite kind."

I sent all the details of the church wedding to Giovanni in an encrypted message.

Two seconds later, my screen lit up with a single word: "Done."

Rafael's men had turned the manor, once set for our wedding, upside down. And my dignity with it.

I gritted my teeth as I disinfected and stitched my own wound, then stumbled out of the estate.

I had just settled into a hotel suite when Rafael's private line rang.

Even over the roar of a jet engine, I could hear the violence simmering in his ragged breaths. "Baby, I'm on the plane. I can't be with you tonight. Get some rest. I'm sorry, I was too impulsive earlier. I never meant to hurt you."

"Is it bad? Should I send the family doctor over now to take a look..."

"Don't bother."

My voice was flat, devoid of any emotion as I cut him off.

Rafael's tone immediately darkened.

"Alessia, I've told you so many times. It was a setup by our rivals. I was drugged, I thought she was you."

"Besides, things have already gone off the rails. But I have to protect that child. I can't let Mancini blood be raised on the streets, can I?"

"You forgave me once before, didn't you? You were always so understanding. Why are you making such an ugly scene now?"

"Don't let your personal feelings destroy the family alliance. The wedding is in a week. You'd better take some time alone and clear your head."

Staring at my chat history with Giovanni, I gave my cold reply.

"No need to wait. The wedding is off."

"Rafael, I told you. I don't tolerate betrayal in my world."

Before I could end the call, he exploded.

"Off? Are you insane? The engagement party just ended. All Five Families are watching the Mancinis and Valentinos join forces, and you pull a stunt like this? Is this your way of testing my limits?"

"Alessia. We've fought side-by-side in this swamp since we were kids. I've never offered the title of my wife to any other woman."

"I messed up twice. It ends there. Once the heir is born, Nina will disappear from your life forever. Can't you show a little of the grace a Donna is supposed to have?"

Heat stung my eyes. I fought back the bitterness and forced a brittle smile.

"So what you're saying is, you want me to look at your child with another woman every day, as a constant reminder of your betrayal?"

"I can't do that, Rafael. I'm sorry."

The moment the words left my mouth, his furious roar erupted from the receiver.

"Fine, Alessia. Remember every word you said tonight. And don't you dare come crying back to me!"

"What man in the Five Families doesn't have women on the side? I'm giving you the child Nina bears. I've shown you all the respect you're owed. If you can live with it, put on the damn wedding dress. If you can't, go back to your estate and rot for all I care!"

The line went dead. The suite's floor-to-ceiling windows reflected my pale, shattered image.

Presidential Suite 2031. This used to be our favorite place.

He had kissed every inch of me on this very French bed, telling me I was his only faith.

This suite had witnessed our most savage, desperate passion after every family war, on every night steeped in the scent of blood.

Now, I was the only one left standing in the ruins.

I wiped away a tear and had a car take me back to the Valentino estate, where I knocked on the sandalwood door of my father's study.

My father sat in his leather armchair, a cigar between his fingers. "Alessia, Rafael just called. He said you were being emotional and called off the alliance?"

"The Mancini family is our most important ally. This marriage is not a bargaining chip for you to throw around just because you're in a temper."

I took a deep breath, forcing the tremor out of my voice.

"His club dancer is pregnant."

My father blew a ring of smoke, his eyes cold. "Some gutter trash. Get rid of her."

"I'm not giving up the alliance. I'm just changing the groom. You know him, Giovanni Russo."

My father's hand froze mid-flick of his cigar ash. A look of profound shock crossed his weathered face.

"Giovanni? The head of the Russo family? Are you insane? You two have been at each other's throats since you were children. He almost pushed you off a cliff in Sicily!"

I let out a small laugh, trying to make my voice sound light.

"That's why I want to marry him. So I can make his life a living hell."

That night, the gash from the broken vase throbbed with a dull ache. I curled up on the cold bed and waited for dawn.

The next morning, I drove to the penthouse apartment by Central Park to retrieve my things.

It was the home we had prepared for our new life together. Downstairs, Rafael's ostentatious Aston Martin was parked brazenly in my private spot.

I pushed the door open, only to be met with a wall of oil paintings, all done by Rafael's own hand.

But the woman in the paintings wasn't me. It was Nina.

Sun-drenched Sicily, the azure Amalfi Coast, the ancient Roman Colosseum.

All the places we had once marked with blood and fervent kisses were now merely her backdrop.

I knew Rafael was a gifted painter. I had begged him for years, but he had never once shown me.

"Baby, I'm the heir to the family now."

"My hands are for holding a gun, not some useless paintbrush."

So for all these years, no matter how beautiful I was, he had never captured a single trace of me on canvas.

But now, Nina was his exception.

It wasn't that he had no time for painting. He just had no time for me.

Besides the paintings, there was a photograph. They stood before that wall of art, Nina stroking her flat stomach, her smile a picture of fragile shyness.

The sound of the door opening made them both turn. Their eyes met my icy stare.

Nina fell to her knees before me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she sobbed and begged.

"Miss Alessia, please forgive me. I was just scared to be alone out there. Please don't be angry with me."

"I only wanted the baby to feel his father's warmth... I swear, as soon as he's born, I won't try to take your place..."

Before I could step back, Rafael strode over.

He pulled Nina behind him, shielding her as he looked down at me, his eyes filled with impatience.

The air grew thick with a suffocating tension.

"Alessia, I've already found the person who drugged me. He won't live to see next month in New York."

"Nina is innocent in this. She was forced into it. You shouldn't have taken it out on her and thrown her out. I'll let what you did slide this time. Apologize, and we can put this behind us."

I looked up at him, my gaze as cold as the frozen depths of the sea.

The sheer absurdity of the situation washed over me.

"You want me to apologize? Rafael, have you lost your mind?"

The next second, a tearful Nina lunged at me, pretending to grab for my wrist.

Her shoulder, however, slammed right into the gash on my side.

A searing pain tore through my nerves. I gasped, instinctively shoving her away.

I barely used any force, but Nina flew backward into a nearby antique cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing!"

Rage flared in Rafael's eyes. He shoved me violently.

My back slammed hard against the wall, and I slid to the floor.

The bar cart next to me was completely overturned, sending a bottle of bourbon crashing to the ground.

Sharp glass and ice scattered everywhere. A pointed shard dug deep into my calf.

Blood gushed out, instantly staining the cashmere rug.

"I think you're the one who's lost her mind!"

"Nina already humbled herself before you, and I've explained everything. Get off your high horse."

"Apologize to her. Now!"

I clenched my jaw, swallowing the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat. I spoke each word with chilling clarity.

"Never."

"A Valentino daughter does not bow to a dancer who sells her body. Not even in death."

"The nerve."

Rafael was completely enraged. He summoned the two Soldatos standing guard outside the door.

"Take her to the prayer room."

"Let our noble Principessa kneel on the cold stone and clear her head!"

"No one is to help her up without my order!"

I fought through the excruciating pain in my leg, staring in disbelief at the man who had once sworn to protect me with his life.

"Rafael, you dare to lock me up? For a lying tramp?"

"Don't you forget, I am the future Donna of this family!"

"But right now, you're on my territory."

Rafael shot me a cold glance and said nothing more.

The Soldatos grabbed my arms and dragged me toward the dim prayer room.

My blood left a stark red trail on the hallway floor.

The heavy oak door locked behind me. The marble floor before the cross was chillingly cold.

I was forced to kneel, the wounds on my side and calf throbbing with a piercing pain.

Blood and cold sweat soaked through my dress.

The blood loss was making me dizzy, my consciousness slipping away.

Looking at the guards at the door, my voice was so hoarse it was almost a whisper.

"Get a doctor... Get Rafael, I'm begging you..."

A guard's lip curled into a sneer. He stood in the shadows, unmoved.

"Save it, Principessa. We've seen this act before."

"The Boss called his private doctor, but he's with Miss Nina right now."

I struggled to keep my heavy eyelids open, seeing only a sliver of cold light filtering through the high, stained-glass window.

The next second, darkness consumed all my senses, and I collapsed.

Through the haze of unconsciousness, I vaguely heard the guards' panicked shouts.

"Dammit! She passed out from blood loss!"

"There's blood everywhere! Go get the Boss, now!"

Familiar footsteps approached and stopped beside me.

Rafael's voice was cold, devoid of warmth.

"Are you done playing the victim?"

"Anyone would think you were the pregnant one."

"Alessia, your pride will be your downfall. I'm teaching you the rules."

The sound of his leather shoes turned and walked away. Nina was clinging to his arm, peeking into the darkness where I lay.

She looked up at him, her voice like a frightened doe's.

"Rafael, Miss Alessia lost so much blood. Are we being too hard on her?"

"She is a Valentino, after all. If her father finds out..."

The hard line of Rafael's jaw tightened.

"The future Don of the Mancini family doesn't answer to anyone."

"She was arrogant, and she hurt you. The heir isn't due for months. You can't let her walk all over you. That temper of hers needs to be broken."

A flash of triumph flickered in Nina's eyes before she quickly masked it with a look of innocence.

"I've heard that for powerful mafia families like yours, marriage is just a transaction, without any love. Is that true?"

The cold floor stole the last of my body heat, mercilessly freezing my already shattered heart.