My childhood sweetheart, Lorenzo Marchetti, the man to whom I was promised by blood and word, asked to postpone the joining of our bloodlines one month before it was to be sealed.

He said he needed to bind himself to another woman first, in the eyes of the law.

Not because he loved her, but because she urgently needed a legal husband to secure her child's name and its claim to what little inheritance remained.

The girl had stood at his side through the years he'd spent building his crew. Now both her parents were dead, she was pregnant, and the baby's father had abandoned her. If no one covered her, she would lose everything.

Lorenzo said, “It's only paper. Once it's all settled, I'll marry you the proper way, before every Family that matters.”

But he forgot.

To wait for him, I gave up my chance to leave for schooling across the water. I stayed with him from the days when he had nothing, no soldiers, no tribute, no respect, all the way to now. I gave him the best five years of my life.

Now I'm thirty.

My parents had pressed me about the union more times than I could count, every relative and allied Family was waiting on the joining, and I couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Mother took me to the Marchetti house to demand an answer under the code.

All I got in return was one cold line from Lorenzo.

“We've already waited five years. What's one more?”

“No one but me is willing to help her.”

“Adriana Rossi, you still have parents, you have blood around you. But Gemma Volpe has nothing. All she has is me.”

In that moment, my heart finally went cold for good.

When I got home, my parents didn't tell me to keep waiting. They brokered a match for me instead.

In less than two weeks, I gave my word to that man's offer.

Fate seemed set on toying with everyone at the same table.

The day of my joining turned out to be the very same day Lorenzo and Gemma were signing their papers before the clerk.

The bridal car pulled slowly out from beneath the hotel awning, two soldiers trailing behind in a second sedan.

At a red light, we came face to face with another motorcade.

Lorenzo, in a crisp black suit, a bouquet in his hands, was on his way to escort Gemma to the county clerk's office.

Through two panes of glass, our eyes met.

The instant he saw that the bride in the wedding dress was me, he froze on the spot.

The flowers slipped from his hands, and the color drained slowly from his face. His thumb dragged once across the face of his watch, then again, faster.

……

“Mama, I'm not going to marry Lorenzo.”

Mother's hand jerked, and the teacup she was holding fell to the floor and shattered.

She stared at me, dazed, and it was a long time before she spoke. “Adriana, are you… sure about this?”

I nodded.

It was no surprise that Mother was so shaken.

Lorenzo and I had been promised for five years, and every Family we knew simply took it for granted that our bloodlines would be joined.

The invitations had long been drafted, the banquet hall booked, the portraits taken. All that remained was the ceremony next month.

But now there was less than a month left.

If I severed the promise, it meant these years of love were truly over, and it meant starting again from nothing.

At thirty, coming to know a stranger was as good as handing the rest of my life over to the dark.

I'd thought Mother would tell me to swallow it and wait a little longer.

But she only let out a long sigh.

“I always thought that Marchetti boy was where you belonged. I never imagined he'd bring this kind of shame on us.”

She took my hand, her eyes rimmed with red.

“Adriana, don't be afraid.”

“There's still a month. However tight the time, your father and I will find you a man truly worth trusting. A real Family, one whose word holds.”

My eyes filled at once.

Once, hadn't I believed the very same thing?

Lorenzo and I grew up together, our fathers seated at the same tables.

The first time we met, I was frightened of strangers and hid behind my mother, refusing to come out.

It was seven-year-old Lorenzo who ran over on his own, took my hand, and grinned with the most earnest look on his face.

“You're really pretty.”

“From now on I'll protect you. No one's allowed to bully you.”

Old man Marchetti stood nearby, teasing him with a smile.

“A real man doesn't take back his word once it's out. That's the whole of it.”

Little Lorenzo nodded hard.

“I'll do it, I swear it.”

And later, he really did.

When we were children, whenever he got his hands on something good to eat, he always set it aside for me first.

I was a wild one, ditching lessons, climbing walls, getting into trouble, and every time someone raised a hand to scold me, he'd step in front and take the blame.

I don't know when it started.

That boy who was always shielding me slowly moved into my heart.

On my eighteenth birthday, he gave me a ring he'd designed himself.

He said,

“Adriana, from now on you're the only one I'll ever marry.”

“Once I get the crew standing on its own, I'll give you a joining every Family in the city will envy.”

I believed him.

The year we finished school,

he said the business had only just found its feet, and he wanted to wait until things were steadier before we married.

The second year,

he said the crew's cash flow was at its most delicate stage, and the joining couldn't be allowed to split his focus.

The third year,

he said the deal that would make his name was almost done, and once it closed, he'd marry me in style.

The fourth year,

he said he wanted to give me the best life, so wait a little longer.

Year after year.

Until the fifth year, when we finally named a date.

Back then, I was still naive enough to think

that Lorenzo kept pushing the joining aside only because he wanted a better life for me.

It wasn't until Gemma appeared that I understood how badly I'd been wrong.

Gemma was someone I brought under our protection.

That day, on the way home, she stepped into the road against the light and was nearly struck by Lorenzo's car.

Lorenzo had been ready to smooth it over with an envelope of cash and be done.

I was the one who saw her, alone and just cast off from whatever work she'd had, with no one to lean on, and in a moment of pity I took her under the Family's wing and let her stay for the time being in an apartment held under my name.

After that, Gemma was at my side almost every day, her hand always drifting to rest flat against her belly whenever eyes turned her way.

Later, she and Lorenzo grew closer and closer too.

Lorenzo even said to me with a smile, “You're just too soft-hearted. Looking after her alone will wear you down. Let me help you carry it.”

Back then I even felt grateful.

Grateful that I hadn't misjudged the man.

But little by little, I noticed the two of them growing more and more intimate.

Working late together, eating together, taking trips out of town together.

Even the evenings that had been ours began, time and again, to turn into three.

I tried to warn Lorenzo.

“Gemma isn't blood, after all. It'd be better if the two of you kept a little distance.”

But he only frowned, his face full of impatience.

“Adriana, when did you get so small?”

“She's a young woman with no one and nothing. Isn't it only right that we look after her a bit more?”

But Gemma came rushing up in front of me and dropped to her knees with a thud, right there on the marble floor of the shopping arcade the Marchetti crew half-owned.

Her eyes were red, her voice thick with tears.

"Adriana, I never once thought of taking anything from Mr. Marchetti."

"I only wanted to stay by his side. As long as I can be near him, even just as an associate, even if I never carry any title in the Family, my whole life, I'd be happy."

Her hand had already pressed flat against her belly, too smooth, too timed.

The people around us stopped in their tracks and turned to look.

Lorenzo's face darkened at once.

He stepped over quickly, helped Gemma up, tucked her behind him, and looked at me coldly.

"Adriana, do you really have no room for her at all?"

"She's pitiful enough already. Did you have to push her until she was on her knees?"

"When did you become like this?"

His voice wasn't loud, but in a room full of made men and their women, it carried clearly enough for everyone to hear.

I stood frozen where I was, watching him shield Gemma and walk away.

It was a weekend, and the arcade was packed, people coming and going.

Everything that had just happened drew a crowd of onlookers in no time.

"Isn't that Lorenzo Marchetti, the Boss of the Marchetti crew? Weren't they saying he's about to seal a union with his betrothed?"

"I heard that girl's got no family of her own, all alone in the world, and his betrothed still went out of her way to target her. That's just too much."

"I heard a while back that Adriana Rossi is really controlling. The man can't say a word to another woman without her minding."

"Who'd take a Rossi girl like that into their bloodline? No wonder he keeps putting off the joining."

Word after word, like sharp knives, kept driving into my heart.

I covered my ears and fled the arcade in disgrace.

The Lorenzo who had once sworn on his own blood he'd protect me for the rest of my life.

Now, with his own hands, he'd set everyone against me.

I don't know how long I walked.

By the time I came back to myself, I was standing on that familiar street downtown, the one that ran between the old jewelers and the front cafés the Families used to launder their tribute.

This was where we loved to come when we were courting.

He used to walk with me past shop window after shop window, wait in line with me for pastries, and never once complained, even loaded down with boxes.

Every corner of this place held a memory of us.

Without thinking, I walked toward the Lovers' Bridge.

But the next second, my steps froze.

At the center of the bridge.

Lorenzo and Gemma were holding each other tight.

They stood in front of the railing hung with love locks, fastening a brand-new couple's lock to the iron rail.

That was the very spot where, years ago, Lorenzo had hung a love lock for me with his own hands.

I heard Lorenzo say, low.

"If only I'd met you sooner."

"If I hadn't been promised to Adriana so early back then, maybe the one standing beside me would have been you all along."

Before he could finish.

Gemma rose onto her toes and kissed him.

Lorenzo froze for only a second, then bent his head and kissed her back, hard.

His hand pressed tight against the small of her back, as if he wanted to fold her into himself.

So passionate, so out of control.

A version of him I'd never seen.

Gemma leaned softly against his chest.

"As long as I can be with you, even without any title in the Family, I'm willing."

Lorenzo looked down at her, his eyes full of resolve.

"No."

"The one I'm going to marry is you."

"I'll give you the joining of bloodlines, I'll give you a title, I'll let every Family in this city know that you're the one I'll spend my life with."

"From now on, no one will ever be able to bully you again."

The tears slid down before I could stop them.

My heart felt like it was being crushed in some invisible fist, the pain so sharp I could barely breathe.

Across the crowd.

Gemma suddenly lifted her head and looked in my direction.

The corners of her mouth curved up, her eyes full of open, undisguised challenge.

Then she nestled back into Lorenzo's arms.

The two of them, fingers laced together, slowly disappeared into the crowd.

I walked up onto the Lovers' Bridge.

Up to that love lock that belonged to me and Lorenzo.

After years of wind and sun, its body was already covered in rust.

I reached out with both hands and gripped it hard.

The next second.

With all the strength in my body, I gave it one fierce wrench.

"Crack—"

The clasp snapped.

I looked down at the old lock in my palm.

It wasn't until warm tears dripped onto the back of my hand that I realized my face was already soaked with them.

I suddenly remembered.

Five years of courting, and Lorenzo had always been restrained, always proper.

He said he respected me, so he never crossed a line.

Even holding my hand, even a hug, he'd ask my permission first.

Back then I always thought.

It was because he cherished me.

But only today did I understand.

Truly loving someone can't be hidden.

You can't help drawing close, can't hold back from embracing them, can't stop yourself from wanting to kiss them.

He wasn't restrained by nature.

He simply never loved me that fiercely.

I let out a bitter laugh.

Raised my hand and threw the love lock into the man-made lake below the bridge.

"Splash."

Ripples spread out across the water.

The lock quickly sank to the bottom, gone without a trace.

Just like these five years between me and Lorenzo.

Starting today.

Lorenzo, I won't love you anymore.

I raised my hand, wiped away the last tear on my face. My mother's thin gold ring turned once on my finger, then I pushed it hard to the knuckle, and without looking back, turned and walked off the Lovers' Bridge.

Just as I turned to leave, a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Birdie."

My steps halted.

I turned. Lorenzo stood a short distance away, watching me with something complicated in his eyes.

Without thinking, I clenched my fists. I didn't want him to see me in such a state.

I'd run the whole way out, and the long hair I'd carefully styled was a mess now, my makeup cried off, one of the pearl earrings gone from my ear somewhere along the way. I looked wrecked, beyond words.

I didn't know whether he had seen me pull that love lock off with my own hands and throw it into the lake.

Maybe he had.

But he probably didn't care.

I drew in a deep breath and told myself, in my heart, this was the last time I would ever cry for this man.

Lorenzo looked at my reddened eyes, and something like reluctance flickered deep in his.

For one instant, I ridiculously let myself believe he still had a little feeling left for me.

Then his next words shattered the last of that illusion.

"You heard everything I said back there, didn't you."

"Adriana, I can't let Gemma go."

"So I'm going to seal the bond with her first, in front of both Families."

"But don't worry, I won't do you wrong either."

"When this is over, I'll take you as mine. I give you my word."

"You'll always carry the Marchetti name."

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, as if he were bestowing some enormous favor on me. The way a Boss tosses a scrap of tribute to a soldier who'd already bled for him.

Watching him wear that lofty, condescending look, all I felt was how absurd it was.

So this was it.

This was the man I'd loved for five years.

I looked at him, calm. My thumb found my mother's thin gold ring and pushed it slow along my finger.

"Lorenzo."

"I'm not going to marry you."

His face darkened at once. His thumb moved to the face of his watch, dragging a slow circle across the glass.

"If you don't marry me, who else are you going to marry?"

"Adriana, you're already thirty."

"Once this alliance is broken, every Family from here to the docks will know you're the bride I set aside."

"Who do you think would dare take you into their blood then?"

"Or are you planning to just grab any man off the street and hand yourself over?"

My pupils shrank sharply.

I never imagined words like that could come out of Lorenzo's mouth.

He knew me too well.

He knew exactly which line would cut me deepest. Like a knife slid clean between the ribs, aimed by a man who'd studied where they were.

Maybe he saw my face growing worse and worse.

Lorenzo fell silent for a few seconds, the circle of his thumb stalling on the watch, then softened his tone.

"That came out too harsh."

"Birdie, be reasonable."

"I'll make it up to you."

"When this is over, I'll give you the grandest joining of bloodlines this city has ever seen. I swear it on the Family."

"You and Gemma both, I'll take care of you both."

"I won't favor either of you."

I couldn't help laughing.

Laughing until the tears nearly came.

Won't favor?

Lorenzo, when have you ever not favored her?

I suddenly thought of what had happened half a month ago, the night the Marchetti crew marked its anniversary.

That night, the Family had booked the finest yacht on the river for the reception, the deck strung with light, soldiers posted quiet at every rail.

Lorenzo stood with me at the water's edge of the deck.

He said he'd bring me some champagne, told me to wait right there for him.

The moment he left, Gemma came over.

The usual careful, timid look was gone from her face. In its place was undisguised triumph. She kept one hand pressed flat and smooth against her belly, the way she always did when she wanted the world to pity her.

"Adriana."

"So what if you're the promised bride of the Marchetti heir?"

"The only person Lorenzo will ever love is me."

And with that, she suddenly climbed over the railing and dropped down into the river.

"Someone fell in!"

The screaming went up all at once.

I froze completely, then instinctively ran toward the railing.

But before I could reach it, a huge force slammed into me and knocked me aside.

I hit the deck hard, scraping a wide patch off my palm and wrenching my ankle badly.

When I lifted my head—

Lorenzo had already jumped into the river without a second's hesitation.

He was swimming toward Gemma with everything he had.

Quickly.

He had her up in his arms.

She was soaked through, the gown clinging to her body, and plenty of made men and their wives around were casting strange looks.

Gemma cried, shaking all over, and curled into Lorenzo's chest.

Without the slightest hesitation, in front of everyone, in front of the whole Family, he stripped off his suit jacket and wrapped her up in it, tight.

He swept a cold gaze over the people around them.

"What are you all looking at?"

"Turn around."

No one dared look again. Not one soldier, not one captain. The deck went silent as a church.

Then he scooped Gemma up and strode out of the banquet hall.

From beginning to end.

He never once turned back to look at me.

As if he'd already forgotten.

That I was the promised bride who had come to the reception on his arm.

I sat alone on the cold deck.

My ankle swollen high, my palm raw with blood.

Not until the reception ended, when my parents couldn't reach me and rushed over, was I finally taken to the hospital.

After I got home, I ran a high fever for a whole week.

But this time.

Lorenzo never came to see me once.

Ten days later.

He finally showed up at my door.

But the first thing out of his mouth was to tell me.

"I'm sealing the bond with Gemma first."