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."

"Adriana, what are you thinking about?"

Lorenzo's voice pulled me back.

I lifted my eyes to him and answered flatly.

"It's getting late. I should head back."

I didn't want to argue with him anymore.

Still less did I want to waste my last shred of dignity on a man who'd already broken faith with my father's name.

I turned to leave.

Lorenzo reached out on reflex and caught my wrist. His thumb was already moving over the face of his watch, slow, restless.

"Adri……"

I gently pulled free.

"Don't call me that anymore."

And with that, I walked away without looking back.

Behind me there was silence for a long time.

I knew he was still standing there, watching me, on a street that belonged, quietly, to men who answered to his crew.

Early the next morning, I went to the finest bridal atelier in the territory, the one the old Families trusted with their daughters.

I'd started having that gown made a full year in advance.

The design, the fabric, every tiny crystal on the veil, I had approved each one myself.

It was the gown I had most looked forward to wearing.

Now I only wanted it back.

But the manager's face was uneasy.

"Miss Rossi, I'm so sorry."

"That gown was picked up by Mr. Marchetti two days ago."

I froze.

"He said the joining of bloodlines required an early fitting. We assumed you'd authorized it, so……"

My heart sank, bit by bit.

Of course I understood.

I understood exactly why Lorenzo had taken that gown.

He and Gemma had decided to seal their union early. It was all rushed. There was no time to have a new gown made.

So.

He gave my gown to Gemma.

My assistant's eyes went red with anger.

"Miss Rossi, you designed that gown yourself!"

"Let's go get it back!"

I was quiet for a long while before I spoke, slowly.

"Something another woman has worn."

"I don't want it."

"But one day, I'll make them give it all back, untouched."

I went home.

The moment I stepped into the sitting room, I saw a strange woman and her son settled on the sofa, uninvited, at the very heart of the Rossi house.

The middle-aged woman's face was one big smile.

Beside her sat a heavyset man, around forty, hair slicked, face greasy, his eyes crawling over me again and again in a way that made my skin crawl.

I frowned.

"Papa, who are they?"

Before my father could speak.

The woman jumped up, all warmth.

"Adriana! I'm a distant cousin of the blood."

"I heard the Marchetti boy doesn't want you anymore, so I thought, why let a good match go to strangers? I'd introduce my son to you."

Her smile was thick with flattery.

"Sure, having the alliance broken stains your standing a little, but our family doesn't mind."

"Once you're married, you won't even have to lift a finger. Just stay home, tend to your husband, raise the children. My son will take good care of you."

The man smiled along.

"Adriana, don't you worry. I'll treat you well, for sure."

But his eyes fell, without any shame, on my chest and my waist.

It turned my stomach.

My mother's face darkened at once.

"Enforcer."

"Show them out."

The woman panicked instantly.

"Signora Rossi, I'm doing this for her good!"

"Everyone in the Families knows the Marchettis threw her over for another woman. What respect does Adriana have left now?"

"Who would dare take her after this?"

"My son may not have much rank, but he's honest, and he's willing to marry into your house. That way Adriana can stay under your roof. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

"That's right."

The man rubbed his hands together and grinned.

"I'll be so good to Adriana."

I looked at the greed in his eyes, and my stomach heaved.

The next second.

"Slap!"

My hand came up and I struck him across the face.

The man clutched his cheek and stared at me, disbelieving.

"You dare hit me?"

At that moment.

A cold, low voice sounded from the doorway.

"So what if she hits you?"

"Forget hitting you."

"Even if she ran you off Falcone ground, you'd deserve it."

Everyone turned at once. The room went still the way a room goes still when a made man crosses the threshold.

Lorenzo walked in.

His face was dark, pressure rolling off him.

His eyes were cold enough to frighten.

The mother and son went pale in an instant.

Lorenzo walked up to them, step by step.

His voice held not a trace of warmth.

"Adriana is my betrothed."

"Who gave you the nerve to set your sights on her?"

"Let me catch you near her again, and I promise, you'll regret ever setting foot in this city."

The woman went white with fear.

The man didn't dare say another word.

The two of them scrambled out of the Rossi house.

Quiet finally settled over the sitting room.

Lorenzo turned, looked at me, and his tone softened a good deal.

"Adri, are you all right?"

I looked at him.

For one moment, I almost believed he was still the boy who used to throw himself in front of me first to protect me, back before he learned what it cost to run a crew.

But the next second.

He took an invitation out of his suit pocket and held it out to me. His thumb grazed his watch once as he did it.

"Next Saturday is the day of the joining, after Gemma and I are bound."

"If you're willing, you can come."

The sitting room went silent in an instant.

My father drew a sharp breath.

On that bright red invitation, two names were printed side by side.

Lorenzo Marchetti.

Gemma Volpe.

But the strange thing was.

There wasn't a single ripple in my heart.

I took the invitation and only said, lightly.

"The family's very busy these days."

"I might not have the time."

Lorenzo frowned.

"Busy with what?"

I answered calmly.

"Busy with my wedding."

The air seemed to freeze for a beat.

Lorenzo went blank for a moment.

Then, as if he'd misunderstood something, the smile crept back to the corner of his mouth.

"I know."

"You don't have to worry about the wedding. I'll arrange all of it."

He thought.

I meant marrying him.

I didn't explain.

I only watched him leave, quietly. Under the table, I slid my mother's thin gold ring up hard to the knuckle and held it there.

A week later.

My parents finally settled a marriage for me.

The man was the heir to the Falcone Family, the first and greatest of the Families in this territory.

He'd spent years recovering somewhere far away, his health wasn't good, so word of his match had never reached the ears of the Cosa Nostra.

They said he had a gentle temperament, and the Falcone name carried honor no one questioned.

The only regret was that I would have to leave this city, the only ground I'd ever known.

And so it fell.

My wedding.

And Lorenzo binding himself to Gemma.

On the very same day.

On the day of the wedding, a fine rain drifted down from the sky.

I put on my new gown and got into the wedding car, two Falcone soldiers riding silent in the front seat.

The car pulled slowly away from the Rossi house.

My parents stood at the door, eyes red, waving to me without stopping.

Just as we passed through the city center.

Another wedding motorcade came toward us.

Beside the Rolls-Royce at the front.

Lorenzo stood in a black custom suit, waiting to receive Gemma.

And the gown on Gemma's body.

Was the very gown that had once been mine.

The two motorcades slowly slid past each other.

Through the car window.

I only glanced over, then drew my gaze back.

As if that man had long had nothing to do with me.

The wedding car swayed gently.

I leaned back against the seat and, without realizing it, drifted off to sleep.

On the other side.

Lorenzo stood at the hotel entrance, one of the Marchetti fronts, its doors held open by his own men.

He didn't go in.

The old priest brought in to bless the union couldn't help but remind him.

"Signor Marchetti, if we don't begin soon, we'll lose the auspicious hour."

"Why isn't Adriana here yet?"

The priest blinked.

"What?"

Lorenzo looked out past the hotel doors, a trace of unease in his eyes that he didn't even notice himself.

"She cares so much about me."

"She knows I'm being bound today. She'll come, for sure."

"No telling where she's hiding right now, crying to herself."

The priest's expression turned odd.

He hesitated a long time before saying quietly,

"Signor Marchetti……"

"You don't know?"

"Today is Miss Rossi's wedding too."

"She left the city an hour ago."