With tears already brimming, Lizetta asked me, "Can I stay in your house? What I mean is, since you're allergic to cats, you probably haven't had time to tidy up anyway. Why don't you let me stay here?"

Just then, Tommaso and Geffri, who had been trading blows like two soldiers settling a grudge in the back of a social club, stopped and turned to look at me in unison.

"You know, Lizetta has a point. Would you mind staying somewhere else for a few days, Gioia? We'll cover all the costs."

I considered it for a moment before suggesting, "Why don't I just sell the place to Lizetta instead?"

It seemed Tommaso and Geffri thought I didn't want to let Lizetta stay. They were immediately twisting it back on me, reminding me of how she had once saved my life, as if that debt sat over my head like a marker called in.

The onlookers who didn't know the full story joined in, the way men in a crowd always side with the one crying. They told me to pay the favor.

To pressure me into agreeing, both men counted out three hundred thousand in tribute right there in front of everyone. "It's only for a few days. Consider this rent, okay?"

At this point, refusing in front of the ranks would have cost me more than the house. "Fine!"

The three of them immediately cheered, clasping hands as if the brawl had never happened.

I didn't bother watching them celebrate. I went home to pack my bags.

On my way back, Lizetta sent me a message. "Gioia, I think that amount should be enough to buy your house outright, right? Why don't you just sell it to me?"

What she suggested was exactly what I wanted. I had no plans to come back once the alliance was sealed in Ansel City, so I needed the asset off my hands anyway.

Lizetta was thrilled when I agreed and begged me not to breathe a word to Tommaso or Geffri just yet. Of course, I was more than happy to keep that quiet.

Looking around the held ground that had been my family's, I realized that apart from my parents' things, there wasn't much I needed to take.

The next day, when Tommaso and Geffri brought Lizetta back, the men I'd hired to clear the place had already hauled out everything I didn't want. The two of them didn't look pleased at the near-empty rooms. "Gioia, we only asked you to lend the place for a few days. Do you really have to guard it like there's a thief in the family?"

"You're reading too much into it. I just cleared out what I don't need, to make room for Lizetta," I replied calmly.

The explanation seemed to settle them, at least a little. "Well, fine. We'll replace the furniture later."

Lizetta, who had been watching me with nervous eyes, finally relaxed when I agreed and said nothing more.

I smiled, told the two of them what they wanted to hear, and pushed my suitcase toward the door.

They insisted on walking me down, and I couldn't refuse without making it strange, so I let them.

Just as I was about to step into the elevator, the fire alarm tore through the entire building. The next second, the power cut out and the hall went black.

Tommaso and Geffri immediately closed ranks around Lizetta and steered her down the emergency stairs.

Smelling smoke, I gripped my suitcase and made for the emergency exit as fast as I could.

The heavy case made the stairwell impossible to manage, and I nearly lost my footing when someone shoved past me in the dark. Then a hand caught me, and I fell into a warm, solid embrace.

"Watch your step. Are you all right?"

The man's deep, low voice brushed past my ear and sent the blood rushing to my face. I tried to pull my hand free, but he held me steady, putting his body between me and the crowd pressing through.

We reached the ground floor and he let me go. My face burned as I thanked him.

He looked at me, unhurried, taking my measure. "There's no need to be so formal with me. After all, we're practically famiglia."

Startled, I glanced up and found myself staring into eyes dark as obsidian.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Lorenzo Vitale," he said.

My heart skipped. So this was the man my uncle had chosen to bind me to.

But hadn't my uncle said Lorenzo wouldn't return until tomorrow, the same day we were to seal the alliance pact?

Reading the confusion on my face, he smiled. "When word reached me that you'd agreed to the union, I wrapped up my business early and came back. I couldn't wait any longer to meet you."

His voice, rich and unhurried as a cello, paired with that gentle, indulgent smile, struck something behind my ribs.

My eyes moved over him more than once, and the longer I looked, the faster my heart raced.

Damn you, Don. Why didn't you put a photograph in front of me sooner? This man was everything I'd ever let myself imagine.

Maybe my gaze was a bit too intense, because I noticed a faint blush creeping up Lorenzo's ears, an unguarded thing on a man whose name made other men lower their voices.

"Gioia," he hesitated. "You... you're not having second thoughts about the union, are you? Are you unhappy with me?"

I quickly shook my head, then nodded emphatically. "No, no, I'm really happy with you!"

Hearing this, the man immediately smiled radiantly. It was so radiant that it seemed like a spring sunlight melting the last patches of snow, an expression I doubted his soldiers had ever seen cross his face.

Lorenzo told me he had pulled some strings to move the sealing of the alliance pact to today, and I was more than willing to go with him to the courthouse where his people had already smoothed every signature in advance.

By the time Tommaso and Geffri arrived with Lizetta, Lorenzo and I were looking and smiling at each other. At that moment, all I could hear was the pounding of my own heartbeat.

It was not until I heard Tommaso's familiar voice calling my name that I realized I had been staring at Lorenzo like a lovestruck fool. "Gioia! Why didn't you pick up your phone? We were worried sick when we couldn't find you!" he scolded.

"Geffri even went back up for you, and all he found was the cat. You didn't even bother bringing the poor thing down! She's been shivering non-stop!"

Geffri nodded along, giving me his piece of mind and complaining about me in the same breath.

Lizetta quickly jumped to my defense. "Don't be too hard on Gioia. We forgot about Vera too, didn't we? Thank goodness Geffri went back and helped me rescue her." The cat wound itself trustingly against Geffri's wrist, oblivious.

Her meaning was clear. The only reason Geffri returned to the house was to rescue her cat, not me.

I checked my phone. It had been two hours since the fire alarm went off, and sure enough, I saw a single missed call. I swore my phone had buzzed for just a second before the call abruptly ended.

Their supposed "concern" struck me as ironic.

The smile on Lorenzo's face faded the moment the three of them showed up, especially when he noticed the cat trembling in Lizetta's arms. He pulled me behind him with a quiet, possessive certainty, his tone anxious when he said, "Gioia, you're allergic to cat fur. Stay back."

Then he drew an allergy pill from his pocket. He wanted me to take it.

His protective actions made the two men's faces darken.

"Allergy pills aren't candy. You shouldn't just hand them out recklessly!" Geffri snapped.

I stopped Lorenzo's hand, reassuring him softly that I had already taken my medication that day.

He was not convinced. When he saw me cough a few times behind my hand, his expression filled with worry.

"If you're coughing, then something's wrong," he insisted. His eyes turned sharp as he looked at the group, and the easy charm was gone from them entirely. "The three of you, and the cat. Stay away from Gioia."

He didn't wait for a response. He took my hand and drew me away from them as if they were some kind of danger that needed answering.

This was the first time anyone had ever taken my allergy so seriously, least of all a man I had just met. Even if my uncle had warned him in advance, his concern for me far outweighed the so-called "care" I had received from Tommaso, who had been raised beside me for ten years.

Maybe Lorenzo's sudden appearance set off some alarm in Tommaso and Geffri's hearts, because they called after me, "Gioia, who is he?"

Before I could answer, Lizetta asked in a voice full of curiosity, "Is he your new man, Gioia?"

Both Tommaso and Geffri scoffed in unison. "No way. This has to be an act. She's just trying to get back at us for not paying attention to her lately."

I didn't want to explain myself to these two overconfident men. But I also didn't want to cause any misunderstanding with Lorenzo right after we had bound our Families together.

I squeezed Lorenzo's hand tightly, our fingers intertwining, and drew out the witnessed alliance pact, its red seal catching the light. Waving it in front of Tommaso and Geffri, I said, "Let me formally introduce you to him. This is my husband."

Their smiles froze.

They were stunned into silence.

Then they burst out laughing, as if I had cracked the world's worst joke.

"Gioia, that's not funny at all!" they said, almost doubling over.

But their laughter died away when I opened the pact fully, revealing the unmistakable seal of authenticity, the kind no rival in any territory would dare contest.

Panic washed over their faces, as if something precious had slipped right through their fingers.

Geffri's jaw worked, and for once the loud man had nothing to say.

"Gioia Marchetti, just because we forgot to grab you in the fire doesn't mean you should marry the first man you see!"

"Go back to the courthouse and tear it up. Now."