Vengeance.
It's something I've been taught as the son of a cruel mafia don; something I've comforted myself with for years.
When the one thing that kept me grounded is yanked away so ruthlessly, it's only in my nature to strike out in the only way...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Who are you?" I asked when I couldn't take the silence between me and this man I knew nothing about. "You look familiar."
"And you look nothing like the girl I took out on a date," he shot back with a smile.
This close to him, I could see the color of his eyes, a dark brown that was almost black, framed by long lashes, a contrast to Nicholas's silver eyes, and long, thick lashes. He had a pearl earring in his left ear, but aside from that, he was free of any piercings.
Unlike Nicholas...
I stopped myself before I made another comparison between them. What was wrong with me? They were both handsome in their way, but Nicholas was in a league of his own, a dark, intriguing beauty that...
I cursed myself. There I went again putting Nicholas on a damn pedestal.
"We went out on a date?"
"Yes. It wasn't really a date. More like I pretended to be your date so you wouldn't be lonely."
"When was this?"
"Prom."
Prom.
My eyes bulged out of my head. "Oh, my God, your name is spelled N-i-c minus the k." I laughed at the memory. That was how he introduced himself to me when we first met at prom.
After the car accident, rumors of me being responsible for it spread around, and I became the pariah at school. No one wanted to date or hang out with the murderer, so I had no friends or a date to prom.
Nic dropped off his little sister, and when he saw me heading home before the party even began, he offered to be my date. The only reason I attended the party at all was because Cara convinced me to. All eyes had been on us that night, and he had been a great companion.
He smirked at me. "It's been a long time, Principessa."
"Your sister's name is Caterina, right? How is she?"
"A pain in the ass like always, but she couldn't make it tonight."
"Oh. I didn't know you were a part of the mafia," I whispered.
"Why are we whispering 'the mafia'?" Nic mimicked my tone, his eyes dancing with amusement. "We're surrounded by criminals."
I blushed at my stupidity, making Nic laugh.
"Don't be embarrassed, Principessa. You look cute."
I couldn't resist the urge to wave my wedding ring in front of him. "I'm a married woman. You shouldn't flirt with a Capo's wife unless you find this world no longer worth living in."
"Nah, I could take Nicholas on. Besides, he doesn't deserve you. The son of a bitch only married you for revenge."
So, everyone knew why we were married. The strange urge to defend Nicholas washed over me. "Nicholas is a good man. He's just misunderstood. Plus, it's not like everyone here got married for love. There was a business motive underneath every union."
