Serena Karaçay, the secret daughter of Turkey's most powerful mafia leader, Yusuf Karaçay, has always stayed out of the spotlight. But when a lavish gala brings her face-to-face with Lorenzo Moretti, heir to the rival Italian mafia family, everything changes.
As the Russian mafia, led by the ruthless Ivanov Petrov, targets Serena, she realizes she needs more than just her father's protection to survive. To stay safe, an arranged marriage is her only option-but to whom?
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"Listen to me, Serena." His voice cracked like a whip, but I wasn't done.
"No, you listen to me!" I yelled, stepping closer to him, my face inches from his. "I'm tired, Lorenzo. Tired of this life, tired of this nightmare. I'm tired of you."
He stared at me, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths. His face was unreadable, a mixture of anger, frustration, and something else I couldn't place.
I was losing control. My emotions poured out in a torrent I couldn't stop, my fists pounding against Lorenzo's chest as sobs racked through me. Tears streamed down my face, and my voice cracked with each scream.
"Why don't you understand?! I hate this life! I hate all of this!" I yelled, hitting him harder.
--
SLOW BURN!!!!!
When my family owes The Don of The Italian Mafia money that they don't have; how do they repay him? The answer, an arranged marriage. With whom? The youngest daughter, of course. Who is the youngest?
Me.
Isabella Morello.
My life wasn't always rainbows and a field of flowers on a sunny day. But, I thought I meant more to my family than this. Who do I have to marry? The net heir of the Italian Mafia. I thought I would find love on my own. I thought I would marry the love of my life. I thought a lot of things by my life isn't a book and this isn't a fairytale. I have to abide by my parents' arrangement; even if it means I lose my heart to the Devil himself. He's arrogant, cruel, heartless, but under his cold exterior there has to be a soul inside, right? Will I have my hert intact or will his coldness shatter it in the process? Will this be a tattered love or a love that could last? Will he ever love me, that's the real question.
"ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ɪ'ᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪꜱ; ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴍɪꜱᴛᴀᴋᴇɴ. ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ; ɪᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ'ꜱ" -ᴀʟᴇꜱꜱɪᴏ ɢʀᴇᴄᴏ
"𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍." -𝙸𝚜𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚊 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘