Aurelia Valencia has spent her entire life being useful. Useful daughter. Useful socialite. Useful bargaining chip. So when her father informs her she’ll be marrying Damian DeLuca—the cold, ruthless heir to one of the most powerful mafia empires in the world—she’s expected to smile gracefully and obey. There’s only one problem: Damian DeLuca doesn’t want the marriage either. Emotionally detached, obsessively controlled, and terrifyingly unreadable, Damian views love as weakness and marriage as business. He agrees to the arrangement for one reason only: Power. Aurelia quickly decides she hates him. His arrogance. His silence. The way he watches her like he’s solving a problem instead of speaking to a person. Unfortunately for her, Damian starts noticing things he shouldn’t. The way she twists rings on her fingers when anxious. How she pretends not to care when people dismiss her. How she smiles through loneliness so nobody worries. And somewhere between gala appearances, family pressure, one-bed hotel suites, and quiet late-night conversations neither of them were supposed to enjoy— hatred becomes something far more dangerous. Now Damian finds himself doing things he swore he never would: remembering her favorite flowers, threatening men for disrespecting her, and standing outside her bedroom door after arguments just to make sure she’s still there. Because Aurelia was supposed to be temporary. A strategic alliance. Not the only person capable of bringing an empire to its knees.