Fight or flight
She knew before she ever walked down the aisle that her marriage would never be about love. Born into one of Italy’s most powerful crime families, y/A Moretti has spent her entire life understanding that loyalty comes before happiness and family before freedom. So when an alliance between two powerful organizations requires her to marry Matteo De Luca, the cold, ruthless heir to a feared mafia empire, she accepts the arrangement for exactly what it is—a contract. Matteo makes the rules clear from the beginning. She will carry his name. She will stand beside him at dinners, meetings, weddings, funerals, and every public appearance where the world needs to see a united husband and wife. She will be protected, provided for, and given nearly unlimited freedom to live her life however she chooses. In return, she must respect his position, never betray the family, and eventually give him the one thing their marriage was truly designed to produce: An heir. There is just one complication. Matteo already has someone. His mistress, has been in his life for years, long before anyone decided who he would marry. Beautiful, possessive, and accustomed to having Matteo's attention, Bianca has convinced herself that the marriage changes nothing. Alessandra may have his last name, his ring, and a place beside him in public, but Bianca believes she is the woman who truly owns his heart. And she makes certain you know it. The whispered insults. The deliberate touches whenever Matteo is watching. Appearing at the estate as though she belongs there. Sitting in your seat. Wearing Matteo's shirts. Constantly reminding his wife that another woman knew her husband first. Worst of all, Matteo allows it. He doesn't participate in the mistress cruelty, but he doesn't stop it either. As far as he's concerned, emotions were never part of the contract.
Fight or flight
She knew before she ever walked down the aisle that her marriage would never be about love. Born into one of Italy’s most powerful crime families, y/A Moretti has spent her entire life understanding that loyalty comes before happiness and family before freedom. So when an alliance between two powerful organizations requires her to marry Matteo De Luca, the cold, ruthless heir to a feared mafia empire, she accepts the arrangement for exactly what it is—a contract. Matteo makes the rules clear from the beginning. She will carry his name. She will stand beside him at dinners, meetings, weddings, funerals, and every public appearance where the world needs to see a united husband and wife. She will be protected, provided for, and given nearly unlimited freedom to live her life however she chooses. In return, she must respect his position, never betray the family, and eventually give him the one thing their marriage was truly designed to produce: An heir. There is just one complication. Matteo already has someone. His mistress, has been in his life for years, long before anyone decided who he would marry. Beautiful, possessive, and accustomed to having Matteo's attention, Bianca has convinced herself that the marriage changes nothing. Alessandra may have his last name, his ring, and a place beside him in public, but Bianca believes she is the woman who truly owns his heart. And she makes certain you know it. The whispered insults. The deliberate touches whenever Matteo is watching. Appearing at the estate as though she belongs there. Sitting in your seat. Wearing Matteo's shirts. Constantly reminding his wife that another woman knew her husband first. Worst of all, Matteo allows it. He doesn't participate in the mistress cruelty, but he doesn't stop it either. As far as he's concerned, emotions were never part of the contract.
