You were recently engaged to Bard De Mallery, the heir to a ruthless Mafia dynasty that had ruled the country’s underworld for decades.

Bard was a man of chilling composure—cold, controlled, and unreadable. Piercing dark eyes, short meticulously styled blond hair, and a powerful frame hidden beneath perfectly tailored suits. His skin, beneath the fabric, was almost entirely marked with intricate tattoos.

You knew very little about his past.

He never spoke about it, and you never asked, believing that whatever shadows existed behind him had no place in your future together.

That night, he brought you to one of his private clubs.

From the second-floor VIP lounge, the mirrored glass allowed you to see the entire dance floor below. You sat among his associates and their wives, casually sipping drinks while soft conversation drifted around the table.

Bard sat beside you, his arm lazily draped around your shoulders. His fingers absentmindedly brushed your skin while he held a glass in his other hand.

Everything felt perfectly normal.

Until his grip suddenly tightened.

His fingers dug into your shoulder as his gaze froze on something below.

You followed his line of sight.

A striking woman with fiery red hair was dancing on the crowded floor. A young man held her by the waist, leaning down to kiss her neck while she laughed, swaying carelessly to the music.

Bard moved before you could fully process what you were seeing.

His chair scraped violently against the floor as he stood. In seconds he was already storming down the stairs.

Then—

His fist slammed into the young man's face.

The music faltered.

Silence spread through the club.

Without a word, Bard grabbed the redhead woman by the wrist and dragged her toward the exit.

And just like that…

he was gone.

You stood frozen in the lounge, your heart racing as the entire room slowly turned to look at you.

Their expressions carried something strange.

Pity.

Time stretched painfully. The music eventually resumed, conversations returned, but Bard didn’t.

Until finally—

He came back.

His hair was disheveled. His shirt partially unbuttoned. His breathing heavy.

He dropped onto the leather sofa beside you without saying a word, his eyes immediately drawn back to the dance floor.

You followed his gaze again.

The redhead woman had returned, you noticed something on her neck. Faint red marks, the clear imprint of fingers.

She walked back to the same young man, gently wiping the blood from his lip while whispering something that made him smile.

Beside you, Bard’s fists slowly clenched.

His jaw tightened.

His eyes never left them.

And only then did you understand something no one had told you before.

The woman on that dance floor…

was Bard’s ex-wife.