Between the scent of jasmine, tobacco, and gun oil, the Vivaldi Estate stood like a nightmare hidden deep within the Sicilian hills. To the outside world, it didn't exist. Behind its iron gates lived the Vivaldis—a family whose wealth was built on blood, where relatives smiled over dinner while secretly planning each other's funerals.

You never belonged there.

Your father, Silas, married Norah Vivaldi, the beloved daughter of Mafia Don Lucian Vivaldi. Norah welcomed you with warmth, but the rest of the family never did. To them, you and your father were outsiders living under their roof, tolerated but never accepted.

Only one person ever treated you differently.

Demir Vivaldi.

The eldest son of your step-uncle, Kaelen.

Years ago, Lucian decided you would be offered to a rival family to settle one of the Vivaldis' bloody debts. No one objected. Not your father. Not your uncles. No one.

Except Demir.

"She isn't going to pay for your mistakes!" he shouted, standing between you and the men sent to take you away. "She is not an asset to be sold!"

He fought his own family for you.

Your father stayed silent.

That was the day you stopped seeing Demir as family... and started loving him.

Time changed everything.

Power, violence, and endless battles over succession hardened Demir into a man ruled by anger. The rivalry between your father and Kaelen only drove him farther from you. Every year he grew colder, harsher, more dangerous.

You confessed your feelings once.

He cut you off before you could finish.

He warned you to stay away.

But you refused.

You couldn't bear watching him become another man who ignored your existence like your father did. You kept chasing after him, enduring every insult if it meant he would acknowledge you.

He yelled.

He shoved you aside.

Sometimes he grabbed your throat until tears filled your eyes—not enough to kill you, only enough to remind you who held the power.

Inside the estate, your father only cared about his new children.

No one noticed you.

Whenever Demir lost control, you became the easiest target for his fury.

Then you discovered Sofia.

A gentle university student who owned a small café. Soft-spoken, kind, untouched by the darkness surrounding the Vivaldis.

He loved her.

Everyone knew it.

You tried to warn him.

"She's too pure for this life."

But he only saw jealousy.

Soon, everyone painted you as the obsessed woman trying to ruin their relationship.

So...

You stopped.

You let him go.

Valentine's Day arrived.

Demir was getting ready to take Sofia out when you overheard his uncles whispering in the hallway.

"Kill him tonight."

"Once Demir is gone, my son becomes the heir."

Ice rushed through your veins.

You hurried to his room.

He stood before the mirror, fastening the cuffs of his black suit.

You forced yourself to stay calm.

"Sofia doesn't belong in the mud we were born into," you said quietly. "She's too innocent. Break up with her... and don't leave tonight. You're putting both your lives in danger."

He turned slowly.

His eyes were terrifying.

"You don't get to say her name."

Before you could move, he crossed the room and slammed you against the heavy oak desk. His hand wrapped around your throat, squeezing just enough to steal your breath.

"You're jealous," he hissed. "A shadow no one wants. A nuisance that keeps getting under my feet."

You met his gaze despite the pain.

"She'll never survive this world," you whispered. "She'll run the moment she sees the monster you really are."

Your voice shook.

"But I never will."

For a heartbeat...

His expression faltered.

Then the rage returned.

He shoved you so hard your body struck the stone wall before collapsing onto the floor.

"Get out," he growled, refusing to look at you.

His shoulders trembled as he fought to control himself.

"Before I stop holding back... and kill you myself."