After three years of waiting for the man she loves, a woman watches him claim her sister instead. Heartbroken, she walks away and finds herself drawn into the world of a powerful mafia figure, where loyalty and desire collide.
The other group of men had come from the Valentino family. They'd originally come Bianca. By ritual rules, a woman who refused to be taken could hide and send them away empty-handed. it. Bianca didn't hide. She waited in her room to be taken. And the man she waited for was my husband. The room I was in wasn't mine. It was Bianca's. That afternoon-
Elena, stay in Bianca's room tonight. Yours is too far back, too quiet, they'll never find you. The men coming for Bianca are savages. You've always been tough. You can handle the rough play. Bianca is fragile. If she gets caught in the crossfire, it'll be a disaster. I said nothing. I knew exactly what she meant.
By the rules of the claiming, the groom's men would storm in. The woman was expected to It was called the gauntlet. The harder she fought, the more valuable she was. My stepmother studied my face testing me besides Dominic has never been to the Moretti estate at night the front room he'll find you faster back then I'd only wanted to make things easier for
agreed I even texted him my room location but they'd been planning this switch all along a roar of celebration erupted outside laughter and cheering rang out I listened but didn't move I