Blood between vows

Chapter One: The Night Before

If fairy tales existed, mine ended the moment I agreed to marry a monster.

I was nineteen, dressed in a satin white gown that hugged every trembling inch of my body. The mirror reflected a version of me I no longer recognized—Arianna De Luca, the mafia princess promised to Matteo Moretti. Thirty years old. Ruthless. Beautiful in a cruel, ruinous kind of way.

I should’ve been ecstatic. Every girl in our world would’ve killed to be his. But I was dying, inch by inch.

Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding day.

Tonight, everything shattered.

Bang!

The door slammed open, and I turned, heart in my throat, only to see him—Matteo. In a black suit, no tie, shirt unbuttoned at the top, shadows carved into his jaw like he hadn't slept in days.

His eyes—those goddamn steel gray eyes—locked onto mine with fury. “What did you do, Arianna?”

My knees almost buckled. “What are you talking about?”

He marched across the room, rage radiating off him like fire. “You told Romano about the shipment. You gave him access to my route. My men nearly died because of you.”

“What?” I whispered, horrified. “No—I didn't—”

“Don’t lie to me!” he roared, slamming his hand against the wall beside my head, caging me in.

“I didn’t tell anyone anything,” I breathed, fighting tears. “I love you, Matteo. You know that—”

“No,” he growled. “No, you don’t. You love control. You love watching me unravel.”

And then I did it. The most cowardly thing I’ve ever done.

I lied.

“I don’t love you,” I said coldly. “I never did. I wanted freedom. You were just a way out.”

His jaw clenched so hard, I thought it might break. He stared at me like I was a ghost—like the woman he once held wasn’t standing right there.

Then he turned away. “Wedding’s off.”

And just like that, he vanished.

I collapsed onto the floor, a broken bride in white, the lie bleeding from my lips like poison.