The Enemy I Desired

PROLOGUE

I was raised in a world where love was considered a weakness.

In our world, people killed for power, lied for loyalty, and betrayed for survival. Blood meant family. Fear meant respect. And mercy?

Mercy was what got people buried six feet underground.

My name is Seraphina Valentina Moretti—daughter of the Moretti Cartel, heir to one of the deadliest empires in Europe.

People called me La Rosa Rossa.
The Red Rose.

Beautiful. Dangerous. Untouchable.

But they never knew the truth behind the title.

Roses were only beautiful until you touched the thorns.

I learned that lesson the night my father was taken away.

I was fourteen when armed men stormed our estate. The sound of gunfire echoed through the hallways while my mother held my trembling shoulders, forcing me to watch everything with dry eyes.

"Never cry in front of your enemies," she whispered.

So I didn't.

Not when blood stained our marble floors.
Not when my father was dragged away in handcuffs.
Not when the name De Luca became the reason our family fell apart.

That night, hatred was planted inside me like poison.

And at the center of it stood one name.

Alessandro Vittorio De Luca.

The heir of the De Luca Syndicate.
The Black King.

Cold-hearted. Ruthless. Untouchable.

They said he watched people die without remorse. They said even his own men feared him more than death itself. To the world, he was a billionaire wrapped in expensive suits and charm.

But underneath the polished image was a monster raised by violence.

Just like me.

For years, I prepared myself for war against his family. I learned how to negotiate with dangerous men twice my age, how to hide weapons beneath designer dresses, and how to smile while planning someone's destruction.

I promised myself one thing:

I would never trust a De Luca.

Especially him.

But fate has always enjoyed ruining promises.

Because the first time I met Alessandro Vittorio De Luca face-to-face, I realized something far more terrifying than hatred—

The enemy looking back at me felt exactly like home