The engagement party was everything she feared — and more.
Golden chandeliers. Champagne towers. Murmured threats disguised as compliments. Half the room wanted her dead. The other half wanted her in a cage.
And at the center of it all: her.
Amethyst stood beside Luciano in a silk ivory gown, her engagement ring glittering under the lights. His hand rested on the small of her back — not possessive, but protective. Claiming. Grounding.
"You have until the toast," he'd whispered that morning, brushing his lips over her neck. "Then I need your answer."
She hadn't responded.
She didn't need to.
Everyone here already assumed she'd said yes. The ring said enough.
But the truth sat like ice in her throat.
Across the room, mafia families raised glasses and offered veiled smiles. She caught snippets of conversation — deals, alliances, threats. Every man in this room had blood on his hands. Including hers.
She took a slow sip of wine and scanned the crowd… and then froze.
Her father was here.
Dressed in borrowed silk. Grinning like a man who just sold his soul twice. He wasn't supposed to be here. She hadn't seen him since the night he signed her away like a deal gone bad.
Luciano's body went still beside her.
"You didn't invite him," she said under her breath.
"No," he growled. "But someone did."
Her father caught her gaze, raised his glass, and smirked.
And then… someone else moved behind him.
Someone she hadn't seen in years.
Elias.
Her childhood friend. The boy who used to sneak her out of her father's estate to look at the stars. The boy who kissed her once in a closet and whispered, "I'll come back for you."
And now, he was here — in the lion's den — dressed in black, eyes sharp with warning.
Luciano followed her stare, tensing.
"Who is he?"
"No one," she lied.
Luciano's eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her — not for a second.
The room dimmed slightly, signaling the toast was near. A server passed by with a tray of champagne.
Luciano reached for one.
Elias moved.
In a flash, he was at the tray too, grabbing a glass — not to drink. To sniff.
His jaw locked.
He looked up, and for a split second, he met Amethyst's gaze.
Don't drink it.
Her stomach dropped.
Luciano raised his glass, unaware.
Amethyst slapped it out of his hand — just before it touched his lips.
The crystal shattered on the marble floor. Silence fell.
Eyes turned. Faces froze.
Luciano stared at her. "What the hell are you doing?"
"It was poisoned," she whispered.
A heartbeat later — chaos.
The lights cut out.
A scream rang out across the ballroom.
Gunshots cracked the air.
Luciano shoved Amethyst behind him, drawing his weapon with frightening speed. Guards flooded the room. A man near the door dropped, a bullet in his throat. Elias was already pulling her back, toward the hallway.
Luciano turned, furious. "Don't you touch her—"
"He saved you," she yelled. "Let him help!"
More gunfire. More screams. Her heels slipped on the marble, but Elias gripped her wrist like he'd never let go again.
"Come with me," he said.
Luciano stepped forward, eyes like fire. "If you leave with him, you don't come back."
The world froze.
Luciano — the devil in a suit, the man who kissed her like she was salvation and ruin — stared at her like she held his heart in her hands.
Behind her, Elias whispered, "Please. You don't belong in this world."
And suddenly, the truth wasn't cold anymore.
It burned.
Because the girl she used to be wanted to run.
But the woman she was becoming…
She turned, looked at Luciano — and chose.