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I give Alessio a pointed look, but he smirks, stepping past Paola, completely unfazed, like the cocky bastard he is.

“See you in an hour,Sirena,” he murmurs before disappearing down the hall.

I let out a breath, turning back to Paola, who’s looking at me like she desperately wants to say something I don’t want to hear.

“Don’t,” I warn, pointing a finger at her.

She grins. “Mmm-hmm.”

I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “I know you’re Team Let’s Work It Out,” I say, throwing up air quotes, “but Ican’t. I know I’m contradicting myself. Hell, I’ve already fallen for him; there’sno denying that. But after just one night in his world, I’m scared. Not just nervous or anxious. Scared in a way that creeps into my bones and won’t let go. Scared I’ll end up like my mom. Just another cold case file collecting dust. Another girl who got too close to the fire and disappeared in the smoke.”

Then she pulls out a knee-length emerald lace V-neck dress, holding it up like a holy relic. I notice how it cinches under the boobs and flows over the stomach, so it will be comfortable and loose enough that it won’t bother my stitches. Too bad it’s for a dinner I don’t want to attend.

Paola doesn’t even flinch. “You two work so well together,” she says like it’s a fact. “There’s a real connection. I saw it the first time you were in the kitchen together. You’re meant to be.” She grabs a pair of emerald heels with a black lace overlay, holding them out like they’re supposed to seal the deal.

I scoff, throwing my hands up. “No. He’s part of the monsters I ran from my whole life. Just because he’s good for my hole doesn’t mean he’s good for my soul.”

Paola arches a brow like she’s unimpressed with my dramatics. “You’d be surprised at the kind of man Don Alessio truly is.”

“Oh, you mean the big, bad mafia boss who plays with people’s lives like they’re chess pieces?” I deadpan.

She shakes her head, but there’s something unreadable in her expression. “No. It’s more than that.”

She hesitates, like she’s debating whether to say it at all. Then, before she can stop herself, she blurts out, “He saved me, you know.”

I pause, the sarcasm dying on my tongue. “Saved you?”

Paola nods. “Yeah. Before I started working for him, I was caught up in a sex trafficking ring. I was young, dumb, and thought I could make some quick cash. That’s how they get you. He and his father broke up one of the auctions where I was being sold.”

I blink, staring at her like she just sprouted a second head. “Wait—Alessio?”

“Yes, Alessio,” she says, like she already knows I’m going to question it. “He had just taken over as head of the Philadelphia mafia, stepping into his father’s position. The new Donhad just moved into his new home, this home, and hired me right away. I didn’t even know how to cook, but he gave me a job and a place to stay. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be.”

I lean back, trying to wrap my head around it. Alessio, the ruthless, arrogant beast,savingpeople has me shell-shocked.

“So, what you’re telling me he’s some knight in shining armor now?” I scoff, crossing my arms. “That’s really hard to picture.”

Now that I think about it, he saved me twice, once from Ezra and again when I stopped breathing. Maybe even three times if you count everything he pulled at the hospital to make sure I had the best care.

If I were anyone else, I would probably be dead right now.

Paola lets out a small laugh, shaking her head. “Not a knight. But you need to understand that he’s not the monster you think he is. He has his demons, like all of us do.”

I chew on my bottom lip, my stomach twisting because I don’t want to understand it. I don’t want to see the noble side of him. It only makes it harder to hate him for what he did to me. “What if marrying him means I’m signing up for a life I can’t escape?”

“Don’t shut the door completely. You need to see him for who hereallyis, not just what he represents,” she says.

48

Liv

Paola helped me get ready. I left my hair natural, curly but tamed, and she did my makeup simple, yet parent-appropriate. Now I’m sitting in the car with Alessio, who’s rocking his usual black-on-black button-down and slacks combo. His sleeves are rolled up, showing off all that ink, and the first few buttons of his shirt are undone, giving him that effortlessI own the worldlook. I’ve been thinking about Paola’s words since I got in the car, and my mind won’t stop spinning.

“It’s just dinner, and I’ll be with you,” Alessio says, his arm reaching out to grab my hand, lacing our fingers together.

I blink, realizing he thinks I’m nervous about meeting his parents. Which, honestly, I wasn’t even freaking out about until he said something. I force a weak smile as he gently squeezes my hand, holding it on his lap.

“I know,” I lie, even though there’s no way in hell I’m telling him the truth. That I’m stuck in this mess of wanting him so badly it hurts, while also wanting to run like hell in the opposite direction. I don’t even know what I want anymore. Just that I can’t say it out loud without everything falling apart.