His Matriarch, Her Seraphim

The commotion had finally drawn him out: Felice.

He was tall and imposing, handsome as a dangerous black panther—far more intimidating than in his photos. He glanced at me with disdain, his gaze settling on me, crumpled and pathetic on the ground.

"This is our alliance dinner. What kind of disgraceful scene are you making out here?"

I struggled free from their grip and stood up, letting out a cold laugh. "Isn't the situation clear enough? Tell me, Felice. Is having your men rough me up at the entrance the Giordano family's way of treating guests? Do you have any idea that your mistress just tried to slash my face with a knife?"

Before I could finish, he cut me off with a frown. "Enough! Not only were you late, but you refused to come inside and started a scene at the door. Should my men not have restrained you? Should they have let you in to bite our distinguished guests like a mad dog?"

He stepped closer, his expensive cologne mixed with the strong scent of tobacco. "My time is valuable, and you just wasted it. You, a worthless orphan with no family to protect you. I have no idea why my father insists I marry a troublemaker like you. Is it just because you have a pretty face?"

The guests who had come out to watch the commotion were pointing at me and whispering. All those condescending looks made me feel like a clown on display.

He was right about one thing. My time had been wasted. I had spent so long preparing, even turning down a business deal—time that could have been spent implementing a new round of encryption upgrades for my "Seraphim" system.

"What a coincidence. I feel my time has been wasted, too. Since neither of us thinks much of the other, let's just cancel the alliance," I said calmly, my voice soft but perfectly clear.

Felice narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not expecting me to say that. "Are you threatening me? Wasn't making a scene in front of me enough, and now you want to stir up trouble by canceling the alliance? Do you think that will scare me?"

Seeing the look on his face, I suddenly felt at a loss for words. It was as if human language couldn't penetrate his brain.

Beside him, Bianca snuggled against him, her body as supple as a snake. "Felice, you see? She dares to cause such a scene at the alliance dinner. Imagine what she'll be like after you're married. She'll turn the world upside down!"

"A moment ago, as soon as she found out I was your woman and that I'm more attractive to you than she is, she was consumed by jealousy and tried to hit me. If it weren't for your men protecting me, she would have succeeded."

Felice stared at me in disbelief. "Bianca has been with me for two years and has handled countless private matters for me. Do you think she's some vapid ornament like you? What do you have to be jealous of?"

My lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. "I'm curious, why do you think I need to be jealous of a parasite who survives by pleasing men? It was she who..."

He interrupted me rudely again. "You expect me to believe a lunatic like you over Bianca?"

Bianca raised a hand to hide her triumphant smile. She blinked, tears welling in her eyes. "Felice, my heart aches for you. You're already the heir to the Giordano family, yet you're still under the thumb of your father, the Don, forced to marry a madwoman."

Felice had only been officially confirmed as the family's Underboss two years ago, and his father, Don Vincenzo Giordano, still held a firm grip on the family's power. Because of Vincenzo's dominance, Felice had accumulated a lot of anger and resentment, and the accusation that he was "controlled by his father" was the one thing guaranteed to make him lash out.

Her words hung in the air, tightening the tension.

Felice snarled, "You'd better kneel and apologize, Cassia. Otherwise, not even Stefano Abrams himself can save you. In Chicago, getting rid of someone is as easy as crushing an ant for me."