The Five Graves He Built for Love

"Back in my day, a filthy little whore like her would have been weighted and dropped in the river," Dominic's mother spat, her eyes brimming with contempt. "She's nothing compared to a girl of clean blood like you, Adriana."

She took Adriana's hands in hers, a sickeningly fond smile stretching across her face. The old widow of the Falcone line turned the dead Don's wedding band slowly around her own finger, and the whole room seemed to lean toward her. "It's decided then. Dominic isn't getting any younger, and today, I will make the decision. He will marry you into the famiglia."

This wasn't the first time I had stood in the great hall of the Falcone estate as nothing more than Dominic's 'courier.'

Back then, he had told me he was afraid his mother would disapprove of where I came from and refuse to accept me into the blood. But he swore he had chosen me, that he would seal our union first, quietly, and slowly work on winning the matriarch over. I had believed him. I had waited. Seven years had passed and I was still waiting.

Now, his mother, having somehow learned that I had given birth to five stillborn babies, regarded me with nothing but scorn. In her eyes, I was a promiscuous woman, a stain on the Family name that no amount of tribute could wash clean.

"A whore like her doesn't deserve to breathe another second under this roof. Dominic, get rid of her."

There was a time when Dominic would have defended me, even if only half-heartedly. But now, with Adriana gleaming under the great chandeliers, there was no space left for me in his gaze. The soldiers along the walls kept their eyes forward, their faces carved from stone. No one in that hall would meet my eyes.

Feigning reluctance, he sighed. "Alright. Since I'm crossing the sea on Family business the day after tomorrow, I'll take Adriana with me. We can hold the wedding there."

Not a moment's hesitation.

Adriana feigned shyness. Her fingers rose to touch the pendant at her throat. "But I haven't even tried on my wedding dress or picked out my ring yet."

As if on cue, the tall doors opened, and an array of twenty-three custom wedding gowns was wheeled into the hall, each cut by the great masters of the fashion houses, booked years in advance.

Each dress had a matching diamond ring, glistening like caged stars. One in particular, a pink diamond, I recognized from an auction I'd read of last month. It had gone for two hundred million.

These weren't last-minute arrangements. These had been prepared for a long time. Adriana gasped in delight, throwing her arms around Dominic. "Oh my God, they're all in my size! And twenty-three... the year we met! Dominic, you were thinking of me even back then, weren't you?"

She pouted playfully, and he only smiled, eyes brimming with indulgence.

I looked down at my own plain silver ring, the one he had given me the day he made his promise. It was too small, cutting into my skin every time I moved my finger. I had tried to take it off before, but I never could. And yet, those diamond rings, each an exact fit for Adriana, meant that he had never forgotten her size. It wasn't carelessness. It wasn't forgetfulness. He had never truly seen me at all.

Standing beside them, I felt like the punchline to a cruel joke. I turned on my heel and hurried toward the washroom. Splashing ice-cold water onto my face, I tried to wash away the tears that wouldn't stop falling. But no amount of water could cleanse the ache searing my chest. My thumb found the stump where my smallest finger should have been, and I pressed it hard against my palm until the room stopped swimming.

As I stepped out, I collided into a warm embrace. Dominic.

He pressed a delicate bottle of perfume into my hands, his voice soft with feigned tenderness. "Are you jealous? Today is my mother's feast day. I couldn't refuse her, not in front of the whole Family. Agreeing to marry Adriana is just for show. Those dresses and rings? They're only to please her."

His fingers brushed against my cheek. "Once I'm across the sea, I'll explain everything to her. You and I... we're the real ones. We have the pact. Our blood is sworn."

His voice dipped lower, coaxing, cajoling. "Gemma, I promise you, after this month, I'll tell my mother the truth. I'll bring our union into the open, before every made man in this house. I'll give you the wedding you deserve."

He lifted the perfume bottle with a smirk. "I know how much you love these. This one was difficult to get, a brand-new creation from the top perfumer abroad. See how much I love you?"

I gripped the bottle, my fingers tightening around the glass. How laughable.

This perfume was one of the wedding favors prepared for his ceremony with Adriana. He had summoned thousands to celebrate their union, each guest to leave with this very same bottle as a token of their love. And now he had the audacity to press it into my hands, spinning another lie, thinking I would believe it. My fingers curled around the cold glass, my knuckles white.

I smiled. "Thank you, Dominic."

And in my heart, I vowed. This would be the last time he would ever deceive me.