You’ve Got Fire

My fiance, Simon Rossi, is a mafia Don with a reputation for brutality. He suddenly takes in an orphan girl and spoils her rotten.

He names her Giara, saying she's pure, like a beam of light. But that is the name he has promised for our future daughter.

He thinks he's hidden it well. But the night before our engagement party, I notice his cufflinks. The ruby ones I gave him are replaced with cheap plastic cartoon cats.

I don't believe he's really cheating, so I abduct Giara to get answers without hurting her.

Then Simon bursts in with his men. 50 people die, and three armories go up in flames.

"Ivina Coleo, consider this a lesson. But don't worry. I'll send her away. Remember, this is the first time you touch her, and the last."

But at the engagement party, Giara sits with Simon's parents, smiling right at me.

The sight sparks a fury I can't control. I lunge forward, determined to send her away myself.

Simon tells Giara to leave, coaxing me through the ceremony.

But that night, he binds my limbs with stones and sinks me into the sea.

"I told you that was the last time."

Cold water fills my lungs.

When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the day I first abducted Giara.

This time, I don't want Simon or the wedding anymore.

In my last life, I drowned because I abducted the lover of Simon Rossi, my mafia Don fiance, before our wedding.

When I opened my eyes, I was back on that day.

"Please, don't hurt me! My husband is a mafia Don, and I'm pregnant with his child! He'll never forgive you if he finds out!

The young lady, Giara Vaughn, pressed trembling hands to her belly. Her tears threatened to spill as she looked at me and my crew behind me.

I crouched down and pulled out a knife under her panicked gaze.

Before, I had held it to her throat. This time, I cut the ropes binding her wrists.

"You know what? Simon hates weak, sniveling women. He admires partners who can stand beside him at the negotiation table."

Giara cut me off and raised her chin stubbornly. "Like you, right? But he told me I'm different. He said he'll spoil me. He's going to marry me and make me his princess forever! I don't know who you are, but you'd better let me go!"

Last time, those words had lit a fury in me. I was sure she was lying. Now, I stayed silent, feeling only a bitter numbness.

She thought my silence meant disbelief. She quickly fished out her phone and thrust it at me.

"I'm not lying. This is the ultrasound. And this… is the venue he booked. He said this is the perfect place for our wedding. He'll marry me once I have the baby!"

My hand trembled, and the knife clattered to the ground.

I worked connections and spent a fortune to book that slot after 12 tries!

When I went to confirm it with Simon, he dismissed it flat without even looking at it.

"Ivina, I want your wedding to be special. That place is too common and outdated. Besides, our identities are too sensitive. That's a public place. What if someone sets an ambush? Trust me. I'll pick the venue."

So it wasn't about safety, and it certainly wasn't because it wasn't unique. He simply never intended to marry me in a church that represented eternal commitment.

"Shut up, you lying bitch!"

Sally Lynch, standing behind me, couldn't bear it any longer. She rushed forward and pressed a gun against Giara's forehead.

"Ivina's been with Don Rossi for seven years! Who do you think you are? Don Rossi's not the man you claim!"

"Sally!" I barked without thinking and slapped her hand away.

Sally stared at me, stunned. "Ivina!"

I took a deep breath, pushed down the rising anger, and waved my hand wearily. "Get her out of here. Take her back to wherever she came from. Now."

Sally and the others froze for a beat, but they had followed me since childhood, and they never disobeyed my orders.

They didn't know that in my last life, I had questioned Giara until dusk before releasing her.

To be precise, it was Simon who had smashed open my front door with his men and slaughtered their way through.

Sally, Serena McFadden, and the rest of my crew had died from stray bullets.

I had broken down, screaming again and again, "I didn't hurt her!"

Simon had ignored me and coldly pressed a button in his hand.

With a deafening boom, the three core armories I had bled to build were gone in an instant.

In this life, I didn't want him anymore, and I wouldn't hurt Giara. I just wanted everyone to live.

We followed the car that was taking Giara back to the orphanage and watched her until she got out. Once we confirmed she was safe, we started to leave.

Just then, a familiar Maybach roared up beside us, screeching to a halt. It hadn't even come to a complete stop before the door was kicked open.

Simon strode out and pulled Giara into his arms. "Luca said you were abducted! What did they do to you? Are you hurt?"

My heart ached.

Simon and I had been together for seven years. Even when I nearly died after taking five bullets to protect him, he had never lost control like this.

"I'm fine. Really." Giara hugged him back, sobbing in his arms.

"If you're fine, why are you crying?" His jaw tightened as he clamped down on his temper. "Tell me who did this. I'll kill them."

"Don't!" Giara grabbed him and looked up at him with that helpless, pleading look. "You promised. No more killing without reason, and save your blessings for the baby."

I had said the same thing. Simon had scoffed and shoved a half-smoked cigar into my mouth.

"Ivina, when did you start listening to those superstitions? We're her parents. That's her greatest blessing."

The smoke made me cough. I hastily spat it out, afraid that even a single puff could harm the baby inside me.

Simon laughed and pulled me into a rough kiss that smelled of tobacco.

But now, with just a few words from Giara, his entire fierceness seemed to melt away.

"Fine, but I'll need to add another security team for you."

He held Giara awkwardly but as gently as he could, while his left hand instinctively reached for a cigar.

"You forgot again!" Giara scolded, cute and sharp. "Smoking's bad for the baby."

Simon clicked his tongue, tossed the cigar into a trash can, and muttered, "Okay, I'll stop."

He scooped her up and headed for his car. "But you'll need to make it up to me some other way."

The Maybach peeled away, disappearing in a cloud of exhaust.

"Ivina…"

Sally cautiously turned to me and handed me a tissue.

Only then did I notice the tears streaming down my face.

I grabbed the tissue and simply wiped my face. When I spoke again, I was already composed. "Sally, book me an abortion. We're going to the hospital now."