Chapter 1I Left the Don, Then Married the Head of the Five Families

I turned down the arranged marriage my parents had set up for me, determined to marry Cassian Russo, all because he had taken a bullet for me during an attack.

I thought I had chosen love.

I helped him become the Don of Philadelphia, but Cassian always believed I had forced my way into his life because I was the Morettis' only daughter.

On our tenth anniversary, I came home with a pregnancy report I had waited ten years for, only to find another woman lying in my bed.

The way she stroked her belly said it all: she was carrying his child.

Cassian shielded her behind him. "Bianca is carrying a boy. He'll be the heir to the Russo Family. I won't let you hurt her or the baby."

I didn't take out the results I had just been given.

His brow creased, clearly bracing himself for tears and tantrums, like always.

"Don't worry. The title of Donna will always be yours."

What he didn't know was that I was done making scenes, and I no longer wanted the title of Donna.

The ten-year pact I had with my father had reached its deadline.

This time, I was leaving him for good.

* * *

I was the only daughter of the Moretti Family, one of New York's oldest dynasties.

Growing up, there was nothing I wanted that I couldn't have.

I wanted love, and I was willing to break with my Family to marry the man I had chosen.

Cassian never knew the truth. He believed my father had used his power to force him into the marriage.

But I believed he would fall in love with me eventually.

In the tenth year of our marriage, I finally got pregnant. I finally had my "proof of love."

But when I opened the bedroom door, I found my husband in our marital bed with another woman.

The woman was Bianca Marino, whose deadbeat father owed the Russo Family several million dollars.

The moment I stepped inside, the reek of cheap perfume hit me.

I looked up. She was wearing my black lace nightgown, as if she were the lady of the house.

I could barely breathe.

Before I could even confront them, Cassian's cold, guarded eyes swept toward me.

From time to time over the past ten years, he had studied me with that same look.

In that moment, all my persistence, all my joy, and all my love for him became one enormous joke.

"What are you doing?"

My voice was barely above a whisper, yet Bianca flinched as though I had screamed, burrowing into Cassian's arms.

Cassian pressed a soothing kiss to the top of her head, draped a garment over her shoulders, and only then leaned back against the headboard to look at me.

"Why are you back so early today?"

He was blaming me?

Half an hour ago, I had just learned at the hospital that I was pregnant. I canceled every other appointment and rushed home, wanting nothing more than to share the news with Cassian.

Ten years of marriage, and we were finally having a child.

I had thought this would make him see everything I had given, that he would stop distrusting me.

But now, every trace of joy froze solid.

Cassian, displeased by my silence, shifted to block Bianca behind him. "Valentina, there's no need for that look. Bianca's pregnancy is high-risk. Don't frighten her. If you have something to say, say it to me."

Before I could open my mouth, Bianca peeked out from behind Cassian. "I'm sorry, Valentina. Did I upset you?"

She looked frail, yet every strand of her hair was perfectly styled.

She cradled her belly, turning her wounded gaze toward Cassian. "I'd feel safer staying close to the Don. After all, the doctor said I'm carrying a boy."

Cassian turned back to her in surprise, unable to hide the delight in his eyes.

I clutched my test results until my knuckles ached and buried them deep in my pocket.

Bianca gave a shy nod.

Cassian cleared his throat and turned to me, as if making an announcement. "You're the first woman in the Russo Family to be pregnant... Naturally, this boy should be the heir.

"Valentina, making Bianca's child the heir would keep the Russo name secure. Don't you agree?"

The words drifted into my ears, weightless, and all I felt was bitter amusement.

So any woman on the side could bear the Russo heir. Anyone except the Donna.

Now, when I was finally pregnant after ten years, his attitude could not have been clearer.

My family name, my birthright, had become his excuse to push me away, the very chains that kept me from getting close to him.

But this time, I was tired.

I swallowed every emotion and said only one thing. "Tell her to take off my nightgown. I'll sleep in the guest room."

Cassian was visibly stunned, caught off guard that I hadn't erupted into the usual screaming match that would shake the entire estate.

My calm and restraint clearly pleased him.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Cassian's mouth. "Valentina, you're finally starting to act like a proper Donna.

"Keep behaving, and I promise you'll always be my only wife.

"You can even claim the heir as your own."

My hands froze mid-reach inside the closet. I said nothing.

All I could think was how absurd it was that I had devoted ten years of my heart to a man because of one bullet.

If the FBI launched a raid right now, he would take a bullet for every single woman he kept on the side.

Bianca was lucky. She had gotten pregnant with a boy just as Cassian was about to turn forty.

The perfume in the room made me sick. I wanted nothing more than to get out.

I took a deep breath, pointed at the remaining odds and ends, and declared in a low, steady voice, "Bianca, since you like these worthless things so much, consider them a gift.

"As for you, Cassian..."

I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago, my voice slow and resolute.

"Keep the heir. We're getting divorced."