He Betrayed the Wrong Mafia Princess

It just so happened that my brother had come from Ferrante Bay that night to persuade me on behalf of our parents, hoping I'd stop being stubborn with the family. He arrived just in time to pull me away from a group of men who had been looking to take advantage of me.

Who would have thought that him bringing me to a hotel to rest would be caught on camera by someone with ulterior motives?

No wonder Nico had been acting so strangely ever since that night, distant yet still tried to act warmly. Turns out, he had been holding it in all this time. He waited until I had secured major clients for him and quietly leveraged my family's influence to help push his crew toward recognition by the Commission. Tonight, he finally chose to lash out.

I was disappointed by his lack of trust in me.

Yet, he was also the first man I had ever truly fallen for. I don't want us to drift apart because of a misunderstanding.

Even more, I didn't want my parents to find out that my first all-consuming love had ended before it even truly began. After all, I had fled Ferrante Bay to escape the alliance marriage they had arranged for me.

I wanted to choose my own partner, to stand beside someone as equals, not be trapped in a loveless arrangement brokered between Dons like a land treaty. But I had never told anyone this. Not even Nico.

I was afraid that if he found out I was La Regina of the old families, he would feel insecure, overwhelmed, crushed by the weight of it all.

Since childhood, every man around me had only liked me because of my bloodline. I hated those calculated displays of affection, those compliments laced with ulterior motives. But Nico, when he looked at me, his eyes were filled with stars.

The memories of how beautiful things once were made me laugh uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing at?" Nico frowned, his voice laced with disdain. "How could you laugh at a time like this?"

The room had gone quiet around us. Not the natural quiet of a conversation ending, but the held-breath quiet of soldiers who sensed the temperature dropping. Somewhere behind me, a glass was set down without a sound.

I lifted my head and met his gaze head-on. "Do you really think I'm the kind of woman who sleeps her way to the top?"

"Then what else did you do?" He let out a cold scoff. "Do you think you have anything left that's worth my respect?"

It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart, squeezing so tightly that even breathing became painful.

I took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "The man in the photo is my brother."

"Your 'brother'?" Ginevra burst into laughter. Her fingers drifted to the hollow of her throat, two fingertips resting there, soft and feminine, before the next words came out sharpened to a point. "Do you think we're idiots? Calling some random 'sworn brother' your real brother? What, do you call every man you sleep with 'brother'? Gotta admit, that does add a certain... spice to things!"

The laughter around me grew sharper. Someone even whistled.

Nico's gaze was full of contempt. "Enough. Stop embarrassing yourself. Take your termination letter and get out. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other."

I clenched the letter in my hand, feeling nothing but cold emptiness inside. For five years, I hid my true identity, working as an ordinary associate to help him grow his outfit as quickly as possible.

Now, after I personally paved his way to the top, he was ready to cast me aside like a used tool. I could handle losing, but I refused to be played for a fool. I'd just consider the last five years of my youth wasted on an ungrateful oaf.

"Nico, you'll regret this."

Hearing my quiet murmur, Nico reacted as if I had just told the world's funniest joke.

"Regret?" He let out a mocking laugh. "The only thing I regret is ever meeting a faithless whore like you!"

With that, he extended his hand toward Ginevra. The two exchanged a knowing smile and walked hand in hand toward the center of the banquet hall. The crowd parted for them the way men part for a boss and his woman, instinctively, without being asked.

It was only then that I noticed. Nico's tailored suit and Ginevra's low-cut evening gown were a matching designer set. He raised their interlocked fingers high, his voice loud and confident.

"Tomorrow marks the most important moment in our organization's history: the blood-oath ceremony before the Commission. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of everyone here. Let's continue striving for greatness together!"

Thunderous applause erupted, followed by waves of cheers.