He Never Claimed Me in Public,So I Wed the Don Who Never Forgot Me

There were two tickets to the opera tucked in the breast pocket of Lorenzo Vitale's suit jacket, and I thought they were a surprise for me.

I waited for the night of the performance with my heart fluttering, only for him to leave for the docks on Family business with both tickets in hand.

I called in a favor and paid a small fortune to get a seat of my own, and I watched with my own eyes as he kissed another girl right there beneath the music.

The two of them flashed up onto the great hall's screen, lost in a kiss, eyes brimming with tears.

After the curtain fell, I came across the girl's post:

"Sharing a kiss with the love of my life at our maestro's gala was the best birthday present I could ever ask for."

The comments were all wishing them a long, blessed life together, while I was knocked flat by his car as it suddenly lurched forward in the dim of the side street.

When I came to, Lorenzo Vitale was sitting at my bedside, head bent over his phone, the smile at the corner of his mouth softer than anything I'd ever seen on him.

I asked who she was, and he lifted his eyes and said,

"I'm the man you answer to. You're awake now, so just focus on getting better."

The second the words were out, he couldn't leave fast enough, and I drew my gaze back and dialed home.

"Uncle, that alliance marriage you mentioned last time. I agree. I'll marry him."

——

Uncle Salvatore froze for a beat, then his voice flooded with relief.

"Adriana, you've finally come to your senses. A man who wasted five years of your life and still kept you in the dark deserves to stay in the dark for the rest of his."

"When can you come home? The moment I sent word over, the Falcone side was already pushing to set a date."

Five years of loving Lorenzo Vitale, and the one who never saw the light of day was me.

He was so desperate to cut all ties with me that he wouldn't dare hold up my leaving the crew.

"The sooner the better. My end won't take long."

Lorenzo Vitale came back into the room, looking for his car keys.

"Leaving? Has someone in the crew asked to walk?"

A man doesn't simply walk away from the Family without it clearing him first, so I had no intention of hiding it.

But he was too busy staring at his phone to notice me nod.

He picked up the car keys and said, offhand,

"The doctor said you struck your head, that you might lose your memory. I actually thought you'd really forgotten."

"I was driving. The light was too dim, and you had your head down on your phone…"

I couldn't help but freeze.

So that was why. That was why, even with no one else in the room, he refused to explain anything and kept playing it like we were strangers bound only by the rules.

Ten minutes ago, when he told me he was only the man I answered to, his expression had been cold and distant, laced with just the right measure of practiced concern.

The one thing missing was any trace of guilt.

Right before the car knocked me down, I saw it coming straight at me, and Lorenzo Vitale was sitting in the passenger seat.

The one behind the wheel was the girl he'd kissed.

He hadn't even given me a chance to confront him, just couldn't wait to make an excuse about Family business pressing and leave.

I'd actually thought it was because he'd hurt me, that he didn't know how to face me.

How laughable. He'd never thought of me as anything at all.

"I just woke up, my head's still a little foggy. I didn't know you, boss."

He was brushing me off, so I played along and pretended nothing had happened.

He turned his head, studying my cold expression, a little baffled.

The girl who used to throw a fit for kisses and tenderness over the smallest scrape, why was she acting so strange today?

He glanced around the room, and only after confirming no one was there did he soften his voice to soothe me.

"Adriana, a place like this has too many ears and too many loose tongues. It wouldn't be good if word got back. Just rest and get well. Once you're out of here and home, I'll make it all up to you."

I gave him a polite, perfectly composed smile.

"Mm. Thank you, boss."

In private, on ordinary days, I used to call him "boss" on purpose, teasing and sweet.

But today those two words came out stiff and remote, sharp enough that Lorenzo Vitale knit his brows without meaning to.

He was just about to say something when the doctor came in to check on me, and he slipped right back into that cold mask.

Before he left, he didn't forget to remind me,

"Rest well. And don't go throwing weight around in my crew on account of any special standing. Everyone answers the same. Things are done by the rules."