He Chose A Fake Heiress Over His True Queen

The cold metal resting against my collarbone wasn't a scar anymore.

It was a statement.

But the weight on my chest, the necklace Mateo Rossi had just clasped there, felt like an anchor.

It was a heavy, antique piece-rubies burning in settings of blackened gold.

It had belonged to his grandmother.

In Sicily, you didn't drape a business partner in history.

You gave it to family.

You gave it to someone you intended to keep.

I stood in front of the mirror in the ballroom of the Palermo Palazzo, taking in the transformation.

My dress was one of my own designs.

Black silk, high-necked to frame the gold Kintsugi scar, with a back that plunged dangerously low.

Concealed within the flowing folds of the skirt were two ceramic blades.

I looked like a weapon wrapped in luxury.

I looked lethal.

"It suits you," Mateo said, his reflection appearing like a shadow behind mine.

He wasn't touching me.

He didn't need to.

His presence was a physical force, a wall of heat and protection that stood between me and the rest of the world.

"It's heavy," I said, my fingers grazing the icy stones.

"Protection is always heavy," Mateo replied, his voice a low rumble. "Only lies are weightless."

Lies are weightless.

The words settled in my gut.

Jax's promises had been weightless.

Wait until you're twenty-two.

Maybe I'll keep you.

Air.

Just hot air and smoke.

Mateo offered me his arm.

"Shall we? The families are waiting to meet the woman behind the armor."

I took his arm.

We walked into the gala, and for the first time in my life, I didn't walk two steps behind a man.

I walked stride for stride beside him.

Across the ocean, in the city that used to be my home, another party was being planned.

Ben's encrypted update vibrated against my thigh-a silent tether to the war I'd left behind.

I waited until I could slip away to the sanctuary of the ladies' room to check it.

Ben: They signed the pre-nup amendments an hour ago. Julian slipped in a clause about asset transfer in case of incapacitation. Jax signed it without reading. He was too busy staring at Chloe.

I scrolled down, a grim satisfaction curling in my chest.

Ben: I also have audio from the car ride home. Julian threatened Chloe. He has videos of her. She countered with his gambling debts. They are eating each other alive, Savvy. And Jax is just the meal.

I put the phone away.

My hand lingered in the bag, brushing against velvet.

I reached into my clutch.

At the very bottom, wrapped in a piece of black velvet, was a ring.

It wasn't an engagement ring.

It was a family ring Jax had given me when I turned eighteen.

Wear this when we're alone, he had said. So I know you're loyal.

I had worn it on a chain near my heart for four years.

It felt like a shackle now.

I took it out.

The gold looked dull under the harsh bathroom lights.

It looked cheap compared to the blood-red rubies resting on my collarbone.

I didn't cry.

I didn't feel a pang of loss.

I felt the sudden, violent urge to be clean.

I dropped the ring into the trash can.

It made a small clink as it hit the bottom-the sound of a chain breaking.

I washed my hands.

I scrubbed them until the skin was pink, scouring away the ghost of his touch.

Then I walked back out to Mateo.

He handed me a glass of champagne.

"Everything alright?" he asked, his eyes scanning my face for cracks.

"Better than alright," I said, taking the glass steady in my hand. "I just took out the trash."

Mateo didn't ask.

He just clinked his glass against mine.

"To new beginnings, Mía."

Mía.

Mine.

He claimed me with a word, and unlike Jax, he possessed the gravity to hold me there.