You Want a Mistress I’m Already a Queen

Tiffany put a hand to her chest. A perfect picture of shock.

"Oh, Julian, I'm sure Seraphina was just joking." Her voice trembled, but her eyes were sizing me up. "Right, darling?"

She took a step closer, a perfect socialite smile plastered on her face.

"I've actually been wanting to meet you. Julian said you have a lot of… personality."

Personality.

Another one of those condescending words.

"But—" Tiffany paused, her gaze sweeping over my entire outfit. "I think we could be great friends."

She unclasped a diamond bracelet from her own wrist.

"Here. A little gift." She held it out. "It's Tiffany & Co. Limited edition. Much more appropriate for the setting, don't you think?"

Appropriate for the setting?

I glanced down at my black silk gown. The cut was perfect.

But she wasn't looking at my dress.

Her eyes were locked on the simple silver chain around my wrist.

"I just think you might need something... a little more sparkly," Tiffany's smile grew sweeter. "This is the opera, after all. Everyone dresses up."

More sparkly.

She was saying I looked cheap.

"She has a point," Julian added, his eyes narrowing. "That piece of junk is beneath you."

Junk?

My blood ran cold.

What did he just say?

My breath caught. That "junk" was forged from a bullet casing. The first life Dante ever took to protect his family—to protect me. Engraved on the inside were two words: Mio Angelo.

My Angel.

"Just take her gift," Julian said, reaching for my wrist. "This cheap trinket doesn't belong on you."

"Don't touch it." I stepped back.

"Sera, stop being so stubborn." His tone was impatient. "I know money is tight for you right now, but that's no excuse. You can't wear trash like this to a formal event."

Trash?

"Here, let me help you."

He reached out again, grabbing my wrist.

"Let go of me!"

"It'll just take a second." Julian yanked hard at the silver bracelet. "You'll like the diamonds, trust me."

"I said, let go!"

The clasp snapped.

It fell to the marble floor with a faint clink.

He didn't even look down. He just stepped on it.

A sharp crack echoed on the marble floor. A sound that broke something deep inside me.

The entire hallway went still.

I knelt and picked up the mangled bracelet.

The clasp was broken, the chain twisted. The Italian words were now a blur.

"Look at you, getting all worked up," Julian said, dismissing it. "It's just a cheap bracelet. I'll buy you something better."

I slowly stood up.

Julian was adjusting his cufflinks, completely oblivious to the murder in my eyes.

"Speaking of which," he said, his eyes flashing with a sudden, ugly jealousy. "Who's the poor bastard who gave you this trash? Your new boyfriend?"

New boyfriend.

"Don't tell me you downgraded to one of your father's bodyguards," Julian sneered. "Sera, when did your standards drop so low?"

Little bodyguard.

"Or—" his voice turned venomous. "Have you really fallen that far?"

Tiffany was beside him, pretending to be concerned. "Julian, don't say that..."

He leaned in, his voice a low, venomous growl. "So tell me, Seraphina. Who is the fucking nobody who gave you this piece of trash?"