00:30His men chuckled mowingly, raising their glasses and swearing their silence.
00:33The warmth in my blood turned to ice, inch by inch.
00:36The one thing they didn't know was that my grandmother was from Sicily, so I understood every word.
00:41I forced myself to remain calm, keeping the perfect smile of Adana fixed in place,
00:46but the hand holding my champagne flazzer trembled.
00:48Instead of making a scene, I opened my phone, found the invitation I had received a few days ago
00:53for a private international medical research project, and tapped accept.
00:56In three days, I would disappear from Lucien's world completely.
01:00Noticing I hadn't touched the blood orange he'd peeled for me,
01:03Lucien gently wiped a smudge of wine from the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
01:06Baby, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?
01:09Looking at the deep affection in his eyes, all I felt was disgust.
01:12One moment he was discussing my sister's body with his men,
01:15and the next he was the perfect husband, deeply in love with his wife.
01:18I wondered how long he could keep up this masterful performance.
01:20It's nothing, I was just wondering, what were you all talking about just now?
01:23Lucien casually pinched my cheek, letting out a dotting chuckle.
01:26We were discussing an arms deal.
01:27I know you don't like hearing about that side of the business, so we used Italian.
01:30He must have been so lost in his debauchions lately that he'd forgotten my grandmother was Sicilian,
01:34and that I've understood Italian since I was a child.
01:36The smoke and liquor in the air suddenly felt suffocating.
01:39I pushed him away.
01:40Please, carry on.
01:42I'm going to get some fresh air.
01:43Without waiting for Lucien's reply, I walked straight to the estate's terrace,
01:45as I passed Cast Envy as my blessing.
01:47Look at Truly Blessed.
01:48The Donthro is such a grand party for her every year.
01:50Yes, the queen of the Merino family.
01:51What an enviable position.
01:52Hearing such praise used to make me feel proud and happy.
01:55I believed I had found the best husband in the world.
01:57But now, I only felt the irony.
01:59My heart a frozen lake.
02:00No one knew the filthy games Lucien, the man who supposedly loved me to death, played behind my back.
02:04Yesterday, I had snuck into his study to leave the anniversary gift I'd prepared for him.
02:08It was a restricted area.
02:09A place that held many of the Merino family's secrets.
02:11A place even I rarely had the chance to enter.
02:13But this time, I smelled my sister Sophia's unique perfume there.
02:16That cheap clinky scent of the leather sofa clung to his suit jacket and lingered in the air.
02:20The moment I walked out of that study, I knew my marriage to Lucien was over.
02:23A sudden vibration from my phone broke my train of thought.
02:25Elinata, I saw in the system that you accepted the project offer.
02:28You gave up your career for Merino all those years ago.
02:30I'm so happy to see you're coming back.
02:31I'll send someone to pick you up in three days.
02:33You can spend these next few days saying goodbye to your family.
02:35At the word family, my knuckles whitened as I gripped my phone.
02:39Ever since my parents were killed in a blood feed five years ago, Lucien was the only family I had
02:44left.
02:46But now that he had betrayed me, he was no longer my family.
02:49Professor, that won't be necessary.
02:51Please apply for the highest level of security clearance on my behalf and erase all public records of me.
02:55My mentor's voice, full of surprise, came through the phone.
02:58Why?
02:58Once those records are erased, Elinata Vittardi will have completely vanished from the face of the earth.
03:03Lucien will go insane when he can't find you.
03:05I laughed bitterly.
03:07He won't.
03:08He betrayed me.
03:10My eyes began to sting.
03:11After leaving medical school, the only medical practice I got was patching Lucien up after his gunfights.
03:15As I thought of those nights, an unwanted memory surged up, hot and vivid.
03:18Back then, after every dangerous night, Lucien would come back to me, covered in blood and bruises.
03:22I would carefully tend to his wounds on our bed.
03:24But he's had always darkened with hunger.
03:26He'd growl my name like a prayer and a threat, pulling me on top of him despite his injuries.
03:30He pulled me close, his hands resting lightly on my back, our foreheads touching as we kissed softly.
03:34He moved beneath me with powerful, possessive rolls of his hips, each motion slow yet intense, drawing desperate moans from
03:40my throat.
03:41I clung to his shoulders, nails digging into his skin as waves of overwhelming pleasure crashed through me again and
03:45again.
03:46His mouth never left my neck, sucking and biting, marking me as his, while I trembled violently in his arms,
03:51gasping his name like I was drowning.
03:52He would take me for hours, tireless and insatiable, until I was limp and sobbing with ecstasy, my body marked
03:57by his passion.
03:59In those moments, I truly believed he loved me more than anything.
04:05The memory now only filled me with nausea.
04:10I had lost myself and gained nothing in return.
04:13My mentor fell silent.
04:15After a long moment, he sighed.
04:18I thought it was strange when you suddenly accepted the offer yesterday.
04:21I never imagined...
04:22Alright, I'll arrange the highest level of security clearance for you.
04:26Just get your affairs in order these next three days.
04:28Hearing my mentor agree, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
04:31The security protocol meant I no longer had to rack my brain for a way to leave Lucian.
04:36Thank you, Professor.
04:37Just as the words left my mouth, a familiar deep voice sounded from behind me, making me jump.
04:42Darling, who did you say was betrayed?
04:44I turned to meet Lucian's dark green eyes, which had sharpened with suspicion, and put on my usual gentle smile.
04:49Oh, I was just chatting with a friend about one of the West Coast families.
04:52The Don betrayed his wife, and now she's filing for divorce and a share of the assets.
04:56If he loved acting so much, I would play along.
04:58Lucian's gaze was sharp as he scanned my face, searching for any telltale micro-expression.
05:03Only after confirming there was nothing amiss did his tense shoulders slowly relax.
05:06His large, scarred hand slid down my waist as he placed a light kiss on my temple.
05:10What an idiot.
05:11To betray your woman is to betray your own throne.
05:13My queen, that kind of thing will never happen in our family.
05:18I stared into his eyes, as deep as an abyss, and smiled softly.
05:24But what if it did happen, for example, in...
05:26Elemona, there is no what if.
05:29Lucian cut me off immediately.
05:31I, Lucian Marino, swear on the honor and bloodline of the Marino family.
05:35I will never betray you.
05:37Of course.
05:37I was just speaking hypothetically.
05:39Lucian fell silent for a moment, then gently rubbed his slightly rough jaw against my cheek.
05:43It was strange.
05:44While carrying on an affair with my sister, he also displayed an intense, suffocating possessiveness towards me.
05:50As his body pressed close, a heated memory suddenly flooded my mind.
05:53That night years ago, Lucian Martine had finned me the silk sheets, his breath scorching hot against my neck.
05:58His large hands roamed greedily over my body, stroking every curve as if he wanted to memorize me.
06:02Nora.
06:03He growled low and hungry, his lips devouring my skin, sucking and biting until I trembled uncontrollably.
06:07Our bodies moved together in a fierce, passionate rhythm.
06:10Deep, powerful, and relentless.
06:11Skin slid against sweat-slick skin.
06:13My soft moans mixing with his deep groans.
06:15As waves of overwhelming pleasure crashed through me again and again.
06:18I clung to him desperately.
06:18Nails digging into his back, while my body arched and shook violently in ecstasy.
06:22He held me tart until he too shevered powerfully against me.
06:24The memory now tasted like poison.
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