Chapter 1 My First Love Came Back on Our Fifth Anniversary

Mireya's POV

Today was my fifth wedding anniversary with Raffaele,and I already had the divorce papers ready.

White candles burned quietly in long silver holders,their flames reflecting off the crystal chandelier with a sharp,almost blinding glow.The room smelled of expensive Bordeaux and lilies,a cold floral sweetness layered over the heavy luxury of the dining hall.

I sat at one end of the long table and watched Raffaele cut his rare steak into neat,precise pieces with silverware.His movements were calm and controlled,exactly the way I remembered him from the lecture hall back when he had been my law professor.

Five years.

It had been five full years since I had walked into his dark study behind everyone's back and begged the man I once called Professor Valdieri to save someone else's life.

Back then,Nerio had been framed for the murder of the heir to a rival family.He knew his father had the kind of power that could make charges disappear,but years of resentment between them ran too deep.Nerio would rather live as a fugitive than ask Raffaele for help.

So I had gone instead.

I had knelt outside Raffaele's door in the pouring rain until he agreed to see me.

He agreed to save Nerio.

His price was me.

"What are you thinking about?"

Raffaele's low voice broke the silence.He slid a glass of warm lemon water toward me.Five years of marriage had taught him every tiny preference I had,sometimes better than I knew them myself.

I looked away from those dark,unreadable eyes and pushed the papers in my lap farther beneath the table.

Divorce papers.

Our five-year agreement was over,and I did not intend to stay a day longer than necessary.

"Nothing." I lifted the glass and took a sip,hoping it would hide the tension in my face.

It did not.

Raffaele set down his knife and fork.A faint,knowing smile touched his mouth.

Then he reached for a velvet box.

My stomach tightened.

He opened it and took out a sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds.Without asking,he took my left hand,slipped off the plain band I had worn for years,and replaced it with the new one.

The metal was cold against my skin.

I tried to pull my hand back.

His fingers closed around mine.

"Raffaele,tonight is only-"

"Five years,Mireya." He cut me off and leaned closer,his breath warm against my ear."My wife should stay beside me for many more than five.Don't you think?"

Before I could answer,the heavy double doors at the far end of the dining hall swung open.

Winter air rushed inside,making every candle on the table flicker violently.

I looked up.

And forgot how to breathe.

Black hair,a little too long.Ice-blue eyes.A pale scar cutting through his left brow.

Nerio.

The man I had loved before all of this.

The man who had vanished for five years.

The man I had almost convinced myself I would never see again.

The entire hall went silent.

Nerio stood in the doorway,his gaze passing over the stunned members of the Valdieri family before landing directly on me.

He was not dressed for dinner.Snow still clung to his black leather jacket,and there was something dangerous about the way he stood there,like he had brought the storm in with him.

He started toward the table.

Every step made my pulse climb.

Five years of grief,anger,guilt,and unfinished love came rushing back so hard that my chest hurt.

When Nerio reached me,he stopped.

He did not even look at his father.

He looked only at me.

"Long time no see,Mireya."

My lips parted,but no sound came out.

Shock,guilt,and memories my body had never quite forgotten pinned me to the chair.

Nerio gave a humorless laugh.His gaze dropped to the sapphire on my finger,then lifted to Raffaele.

"You work fast,Father.The woman you spent years wanting finally wears your name.Congratulations."

The air between them turned lethal.

Raffaele did not so much as blink.

"Remember your place,Nerio.Mireya is your stepmother now.She is the lady of the Valdieri family."

"Stepmother?" Nerio repeated softly.

His smile was almost frightening.

"Do you really believe she chose that?"

A shrill security alarm cut through the room.

Glass exploded.

Several men came through the windows almost at once,and the first gunshot sent the room into chaos.The remaining Vescari men had clearly chosen the family gathering on purpose.Their target was Raffaele.

"Get down!"

Nerio moved before I could think.

The instant another shot cracked through the room,he threw himself over me and pulled me against his chest.

His scent.His heat.The solid weight of his body.

My body remembered him before my mind could stop it.

Across the room,Raffaele reacted even faster.He did not need to draw a weapon.His security team had the attackers restrained within moments.

When the gunfire stopped,Raffaele turned.

The first thing he saw was his son holding his wife.

Smoke still hung in the air.

The real battle had only just begun.

Raffaele came toward us with a face so cold it made my skin tighten.Without a word,he took me from Nerio's arms and pulled me against his side,one hand settling firmly at my waist.

Possessive.Deliberate.

"Since you're back," he said,looking at Nerio,"the estate could use someone in charge of Mireya's personal security.You've always been so determined to protect her.The job suits you."

My head snapped toward him.

Raffaele had an entire private security division at his disposal.He did not need Nerio anywhere near me.

Which was exactly why he assigned Nerio the guest room directly across from our bedroom.

Officially,it was about my safety.

In reality,it was a challenge from a husband to his own son.

By the time we were back at the estate,I had had enough.

"Have you lost your mind?" I demanded as we walked upstairs."You know exactly what Nerio and I were to each other.Out of this entire house,you put him across from our bedroom? What is this,some kind of arena?"

Raffaele calmly undid the top clasp of my coat as if we were discussing the weather.

"It's for your protection."

"Don't give me that."

His eyes settled on mine.

"Then what are you afraid of,Mireya? Or are you worried about him?"

"I'm not."

"Good." He stepped past me."Then you can live with the arrangement."

A few minutes later,he handed Nerio the key himself.

Nerio stood in the upstairs hall and looked from the key to the door of the master suite directly opposite his room.

A sharp laugh left him.

"This estate has dozens of rooms,and you put me here?"

Raffaele looked down at him with infuriating calm.

"Didn't you say you wanted to protect her?"

My temples throbbed.

"Raffaele,I am not a prize for the two of you to fight over."

He ignored me.

Nerio finally took the key from his father's palm.

Metal clicked softly against metal in the silent hallway.

Instead of walking away,Nerio lifted his gaze and met Raffaele's directly.

"You sure you want me this close to her?"

Raffaele said nothing.

He did not need to.

Nerio smirked and turned away.

As he passed me,he slowed just enough for his breath to brush my ear.

"Good night,Mireya."