~Xavier~ What I fear is knocking on my doorsteps. My marriage to Zia raised panic and alarm throughout the entire underworld. Our allies celebrated my wedding to her, but our enemies will see it as a threat, a way for the Italian and American mafia to claim power over this dangerous world of kill or be killed. Only the strong will survive. This is what grandad Mansueto carved in my mind, and I’m afraid that there’s no way for Zia to walk out unscratched in this war - this crazy greed for power that consumed our families. We are only pawns in this game, but I will keep my promise to her. Even if it costs me my life, I will protect her. She’s fast asleep, still shaken by what happened on the island. Even with her eyes closed, her lips continue to tremble, fingers flinching, holding on to me so tight as if she’s afr

~Zia~ Xavier warned me that nothing about this life would be pretty. He specifically told me not to trust anyone apart from him until he learns who’s trying to hurt me. We can’t talk about the mafia while we’re in the manor. I wonder why, but it all ended in that reality again. I can only trust him and no one else. On the flight back to New York, he revealed that our family’s businesses were only a front of what actual business was happening underground. The company he’s managing right now, the Luciano Shipping line, is the cherry on top of this marriage. I love my parents. I’m damn grateful that they tried to keep this side of the family business from me for twenty-one years to give me a normal life. But part of me dreads how many people suffered for us to live a luxurious life.

~Xavier~There’s nothing in this world that makes my day better than waking up each morning with Zia snuggled close to my warmth. She sleeps longer with her cheek resting above my chest. It’s as though she finds peace listening to my heart beating.Sleep is where I’m most vulnerable; that’s why I refused to sleep with Zia before. I’m used to the comfort of being alone and cold at night. But my night became warmer because of her. Sleeping with her is actually something I look forward to every time I come home from work - apart from exploring her body, of course.Four a.m. I should be at the gym already. But I’ve been admiring my wife’s beautiful face, wondering what she’s dreaming about. She snores in her sleep, and I find it adorable. Well, nothing about her is ‘

~Zia~ I slept better when we came home from our trip. Although my muscles screamed because I was too lazy to exercise, I conditioned myself not to focus on the negative things. Xavier proved yesterday that he would do what he can to make this relationship work. I can do that too. So here I am in my sports bra and yoga pants, hair tied in a bun, entering the gym with my water canister and gym towel in hand. I planned to get back into shape, but I didn’t prepare to drool over Xavier’s body at 4:30 in the morning. I knew damn well how fit my husband’s body was. He had proven that on so many occasions, in bed mostly, but I never thought seeing him doing push-ups would arouse me like this. Beads of sweat glisten as they dribble down his toned muscles, the way his chest expands and deflates as he rises and drops to the

~Zia~ I’m gazing over the entire warehouse. The once abandoned-looking, uninhabitable, and dead body harboring image of this building when I first laid eyes on it is now history. A past that will cease to exist, trapped in a wood gold-painted frame that hangs behind the bar of club Sky. Xavier insisted I supervise the renovation of the warehouse. I knew he wanted me to have something to do while he’s working and who was I to decline the offer? And he was the one who named it Sky, a counterpart of club Cielo. It might have been just a coincidence that it’s the same pet name he’d been calling me when we’re younger, or he could’ve named it after me. Either way, all I find is absolute contentment as I gaze over the empty dance floor. A spacious, luscious white marble bar