A ring. A lie. A contract no one knows about. Sophia never asked to be part of the Thorne family and she never expected to become the woman everyone loved to hate. But walking away is not an option. Not when secrets could ruin everything she has left. Jace has the fiancée and the fame and the control. But behind closed doors, everything is slipping. The board is watching and his mother is pushing her own agenda. His half brother is back and he is not just after the company. He wants the one woman Jace cannot afford to lose. They were supposed to trust the contract. But even that is starting to crack. Because in this house, nothing stays hidden and no one plays fair.

When she returned to the room, he was waiting. Handcuffs in hand. Eyes full of something dangerous. “You’ve been a bad girl,” Leonardo said, voice low and controlled. “Now you’ll take your punishment.” Arya was forced into a marriage she never wanted—to Leonardo Marcello, a man with a reputation built on blood, fear, and absolute power. Cold. Calculated. Untouchable. But the moment he saw her, something shifted. For him, it was already too late. Arya is everything he never expected—soft where he’s hard, light where he’s all shadow. And the more she tries to keep her distance, the more he pulls her into his dark world. It starts with stolen glances. Then with unspoken promises. And before she can stop it, the man she was forced to marry becomes the one man her heart begins to crave. But their world is brutal. And love? In the mafia, it’s the greatest risk of all. Will the reluctant mafia bride surrender to the man who’s already claimed her soul? Or will the world they live in rip them apart before she ever gets the chance?