The weeks that followed were idyllic.
Eric was gentle, attentive, and completely devoted. He brought me breakfast in bed, left love notes on my pillow, and spent hours just holding me. Our nights were filled with passion, our days with a quiet companionship. I learned his likes and dislikes, his hopes and fears, the childhood wounds that had shaped him into the man he'd become.
"I never had a real family," he admitted one night, his hand stroking my hair. "My father was killed when I was twelve. My mother did her best, but the family, the business, it consumed everything. I swore I'd never let that happen to me."
"And now?"
He smiled. "Now I have you. Everything else is just noise."
But the world outside our bubble hadn't disappeared.
Daniel's betrayal haunted me. I found myself staring at the contract Eric had shown me, the words "asset" burning into my brain. Was I truly free, or had I traded one cage for another? The estate was beautiful, luxurious, but it was still a fortress. Armed guards patrolled the grounds. The gates locked behind me whenever I went out.
Caterina noticed my restlessness. She found me in the garden one afternoon, staring at the river below.
"Love in our world is not easy, Seraphina," she said, sitting beside me. "Eric's enemies are many. But his heart is yours, if you let it be."
"His heart isn't the problem." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Mine is. I don't know if I can do this, the danger, the isolation, the constant looking over my shoulder."
"Can you imagine your life without him?"
The question stopped me cold. Could I? A week ago, I would have said yes. Now, now the thought of leaving made my chest ache.
"That's your answer," Caterina said softly. "Fear is natural. Doubt is human. But love, real love, is worth fighting for."
I wandered the grounds later, thinking about her words. The river below was a constant reminder of the drop into the unknown. One wrong step and I could fall. But wasn't love always a leap of faith?
Eric found me there at sunset. "What's troubling you?" he asked, his voice soft.
"Everything," I admitted. "Daniel sold me. You took me. Am I just a prize in your war? Something to be won and kept?"
He pulled me into his arms, his embrace warm and reassuring. "You're my queen, not a prize. I won't lie, my life is dangerous. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. I meant what I said. Your happiness matters more than mine."
His honesty touched me deeply. "I don't want to leave. I'm just scared."
"Of what?"
"Of losing myself. Of becoming someone I don't recognize. Of waking up one day and realizing I've given up everything for a man who."
"A man who loves you," he finished. "A man who will spend every day proving that you made the right choice."
I looked up at him, tears in my eyes. "Promise?"
"I promise." He kissed me softly. "Now come inside. It's cold out here."
That night, our lovemaking was slower, more tender. He explored my body with reverence, his lips mapping every curve, every sensitive spot. "I love you," he whispered as he entered me, our movements a gentle dance that built to a shared release. It was romance wrapped in passion, a bond deepening with every touch.
Afterward, as I lay in his arms, doubts faded. For now, this was enough.
But the whispers continued.
Mafia elders visited, murmuring about tradition. I heard fragments of conversations: "outsider," "liability," "must marry within the families." The "Ten Commandments" were invoked, no mingling with outsiders, respect for family hierarchies, and always putting the family first.
Eric dismissed them each time, but I saw the worry in his eyes. The elders had power. They could make trouble.
And trouble was already on its way.