Eleven years. Every single one of them — his.

She hadn't chosen it. You never really choose who you fall for. But from the moment she was old enough to understand what love was, every version of it had his face.

She watched him from the edges of his world — never asking, never confessing, never expecting. Just loving him in the quiet, devastating way only patient hearts know how to do.

For eleven years.

Then the night came when danger found her — real, breathing, inescapable danger — the kind that follows the people close to powerful men.

He found out.

And without a word of warning, without a question, without a single romantic gesture — the most feared mafia boss in the city appeared at her door with two words:

"We're marrying." ...