Aurora didn't breathe for several seconds.
She couldn't.
The words Adrian Lucarelli had spoken still echoed in her mind, raw, sharp, and impossible to ignore.
A war… for me?
No one had ever chosen her before.
Not once.
Not for who she truly was.
Her father chose her for politics.
Suitors chose her for power.
Men in their world chose her for obedience.
But this stranger—this enemy—said he would choose her even if it meant tearing apart the fragile balance her father had built with blood and fear.
Her heart should've recoiled.
Her mind should've screamed.
Every warning she'd ever been raised with should have dragged her back inside that ballroom, away from him.
But none of that happened.
Instead, Aurora asked, voice trembling, "Why would you start a war for a woman you just met?"
Adrian didn't look away from her, not even for a second.
"Because," he said quietly, "some things you don't need time to recognize."
Her breath hitched.
That tone—steady, sure—scared her more than any threat ever had.
Because he meant it.
But she wasn't ready to understand him.
Not yet.
Not with her world already collapsing under her feet.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "This… all of this… it's already too much."
But Adrian shook his head once.
A controlled, deliberate motion.
"I'm here because I needed to see you," he said. "And because you deserve to know the truth before they cage you."
Cage.
The word twisted something deep inside her.
She knew what a cage felt like.
She had lived in one her whole life—it simply had chandeliers, guards, and expensive dresses.
"What exactly is happening?" she managed, gripping the balcony railing until her knuckles whitened.
Adrian exhaled slowly and leaned a fraction closer—not enough to touch her, but enough for her to feel the heat of him against her skin.
"Your father," he said, "is finalizing the alliance with the DeLucas tonight. It's been in negotiation for months."
"Months?"
Aurora's voice cracked.
"He kept this from me for months?"
"Yes."
She felt the betrayal slice straight through her chest.
Her father had always controlled her life—but this?
Deciding her future, her body, her marriage?
This was a new kind of cruelty.
"Marco DeLuca…" Aurora whispered, dread pooling in her stomach. "He's twice my age. He's… violent."
Adrian's jaw flexed.
"You shouldn't even know the word 'violent.' Not like that."
"What do you expect?" she whispered bitterly. "This is the world I was born into."
"It's not the world you should die in," he answered.
Her eyes met his—and for the first time, she noticed something she hadn't before.
Rage.
Contained, focused, lethal.
But not directed at her.
Directed at the world that sought to control her.
And it frightened her how much she wanted to trust that anger.
A sudden burst of raised voices erupted inside the ballroom behind them—sharp, heated, echoing against marble.
Aurora stiffened.
"What is that?" she whispered.
Adrian tilted his head slightly, listening.
His entire body shifted into quiet alertness, like a predator sensing movement in the dark.
"Your father," he said at last, "is telling the DeLucas you haven't been informed yet. They're arguing about whether to proceed."
Aurora's pulse slammed.
"Then I need to go inside."
Adrian's hand shot out—not touching her, but blocking her path with a quiet, controlled motion.
"No. Not yet."
Her chest tightened.
"Adrian, I can't just stand here while they decide my life."
His voice lowered to a growl.
"They've already decided. Going in now will only make it worse."
Her breath trembled.
She hated that he was right.
She hated that she needed him.
"What do I do?" she whispered.
His gaze locked onto hers, intense and unwavering.
"You let me help you."
She shook her head immediately.
"No. You're a Lucarelli. You're the last person my father would ever allow near me."
"Then it's a good thing I don't care what your father allows."
Her pulse stuttered violently.
Before she could respond, the balcony doors flew open with a slam that shattered the quiet tension.
Luca stormed outside, face flushed, eyes wide with panic.
"There you are!" he hissed, grabbing Aurora's wrist. "We have to go—now."
Adrian's posture sharpened in an instant.
"Let her go."
Luca froze, startled at the voice—and even more startled when he recognized who it belonged to.
"Lucarelli," he spat. "You filthy—"
"Luca, stop!" Aurora yanked her arm free. "Just tell me what's happening."
Luca glanced between her and Adrian, fury twisting his features.
"Your father lost his temper," he said breathlessly. "The DeLucas brought up your mother. He called off the witness signing but only because he wants to announce the engagement publicly instead. He's about to drag you into the middle of it."
Aurora felt the ground tilt beneath her feet.
A public announcement.
In front of every mafia power in the region.
It would seal her fate far worse than any contract.
"I'm not going," she whispered. "I can't do this—"
"That's not your decision!" Luca snapped.
"It should be," Adrian said coldly.
Luca whirled toward him.
"This is none of your damn business!"
Adrian stepped forward—not quickly, but with a slow, deadly intentionality that made Luca instinctively step back.
"It became my business," Adrian said softly, "the moment your uncle decided to sell her off like a bargaining chip."
Luca paled.
"You don't know anything about our family."
Adrian's expression didn't change.
"I know enough."
Aurora swallowed hard.
Every second they wasted made the danger closer.
"Luca," she said quietly, "does my father know I'm not inside?"
"Not yet," Luca said, "but he will in about thirty seconds."
Her panic surged.
Adrian read it instantly.
"Aurora," he murmured, stepping closer, "I can get you out of here."
Luca grabbed her arm again.
"She's not going anywhere with you!"
Aurora pulled back.
She was done being dragged.
Done being controlled.
Done being spoken for.
"Both of you stop.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm enough to silence them.
"I will not be paraded like an object," she said, breathing hard. "I will not be used to settle my father's grudges."
Luca stared at her.
"He will kill you if you defy him.
Adrian stepped beside her—close, protective, unafraid.
"Not if I get to him first."
Luca looked like he'd been slapped.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Adrian said, "I won't let him destroy her life to strengthen his empire.
Luca scoffed, trying to hide his fear.
"And what? You think you can protect her?"
"Yes."
The simple word hung between them, heavy and irrevocable.
Aurora didn't know what stunned her more—his certainty, or the warmth that rushed through her chest in response.
"There's no time," Luca hissed. "Aurora, please—come with me before he embarrasses you in front of everyone."
Adrian's gaze slid to her.
"Aurora… choose."
Three words.
Soft.
Dangerous.
Life-changing.
Her throat tightened.
She didn't trust Adrian.
She didn't trust her father.
She didn't trust this world
But she trusted one truth:
Whatever her father planned tonight would chain her forever
And Adrian—dangerous, enemy, unpredictable Adrian—was the only one offering her agency.
Her hand trembled at her side.
"I…" she whispered.
Before she could finish, a new voice sliced through the air—cold, commanding, unmistakably furious.
"Aurora."
Her father stood in the doorway.
His expression was lethal.
And the night was about to break open.