Chapter 130: First Step Toward Freedom

My hand trembled violently and a few drops of water spilled from my glass and splashed onto my lap as my heart skipped a beat.

I stared at the message then read it again and again.

Luca.

It was him.

I didn’t need to see his name on the caller ID to know it was him.

For a long moment, I could only sit there in silence, my eyes fixed on the glowing screen.

I shewed down my lips and thought, ‘How did he know about the engagement?’

‘The announcement hadn't even been made publicly yet.’

A cold sensation crawled down my spine. He was closer than I thought. Much closer. Dangerously closer.

The fear I had been trying to suppress for days suddenly surged to the surface like a thunder in my chest.

I let out a trembling sigh. That silence...

God, that silence had been terrifying.

I had almost convinced myself that maybe he was busy. Maybe he was distracted. Maybe he had finally accepted that I was not worth his time and attention and…

Who was I fooling?

This was Luca. Il Don. Cattivo.

Luca Hayden was never silent because he had given up. If he has ever been silent because he was planning.

And now I was staring at two simple messages that somehow felt more threatening than a hundred direct threats.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to inhale slowly.

‘No, Mila,’ I said to myself. ‘You are stronger than this. If he is the Il Don of Cosa Nostra… Then you are the heiress of the Russetti family. And the mother of his legal heir.’

I refused to let fear control me.

My fingers moved quickly across the screen.

\[Tighten security. No exceptions.\] I sent to the new security team.

A few seconds passed, then the reply arrived. \[Understood, Ma'am.\]

I should relax. These security men's record was quite embarrassive. They never failed, even once. Yet…

I lowered the phone onto my lap and stared into the darkness outside the window. Sleep never came that night. Nor the night after. Nor the one after that.

The morning of the engagement arrived surprisingly peacefully.

No suspicious cars. No strange visitors. No single signs of Luca.

Everything proceeded exactly as it should have. Which ironically only made me more uneasy.

"Ma'am," one of the maids said as she entered the room. "The dress and hairstyling team have arrived."

Mrs. Marceau's eyes brightened immediately.

"I told you they would finish on time," she said proudly. "You are going to look like a real princess tonight."

I smiled politely.

"Thank you, Mrs. Marceau. You've helped me a lot."

"Oh dear." She clicked her tongue. "You really must stop calling me that."

I blinked.

She reached for my hand and squeezed it gently. "You'll soon be my daughter-in-law." Her smile softened. "You should call me Mother."

For a second, I didn't know how to respond. The warmth in her voice was genuine, and somehow that made the guilt worse.

I forced a smile. "I'll try."

Satisfied, she nodded. "Now come. We don't have much time."

The next two hours disappeared beneath layers of preparation. The hair, makeup, jewelry and the dress.

When they finally finished, the hairstylist and the makeup artist stepped back.

Slowly, I turned toward the full-length mirror. However, the woman staring back at me didn't look like me.

So elegant and beautiful and gorgeous, but… not my style.

The dress flowed around my body like liquid moonlight.

Soft ivory silk hugged my curves before cascading elegantly toward the floor.

The fitted waist emphasized the gentle swell of my pregnancy instead of hiding it completely, making me appear graceful rather than fragile.

Thousands of tiny crystals had been sewn into the fabric by hand, catching the light every time I moved.

My hair fell in loose waves over one shoulder. And a diamond necklace rested against my collarbone.

The makeup was subtle, natural, and elegant. Nothing like the dramatic styles usually worn by mafia women at political gatherings or social occasions like this.

Yet the woman in the mirror looked like someone who belonged on magazine covers.

Someone untouched by blood, violence, and secrets.

I smiled simply. Maybe this was what I wanted all along.

Not the mafia princess. Not the Russetti heir.

Just...

Me.

Tonight would change everything.

Either I would finally take a step toward freedom from this underground world.

Or I would start a war with the most dangerous man I had ever known.

And deep inside, I wasn't sure which outcome frightened me more.

I placed my hand on my belly. At least, this was my first step toward moving to Germany.