"There's a property on the outskirts of the Hudson Valley. I've already purchased it. If you like the country life, I'll have someone plant a garden for you. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen. Trust me."

I stepped back, shaking my head over and over.

"I won't be locked away in some back house as your mistress. I won't let my child and me live in the shadows for the rest of our lives."

But Cesare simply walked toward me, his expression unchanged, his tone calm.

"I've never thought of you as a mistress. As long as you don't make trouble in front of the lady of the house, you'll still be my wife there. Isn't that enough?"

I kept shaking my head. "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here."

This place held every tender moment Cesare and I had shared over three years. I wanted to wait here for our child to be born.

"Serafina, you know this. My alliance ceremony cannot have a single flaw. I have to erase every trace of our past. It's the only way you and the child will be safe."

Before the shock had even left my face, he raised his hand. The soldiers behind him stepped forward with fuel cans and set the courtyard ablaze.

In an instant the fire roared to life, swallowing the cottage, the fence, the entire yard.

I clutched my belly and screamed. "No! Stop! Make them stop!"

Cesare pulled me to him and pressed my trembling body against his chest.

He held me there and let me pound my fists against him.

"Be good. When the time is right, I'll make you my equal wife. The child can carry the name of a legitimate heir. Everything will be the way it was before."

But Cesare, I am the daughter of the Don. The Boss of Bosses. How could I ever be your equal wife?

The courtyard was gone. And we could never go back.

Three years ago, I had a fight with my father and walked out of the compound in a fury, determined to chase my dream of a quiet life far from the empire he'd built.

I shook off every one of his men along the way and settled at the foot of this mountain.

That was when I met Cesare Delgado. He was on horseback, collar turned up against the wind, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. One look was all it took. I fell for him completely.

I hid my identity from him, and he told me only that he was a freelance enforcer drifting between jobs. We exchanged vows beneath the open sky, with heaven and earth as our witnesses.