The adrenaline from the afternoon was beginning to wear off as I pulled into the underground parking garage of my penthouse.

The events of the night replayed in my mind-Allesandro's sneer, the sharp retorts, the gunshot that silenced him forever.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel before I forced myself to relax, taking a deep breath.

I needed to talk to Eleanor.

The elevator ride up felt interminably slow. When the doors finally opened, I stepped out into the quiet, dimly lit hallway.

Unlocking the door to my penthouse, I was greeted by the faint aroma of sage-Eleanor's favorite scent.

She was already home. I found her curled up on the couch, a glass of wine in hand, eyes widening as she saw me.

"Lucien, what happened?" she asked, standing up and crossing the room to meet me. She placed a hand on my arm, searching my face for answers.

"I killed someone I wasn't supposed to," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

I pulled her into a hug, feeling her warmth against me.

"Let's sit."

We settled on the couch, and I took a deepbreath.

"Eleanor, I killed an Italian today."

Her eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?"

"He was going to marry Serafina. He was a monster, Eleanor. I couldn't let that happen."

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to find the right words.

"It was either him or Serafina's future."

Eleanor's face softened, and she reached out, cupping my cheek. "What you wanted to do , has been done."

I nodded, feeling a weight lift slightly.

"I don't regret it. But there will be consequences. Big fat Italian men will be sitting on the table tomorrow, ready to declare a war. There's going to be fallout from this. At least half of their total men saw me killing him, at the brunch"

She leaned in, pressing her lips to mine in a tender kiss. "We'll face it together, Lucien. Whatever happens, we'll get through it."

The kiss deepened, and for a moment, the tension of the morning faded away. We moved to the bedroom, shedding our clothes as we went, needing to feel the closeness, the connection.

We made love slowly, savoring each touch, each kiss. In those moments, everything else disappeared.

Afterwards, we lay tangled in the sheets, Eleanor resting her head on my chest.

The silence between us was comfortable, a stark contrast to the chaos in my mind.

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," I admitted, staring up at the ceiling.

She traced patterns on my skin with her fingertips. "Whatever it is, you'll handle it. You always do."

I sighed, closing my eyes.

"Tommaso won't let this go easily. There's going to be a lot of fallout."

"Just remember why you did it," she whispered. "You protected Serafina. You did the right thing."

Her words were a balm to my soul.

We stayed like that for a long time, wrapped in each other's warmth, finding solace in the quiet moments.

As the night wore on, sleep finally claimed us. I held Eleanor close, knowing that whatever tomorrow brought, I would face it with her by my side.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when I pulled myself out of bed the next morning, the weight of last night's events pressing heavily on my chest.

I dressed quickly, every movement feeling mechanical, as if my body was moving on autopilot.

Eleanor woke up after me and prepared breakfast for us.

We ate in silence and it was finally time to go.

"Do you have anyone accompanying you ?", Eleanor asked as she helped me with the tie.

"Just Uncle Dylan and Sylvain.", I replied.

" You can do it Lucien. Je t'aime et je crois en toi."

"Oui, mon bijou", I said as I kissed her, hard enough to suck her soul out.

The drive to Tommaso's estate was silent, the streets eerily quiet at this early hour.

My uncle Dylan, also my godfather had already reached.

When me and Raphael arrived, we were greeted by tense faces and guarded expressions. The usual air of control and power in Tommaso's estate was now thick with uncertainty and anxiety.

Tommaso himself was already seated next to the head of the table.

The head was occupied by the head of the Italian Mafia, Giuseppe Roux, a dark expression etched on his face. Serafina sat nearby, her eyes puffy and red from a night of crying.

"Lucien," Tommaso said, his voice cold as ice. "We need to talk about what happened."

I was turning 30 this year and yet I felt like a teenager who is getting scolded by people around him because his shooting techniques are not at par.

I nodded, taking a seat. "I know what I did. I know the consequences. But Allesandro was a monster, Tommaso. I couldn't let him marry Serafina."

Tommaso's gaze was hard, unyielding. "You acted on impulse, Lucien. That action has repercussions far beyond your understanding. You've put us all at risk."

"Why were you so impulsive Lucien? I've seen you growing up. You never lost you chill.", Roux asked.

"On top of that, marriages like these are common in our world, why did you interfere into this setting?", Tommaso asked me.

"Allesandro was a monster. We all know what happened to his wives. I didn't wanted anything thing like that happen to Sera, hence, I did what I did. I asked Tommaso to cancel this marriage but, he wont listen."

One of the men in the room, an elder with a stern face, cleared his throat. "There's been a lot of talk overnight, Lucien. The rest of us are furious. They see your act as a declaration of war."

My stomach tightened. "I did what I thought was right."

"Right or not, we need to find a solution to prevent a full-scale war. We know you intensions but most of our people don't," another man added.

"Whatever you did, was it out of love enfant ? I mean real love, not the parental love", Uncle Dylan asked me.

I don't love her. I care about her enough to kill someone who means hazard to her.

I didn't replied to him.

"There's only one way to bring the peace back." Tommaso nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "To maintain peace between our families, you need to marry my daughter."

The room fell into a stunned silence.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Marry Serafina?

The words echoed in my mind, each repetition bringing with it a new wave of disbelief.

I glanced at Serafina, whose expression was just as shocked as mine.

"What?" I finally managed to choke out.

Tommaso's voice was steady and unyielding.

"The only way to secure peace is through marriage. Serafina was supposed to marry Allesandro. With him gone, you must take his place."

"But... this wasn't part of the plan," I protested, my mind racing.

"This is too sudden. There must be another way."

Tommaso shook his head.

"This is the only way, Lucien. The Italians need to see that we are committed to this alliance. Serafina's marriage is a symbol of that commitment. On top of that, You are turning 33 this year, you need to get married and yield a heir."

Serafina finally spoke up, her voice trembling but resolute. "If this is what it takes to prevent a war, then I will do it."

I felt a pang of guilt at her words. She was willing to sacrifice her future for the sake of peace.

"Perle..."

She met my gaze, her eyes full of determination. "We have no other choice, Lucien."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The reality of the situation was sinking in.

But what about Eleanor. How the fuck in the world can I betray her?

She means the world to me. I can't imagine a life without her. She will be so heartbroken when she'll find out about this.

She doesn't deserve any of this.

But my duty called me.

They are asking me to choose between the women I cannot imagine my life without.

Eleanor is my ultimate solace, my Polaris and the love of my life.

Serafina is my strength. I relate to her in ways I can't relate to anyone. She knows how to make me happy even when the night glitters the darkest.

Eleanor has authority in her life. She can continue to live a stable life, even without me. She will forget about me if not in months, but definitely in years.

But Sera; her life is totally opposite. She doesn't have much control on her life. As much as the people in her generation of this world admire her and are jealous of her, she is nothing in front of the elders.

Even after doing the impossibles, the elders never saw her for who she was.

And sadly, even her even father didn't.

6 months ago, at Venezuela, she with her handful of men killed the entire bloodline of the La Vieja Guardia de Venezuela, because the youngest child decided to fuck with one of her important drug deal.

She spent an year, trying get hold of the premium weed of Mexico. And when she finally was able to meet with the vendors and nail the deal down, Alejandro López arrived, fucked it up and left.

So, Serafina Maria Moretti, ended his entire bloodline with their own guns and explosives and left.

It costed her, her whole summer break, a molar and an incisor.

"Fine. I'll marry Serafina.", I said.

I hope I have made the correct decision.

Tommaso nodded, the tension in the room easing slightly. "Good. Then it's settled. The wedding will happen on the same date as it was going to happen."

As the meeting continued, the details of the arrangement were discussed, but I could hardly focus.

My mind was spinning, the enormity of what was happening crashing down on me.

I had killed Allesandro to protect Serafina, but now I was being bound to her in a way I had never anticipated.

After the meeting, I found a moment alone with Serafina.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked her softly.

She nodded, a faint smile on her lips.

"We don't have much of a choice, Lucien. But maybe... maybe this is for the best."

I reached out, taking her hand in mine.

"I promise, I will do everything in my power to protect you. To make this work."

Her grip tightened around my hand, and for the first time, I saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I know you will, Lucien. And I will do the same."

We stood there for a moment, the weight of our future pressing down on us.

***

The ride back from Tommaso's estate was suffocating.

The air felt too thick, too heavy. Raphael sat beside me in the car, his silence louder than any words he could have spoken.

I couldn't focus on anything other than the promise I'd just made.

A promise to marry Serafina.

My thoughts were a tangled mess, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't untangle them.

It wasn't just about the politics, the family, or even the mafia ties.

It was about her-Serafina.

The woman who had fought her way through life with blood on her hands and fire in her eyes.

The woman I'd known since childhood but never truly understood until now.

I killed Alessandro for her, and now, I was bound to her.

Eleanor.

Her name pierced through my thoughts like a bullet.

I couldn't shake the guilt that gnawed at me.

I had betrayed her in the worst possible way, and yet, there was no turning back.

The heavy silence in the car was almost unbearable. Sylvain sat in the passenger's seat, and Raphael in the back, since I insisted to drive.

Sylvain sat still, his arms crossed, eyes narrowed in quiet contemplation. It was clear that everyone was reeling from the meeting with Tommaso, each grappling with the weight of what had just been decided.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Sylvain finally said, breaking the silence. His voice was sharp, teasing, but his eyes were serious.

I rubbed my temples, my mind still spinning. "It feels like I have."

He smirked, leaning forward. "Well, marrying Serafina is no small matter. It's not just a political move. The girl's been through hell and back, and now you're about to be chained to her for life. You sure you're ready for this?"

I clenched my fists. "It's not about being ready. It's about what has to be done."

Sylvain let out a low whistle, clearly unimpressed. "That's the same thing Alessandro thought when he wanted to marry her. You didn't agree with him."

Raphael, who had been silent until now, glanced at Lucien. "This is different. Lucien killed Alessandro because he was more interested in what lies between her legs. Lucien here, will treat her like she was supposed to, respect like she is now by everyone. With Lucien, she could still be the bold, badass Lady Moretti. But somehow, Allesandro would've killed her from inside."

My jaw tightened. I could feel the pressure mounting with every word he spoke.

Raphael didn't understand, Sylvain didn't either.

They couldn't.

How could they know the real reason for my turmoil?

The one person that kept flashing through his mind, the one he had betrayed in the most profound way, wasn't Serafina.

It was Eleanor.

Sylvain raised an eyebrow. "Different, huh? So you're ready to marry the mafia princess now?"

My eyes flickered toward the window. The streets outside blurred together, but nothing could distract him from the chaos in my mind.

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

"Lucien," Sylvain pressed, his tone more serious now, "if you're going to be Serafina's husband, you better get your head in the game. You're not just marrying a woman. You're marrying into a legacy."

Lucien exhaled sharply. "I know what I'm marrying into."

Raphael sighed, folding his arms. "It's not just about Serafina or the family. It's about you too, Lucien. Can you handle this?"

My stomach twisted. The question hit harder than they knew.

Can I handle it?

Can I handle betraying Eleanor?

Can he handle living a lie, pretending my heart wasn't already claimed by someone else?

Sylvain gave me a hard look. "You're gonna have to figure this out. Fast."

My throat felt tight, the words trapped inside me, and I fought to keep it all together.

W

hen life gives you lemons, squeeze them in a barrel of Jack Daniel's, toss in a gallon of triple sec (De Kuyper), and watch the mess unfold like the disaster it's bound to be.

A beautiful disaster.

A perfect disaster.

Cheers to turning lemons into gold!

Then, sit back and sip it like it's the only solution left.

What, make lemonade?

Please.

That's for people who believe in happy endings and sunny days.

No, we're going full throttle-because we believe in stormy seas with hard liquor and voyaging through an uncertain as fuck life.

None of my thoughts are making sense, just as the thing that has happened right now.