8 Chapter 8
That day, the sea breeze was gentle. Alessandro was sunbathing on the beach, with only a bath towel wrapped around his waist. The moment he turned on his side, the towel slipped a little.
Gazing at his bronze skin, my eyes involuntarily traveled downwards. Sharp V-lines, a rock-solid eight-pack, and the astonishing outline hidden beneath the towel.
Alessandro was surprisingly gentle. He noticed my unease and didn’t touch me on the
first day.
Everyone immediately burst into laughter.
“Ah, I get it now. Mr. Kane isn’t interested in Miss Isabella, he’s interested in the Romano family’s money. He wants to be a gold digger, but also keep his little canary on the side. Too bad a true princess like her isn’t blind; she would never fall for a second-rate
wannabe like you.”
In the past, he took advantage of our decade-plus history, using both threats and promises to coerce me, even holding my reputation hostage. But what he didn’t know was that in our circles, that kind of behavior was the most despised of all.
Vincent actually had the audacity to look pitiful.
My face flushed, and my eyes couldn’t help but glance down. I gasped inwardly.
Vincent wanted to retort angrily, but one look at the mob bosses and titans of industry in
the room made him clamp his mouth shut, his face dark with fury.
“I’d say you should take your little darling and hurry on home. After all, she’s the precious
treasure you had to beg for.”
After the wedding, Alessandro and I boarded a private jet and flew directly to our private island in the Caribbean for our honeymoon.
The scion of another family, one just as renowned as the Romanos, loved nothing more than fanning the flames.
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<8 Chapter 8
I never knew that the husband I’d hastily married had such an incredible body. For a moment, I couldn’t help but stare.
To
my
shock, Vincent shoved Sophia aside and lunged at me.
“Mr. Kane, weren’t you just saying you were willing to marry that little mistress of yours? How is it that you’re now ‘truly in love’ with Miss Romano? Even a Broadway actor can’t
change faces as fast as you.”
“Exactly. He was always going on about how Miss Romano had no one but him. Now that she’s married into a truly prestigious family, don’t tell me he’s hoping to ride her coattails,
too?”
Alessandro chuckled softly, then said with a straight face,
At these words, Vincent’s face flushed crimson then drained of all color. But he couldn’t
refute a single word, because everything they said was the truth.
That day, we practically devoured each other as we tumbled into the room. That night,
Alessandro used his body to show me what a decade of repressed madness felt like.
But in this life, his reputation for absurdity and debauchery was destined to make him the
laughingstock of all of Chicago.
“You’re not a materialistic woman. I’ll buy you all the betrothal gifts Alessandro gave you
in the future. Please don’t marry him, okay?”.
In
my past life, it was my vehement opposition that stopped him from making a complete fool of himself, thus preserving his reputation.
The moment those words left his mouth, not just my father, but everyone in the room looked at him with utter contempt.
As the crowd snickered and jeered, I simply watched, coolly detached.
Vincent still didn’t understand, not really. A sincere heart is nothing to be trifled with. A marriage alliance is not merely a personal matter-it is tied to the honor and reputation of an entire family.
The moment Alessandro looked up, he caught my gaze and let out a soft chuckle. He walked over to me without a hint of self-consciousness.
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In the end, he ripped off his boutonnière and stormed out.
Alessandro pulled me into his embrace, letting out a sigh of pure satisfaction.
He simply took my hand and we walked along the beach, collecting seashells, and he
mixed me the freshest cocktails.
“Like what you see, mia principessa? Don’t just look. You’re my wife, you can touch
anywhere you want.”
“Isabella, I was only trying to protect Sophia, taking pity on her because she’s so helpless.
But the one I want to spend the rest of my life with is you!”
“I, for one, don’t share Mr. Kane’s particular fetish for threesomes. The Salvatore family
can’t afford that kind of shame.”
Three days later, I finally began to accept this new husband of mine, who was two years
younger than me but incredibly powerful.
While I was being ostracized, did he really think that other socialites would be drawn to a
scumbag who was two-timing before he was even married?
“Don Romano! Isabella and I are childhood sweethearts. I’m the only one who truly loves her! You have to stand up for me! How can you let her marry someone else?”
Vibrant rose petals rained down, fluttering from the cathedral’s dome in a beautiful
shower. Alessandro knelt on one knee and, with the utmost solemnity, slid the ring onto my finger.
Sophia, clad in her expensive gown, stumbled after him. Just as she reached the door, she
took a nasty spill, falling flat on her face with a smack.
Everyone rose to their feet, cheering and applauding.
With the eyesores gone, Alessandro immediately arranged for a new, magnificent wedding ceremony.
As he spoke, Alessandro crushed his lips to mine, as if he meant to swallow me whole.
That day, for the first time, I knew what it was to be cherished, to be enveloped in a deep and passionate love.
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He tried to embrace me, but I spun around, and he fell flat on his face.
“Isabella, I know you haven’t fully accepted me into your heart yet, but I really, really love
you.”
Papa stepped forward, his voice booming with authority.
“Vincent Kane! Since you have a new flame, stop pestering my daughter! The Romano family’s Principessa is not so desperate that she has to have you!”
I swallowed hard, my hand seeming to rise of its own accord. My fingertips traced the
hard planes of his pecs, then drifted down to his V-lines, his abs…
Then, his gaze shifted back to me.
“I fell in love with you when you were eight years old, running through the snow in a red
dress, a little fireball against the white. For the past ten-plus years, my dreams have been
filled with you every night. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
We were a tangle of limbs until dawn before I finally drifted into a hazy sleep, but that
insatiable wolf was still at my ear, peppering me with lingering kisses.
