But Jared? He stormed in alone and got Lucia out.
Bit by bit, she fell for him. Said yes to the wedding.
Then everything flipped.
He went cold. Distant. Never laid a hand on her.
She used to worry he was sick.
Now she knew better—he wasn’t sick, and he wasn’t asexual.
He was saving himself for someone else.
She didn’t get it.
It wasn’t her fault she’d gone missing. Wasn’t her fault the Lynch family brought her back.
So why did Jared treat her like this?
Tears blurred her vision just as her phone buzzed.
Lucia stepped onto the balcony and picked up.
“Lucia.”
It was Francesca—soft voice, calm as ever. The woman who raised her.
“My birthday’s coming up. Will you come home to Italvia?” She paused. “Of course, if your birth parents don’t approve… forget I asked.”
Giovanni and Francesca Loredan had adopted Lucia legally. They couldn’t have kids, but they loved her like she was theirs.
But in Khelmark, blood was everything. And because of Jared, Lucia had stayed behind for four long years.
Now…
The tears she’d been holding back finally broke free. Her voice cracked.
“Mom, I want to come back to Italvia.”
Francesca’s voice sharpened, panicked.
“Sweetheart, what happened? Did the Lynch family hurt you? Come home now! I swear, once you’re in Italvia, no one will touch you!”
The Loredans were powerhouses—top of Italvia’s business world, with reach all over Europe.
“I’ll handle everything,” Francesca rushed out. “I’ll send the jet in three days. You’re my daughter, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
