I keep my mouth closed, not knowing what to answer. I have no idealistic views of Mika. He does bad things; he runs a bloody empire. But he’s deeply loyal and protective.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Mom. It’s not my place to judge.”
A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Mikail won’t go there, mia figlia. And I don’t want my daughter to spend her life pining for a man.”
My eyes widen. Here I thought I was being subtle, and she was too far gone in her grief to see past that.
“What was the attitude at the table?” she asks me knowingly.
I shrug. “Wanted to test him.”
“Some men would die for their loved ones. Other men would do anything to keep them.”
She doesn’t have to tell me which category Mika is in.
“On the other hand, I think he’s the only one who can force you out of the gilded cage, both he and your brotherare responsible for. Stop indulging them and start living, my beautiful daughter. None of us knows when the end is coming.”
Letting her read in peace, I excuse myself.
Her wise words stay with me for the rest of the day. One question plays explicitly on repeat, like a melody without an end. If this were my last day, what would I do? Would I exist just as I am now, or would I be unafraid to live for once?
Defiance blasts through my insides. I’d live my truth, unapologetically—free of constraints, brazen in the face of what’s appropriate.
The answer doesn’t matter because he won’t give me what I want.
I am done waiting for him. I’ll simply take it myself.
Oh, Mikail, we’re going to play. I am ready to gamble my heart, sabotage my sanity, and risk my well-being because you’re worth it. What we could have, what we could be, is worth everything.
I will either win yours or you can keep mine as a war trophy because that’s what it will be. A war of wills, a tug of hearts—the battle will be unfair. It might get messy, but I refuse to continue living like this.
I either have him, or I will take the offer to play elsewhere and get out of his life forever.
Maybe without me around, he will be able to start a life, and I will be able to breathe without him. And when we look back, we’ll smile one more time in secrecy.
How once upon a time, Dahlia Ferrara loved Mikail Morozov, her dark king, her brother’s best friend, but she set him free knowing she could never be his woman, and he loved her enough to let her go.
Just for a while, I want him to love me less and give me what I want, let me live my fantasy. And then I will let him go, absolve him of all his promises, and set him free.
A tear falls down my cheek, and I catch it with the tip of my finger. I stare at the drop, afraid he will refuse me, even more terrified that we will end before we even begin.
Inhaling deeply, I prepare myself to seduce him, pulling from deep within me the woman I buried.
I am Dahlia Ferrara, and this flower is ready to bloom.
No more hiding.
Time is not on my side.
Ten days, and by the end Mikail will be mine.
4
MIKAIL
In my office at our joint company headquarters in midtown, I riffle through some papers to sign, twice as many with Enzo away. I don’t know which side of the business thrives more—the criminal or the legal one. The fact is, both make me richer than I thought possible, making me untouchable.
Pride engulfs me, knowing how far Enzo and I have come. Our fathers’ deaths could have destroyed us, but they shaped us into the men we became.
