"Someone's threatening us. Making noise about our marriage being fake." I met his gaze defiantly. "Yet no one will tell me details. What the hell is going on, Luca?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"There was a note. Blackmail. Someone knows our arrangement isn't what it appears to be."
"And you weren't going to tell me?"
"I'm telling you now."
"Only because I forced the issue." Anger flared. "I'm not some fragile doll to be protected, Luca. I'm your wife, at least on paper. I deserve to know what threats we're facing."
"My wife," he repeated, the words heavy with something I couldn't name. "Yes, you are. Which means your safety is my responsibility."
"My safety has always been my own responsibility."
"Not anymore." His eyes hardened. "Like it or not, Sienna, you're a Romano now. That puts a target on your back."
The room felt too small. My head spun with competing emotions—anger, frustration, fear, and beneath it all, an unwelcome flutter at his fierce protectiveness.
"I can't help defend us if I don't know what I'm fighting," I said steadily.
He studied me, weighing how much to reveal.
"Someone left a crude note demanding money to keep quiet about our arrangement," he finally said. "We have a lead—a bartender I fired who's been running his mouth. But he's not working alone. Someone inside my operation is feeding information to our enemies."
"A traitor," I murmured.
"Yes." His jaw clenched. "And until I find them and deal with the threat, you stay close. You follow my lead. You play the devoted wife."
"Or what?"
"Or we both end up dead," he said with brutal honesty. "This isn't just about reputation, Sienna. If our families discover our marriage is a fraud, the ceasefire ends. Blood flows. And we'll be the first casualties."
His stark words settled heavily in my chest. We were bound now, our fates intertwined.
"Fine," I relented. "I'll play my part. But no more secrets between us, Luca. Not about threats to our lives."
Something flashed in his eyes—surprise, perhaps respect. For the first time, he wasn't looking at me like a possession to protect. He was looking at me like an equal.
"No more secrets about immediate threats," he agreed carefully. "The rest stays as it is."
A wave of nausea washed over me suddenly. The room tilted, and I swayed on my feet. Luca's hands shot out to steady me, his grip firm on my waist.
"Sienna?" Concern colored his voice.
"Just dizzy," I mumbled, fighting the bile rising in my throat. "I haven't eaten today."
It wasn't entirely a lie. I hadn't been able to keep anything down since dawn.
He guided me to the chair with surprising gentleness. "I'll have food sent up."
"No, I'm not hungry."
He ignored me, pressing his desk button. "Ginger tea and plain toast. And tell Marco to reschedule the Ricci meeting for tomorrow. Mrs. Romano isn't feeling well."
I opened my mouth to object, but Luca silenced me with a look.
"One day won't matter," he said firmly. "And I need you at full strength."
