It was coming from him.
Vincenzo.
He stood across the courtyard, thirty feet away, his posture effortless but deliberate.
Hands tucked into the pockets of his charcoal suit, his body relaxed yet unmistakably alert.
Every inch of him radiated power.
Beside him, Renzo created a stark contrast.
Vincenzo’s six-foot-six presence was commanding in a way that made space shrink around him.
Renzo, barely five-four, was compact, wound tight, every muscle coiled like a spring ready to snap.
I had a subtle height advantage over him—just enough to notice—and that knowledge made a smirk rise against my will.
Renzo noticed immediately.
“Care to explain that smirk?” His voice was edged with threat.
I met his gaze evenly, letting the weight of my stare match the sharpness in his.
“I don’t owe explanations for expressions,” I said evenly. “Since when did that become your concern?”
His hands flexed at his sides, and I could see the fuse burning in him, a fuse so short it could ignite at any moment.
“I’ll be one of your instructors here,” Renzo said, low and controlled. “Trust me, signora—you do not want to test me. I can make your year a living hell. Every day, every hour... I can make it feel like the last.”
I tilted my head.
“I am your boss’s wife, Renzo. And I expect you to remember that when you speak to me.”
Renzo took a single step forward, the movement sharp enough to feel like a strike in itself.
His chest rose, shoulders squaring, fury tightening every line of his compact frame.
“Remember your place,” he said, voice low but cutting. “You didn’t earn that ring.”
Another step. “You stole it.”
The words came out harder now, edged with something that wasn’t just anger.
It was personal.
“You showed up on her wedding day—conveniently chased by ‘hunters’—and played the damsel until Vincenzo threw everything away for you.”
His lip curled.
“Shameless.”
He closed the distance again, fast enough that instinct kicked in before thought did.
I took a step back, eyes flicking past him to Vincenzo.
My so-called husband. He hadn’t moved an inch.
Hands still buried in his pockets.
