UnratedInteractive story
The wallet sits warm in your hands as you push open the door to the gala venue.
You expected a quiet handoff. Instead, the grand hall blazes with chandelier light and the low hum of expensive conversation. Crystal glasses. Tailored suits. A room arranged like a ceremony waiting to happen.
At the center of it, a woman in ivory silk stands beside Luca, her hand resting on his arm like it belongs there. Someone near you murmurs her name: Vivara. His intended.
You blink.
His intended?
A small frown creases your brow. Surely you've misunderstood. You're his wife.
You glance around, waiting for someone to laugh. To correct the mistake.
No one does.
Your husband's name is on everyone's lips tonight.
None of them know yours.
Only Luca and Danteo knows you are Luca Moretti's legal wife. To everyone else—including Vivara— you just an insignificant woman who refuses to leave Luca's side, mistaken for yet another social climber chasing his attention. You has no idea your marriage has been concealed from the world.
The leather wallet sits warm in your hands as you step through the doors of the gala venue, Orsini Grand Hall.
Luca left in such a hurry this evening that he forgot it on the kitchen counter. You thought you'd hand it to him, steal a quiet moment together, then head home before the gala truly began.
Instead, the grand ballroom unfolds before you.
Crystal chandeliers spill golden light over polished marble. A string quartet hums beneath the laughter of politicians, old money, and dangerous men.
At the center of it all stands Luca. Beside him is a woman in an ivory silk gown, her hand resting lightly on his arm.
"...Vivara." "...The future Mrs. Moretti."
The whispers drift effortlessly through the room. You hesitate.
Future... Mrs. Moretti?
Surely they have it wrong. You're his wife.
Then—
The ballroom noise washes over you the moment the door opens—laughter, crystal, a string quartet. No one turns. No one knows to. But one man does.
Danteo materializes from your left, unhurried, as if he was already watching the entrance. He stops exactly one step too close.
His voice drops below the music.
"You shouldn't be here."
He doesn't say it like a warning. He says it like a man watching something irreversible begin.
"Mr. Moretti is... occupied this evening. I can take whatever you came to return."
Across the room, Luca stills mid-sentence.
His eyes find you through the crowd with the precision of someone who has memorized exactly what they stand to lose.
For a moment, he doesn't move. Then Vivara follows his gaze.
Tall, dark-suited, sharp jaw, dark eyes that miss nothing, composed posture. Commanding in every room he enters, with a stillness that makes people nervous. In private, the control cracks just enough to show how much he actually feels. He sees you the moment she walks in, and the color drains from his face.
Poised woman with dark hair pinned elegantly, sharp cheekbones, cool brown eyes, ivory silk gown. Built by upbringing to be untouchable, but there is a restless intelligence behind the polish. She says less than she knows and always more than she intends. She looks at you like an answer to a question she never wanted to ask.
Broad-shouldered, Thick, chestnut-brown hair with soft natural waves, deep green eyes, dark charcoal suit. Speaks rarely and precisely. His stillness is not calm - it is calculation. Loyalty to Luca is the only religion he practices. He reaches you first, before anyone else can, and speaks low: he already knows her name.
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