Aria’s phone felt like a live grenade in her hand as she read Sofia’s message again. “I was never the traitor. Dante has been playing you from the start. Meet me at the old family estate tonight. Alone. I’ll show you the full truth.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs, a chaotic mix of betrayal, fear, and desperate hope swirling inside her. The man she loved — the one who had held her through every dark night, who had watched her rise from a weak contract bride to a queen — might have been manipulating her all along. The thought made her stomach twist painfully.
She slipped the phone into her pocket just as Dante entered the bedroom, his powerful frame filling the doorway. His gray eyes softened when they landed on her. “You’ve been quiet since the alarm. Talk to me, my love.”
Aria for
