The Bride He Never Wanted

Chapter 1

Dreams are expensive in a world that makes you pay with your soul.”

The peeling wallpaper in the one-bedroom apartment was the first thing Liana saw when she opened her eyes every morning. Sunlight filtered through the cracked window pane, casting broken patterns across the faded floor tiles. The scent of cheap detergent, cooking oil, and survival hung heavy in the air.

This was her world—small, imperfect, and bursting at the seams with too much hope.

Liana sat at the edge of the tiny mattress she shared with her younger sister, Bella, brushing her long, dark curls back into a tight bun. Every strand tucked into place was another act of discipline. In a life where so little could be controlled, Liana found comfort in the little routines: brushing her hair exactly twenty strokes, folding their clothes with military precision, and always waking before her mother did.

At twenty-two, Liana had already lived the kind of life that made most girls her age crumble. But she didn’t have time to fall apart. Her mother, a once-elegant woman worn thin by years of grief and worry, was too frail to work anymore. And Bella was just fourteen, full of questions and dreams that felt far too dangerous in a world like theirs.

Liana glanced over at her sister, still fast asleep, her small face soft in slumber. For her, Liana would keep going. Always.

She slipped into her uniform—black trousers and a stiff white shirt—then moved to the kitchen, if it could even be called that. A two-burner stove, a rusted kettle, and a single shelf of dented pots. The gas was out again. She sighed, reached for a packet of cereal, and poured it into two mismatched bowls.

As she stirred in water instead of milk, her mind wandered—dangerous territory for someone like her.

Dominic Ricci.

The name hit her like a whispered prayer and a curse all at once.

She hadn't seen him in years except from TV when they'd talk about the most handsome young bachelor or when he attends events with his girlfriend Miss Eva., but she still remembered the shape of his mouth when he smirked. The sharp lines of his jaw, the way his voice had dropped since they were kids. They’d been playmates once. Barefoot in her father’s garden, chasing fireflies and stealing mangoes from the neighbor’s tree. That was before everything changed. Before the Ricci family became a fortress of wealth and silence. Before her father died and left them with nothing but debt and broken promises.

Now, Dominic lived in a different world—one of glass towers, Italian suits, and whispered rumors. The heir to the Ricci fortune. A name whispered with fear in the mafia underworld, but to Liana, he would always be the boy with scuffed sneakers who once held her hand and told her she was fast like the wind.

She shook the memory off.

Fantasies didn’t pay rent.

She grabbed her work bag, kissed Bella on the forehead, and stepped out into the streets of the city. The coastal breeze smelled faintly of salt and sweat. The roads bustled with motorcycles, impatient taxi drivers, and women yelling prices at a morning market. Luxury skyscrapers gleamed in the distance, mocking the broken buildings that clung to the edges of poverty like rust.

Liana worked two jobs—waitressing at a high-end seaside restaurant in the mornings and cleaning offices downtown at night. She was always moving, always running, always tired.

But today felt different.

There was a strange stillness in the air. An unease.

At the restaurant, her manager barked orders, and Liana kept her head down. She was used to being invisible—pretty enough to catch glances, but quiet enough to be forgotten. She preferred it that way. Less risk. Less pain.

During her break, she stood near the water, letting the breeze wash over her. Just for a moment, she let herself pretend. Pretend that someone like Dominic Ricci could ever look at someone like her and see more than dust on her shoes or calluses on her hands.

She laughed at the thought, shaking her head.

And then, she saw him.

Dominic.

Standing across the street. In a dark suit. Watching her.

Her breath caught in her throat.

It had to be a mistake.

But it wasn’t.

Dominic Ricci was looking right at her.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t wave. Just nodded once—like he’d made a decision.

Then turned and walked away.

Leaving Liana frozen, heart pounding, cereal churning in her stomach, and a single question echoing in her mind.

Why is he here?