Chapter 0: Prologue
The night was suffocatingly still, the kind of silence that carried the weight of unseen threats lurking in the shadows. The dim glow of streetlights cast long, eerie figures along the cobblestone roads, and the air smelled of rain that had yet to fall.
Antonio Romano stood at the edge of a balcony, a cigarette loosely between his fingers, though he hadn't taken a drag. His sharp gaze scanned the city below, his mind far away from the gathering happening inside. Laughter, the clinking of expensive glasses, the murmurs of business deals and betrayals—it all blurred into a meaningless hum.
He had spent years building this life, carving out a name that made men bow in respect or cower in fear. He was methodical, precise, and ruthless when necessary. There was no room for weakness, no space for emotions. Love, trust, attachment—they were distractions.
Or at least, that's what he had always told himself.
Until her.
Jasmine Harrington had collided into his world—quite literally. She was a mistake waiting to happen, an unpredictable factor in an otherwise controlled life. But from the moment he had laid eyes on her, something had shifted. A pull, foreign and unwelcome, had settled into his chest.
She wasn't like the women in his world—those who spoke in carefully measured words, who knew exactly what kind of man he was and played their roles accordingly. No, Jasmine was different. She questioned him. She pushed back. She didn't bend to his will.
And yet, he wanted her.
Antonio exhaled slowly, tossing the cigarette over the balcony railing before turning back toward the room. He didn't know what would come of this, of her. But he knew one thing for certain—
Jasmine Harrington had unknowingly stepped into his world.
And whether she was ready or not, there was no way out.
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