CHAPTER NINETEEN
Serafina
The weight of my wedding band felt foreign against my finger, a constant reminder of the vows I had exchanged just hours ago.
Mrs. Adrian Salvatore.
My identity was now my husband’s name.
I wasn’t Serafina Morelli anymore.
I was just Adrian’s wife.
My mind replayed fragments of the day in disjointed flashes.
The church had been a blur of white flowers and judgmental stares.
The reception—champagne toasts I couldn’t taste, congratulations that felt like accusations.
Through it all, Adrian’s hand had remained firmly on my lower back, a constant, possessive reminder of my new reality.
My thoughts spiraled as the car glided through winding roads, each mile taking me farther from everything I had ever known.
Mrs. Adrian Salvatore.
The words still didn’t feel real.
I was supposed to be Matteo’s wife. That had been the plan, the arrangement, the future I’d been groomed for since childhood. And now...
I stared out the window, watching the landscape transform from the familiar streets of New York to something wilder, more untamed.
My reflection in the glass looked like a stranger.
A woman dressed in white, her makeup impeccable despite the tears that had threatened to fall throughout the ceremony. This woman didn’t feel like me…
And yet she was me.
“Welcome to your new home.”
Adrian’s voice cut through my thoughts and the silence of the car, startling me. I hadn’t realized the car had come to a stop. He stepped out with fluid grace, his tall frame a shadow against the evening sky, and walked around to my side. The door opened, and his hand extended toward me.
I hesitated for only a moment before placing my trembling hand in his much rougher, bigger one. His fingers closed around mine, his grip firm, as he helped me from the vehicle.
I looked up and my breath hitched.
His private estate loomed before us, nothing like the traditional Salvatore family mansion I had expected.
This was different—sleeker and more modern, with clean lines and floor-to-ceiling windows that reflected the fading light.
Though much smaller than the family compound, it was still grand, imposing in its perfect isolation.
The house sat nestled at the edge of dense woods, so far removed from civilization that I couldn’t even hear the distant hum of traffic. The tall, dense trees stood like silent sentinels against the darkening sky.
This wasn’t just a home; it was a fortress. Exactly how Adrian preferred it.
Just like Giulia had warned me. Secluded. Remote.
Almost like the perfect prison.
“Come,” Adrian commanded, his hand finding the small of my back as he guided me toward the house.
Two security guards stood at attention by the entrance, their eyes tracking our movements with calculated precision, their posture rigid. They nodded respectfully as we approached, but otherwise unmoving.
We walked inside and I didn’t know why for a foolish moment I thought he would carry me over the threshold. But that was for fairy tales, right? And Adrian was no Prince Charming or my knight in shining armor.
The thought made something inside me rot, my carefully guarded walls splintering as cruel disappointment seeped through the cracks.
Me and my foolish desires for romance…
I almost laughed at myself.
Our reality was much, much different.
Inside, the house opened into a soaring foyer with a double staircase that curved elegantly toward the upper floors.
The interior was the perfect contrast—warm wood floors against cool stone walls, modern art pieces hanging alongside minimalist furnishings.
It was beautiful in a way that felt almost sterile, like a museum rather than a home.
“Mrs. Salvatore,” Adrian said, his voice carrying a hint of mockery that made my stomach clench. “Allow me to introduce you to our staff.”
A much older man with silver hair and impeccable posture approached us. “Sir,” he said with a slight bow. “Everything has been prepared as requested.”
Adrian turned to me. “Serafina, this is Edmund, our butler. He’s been with me for many years.”
“Since you were twenty-two, sir.”
“Almost a decade,” Adrian agreed.
A woman who couldn’t have been older than thirty-five stood beside him, her dark hair pulled back in a severe bun. She offered me a smile but she couldn’t hide the confusion in her expression.
Adrian gestured toward the woman. “And Elena, our head housekeeper. Edmund’s daughter. She oversees the household staff, though we don’t have many.”
That was obvious. I figured as much that Adrian wasn’t a man to trust people into his home so easily.
I offered them a small smile, though it was strained. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
Elena’s eyes met mine, and there was something in her gaze. Curiosity, perhaps, or pity—and that made me uncomfortable. She looked too young to be responsible for an entire household.
“We’ve prepared your suite for you, Mrs. Salvatore,” Elena said, her voice soft but confident. “If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
What had Adrian told them about me? What did they know?
I nodded, the perfect smile still plastered on my face, unable to find words.
This was real. This was my home now. My new gilded cage.
The thought of it sent a wave of discomfort through me, my lungs clenching as frightening uncertainty coursed through me.
I inhaled, trying to get myself composed, but a sudden bark shattered the moment. A low, rumbling growl that made my blood run cold.
My eyes widened, heart leaping into my throat, as three massive black Dobermans emerged from a side corridor, their sleek bodies moving with predatory grace.
Holy shit. Oh God, no.
They prowled toward us, and I stumbled backward, my heels catching on the edge of my dress. Fear slithered through me, cold and paralyzing.
“What’s wrong?” Adrian asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
I took another involuntary step backward, my heart hammering against my ribs. Their dark eyes fixed on me with unnerving intensity, their movements deliberate as they circled closer.
“I—" I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. “I was chased by a dog as a child. I don’t... I don’t like them.”
I didn’t just not like them. I didn’t want to be anywhere near them.
Dogs… were not my friends.
Dogs hated me.
They chased me. They always barked at me. My father’s old dog even tried to bite me when I tried to play with it. I had been seven and gullible.
And these dogs? They were tall, massive. Twice the size of my father’s dog. Hell, no.
Adrian’s expression shifted, something calculating flashing in his eyes. “That’s going to be a problem.”
“Why?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“These are my Dobermans,” he said, gesturing to the dogs that now flanked him, sitting at his sides, protective and loyal. “Shadow, Orion, and Nyx. They live here.”
One of the dogs, the largest of the three, took a step toward me, its head tilting curiously. I watched it sniff, almost like it was trying to recognize or memorize my scent.
Was it trying to decide if I was a threat?
It took another step toward me, sniffing again and I yelped, backing away until I hit the wall.
The dog barked in response, a sharp sound that made my pulse race. It regarded me with what seemed like curiosity, but all I could see was potential danger. They had large, sharp teeth. Big, wide jaws.
They could snap my bones into pieces if they truly wanted.
“You’ll have to grow accustomed to their presence,” Adrian said, his tone making it clear this wasn’t a suggestion.
Terror clawed at my throat at the thought. I had… to live with… them.
My breathing grew shallow with panicked gasps, dark spots dancing around the edge of my vision. The walls seemed to close in around me, the weight of the day’s events crashing down on me all at once. The wedding, the new home, the dogs—my new reality…
“I c-can’t,” I whispered, my chest tightening. “Please, Adrian, keep them away from me.”
With a sharp command, he called the dogs to heel. They immediately retreated, though their eyes remained fixed on me. “Edmund,” he said, never taking his eyes off me. “Take them away and feed them.”
The butler nodded, clicking his tongue to get the dogs’ attention. They followed him reluctantly, casting glances back at me as they disappeared down the hallway.
My whole body quaked and my hand fluttered to my heaving chest, as I tried to calm my breathing. God, I just embarrassed myself in front of my new staff.
Barely five minutes into Adrian’s home and I was already losing my carefully composed self.
I had somehow entered the twilight zone where my humiliation just wouldn’t come to an end today. As if this morning wasn’t enough, waking up naked in Adrian’s bed, then I walked down the aisle to the wrong groom, and now I had shown yet another weakness to my new husband and complete strangers.
“Come,” Adrian said, his voice strangely softer now as he extended his hand. “Let me show you upstairs, to your bedroom.”
The words sent a fresh wave of anxiety through me. I had barely processed the ceremony, the reception, the fact that I was now Adrian’s wife.
For a moment I had forgotten that tonight was our wedding night.
And that now, I was expected to share his bed.
I had to perform my wifely duties.
I reluctantly took his hand, allowing him to guide me up the grand staircase. Each step felt heavier than the last, my wedding dress trailing behind me like a ghost.
“This place is so secluded,” I murmured. “What if we ever need help? How—”
“No one can hurt you as long as you’re my wife, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Adrian said, cutting me off as we reached the top of the stairs.
I looked up at him, searching his face for sincerity. “And what about you?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. “Can you hurt me?”
He didn’t respond, as if he didn’t even hear my question.
Adrian opened a door at the end of the hallway, revealing a spacious bedroom dominated by a massive four-poster bed. Our bedroom. It was grand and beautiful, dark woods and deep browns, with none of the feminine touches I might have expected.
Adrian ushered me inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. “This will be your room.”
I walked farther inside, taking it all in before his words registered in my mind. “My room?”
He stood in the center of the high-ceiling bedroom, the light glinting off the polished marble beneath his feet. Arms folded over his broad chest, his tuxedo suit still looking impeccably untouched, Adrian looked every inch of the reaper he was, a dark cruel sovereign.
A few strands of his dark hair fell over his forehead, brushing over his left scarred brow and the curve of his jaw was sharp as a blade. The air between us seemed to hum, charged with an energy I couldn’t name, making my skin prickle. It crackled with unseen current, shifting with masked tension.
And then his lips twitched…
In a mocking half-smirk that I hadn’t seen since this morning, since he had confessed his love to me.
But now there it was, twisted, cruel—a predator’s grin plastered across his handsome face.
“This is your sanctuary, wife,” he drawled, each word slow and deliberate. “You’re going to need it.”
My pulse thundered in my throat. I pressed my palms against the skirts of my wedding gown and my voice was barely more than a whisper. “I don’t understand. I thought we’d be sharing—”
He arched an eyebrow, eyes flickering with amusement. “You seem very eager to share a room with me,” he taunted, and I felt my hackles rise at the mockery in his tone.
Heat flared in my cheeks. “I didn’t say that,” I argued back.
He took a deliberate, measured step forward, the floorboards groaning under his weight, forcing me backward. My heart pounded against my ribs. “Whatever you’ve been thinking,” he murmured, eyes glittering, “you thought wrong.”
I swallowed, gulping down the taste of fear. “Then clarify it for me. I won’t have any misunderstanding in this marriage and no confusion about what’s expected of me.”
A dark chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Oh, perfect Serafina. Perfect daughter, perfect wife. Always so composed, so… flawless. Faking smiles, faking devotion… Don’t you grow tired of living a lie? Doesn’t it exhaust you? Pretending at every turn? Building relationships on lies?”
The room suddenly felt colder. I wrapped my arms around myself as goosebumps appeared on my exposed skin. “I was raised to be a dutiful wife. It’s all I’ve ever known. This is who I am.”
His gaze sharpened. “You want clear expectations?” He leaned forward, leaning closer until I could feel his breath fanning against my cheek, until the air between us crackled again.
I nodded, swallowing nervously.
“Good. Because I don’t like dancing around the truth,” Adrian said, staring me down, his next words shattering every hope I harbored. “This marriage is a farce.”
Crack.
Something inside me snapped—a sharp, resonant crack like porcelain breaking.
My world splintered.
He leaned back, voice deceptively casual. “I married you because I couldn’t let my brother have you.”
Thud.
Adrian decimated me.
His confession hit me like a hammer to the chest. I gasped, breath hitching.
“You were his obsession, his prize,” he continued, voice low, almost like he was savoring the cruelty. “And let me tell you… it felt real fucking good watching him lose it all.”
Adrian annihilated me.
The world tipped. My knees buckled, and I hit the edge of the velvet-draped bed with a hollow thud. My husband’s ruthlessness had reduced me to ashes.
“His legacy that he was so arrogant about is now mine,” he added, as though claiming a trophy. “He wanted you. I took you. It was simple. You were merely a pawn to my vengeance. Nothing more.”
I sagged against the silk sheets, my soul bleeding through invisible wounds. My hands shook. “B-but you said you loved me,” I whispered, voice cracking. “You love me,” I repeated, trying to convince myself more than him.
Adrian regarded me with an indifferent tilt of his head, his blue eyes as dark and unforgiving as a hurricane that obliterated everything in its path. “Do I?”