Ricky Runolfsdottir

At our wedding, in front of both our families and a banquet hall full of Capos, my fiancé slapped me across the face for my bridesmaid. That day, I threw my engagement ring on the floor and called off the marriage our families had arranged. Everyone thought I was just throwing a tantrum. After all, Leo Castellano and I had grown up together. He was the heir to the Castellano family, the man set to inherit everything. I had adored him since I was a child, trailing after him for twelve years. But this time, I meant it. Later, when he tracked me down, his voice was laced with disbelief. “Why? Over one slap?” I answered him without hesitation. “Yes. Over one slap.” … When Leo’s hand struck me, the force of it spun my head to the side. His suit sleeve slid down with the motion, revealing the dark ink of the family tattoo on his forearm—the mark worn only by the Castellano men. The taste of blood filled my mouth. After the sharp crack of the blow, the banquet hall fell silent. The men who never let their guns out of their sight froze, all of them staring at us. The left side of my face went numb, then began to throb with a deep, burning pain. I pressed a hand to my cheek and slowly turned to look at him. My fiancé, Leo Castellano, had just hit me in front of both our families because I’d found Chloe Wilson wearing my wedding dress and told her she could no longer be my maid of honor. Even he seemed to freeze for a second. But his face quickly hardened back into that cold, severe mask—the one he always wore when he was handling family business, putting people in their place. “That’s enough, Nina. Stop making a scene. The wedding is about to start, and both our families are watching. Try to act like an adult.” The elders from both sides, their faces etched with alarm, hurried over. Chloe stood beside him, biting her lip. Her eyes were red, her voice a fragile whisper. “Leo, don’t. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have tried on Nina’s wedding dress without asking.” “I just loved the gown so much. I’m sorry. I won’t be a bridesmaid anymore. Please don’t fight, okay?” Leo glanced at her, then his voice turned colder than ice. “Nina Jones, if you don’t want this marriage, you can walk out that door right now.” “The people out there are here to witness the union of our families. This is not the place for you to cause trouble.” Humiliation and fury washed over me. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Under the weight of everyone’s gaze, I pulled the diamond ring from my finger, turned, and walked away. I didn’t want to explain. And I refused to stay there and let the entire Castellano family watch me be made a fool. Leo had never been particularly warm to me. But this was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me. It was also the first time in my twenty-two years that anyone had ever hit me.Our families went back generations. The Castellanos ruled Long Island. On the surface, they owned a few casinos and controlled the port, where cargo moved in and out without inspection. What they did in the shadows was never spoken of in front of the children. My father had worked under Don Castellano for most of his life. Eventually, our family moved to Long Island, too, onto the same street as the Castellanos. Only a fence separated our backyards. I had adored Leo since I was little. When I was five, a neighborhood boy stole my Barbie, pulled my braids, and put a dead frog in my lunchbox. I ran home crying to my mother. My mother went to the boy’s parents, who just shrugged it off as kids being kids. Leo’s grandfather happened to be grilling in our backyard that day. Back then, the old man’s word was law in the Castellano family. He was the real Don. When he heard what happened, he called Leo over and told him to start keeping an eye on me. Leo was two years older than me. When he heard I’d ......