Chapter 10 - The Dress of Defiance
The dress was a stunning, deep blood-red silk. It was elegant and fierce, with a high slit and a plunging neckline that demanded attention. But the back—the back was completely sheer, delicate black lace.
You could see every single mark. The faint silver lines of my oldest scars, the puckered burns, the fading bruises. Nothing was hidden. It was a map of my survival, displayed for the entire underworld to see.
Luca stepped up behind me in the mirror, dressed in a flawless, midnight-black tuxedo. He looked like the devil himself, completely devastating.
“You don't have to hide them anymore,” he whispered, his hands coming to rest firmly on my waist. “Let them see exactly what they did to you. And let them see that it didn't break you. It only made you untouchable.”
“What if they stare?” I asked, a lingering shred of insecurity creeping into my voice.
“Let them stare,” Luca growled softly against my ear. “And if anyone looks at you with anything less than absolute respect, I will carve their eyes out of their skull.”
I laughed, a breathless, genuine sound, and leaned back against his solid chest. “You’re a monster, Luca Morretti.”
“I am your monster,” he corrected, kissing my neck.
When we arrived at the grand ballroom of the Copley Plaza, the paparazzi outside went wild. But it was the silence inside the ballroom that was truly deafening.
The heavy gilded doors opened, and the announcer called our names.
“Mr. Luca Morretti and Mrs. Seraphina Morretti.”
May you like
I gripped Luca’s arm. He patted my hand once, anchoring me. We descended the grand staircase. I kept my chin high, my shoulders thrown back. The red dress flowed around me like liquid fire, and the sheer lace back put my history on full display.
Whispers broke out immediately. The city’s elite had expected a terrified, beaten-down bride. Instead, they saw a woman wearing her trauma like war paint, walking in perfect sync with the most feared man on the East Coast.
