Chapter 2 - The Boss’s Decree
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The doors to the fitting room slammed open again.
Gemma Rizzo marched back in, flanked by two of her father’s armed guards. She had changed into a silk robe, her face twisted in a mask of furious entitlement.
“Marta, if that stain isn't—” Gemma stopped dead.
She stared at the pedestal. She stared at the invisible assistant wearing the untouchable, sacred gown. And she stared at the way it fit Nadia’s body with a tailored perfection that Gemma had starved herself for two months trying to achieve.
“What is the meaning of this?” Gemma shrieked, her voice echoing violently. “Take that off her! How dare you let a peasant touch the matriarch's silk!”
“Quiet,” Dante said.
He didn't raise his voice, but the word hit the room like a physical blow. Gemma’s guards instinctively lowered their gazes.
“Dante, she is wearing my dress!” Gemma cried, pointing a manicured finger at Nadia.
“It is not your dress, Gemma,” Dante replied smoothly. He turned to face the furious socialite. “The law of my family is absolute. The gown chooses the bride. For forty years, we have pretended. We have pinned and tucked and lied to the commission. But the silk does not lie.”
“You cannot be serious,” Gemma breathed, her face turning a sickly shade of white. “My father will start a war in the streets if you humiliate me for a secretary.”
“Tell Don Rizzo that the wedding will proceed as scheduled on the fifteenth,” Dante stated coldly. “But you will not be walking down the aisle.”
May you like
He turned back to Nadia, who was shaking so violently she thought her knees would give out. He reached up, his thumb gently brushing a stray pin from her shoulder.
“Pack your things, Nadia,” Dante ordered softly. “You are moving to the penthouse.”
