Principessa 9

9 Chapter 9 

After the Callahans had left, I finally found my 

“Dante Falcone? The Don of the Falcone family.” 

He nodded. 

voice. 

“With your power, why did you agree to this arrangement?” 

I looked him straight in the eye. “You could have refused. No one could have forced you.” 

Dante paused, then gave a wry smile. “You think I was coerced?” 

“Weren’t you?” 

I asked, confused. “Aidan used a blood debt to force my father’s hand. Why would you get involved?” 

Dante’s gaze grew distant. “Seraphina, do you remember a rainy night three years ago?” 

“Three years ago?” 

“It was pouring. You were driving through the industrial district on the east side and saw a man covered in blood lying in an alley.” 

His words jogged a memory loose, sharp and clear. 

That rainy night, I had found a man, gravely wounded. 

It was dark and the rain was relentless. I only had time to make an anonymous call for an ambulance before I drove off. 

“That man… was you?” I looked at him, stunned. 

Dante nodded. “It was me.” 

“I’d been shot three times. I was bleeding out. If you hadn’t shown up, I would have died in that alley.” 

“The moment I saw your face, I memorized it.” 

His 

eyes 

softened. “Seraphina, for a man bleeding out in an alley, you were an angel. The angel that saved my life.” 

“I fell in love with you right then and there.” 

I never could have imagined such a history between us. 

“After that, I went underground, just so I could watch over you.” 

“For the past three years, I’ve been watching you from the shadows.” 

“Seeing you with Aidan, I knew I didn’t stand a chance, so I protected you from a distance.” 

Dante smiled wryly. “Until one day, I got lucky. Aidan chose me to be your husband.” 

“So, I suppose I should thank Aidan. Without him, I never would have had this shot, would I?” 11.48 

“So you agreed to the marriage,” I realized. 

“Yes. Without a moment’s hesitation.” 

He took my hand. “Seraphina, this wasn’t coercion. This was a gift.” 

“It gave me the chance to protect you, to care for you, to love you.” 

“Of course, I won’t force you. You can choose for yourself, right now, whether you still want to marry me.” 

“I’m willing to wait, to earn your heart.” 

He looked at me, a hopeful nervousness in his eyes. “Are you willing to give us a chance?” 

I looked at this man who, for my sake, had given up his empire and hidden himself away for three years, just to be near me. 

And then I thought of Aidan. 

His so-called love was just possession, a cage. 

“Dante Falcone,” I said softly, “I will give you a chance.” 

His eyes reddened with emotion. “Really?” 

I nodded. “From this day on, I am Mrs. Falcone. You’d better treat me well.”