Chapter 1 (Aliyana)
There is hope in all of us. A small glimmer of it even in the evilest of viins to walk the earth.
And love, oh love, a human emotion that is reckless, wild, and free as it paints you into the promise of
its false truth, that is our fail switch.
Then there is humanity, one emotion that is weak - the reason we fall so far, we be blinded. Well,
at least that is what my papa says.
We sacrifice so much for it; in the end, we are a mirror of our suicide.
I, Aliyana Capello, am not immune to the dealings of the heart when ites to one man.
I am as vulnerable as if I have already slit my own throat.
“He is so handsome,” I say, staring at the guy walking in front of my sister and me.
Leonardo Catelli, third son of our Capo, Marcello Catelli.
Today is a special day for the Famiglia. Marco and Deno Catelli will be choosing their brides. The future
heirs of the Famiglia.
Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.
“Gli scihi si innamorano Liya.” Fools fall in love Liya.
“Sono una scia in amore,” I am a fool in love, I inform my eldest sister as we walk to the back of the
hall, to drop off thest batch of biscuits my stepmother made for this evening''s dinner.
Neither of usined when we were tasked with the 50-minute drive there and back. Any chance to
get out of the house. One of the rare asions we get to just be.
Guiliaughs, her ck hair shaking as she tries with no reprieve to silence her loud disy of
emotion.
I don’t understand why she bothers. She is loud, so what?
My stepmother has tried for years to tame Guilia, but her mother, my papa''s first wife, was a free spirit.
She died not long after giving birth to Guilia.
Guilia is just like her mother, with light hazel eyes and a brilliant smile that lights up any darkness. My
papa told me that he liked Guilia and Filippo''s mothers'' spirit. She never backed out of a challenge.
But like her mother, my sister would never get to choose whom she loves.
Guilia will never experience the joy of a kiss with her first crush.
Because for ones like my sister, love will be something that will grow, and die a sudden death. A
tragedy.
“Do you find it strange that he sees you almost every day, yet, still looks right past you?” Her strong
ent voices out the words I ask myself a thousand times a day.
Her eager eyes make me want tough as the hollow feeling of want sucks in my stomach.
I smile, knowing full well the implications my sister will face in the wake of her marriage. The closest
thing she''d ever get to a romance would be through my attempts, even if it is unreciprocated. For now
“Yes, but when the timees, I will eventually make him see me.”
“When the timees, you’d be grey, and I’ll be dead.”
“Hahaha, very funny.”
“You are 19 Liya, Papa won''t allow you to pass another birthday without an engagement. You are
freaking lucky Papa has given you the option to choose. I say you snatch Leonardo up before someone
beats you to it.” Words cane so easy, but the truth is he is a Catelli, a Pure-blood. He will never
choose me.
I need to be more logical in my choice.
“I am half Russian Guilia," My nonchnt words have her rolling her eyes, as she shuffles one of the
coconut and cream biscuits.
She holds me on my shoulders and looks at my short form, giving me a little shake and those stern
eyes,
“A beautiful half Italian woman who is educated. Any man would be happy to have you, Liya. No more
negative talk.”
“Guilia, Yana.” We hear the sound of our namesing from a man behind us. Guilia drops her hold
on me and begins arranging the four trays of biscuits on the wooden counter.
A huge grin brightens my face as the man walks closer to us, not paying my sister''s ringing phone any
heed. The stainless-steel equipment and light tan mmine wood finish cupboards and rustic
countertops behind him highlight his appearance as he makes his way over.
Watching him in thest few years, shooting up, broadening in every way that says he is not a boy any
longer still, has me questioning science.
“REN!!!” My sister practically screams as my brown-haired, grey-eyed, and profoundly tanned best-
friend shows himself.
Lorenzo (Ren) Catelli is that guy - When he walks into a room, you know your day just got a fuck load
better. He exudes confidence, screaming to the world that he is “That” guy.
His light blue jeans are filled with holes that show his bare knees every time he bends his leg. A white
shirt hangs loosely around his torso but sits well on his waist, revealing his toned, 4 pack stomach.
The promise of his shoulders and chest broadening in a few years isn''t hidden by his tee that sits tight
around the top parts of his body.
His bridged nose scrunches up when I arch my eyebrow at how long he is hugging Guilia. I want to
snort, but I refrain. Ren''s prominent Italian features are robust to his bloodlinepared to his brother,
Leonardo, who is the split image of his grandmother. But where Leonardo dresses the part, with suits
and shiny shoes, Ren''s dress-code is college good-boy. Aplete opposite until his mouth turns up
into a lopsided smile, then you see that he is undoubtedly a Catelli.
Then you know, without a doubt, Ren is a true Italian man, just without the dress code.
I whistle as I throw myself in his arms when hees to hug me.
“ck and red Jordan’s. You pulling out quite the stops today, is Diamond here?” I look behind him as
he hugs me back, lifting me up a bit. An easy aplishment, considering my short form.
My feet hit the ground, and I take a step back as he stands in his typical Ren fashion.
“No,” he muses as his lips touch me gently on my head.
It isn''t the first time I wish he was the brother I wanted to marry. We are so much better together.
Marrying Ren will be as simple as looking at him.
Ren will be easy to love. His heart, however, belongs to a friend of mine, Diamond. A biker Princess
from Liston Hills and the only one he loves, now and forever.
When he met Diamond, I was there. I didn''t need a microscope to examine their chemistry. I knew. His
eyes never left her. He spoke to her for hours that night, both of them wanting the other. Ren being the
‘nice guy'' he was, didn''t say no to what she was offering because it was bad manners.
She was his.
I will never admit it aloud, but I have always been jealous of the way the two of them could just be. I
think I resented him more as he was my friend, and we were from the same world. The idea of his dick
being the deciding factor of why he got to live a normal life, and I didn''t, did not please me in the least.
And I knew I sounded like a bitch for even thinking it, but luckily it was stuck in my head and nowhere
else.
The men in our world dated a lot of women before they got married. Some of them had long-term
rtionships with these women, and when the time came, they married us.
The 5th State women are the ones who got stuck with the Made-Man. The man they all eventually
be after surviving their 10th gun down still standing. We get the leftovers while those normal
shy women taste fresh candy. Minty.
Ren, however, has no intention of leaving his diamond lover, ever. And though I''m jealous and envy
them, I have every intention of helping him.
“My father insisted I attend alone or with an Italian beauty. I hear Leonardo got his eye on someone.”
Ren makes a funny pout and waggles his brows, swiping a biscuit from one of the trays. I smack his
arm.
“Diamond isn''ting?” I am surprised, she said she''ll be there tonight. It''s the reason I extended the
invitation to Kylie Bray. There''s something the three of us need to do. Something I could never tell my
sister, not even Ren.
“Of course, she’sing. Kylie is bringing her as a plus one.” He rubs his shadowed beard as he looks
behind me at the biscuits with longing. I swear he doesn''t get any food with the amount he eats.
Shaking my head, I roll my gaze to the ceiling and back.
“You can take a few more, but if ria finds out, you’re on your own.”
“I don''t know why we had to do it here in Seattle. Why not New York?” Guilia groans as Ren fills his left
hand with an assortment of biscuits.
She didn’t likeing to this side, but my sister wanted the man who controlled the State. A man I
have never met. She saw him once up close.
Sometimes I wonder how women fall victim to a man with just a glimpse.