The first time I saw Marco D'Angelo, someone was trying to kill me.
The rain had already soaked through my coat as I ran down the empty street, my breath coming in sharp bursts.
I clutched the flash drive in my hand like it was the only thing keeping me alive.
Because maybe it was.
Three months of investigation had finally led me here. Documents, hidden transactions, names connected to one of the most powerful criminal families in the city.
The D'Angelos.
My heart pounded as headlights appeared behind me, looking back, I saw a black car driving slow and deliberate towards me.
They had found me.
I saw a narrow alley ahead and turned into it hoping to lose them, but the sound of another engine echoed ahead.
A second car has blocked the exit and immediately my stomach dropped.
I was trapped and at that moment I knew it was over.
The doors opened almost at the same time and two men stepped out, their suits too perfect for a rainy night with their cold and dangerous expressions.
"Miss Rahman," one of them said calmly. "You should not have investigated things that do not concern you.
I tightened my grip on the flash drive even with fear though not showing on my face.
"You're working for the D'Angelos", I asked.
The man smiled slightly.
"That information belongs to us."
Before I could respond, another car pulled into the alley behind them.
This one was different from the other black car.
No rushed movements and no shouting, just quiet authority.
The back door opened and a man stepped out
Tall, calm and dangerous.
The real Marco D'Angelo himself.
Even if I had never seen his picture before, I would have known immediately.
The city whispered his name like a warning, a dangerous parasite not meant to be lingered with.
He walked toward us slowly, his dark coat untouched by the rain and his eyes fixed on me with unsettling focus.
"Leave us," he told the men.
They hesitated.
"But sir—"
"Now."
They obeyed instantly and within seconds, the alley was silent except for the sound of rain hitting the pavement and the sound of breathing.
Marco stopped a few feet away from me.
"You've caused quite a problem tonight," he said.
His voice was calm, almost curious.
I forced myself to stand straighter.
"People deserve to know the truth."
"And you believe you have it?"
I held up the flash drive.
"Enough to destroy your empire."
For a moment he said nothing but then something unexpected happened.
Marco D'Angelo laughed softly.
Not angry, not threatened instead amused.
"You're brave," he said.
"Or foolish."
"Maybe both."
He studied me for a long moment before speaking again.
"Do you know why those men were chasing you tonight?"
"Because they're criminals.
"No." His voice lowered slightly. "Because someone wants you dead."
A chill ran down deep to my spine at his words.
"And you don't?" I asked.
Marco stepped closer.
Close enough that I could see the sharp intelligence in his cold eyes.
"If I wanted you dead," he said quietly, "you wouldn't still be standing."
I swallowed shivering at his words.
"Then why are you here?"
His answer changed everything.
"Because," he said, "you're about to become my wife."
The rain seemed to stop.
For a moment I thought I had misheard him.
"Excuse me?"
Marco's expression remained perfectly calm.
"You have something people want," he said. "Information that could start a war in this city."
"And marrying you fixes that?"
"It protects you."
"And if I refuse?"
His gaze hardened slightly.
"Then you will not survive the night."
My pulse thundered in my ears.
This man was my enemy.
The heir to the empire I had spent months trying to expose and to destroy completely.
And now here he was offering me the one thing I couldn't refuse.
Survival.
Marco extended his hand.
"Well, Miss Rahman," he said quietly. "What will it be?.
I stared at him.
The man I hated, my very archenemy but who might be my only chance to stay alive.
And somehow, I knew one terrifying truth.
If I took his hand tonight, my life would never be the same again.
I hesitated, staring at his outstretched hand, feeling the weight of the city pressing down around us. The rain ran in rivers over the cobblestones, cold and relentless, but I hardly felt it. My mind screamed at me to run, to fight, to throw the flash drive into the river and disappear forever.
But the flash drive was useless without me and me being alive was priceless.
I swallowed, my fingers trembling. "And if I say no?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Marco's gaze didn't waver. "Then you test how fast the city can erase you."
A siren wailed in the distance. The sound cut through the tension like a knife while my heart thundered.
I knew what I had to do.
Slowly, I placed my hand in his.
The rain seemed to pause as he gave a faint nod. "Good," he said. Not a smile, not a warning just acceptance. "Tonight, nothing else matters but survival. And with you by my side, we might just make it through."
The car doors opened behind us again. Marco's grip was firm. "Move."
As I followed him, I realized the truth I hadn't allowed myself to feel before,my life had changed forever and there was no turning back.
But tonight, just tonight I chose to survive, chose to live and chose to see what the future holds for me.