There were many black cars surrounding the church. The makes were all different, but they had two things in common — heavily tinted windows and missing license plates on some of them. The guests streamed inside the church in a single unhurried flow, chatting, whispering, glancing around.

This was supposed to be a wedding, but it looked more like a funeral, given the poker faces everyone had plastered on, how they held their noses in the air and hid their eyes behind dark glasses, as if afraid someone might read in them the disgust that representatives of one clan felt toward the other. This was a forced truce, a gathering on neutral ground, and everyone was sickened by it.

The heads of both clans walked at the front, together with their wives. Behind them came their sons and daughters. The only ones in a good mood were probably the children, who stuck their hands into adults' pockets, stealing candies and running off with joyful squeals.

This was an important day for both families. Finally, the feud that had lasted for about two centuries would come to an end. And it would end with a union between the heirs of the Nero and Asper clans. For some, this was a relief; for others, a loss of great opportunities. But not for Alessandro and Salvatore. Those two had long since discussed a plan to annex the Nero empire to their own and seize power. It was only a matter of time and patience — of which both father and son had plenty.

Everyone took their seats on the narrow benches inside the church. The aisle between them clearly separated the people of the Nero clan from the Asper. Everyone buzzed quietly in anticipation of the ceremony, trying to guess the style of the bride's dress, eagerly waiting for the groom to appear — but he was nowhere near the altar, even though the groom's witness, who was chosen to be Dante, was already glowering at everyone from there, displeased either with the boutonniere pinned to his jacket pocket or simply in a bad mood.

"What are you doing here?" Matteo's low, velvety voice cut through the space of the corridor alcove where Alessandro was now hiding from all eyes and whispers. Matteo glanced at his younger brother, looking absolutely indifferent. He didn't care what Alessandro's life would turn into in a few minutes. All he cared about was that their father wouldn't be upset if this idiot decided to pull something. "The guests are already seated. You should be standing at the altar. The bride will arrive in ten minutes. She can't enter the church first. You're supposed to be waiting for her there."

"I need to think," Alessandro cut off coldly, not looking up at his brother, nervously adjusting the cuffs of his shirt under his jacket sleeve. His jaw was clenched tight. He didn't like all this commotion, didn't like these people, didn't like the fact that he had to form an alliance with some Bella, whom he had seen only once in his life — just a couple of weeks ago — even though he wished *Valeria * were standing there in her place.

That thought stung him painfully somewhere deep in his soul.

"You have two minutes. If after those two minutes I don't see you out there, in front of the guests, I'll come back and drag you there by the scruff of your neck like a mangy kitten," Matteo clicked his tongue in irritation, already turning away from his brother. "Don't disappoint father. He's placed great hope in you." The man added this in a quieter, colder voice before retreating back into the church hall.

Alessandro sighed heavily, throwing his head far back, closing his eyes and hiding his face in his palms. He had to do this. For himself. For Valeria . Because once he gained power over the Nero empire, he could stand up to his family, he could stop hiding her. And Bella… one corpse more, one corpse less. What difference did it make? He was ready.

Alessandro finally stepped out of the alcove into the corridor. The heels of his polished shoes clicked softly against the stone flooring. He had only managed to take a few steps, adjusting his jacket, when he suddenly froze, as if hitting an invisible wall.

Valeria … she was here…

The air was knocked out of his lungs. He stared at her with wide-open eyes, his lips slightly parted, as if he was ready to pour out a torrent of explanations for what was happening. But the words wouldn't come.

She stood at the entrance to the church hall, bathed in the multicolored rays of sunlight that refracted and colored as they broke through the stained glass windows. She seemed unearthly, beautiful, untouchable. She seemed simultaneously so close and so far away that Alessandro's heart involuntarily clenched with an incomprehensible longing.

He took a shaky step toward her, his arms hanging limply at his sides. His gaze, which now seemed pleading, yearning — like that of a bird with clipped wings — fixed on her without blinking.

"Valeria …. What are you doing here?" he called out to her in a quiet, hoarse voice, stopping a few meters away from her, afraid to cross that distance now. There were too many eyes. His family was here. No one should know about her. No one should know about them. "I… I'll explain everything. Later. Can you leave here right now? Please?"

"Alessandro, it's been three minutes already." The hall doors suddenly swung open as Matteo's more irritated growl was heard. He peeked out from behind them, glaring at his brother in displeasure. "Get to the altar. Now. Your bride will be here in seven minutes."

Matteo threw a sullen glance at Valeria , then turned it back to Alessandro, raising one eyebrow slightly, as if trying to understand what was going on and what these two were doing here. But then someone called him from inside.

"Now." The man hissed viciously through his teeth, retreating back into the hall and slamming the doors behind him.

Alessandro took a ragged breath, pressing his lips together. He swallowed so loudly that his throat clicked as he lowered his gaze back to her.

"Please," he whispered in a pleading voice. "I'll come to you tonight and explain everything. Don't listen to what these people say. Listen only to me. Trust only me. I love only you, I swear."