The Mafia heir, Shelby Giordano, hated me more than anyone. And I was the fiancée his family had chosen for him.

All because I was an ordinary girl, an outsider with no background to speak of.

His heart belonged to his childhood sweetheart, Camilla.

After Camilla died in an accident, his hatred for me curdled into something monstrous, a quiet poison that lasted for a decade.

But when a rival family riddled our car with bullets, he threw himself in front of me.

As he lay dying in my arms, slick with blood, he used his last ounce of strength to shove away my trembling hands.

"Aurora… if only we never had that damned marriage contract…"

At the funeral, Shelby's mother, Donna Isabella of the Giordano family, grabbed my collar, her sobs wracking her body.

"Oh, Shelby, it's all my fault," she choked out, her voice thick with grief. "I should never have forced that outsider on you. If I had just let you be with Camilla, would any of this have happened?"

I didn't answer. Because she was right.

After being thrown out of the funeral, I walked alone to the icy bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan and leaped into the churning water below.

When I opened my eyes again, it was as if the world had rewound. I was waking from a weeks-long coma, ten years in the past, on the very day our engagement was announced.

This time, I would sever all ties with Shelby. I would give them all exactly what they wanted.

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1

I was the destined but despised fiancée of the Mafia heir, Shelby Giordano. He had died for me, and his family had driven me to my own death. But when I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in the icy depths of the lake. I was back. Ten years in the past, on the day it all began.

"An outsider? You're telling me some nobody off the street is my fiancée? What kind of sick joke is this!"

Shelby's roar ripped through the grand ballroom of the Giordano estate.

I froze, my heart hammering against my ribs. I was back, truly back, at the annual family gala from ten years ago—the night my fate was shackled to Shelby's.

"Shelby, this was your father's decision," the family's Consigliere reminded him gently.

"To hell with his decision!" Shelby tore the family crest from his lapel, the pin that symbolized our engagement. "I will not have a wife who can't even handle a goddamn pistol!"

Whispers rippled through the family members around us. Not far away, Camilla stood with a triumphant smirk playing on her lips. She was the picture of nobility and grace, the daughter of the Russian mob's Rostova family and Shelby's one true love.

I drew a shaky breath. This time, I wouldn't make the same mistake.

"I request to dissolve the engagement." My voice, though quiet, was clear and firm, cutting through the whispers and causing a stir.

Shelby’s furious expression froze, a flash of disbelief crossing his deep-set eyes. "What did you say?"

"You heard me, Mr. Giordano." I met his gaze without flinching. "I want to dissolve our engagement. I ask the Capos and the elders to allow you to unite with Miss Camilla, to solidify the alliance with the Russians."

The ballroom erupted into chaos. This was unheard of. A match personally decreed by the Don, being rejected by the fiancée herself?

"Ha!" Shelby let out a derisive snort. "I didn't think you had it in you."

A sharp pain lanced through my chest, but I fought back the tears. I remembered the voice that had echoed in the darkness of my coma. "To change his fate, you must resolve the three greatest regrets of his past life. But every new beginning has its price."

His first regret: being forced into an arranged marriage with me.

I would grant him his wish.

"Dissolving an engagement requires a formal process," an elderly Capo stated, frowning. "It will take three days, at least."

"Then let's not waste any time." Shelby shot me a look of pure ice and turned to leave.

On pure instinct, my hand shot out and snagged the fabric of his expensive suit. "Wait..."

"What now?" he snapped, his impatience a palpable force.

"Before… before we officially end this, could you take me to the stargazing exhibit at the downtown planetarium?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. It was a foolish, sentimental wish, one of my biggest regrets from my past life—a request he had cruelly denied.

Shelby frowned, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. I knew what he was thinking—why was this compliant little mouse who was so eager to end things suddenly making such a strange request?

Unexpectedly, he gave a curt nod. "Tomorrow night. Don't be late."

I stood there, stunned, as he strode away without another word.

"You are a foolish girl," a gentle voice murmured from behind me. It was Father Michael, the family priest.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because your eyes betray you," he said, his own gaze knowing. "You've decided to let him go, but you are still hopelessly in love with him."

I couldn't deny it.

"Don Giordano has already instructed me to prepare the annulment documents for tomorrow," the priest sighed. "They have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

"I know."

He pressed a small, cold key into my palm. "This is for a safe deposit box. What's inside may help you. Think carefully. The ceremony will demand your full focus."

"Thank you." I curled my fingers around the key.

As I walked out of the ballroom, the whispers of family members followed me like shadows.

"She knows her place, at least…"

"With a background like that, did she really think she was worthy of being our future Donna?"

"The Heir and Miss Camilla are a true match, a union of power!"

I quickened my pace, the hot sting of tears finally breaking free.

Late that night, I opened the safe deposit box. Inside were standard annulment papers.

"Dissolve the engagement… No, these won't do," I muttered to myself, studying the documents under the dim light. "What I need is leverage. A piece of classified intelligence that will allow them to forge a powerful business alliance."

This intelligence would allow Shelby to cement an even stronger alliance with Camilla's family, a bond of mutual interest far stronger than a marriage contract with a pawn like me.

He could have everything he ever wanted. All it would cost was my existence.

From the bottom of my suitcase, I pulled a forged passport and a plane ticket to the West Coast, prepared in the hazy days after I first woke up.

Staring at my own weary reflection in the mirror, I whispered, "Tomorrow, it will all be over."

"Shelby! Help me!"

A scream shattered the evening's tranquility.

Shelby and I were standing at the entrance to the planetarium, the city lights twinkling below us. The desperate cry made him go rigid.

"Camilla?" He whipped his head around.

"Mr. Giordano!" A disheveled woman stumbled toward us. It was Camilla's assistant, Anya. "It's Miss Camilla! She heard you were still going through with the marriage and she just… snapped! She's locked herself away!"

The color drained from Shelby's face. "Where is she?"

"At the Rostova family safe house…"

Without a single glance in my direction, Shelby spun on his heel. He took three long strides, then paused, his back still to me. "Wait for me."

Then he was gone, vanishing into the darkness.

I stood there, a bitter smile touching my lips. Same old Shelby. For ten years, it was always Camilla first.

Returning to my temporary residence, I retrieved the items from under my pillow—the forged passport and a plane ticket. The flight was for eight o'clock tonight, bound for a sleepy Californian seaside town three thousand miles away.

Tucked beneath the ticket was a small note in familiar handwriting: "Ticket confirmed, window seat. Have a safe trip, Aurora." It was from Father Michael.

He knew. He always knew everything.

I took a deep breath. It was time to face the hardest part of my plan.

The atmosphere in the Giordano family study was heavy and cold. I stood before Shelby's parents, feeling the weight of their icy stares.

"You requested a private meeting. What is it?" the current Don, Marco Giordano, asked, his voice devoid of warmth.

"I've come to say goodbye." I met his gaze directly. "I'm leaving Chicago tonight, and I will not return."

Shelby's mother, Donna Isabella, let out a disdainful snort. "So you've finally come to your senses? But do you really think dissolving an engagement is that simple?"

"I'm not here to talk about dissolving the engagement." I shook my head slowly. "I'm here to give you a warning."

"Warn us?" They both frowned, a flicker of interest in their cold eyes.

"The priest performed a prayer for me, and in it, I received a revelation," I said, my voice low and grave. "If Shelby and I are forced to remain together, ten years from now, he will die a brutal death in a bloody ambush."

A chill descended upon the room.

"What nonsense is this?" Marco thundered.

"He will die saving me." My voice trembled with a pain that was all too real. "A bullet from the Gallo family will tear through him, right here." I pointed to my own heart. "It will shred his organs. He'll die in agony, bleeding out in my arms."

The details were so visceral, so precise, that the anger on Marco's face slowly gave way to a dawning horror.

"I don't know if you believe in revelations, but I cannot take that risk," I pressed on. "Let Shelby be with Camilla. I have prepared a proposal, a business plan that will help the Giordano and Rostova families forge a true strategic bond, something far more valuable than simple annulment papers. Even if they are not husband and wife, they can still have their alliance of interests."

Isabella nervously gripped her husband's arm. "Marco, this sort of thing… we can't simply dismiss it."

"Where will you go?" Marco asked, his voice tight.

"As far away as possible," I said with a hollow smile. "Let Shelby forget this outsider ever existed."

Leaving the study, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. The second regret—his remorse for not defying the elders—was resolved.

As night fell, I went to the planetarium alone. Inside, stars swirled across the vast domed ceiling, a silent, breathtaking cosmos.

This was our appointed time. But I knew he wouldn't come. He would still be with Camilla.

"It's so beautiful…" I whispered, gazing up at the magnificent spectacle. "At least in this life, I saw it for myself."

"You betrayed me."

A voice, cold as the grave, sliced through the quiet. I spun around.

Shelby stood in the shadows, his eyes blazed with a furious light. He radiated danger, his silhouette a predator's in the dim light.

"What the hell did you say to my father and the Capos?" he demanded, stalking toward me. "They've suddenly dropped all pressure on the Rostova family and agreed to that insane business proposal!"

I took a step back. "I just told them the truth—"

"Bullshit!" he roared. "Do you have any idea what you've done? The state Camilla is in right now? She was so distraught she wandered right into a street shootout! That's Gallo territory, a goddamn war zone!"

My eyes widened in shock. A shootout? The kind of chaos that could get her killed?