Chapter 107. Sweet Kisses

But even through it all, I never lost faith in Riccardo. I knew that he loved me deeply, perhaps even more than the power he wielded or the money he made. And for me, that was enough.

Just when I thought that I had seen everything there was to see about Riccardo, he revealed another side of himself to me.

One day, as we were driving through the countryside in his black Ferrari, Riccardo suddenly pulled over to the side of the road. He took out a small velvet box from his coat pocket and turned to face me.

“Alessia, I know that I’m not an easy man to love. But I love you more than anything else in this world,” he said, his voice low and choked with emotion. “Will you marry me?”

I was stunned. In all my time with Riccardo, I had never expected him to ask for my hand in together with him. And yet, at that moment, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

And then, just when everything seemed like it was falling into place, disaster struck.

One of Riccardo’