My Mafia Capo boyfriend's childhood friend, Serena, had a sick obsession with playing "the scorned fiancée." Every time I was assigned to oversee a new Syndicate front company, she would bring her thugs to raid my office. The first time, her stunt caused the Syndicate bosses to question my integrity, and I was stripped of my duties. When I furiously confronted her, Giovanni shielded her behind his broad back and made excuses. "Serena is just young and playful," he told me. "It's no fun if you take a joke so seriously." The second time, the vicious rumors she spread forced me to step down from my position. Giovanni called me overly sensitive. "A clear conscience fears no whispers," he said. "If you have nothing to hide, why are you so afraid of people talking behind your back?" Until I finally landed my dream position—a promotion into the Don's inner financial circle. Serena pulled the exact same stunt, storming my office with a pair of corrupt cops. This time, I directly called the actual authorities. Giovanni arrived at the exact same time as the police. Instead of defending me, his first reaction was to blame me for making a scene. He even went as far as slamming a Family-sanctioned betrothal contract directly onto the boardroom table. "Serena was just playing a joke on you. Did you really have to make such a humiliating scene?" he reprimanded me coldly. "Besides, she wasn't wrong. You are the other woman." Chapter 1 Siena's POV His tone was eerily calm and absolute. The room fell dead silent for a moment. The surrounding Syndicate associates, who had just been speaking up for me, immediately changed their expressions. Their strange, cold stares made my skin crawl. "Giovanni, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" I asked, my voice trembling. "I know you want to cover for Serena, but you don't have to lie like this." He didn't even look at me. He simply pushed the thick, cream-colored document toward the corrupt cops. "This is a Family-sanctioned betrothal contract between Serena and myself," he stated with chilling indifference. "I apologize for wasting police resources on an internal Family matter. It won't happen again." My accusations died in my throat. My mind went completely blank. Serena snatched the document back and waved it triumphantly right in front of my face. "Giovanni said that to put a homewrecker in her place, one must have the righteous title, so he got the Don's official seal for us," she laughed, a sharp, vicious sound. "Sorry, Siena. Looks like you really are the homewrecker this time." The corrupt cops handed the document back to Giovanni and gave me a warning glare before leaving. "Filing a false report is a crime," the lead cop sneered. "Next time, we won't be so lenient." The Syndicate handler, who had personally escorted me upstairs just moments ago, now had a face stripped of any warmth. He looked as if he couldn't wait to sever all ties with me. "I apologize, Ms. Siena, but the Syndicate needs to re-evaluate your clearance," he said, swiftly pulling my promotion dossier out of my reach. "Your induction into the inner circle is suspended. Please go home and wait for our notice. We will inform you as soon as the Underboss reaches a decision." His rejection was polite. But standing there, I felt as if I had been slapped across the face in front of everyone. The pain and humiliation were suffocating. Seeing this, Giovanni reached out and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me toward the exit. "Since you don't have to work today, I'll take you home. It's on my way," he said, acting as if nothing had happened. I violently ripped my arm out of his grip, my voice trembling. "When exactly did this happen?" Giovanni tightened his jaw and tried to deflect. "We will talk about this at home. Aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself with so many people watching?" "If you are already legally bound to Serena by the Syndicate, why did you propose to me last month and promise me a grand wedding by the end of the year?" Before Giovanni could answer, Serena burst into laughter. "Are you talking about that little wager?" she asked. My blood ran cold, my voice dropping a few octaves. "Wager?" Serena linked her arm through Giovanni's. He didn't pull away. "Everyone said you were desperate to marry Giovanni, so I just wanted to see if it was true," she mocked. "But I never expected you to be so cheap that you would actually accept a mass-produced cubic zirconia placeholder! It's so pathetic." I turned deathly pale, my hands clenching into tight fists at my sides. Because of that cheap ring, I had once questioned his sincerity. But Giovanni had held my hands, looking at me with such genuine guilt. "The custom blood-diamond isn't ready yet, but I'm just too impatient to make you my wife," he had told me. "Will you despise me for this, Siena?" Seeing his sincere expression, I had accepted his proposal. But I never got the custom ring. Instead, I got his official betrothal contract with Serena.

Siena's POV The heat radiating from the cracked New York pavement felt like an open oven, suffocating and relentless in the midday sun. Serena stood beside me on the curb, laughing even louder as she relentlessly taunted me. Giovanni finally noticed my pale, drawn face and quietly scolded her. "That's enough, Serena." Serena slapped his hand away, and tears instantly spilled over her eyelashes. "You're yelling at me! You are actually yelling at me for Siena!" she cried. "Growing up, even my brother never raised his voice at me!" "Just go live with Siena! I don't need you anymore!" She screamed, turning on her heel and running down the crowded street. Giovanni didn't even spare me a single glance as he chased after her in a few long strides. "Why are you running blindly into traffic? What if you get hit?" Serena turned her head away stubbornly. "Then let them run me over! My brother is dead, and now you don't want me either!" Giovanni's voice softened completely as he pulled her into a tight embrace. "I would never abandon you," he swore. "In my heart, you will always be my first priority." Serena shot me a triumphant smirk. Seeing my expressionless face, she pouted in boredom. Giovanni pulled her along and walked back to my side. "I'm sorry, Serena is just spoiled," he told me. "She speaks without thinking and has a temper. Don't lower yourself to her level." I looked up at him and asked. "So, everything she just said... was it all true?" Giovanni's face stiffened for a fraction of a second. "The jeweler called me today. The custom ring is ready. I will propose to you properly tonight." "You are already legally bound to her. What is the point of proposing to me again?" I asked. "Giovanni, I refuse to accept a used man." Giovanni fell silent for a moment before offering a rare explanation. "Her brother, Silvio, took a fatal bullet for me. Serena lost her only family." "I promised to replace the family she lost." "Only an official betrothal document can give her a sense of security." "From now on, you will be her sister-in-law. You should be more accommodating and stop holding grudges over these things." This was exactly what he had told me the first time Serena crashed my office. Serena had no family, so she was pitiful. I had to accommodate her. Serena was just terrified of losing him. I had to understand her. I was supposed to pity her, but who the hell was going to pity me? Serena hugged his arm tightly. "Alright, alright. I promise this is the last time. I swear I will never play 'the scorned fiancée' again, okay?" she said. "When can we go eat? I skipped breakfast and I'm starving." Giovanni's expression instantly turned serious. "Why did you leave the house without eating? Did you forget you passed out from low blood sugar last time?" He scolded her gently, then cast a fleeting, dismissive glance at me. "Serena already swore an oath. Just let it go, Siena." "You head home first. I'm taking her to get some food." The silhouettes of them walking away arm in arm grew further and further from me. My encrypted phone lit up with an official clearance revocation notice from the Syndicate handler. No amount of guarantees could repair the devastating loss I had just suffered. I hesitated for a few seconds. Swallowing my pride, I reached out to the Consigliere of the rival European Syndicate, whose offer I had recently rejected. He replied almost immediately. "Siena, we've interviewed several candidates, but we were just about to reach out to you again." "If you accept the position, report to our headquarters tomorrow at 9 AM." I booked a red-eye flight out of the country before replying with a simple "Yes." This time, I was going to a Syndicate far enough away. Even if Serena still wanted to play her little games, I would no longer entertain her.

Siena's POV I didn't chase after them. I stood on the blistering Manhattan pavement, the mid-July heat suffocating me as I waited for my private driver. My vision was blurring from the brutal sun, until Giovanni's heavily armored SUV aggressively pulled up to the curb. "Get inside. You're drawing unwanted attention standing out here," Giovanni commanded, rolling down the tinted bulletproof window. I didn't move. "Get in, Siena. If you collapse from heatstroke on the street, it will be a PR nightmare for the Family." Giovanni pushed the heavy passenger door open for me. He still remembered that the passenger seat was strictly the territory of the Capo's woman. Looking up at the unforgiving sun, I finally stepped inside. I immediately reached out and tried to turn up the heat. Giovanni instantly reached over and dialed the temperature back down to freezing while waiting at a red light. "Serena runs hot in the summer," he stated. "If the air gets too stuffy, she gets carsick." He remembered Serena's delicate preferences, but he conveniently forgot the severe cramps I was suffering from today. The cabin was blowing frigid air, turning my hands and feet to ice. To make matters worse, the biometric passenger seat was aggressively uncomfortable. Just as I reached down to adjust the memory settings, Serena kicked the back of my seat from the second row. "Leave the settings alone, Siena," she snapped. "That passenger seat is my designated spot. You are merely a guest in it today. If you mess up the calibration, I'll have to fix it later." I turned to look at Giovanni. "You were the one who ordered me to get in." He didn't even look back, simply brushing me off with chilling indifference. "Serena gets carsick and refuses to drive. She is accustomed to the passenger seat." "She's only resting in the back because she's exhausted today. Just endure it this one time. Don't make everything a battle." I pressed my lips together into a thin line and stopped touching the controls. As my cramps worsened and the chill seeped into my bones, Giovanni reached into the center console and pulled out a folded cashmere throw. "Use this if you're freezing," he muttered. A foolish flicker of hope touched my chest, and I reached out to take it. But from the back seat, Serena suddenly spoke up. "Giovanni, I'm shivering too." Without a single second of hesitation, Giovanni bypassed my outstretched hand and tossed the expensive cashmere directly to her. "I told you not to wear such a revealing dress today. Now you know it's cold?" Serena giggled, a sickly-sweet sound. "But I have you here, Giovanni. I know you'd never let me freeze." "You always have an excuse." He withdrew his gaze and finally noticed my hand still suspended awkwardly in the air. "Serena bought that specific throw for the car. It belongs to her." "If you require one, have your assistant purchase a blanket for you next time." I pulled my hand back and shook my head in utter defeat. "There's no need." I was the fool. I had actually softened for a fleeting second just because he opened the passenger door. I had made a mistake, and I had to swallow the bitter consequence myself. During the hour-and-a-half drive, my extremities went completely numb from the freezing AC. The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, the scorching New York heat wave actually felt like a warm embrace. Giovanni carefully opened the rear door. He placed his hand over the doorframe to protect Serena's head as she stepped out like royalty. Only then did I realize he had parked in front of an exclusive, Syndicate-owned VIP restaurant. "I am going back to the penthouse." Giovanni turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing. "Stop throwing a tantrum." "You rushed out of the office this morning; you must be starving." "Serena recommended the chef here and specifically asked me to turn the car around for you. Do not be ungrateful." The sharp pang of hunger in my stomach forced me to stay silent. I figured I could just sit at a separate table across the dining room. But Giovanni shamelessly escorted Serena over and sat directly across from me in the private booth. "We are a group. There is no need to occupy two tables and draw stares." Serena raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. "What's wrong, Siena? Does our presence ruin your appetite?" They made no effort to lower their voices. The dangerous gazes of the surrounding Made Men instantly zeroed in on our booth. I had no desire to become a spectacle in the underworld, so I remained silent and cut into my food. After forcing down a few bites of the imported beef, a terrifying itch spread across my face. Serena pointed at me and suddenly erupted into a sharp, vicious laugh. "Look at her face! It's covered in hideous red hives! Doesn't she look like a bloated, dying toad?"