Chapter 1

The first time I met Valentina Rossi, she found me, battered and bleeding, after I’d been jumped by a street gang.

Meeting my icy gaze, she tilted my chin up. "Handsome and tough enough, I like it. From now on, you're with me."

Valentina taught me business and how to play the game, and she also taught me the art of love.

Every time we wrapped up, she’d purr contentedly in my arms. "You're good in bed. Want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

The 200th time Valentina asked, I finally dropped all my defenses. I cupped the back of her head, pulling her in for a desperate kiss, and, breathless, I agreed.

But our wedding date remained stubbornly unset.

Until the debt collectors came knocking, and I said a few harsh words to a suave and charming man.

Valentina's face instantly went cold. She ordered her men to strip off my shirt and publicly whip me 99 times.

"Be more polite to him from now on."

My back was a bloody mess, but I gritted my teeth, a defiant question escaping my lips: "Why?"

Valentina tossed the whip aside, a sickeningly sweet smile gracing her lips as she interlaced her fingers with Julian Thorne's. "Because I love him."

"I can pamper you, but you can't use the fact that you look like him to disrespect him."

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles popped, forcing a cynical laugh.

"Fine. Then I wish you both happiness. We're done."