The wedding was set for seven days from now.

Seven days to prepare a union that wasn’t about love—but dominance. Power. Politics. War.

I didn’t sleep that night. How could I? My mind churned with everything the council said, and everything they didn’t. Marrying Luca was just the start. What they really wanted… was control.

Over me. Over him. Over everything we’d built.

By morning, the estate was alive with movement. Tailors arrived. Florists. Armored cars. A security team from Camila’s faction swept through the estate with cold precision, scanning exits and entrances, analyzing vulnerabilities.

I hated every second of it.

Matteo briefed me in the greenhouse. “The council wants...