Woven in lies

She was never meant to be his.Elara was a girl with a cursed fate an orphan, a babysitter, a shadow in someone else's life. She expected nothing from the world but more pain. Then, Leo Valenti tore her from her altar, claimed her as his own, and dragged her into the center of his ruthless mafia empire.Leo Valenti is a man who dismantles empires with a single word and executes his enemies without blinking. To the world, he is a beast. To Elara, he is a terrifying paradox: the man who treats her dignity as a sacred vow and her presence as his only sanctuary.But their marriage is built on shifting sands. He is an obsession she fears, and she is the home he never knew he needed. As the lies between them begin to fracture and the shadows of her past close in, Leo realizes a dangerous truth: he didn't just buy a wife he caged his own heart.In a world of blood, power, and secrets, the only thing more lethal than the truth is the lie that binds them together."You aren't just mine to protect, little dove.You are mine to consume. And I am done holding back."Tropes included Marriage of inconvenience Forced marriage Mafia romance Slow burn mafia romance