Chapter 4 Four

The office was silent… except for the low hum of the city beyond the glass and the furious pounding of Raven’s heartbeat in her ears.

She stared at the photograph on her desk. Two boys. Twins. Smiling like they already owned the world.

Her gaze snapped back to the man standing before her. Giovanni.

He sat there now, infuriatingly calm, as though he hadn’t just shattered her reality with a single sentence. His dark eyes fixed on her… steady, unreadable, the patience of a predator in his stillness.

“You’re lying,” she said finally, her voice trembling but defiant. “This is some expensive fucking joke, right? Pretending to be Gabriele’s twin and claiming we’re married… what, you think that’s funny?”

Giovanni’s mouth curved slightly, but there was no humor in it. “Do I look like a man who jokes about marriage?”

Raven crossed her arms, clinging to composure. “Marriage?” she repeated, almost laughing at the absurdity. “We had one night. That’s it. I was drunk, heartbroken, and… stupid mistake.”

He tilted his head. “You were drunk,” he agreed evenly. “But apparently not stupid enough to forget you signed.”

Her heart stumbled. “Sign what?”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a slim envelope, placing it with quiet precision on her desk. Raven’s stomach turned before she even opened it.

A marriage license.

Her name. His. Giovanni Monti.

The faint gold seal of a Vegas chapel glinting under the office lights.

Her fingers trembled as she picked it up, eyes darting over the text as though she could will it to vanish. “This can’t be real,” she whispered. “I don’t even remember… bloody hell”

“I do,” Giovanni said softly, cutting her off. His tone had sharpened, enough to make her look up. “You were wearing a black mask. You told me you’d been two days before your wedding. You said no one had ever chosen you first.” His voice dropped, almost a whisper. “You cried when I said I would.”

Raven froze. The room seemed to tilt, air thinning around her.

She remembered the champagne. The blur of laughter. A voice… warm, low, murmuring, I’d marry you.

Her throat tightened. “You can’t mean this is legal?” she whispered.

Giovanni leaned back, one hand resting lazily on his thigh, as though discussing something as mundane as a business deal. “Vegas marriages are very real, honeybee. Even the ones born of mistakes. It's legally stamped.”

“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, heat flooding her face. “I don’t even know you.”

“You knew me enough to say I do,” he countered, his tone calm but edged. “You said yes first.”

Raven’s glare wavered. “You took advantage of me. I was drunk…”

“So was I,” he interrupted, voice low and dangerous.

The words hit like a blow. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them thickened, charged with something that felt too heavy to name.

Then Giovanni rose to his feet, unfolding to his full height. The faint scent of his cologne…dark, smoky, expensive… seeped into the space between them.

“You think this situation pleases me?” he asked, his voice clipped but calm. “I’m not thrilled either, Miss Quinn. I didn’t plan to wake up married to a stranger. Especially my brother's ex.”

Her voice came out smaller than she intended. “Then why come here? Why show up after all this time?”

He held her gaze, expression unreadable. “Because the mistake was made,” he said simply. “And the woman I married disappeared without me knowing.” A pause. “Now that I’ve found you, I need to decide what to do next.”

Her pulse jumped. “Decide what to do?” she echoed. “You mean an annulment? A divorce? Good idea. Let's get this over with…”

His jaw tightened. “Maybe. Maybe not... I right now I'm a bit upset. I don't make decisions when angry.”

Raven let out a harsh laugh. “You’re angry? I should be the one furious!”

His mouth curved in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “You’re good at that already.”

She opened her mouth to fire back, but he moved closer…. close enough that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. The air shifted, heavy and electric.

“I’m not pleased either,” he said quietly, his voice deliberate and steady. “What happened that night wasn’t what I needed. But it happened. And now, we deal with it.”

Her pulse fluttered, her voice barely a whisper. “Deal with it? How?”

He studied her for a beat too long. “That,” he murmured, his gaze flicking briefly to her lips, “depends on you.”

For a moment, everything inside her stilled. The gravity in his tone pulled her in, dangerous and magnetic, until breathing felt like work.

Then, as if nothing had shifted, Giovanni straightened his cuffs and stepped back. The distance returned like a slap.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said smoothly, already turning for the door. “We’ll discuss how to… dissolve this properly.”

He paused, his hand on the handle, and glanced over his shoulder.

“Try not to run off this time, honeybee.”

The door clicked shut behind him.

Raven stood frozen, her hands gripping the edge of her desk to stop their trembling. The office felt smaller now, the air heavier, the city beyond the windows a blur of light and noise.

She looked down again at the marriage certificate...her name beside his.

Her voice came out barely a whisper. “What the hell have I done?”