Chapter 1

On the day my fiancé, Nicholas, was installed as head of the Russo family, he was supposed to marry me. Instead, he stood in front of every man and woman who mattered in Riverdale and announced that Vanessa was his wife.

She was pregnant with another man's child.

"Without a husband to put his name behind her, she loses the family's protection. Those are the old rules," he told me afterward. "Once the baby's born and the boy's under the Russo name, I'll end it. It's a signature on a piece of paper. No ring, no church. Nothing."

"You're the head of the family now. You can protect her without taking my place." I was heartbroken.

"Protection doesn't stop people from talking. A wife does." He let out a breath. "Isabel, we've been together seven years. Can't you wait a few more months?"

He was worried about Vanessa being humiliated. I was still standing there in the wedding dress I'd picked out myself.

I left that night.

Five years later, I came back to Riverdale on a tour of the Crane family's holdings with my husband. To the world, Sebastian Crane was the chairman of Crane Holdings: shipping, real estate, hotels. To the families, he was the Don. A Commission meeting had kept him in the city longer than planned, so he'd arranged for the Russos, our hosts in Riverdale, to send someone to collect me.

At the private terminal exit, I spotted a sign that read "Mrs. Crane." Nicholas was holding it, with Vanessa beside him and a few familiar faces in dark coats gathered around them.

"Isabel?" Tony Greco noticed me first and elbowed Nicholas. "Well, look who finally came home."

Nicholas turned. His eyes went wide. Then they dropped to my suitcase, and he smiled.

"I knew you'd come back eventually."

Vanessa slid her arm through his and looked me up and down. "Is that what you're wearing? It must've been rough out there with no family behind you."

Sebastian's tailor had made the dress with my pregnancy in mind. I'd picked it for the flight because nothing pressed against my stomach, and I hadn't bothered with makeup. There was a time when a comment like that would've sent me looking for a mirror.

"You could've called ahead," Tony said. "Nick's been asking about you for years."

Nicholas's smile stiffened. "I asked if she'd come to her senses."

Vanessa tightened her grip on his arm. I looked at the sign again. Sebastian and I had kept our family out of the papers, and this was my first official tour at his side as his wife. They had no idea who they were waiting for.

"Come home, Isabel," Nicholas said. "Vanessa's son needs a nanny. I'll pay you a housekeeper's wages."

I stared at him. Five years ago, he'd asked me to give up my wedding for Vanessa's unborn child. Now he wanted me to come back and raise him.

"You came all this way," he went on. "No point pretending you don't want to stay."

"I didn't come here for you."

"You're still mad about the wedding?" He glanced at Vanessa. "I told you it was just paperwork. I never put a ring on her."

"You still sent me away."

"I asked you to wait. You chose to leave."

Vanessa laid her hand on his chest. "Don't fight, Nicholas. Isabel, you'd have meals and a room at the estate. There's nothing wrong with accepting help."

"I have a home."

"Then why are you standing here by yourself with a suitcase?" Nicholas asked. "You always said you wanted kids. You'd be good with him."

Once, we'd stood in an empty room at the family estate and talked about where we'd put a crib. He'd asked me to wait until he was head of the family before we started one.

Now he wanted me to take care of Vanessa's son in the house we'd planned to share.

"Don't worry," she added. "If my son gives you any trouble, I'll talk to him. I won't let him be rude to you."

"You're being generous," Tony told her. "After the mess she made when she left, I wouldn't want her back in the house."

Nicholas watched my face as he pulled Vanessa closer.

"She'll behave. She knows she won't get another offer like this."

Five years ago, seeing his arm around her would have made me cry. Now I thought about Sebastian carrying our sleepy son back to bed that morning, promising they'd both join me as soon as his meeting wrapped up.

I already had the family Nicholas still thought only he could give me.

"Well?" he said. "You've been angry long enough. Besides me, who's going to take care of you?"

I met his eyes. "And the baby I'm carrying?"

His arm slipped from Vanessa's waist.

"You're pregnant?"