Book 1: The King's Auria

Lana 1 story

Summary

A throne demands a bride. Giustino Romano is the heir to one of Italy’s most powerful mafia dynasties—disciplined, dominant, and bred for rule. With his ascension looming, tradition closes in: a Romano prince cannot take the throne without a fiancée. It is law. It is legacy. And Giustino has no patience for it. Until he sees her. Auria Daniel’s is a force all her own—sharp-tongued, fiercely intelligent, and running one of the Romano family’s most profitable clubs with ruthless efficiency. She was never meant to catch his eye. He didn’t hire her. He doesn’t know her. Yet one photograph is enough to spark obsession. She’s beautiful, unyielding, and dangerously capable—everything Giustino isn’t used to controlling. So he does what Romano men do best. He makes a plan. A contract engagement. Two years. A perfect illusion. In exchange, Auria and her struggling family will never want for anything again. Refusal is not an option—Giustino knows exactly where to apply pressure, and he doesn’t hesitate to use it. What begins as coercion spirals into something far more volatile once Auria is pulled into Giustino’s world—Italy, the estate, the bloodline. A suspicious father. A calculating grandfather who sees more than he says. A loyal brother. And a watchful household that seems determined to break her. But Auria doesn’t break easily. As lines blur and the terms of their agreement unravel, Giustino is forced to confront an inconvenient truth: the woman he intended to use may be the only one strong enough to stand beside him—or powerful enough to destroy him. In a world ruled by contracts, tradition, and control … love was never part of the plan.