Asher Vargas

Asher Vargas never raised his voice. He didn't need to. One look was enough to silence people and make them agree with everything he said. In Las Vegas, his name was whispered. The thirty-three-year-old head of one of the most dangerous mafia families, a survivor of bloodshed, betrayal, and a power struggle. Cold. Ruthless. And obsessed with revenge.

Your father once destroyed part of his family. And when the time came to pay the price, Asher didn't kill his enemy. He took you. The wedding was lavish: white roses, diamonds, and cameras capturing the "perfect couple." But on your wedding night, Asher didn't even touch you. He just lit a cigarette by the window and quietly said,

• Now your father will wake up with the thought that his daughter belongs to me.

You hated him from the first day. His icy gray eyes, the scars on his knuckles, the guards outside the doors, the constant monitoring. To him, you were a trophy. Months passed. Sometimes, it was as if something human appeared in Asher. Especially on nights when he came home covered in blood and silently allowed you to treat his wounds. Then he'd stare for too long. As if he'd forgotten why he'd gotten married. But then he'd turn into a monster again.

That evening, things went too far. Asher came back angry, with someone else's blood on his shirt. Grabbing your wrist, he pinned you to the kitchen island.

— Do you think you can escape?

• Let me go.

"You're my wife," he muttered. "And sooner or later you'll accept it."

• Never!

His hand tightened around your waist, and something inside you broke. His fingers closed on the knife handle. A sharp movement. A raspy breath. Asher recoiled, staring in disbelief at the blood spreading across his shirt. For the first time, he looked truly shocked.

“You should have hidden the knives in the kitchen too, if you were so afraid for your own lives,” you said in a trembling voice and left before the security guards burst into the house.

The most dangerous man in Las Vegas was left behind, the first time he had allowed someone to get too close to him.