Chapter One
Wren's POV
The Castellano family had a rule: before you turned twenty, you had to name a sponsor, someone who would vouch for you before the family.
Most people put down a parent. Some chose their fiancé. My parents had died years ago, so I put down Rafael. He was the Don of the Castellano family, and the man who had taken me in at twelve and raised me.
The next day, he sent the form back just as I’d filled it out. All he said was, “Fill it out again.”
When I asked why, his answer was cold. “Wren, I’m your adoptive father. That’s all. The way you feel about me isn’t appropriate.”
He thought I was in love with him.
From that day on, he took away every privilege I had. I was barred from the main house. He blocked my number and ordered his assistant never to mention me. When I tried to see him, the guards stopped me at the gate. “The Don won’t see you.”
After that, whenever we crossed paths at family gatherings, he turned and walked away.
Six months later, I was diagnosed with an incurable brain disease. The doctor said I had thirty days at most.
“How are things with Julian? Set a wedding date yet?”
It was the first time in six months Rafael had started a conversation with me.
Julian was the man he’d picked for me to marry. He was also Rafael’s most trusted adviser.
I’d agreed to give Julian a chance just to have this moment. I didn’t want that cold look on Rafael’s face to be my last memory of him before I died.
Only after I agreed had Rafael let me move back into my old room in the main house.
“Pretty good. We’re still talking about dates.”
It was such an ordinary exchange, but I nearly teared up. It had been so long since he’d spoken to me so calmly. I wanted this moment to last as long as possible.
“I want white lilies of the valley everywhere at my wedding,” I said. “And a pearl-colored dress with a really, really long train.”
His faint smile faded. I didn’t notice. I kept describing the wedding I’d dreamed of until he interrupted.
“Before any of that, there’s one thing you need to remember. I’ll always be your adoptive father, and you’ll always be part of the Castellano family. You can come home whenever you want.”
He glanced around the room, finally noticing that the cabinets and bookshelves were more than half empty.
“Are you moving straight in with Julian?”
“If you want to move, then move. I’ll have the butler get you anything you need.”
His words felt like a bullet lodged in my chest. I bit my lip and turned away.
“No need. I probably won’t be coming back.”
In a month, I wouldn’t be able to, even if I wanted to.
None of my things were going to Julian’s. I’d already sent everything to my parents’ old house a few days earlier.
Since their deaths, Marta, their longtime housekeeper, had been the only one living there. Once I returned, she would stay with me for whatever time I had left.
Rafael’s expression darkened. He’d never liked hearing me talk that way, even as a joke.
I quickly changed the subject and asked about his fiancée, Odette Lombardi. “What’s Odette’s favorite color?”
“Pale yellow. Why?”
His voice went cold again, and I tensed.
He probably thought I was planning to hurt his future Donna.
I didn’t explain. I just looked around at the lavender walls.
When I’d first come to this house at twelve, everything had been unfamiliar and frightening. I missed my mom and dad so much that nothing anyone did could comfort me.
Rafael had brought in a bucket of paint himself and painted the whole room my favorite shade of lavender, trying to make it feel like home.
“I just wanted to surprise you and Odette.”
He didn’t even ask what it was. “There’s no need. If Odette wants something, she’ll ask.” His eyes narrowed. “And why are you asking me the same question for the third time?”
The third time?
I’d already asked him twice?
No wonder he was suspicious.
The doctor had warned me that the disease would gradually take my memories until there was nothing left. It had already started. I could barely remember how Rafael used to give me anything I asked for, no matter how unreasonable, just to help me through the grief of losing my parents.
I’d also forgotten that Odette was the most important person in his life now. I wasn’t anymore.
He was one of the most powerful Dons in the city. There was nothing he couldn’t get. If Odette asked for an entire city, he’d find a way to give her one.
He’d done so much for me. I just wanted to make him happy for once, the way he used to do for me.
Neither of us said anything else.
It was November, and the nights were getting colder. Since I’d gotten sick, I’d become unusually sensitive to heat and cold. After just a few minutes by the window, I started shivering.
“It’s late. You should get some rest, too.”
Once he left, I closed the door. Finally, I could stop pretending I was okay.
The next morning, my mind was blank again. I couldn’t even remember what Rafael and I had talked about the night before.
Only the diary beside my bed told me what I needed to do that day.
“Buy paint. Get the gifts ready. Go home in a week.”
I did what I’d written down and had the servants bring a few cans of pale yellow paint to my room.
That evening, Julian invited me to dinner in a private room at one of the family’s restaurants.
Since I’d decided to leave, I wanted to tell him the truth.
“Julian, I’m sorry. I can’t be with you.” I made myself look him in the eye. “I’m sick. There’s no cure. I could die at any time.”
He froze.
“I’m going back to my parents’ old house,” I continued. “I want to spend whatever time I have left in the home where my parents made me feel loved. No one knows about this, and I don’t want anyone to find out.”
“Not even Rafael?”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t know. Please keep it that way.”
I lifted the heavy bag at my feet onto the table and unzipped it.
The moment Julian saw what was inside, he went completely still.
