"My Fiance Stole My Sister at Our Engagement Party, So His Feared Mafia Brother Stepped Up and Proposed the Ultimate Revenge"

Julian’s face drained of color so fast he looked as though he were about to faint against the mahogany paneling. The champagne glass trembled in his grip, liquid sloshing over the crystal rim onto his Italian leather shoes.

"W-what did you just say?" Julian choked out, his voice cracking violently.

Nikolai didn't offer a dramatic speech. He casually slid his left hand into his trousers pocket, using his right hand to gently wrap around my waist, pulling me flush against his solid frame. The heat radiating off his body was an absolute fortress, sealing me away from every insult Julian had thrown at me over the past year.

"You heard me," Nikolai said, his tone utterly devoid of emotion. "You decided to play games with the Hart family contract tonight, Julian. You broke faith with our father, you humiliated our house in front of the council members sitting in that ballroom, and you discarded the woman who was meant to secure your future."

"She was meant for me!" Julian shouted, his arrogant temper flaring up despite his obvious terror of his older brother. "Father assigned Evelyn to me! Serena is the one I want! Evelyn is just... she's boring, Nikolai! She’s quiet! She doesn't fit the life I'm building!"

I felt a sharp sting in my chest at his words, but before I could let the insult land, Nikolai’s grip on my waist tightened possessively.

"Evelyn isn't boring," Nikolai corrected, his storm-gray eyes locking onto Julian with lethal intensity. "She has dignity. Something you clearly lack. You chose a girl who shines only when someone else is paying for the light. Evelyn is the light."

My breath hitched. I looked up at Nikolai’s profile—the sharp jawline, the faint scar running along his hairline, the utter conviction in his face. No one had ever spoken for me like that. Not my father, not my mother, and certainly not the man who had promised to marry me.

Julian let out a nervous, breathless laugh. "You're bluffing. You're just doing this to mess with me because Father favored my council proposal last week!"

"Try me," Nikolai replied calmly. "Walk back into that ballroom. Tell our father that you traded Evelyn for Serena. And while you are explaining your brilliant romantic drama, I will announce my formal engagement to Evelyn Hart in front of the entire Midwest syndicate."

Julian stood frozen, realizing the trap he had walked into.

In our world, the eldest son held the ultimate right of veto. If Nikolai presented a formal alliance with the eldest Hart daughter, the council would approve it instantly. Julian’s impulsive stunt with Serena wouldn't make him look like a powerful romantic—it would make him look like a discarded junior officer who had settled for second best.

"You can't do this to me," Julian whispered, terror finally creeping into his eyes. "Serena and I... we're supposed to be the power couple of Chicago!"

"You're an embarrassment, Julian," Nikolai said coldly. "Now get out of my sight before I decide to teach you how a real Moretti respects a contract."

Julian swallowed hard, his eyes darting to me with a mixture of rage, confusion, and panic. Without another word, he turned on his heel and rushed back through the heavy double doors, fleeing toward the ballroom like a scolded child.

Silence returned to the hallway.

I pulled back slightly, looking up at Nikolai. "He’s going to go straight to your father."

"Let him," Nikolai said, reaching out to gently smooth a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "My father already knows Julian is incompetent. He was simply waiting to see if Julian had enough discipline to hold an alliance. He failed tonight."

"And what happens now?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Do we actually go back out there?"