Morning came slowly through the tall glass windows of their room, the early sunlight spreading across the marble floor and climbing the white walls. The city below was already awake - cars moving, people rushing, the distant sound of traffic - but here, everything was quiet, calm, almost like the world hadn't started yet.

Kiara woke up before Donato. She was lying on her side, her head resting on his shoulder, one hand lightly placed on his chest. For a few moments, she didn't move. She just watched him sleep.

Donato Romano looked very different when he was asleep.No cold eyes. No sharp expressions. No businessman. No mafia heir. Just a man who looked younger, calmer, almost peaceful. His arm was wrapped around her waist protectively, even in sleep, like he was afraid she might disappear if he let go. Kiara smiled slightly. She carefully tried to move so she wouldn't wake him, but the moment she shifted, his arm tightened around her waist and he pulled her closer without even opening his eyes.

"Where are you going?" he murmured, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Kiara laughed softly. "I'm not going anywhere. I was just trying to get up."

"It's too early," he said, eyes still closed, pulling her closer. "Sleep."

"You have a meeting today at nine," she reminded him.

"I'll cancel it," he said immediately.

Kiara shook her head, smiling. "You own half the city, Ro, but you still can't cancel every meeting just because you don't want to wake up and today is defanatly not don't today is relly important day ."

He finally opened his eyes slowly and looked at her. For a moment, he didn't say anything. He just looked at her face like he was making sure she was really there.

"What?" she asked softly.

"Nothing," he said quietly. "Just looking at you."

There was something in his voice that made her expression soften.

"You're still worried about the stalker, aren't you?" she asked gently.

Donato didn't reply immediately. His fingers slowly moved a strand of her hair away from her face.

"I don't like things I can't see," he said finally. "And I can't see this enemy."

Kiara placed her hand over his. "You will find them."

"I will," he said calmly. "Before they try anything."

The way he said it was not emotional or dramatic - it was a promise. A cold, dangerous promise. Kiara shook her head but didn't argue further. She knew when Donato used that tone, the decision was already made. She finally got out of bed and walked toward the window. The sunlight fell on her hair and shoulders, and she stood there for a moment looking at the city.

Donato watched her from the bed quietly. In his world, there were enemies, business wars, power games, betrayals, secrets, and blood. His life was dangerous, complicated, and full of people who wanted to see him fall. But every morning when he woke up and saw Kiara next to him, everything felt quiet for a few minutes.

And he realized something he never said out loud: He was not scared of losing money. He was not scared of losing power. He was not scared of enemies. He was only scared of losing her. something happning , maybe, enzo was right , maybe he was falling for his wife,"

He got up from the bed, walked behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her gently against him. Kiara leaned back slightly into him.

"Good morning, hubby," she said softly.

He rested his chin lightly on her shoulder and replied in a low voice,

"Good morning, wifey."

For a few moments, they just stood there quietly, watching the city - not knowing that somewhere in the same city, someone else was also watching them.

___

The dining room was large, elegant, and quiet in the mornings. Alessandro Romano sat at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet while occasionally sipping his coffee. Albert was on his right side, already dressed for work, checking messages on his phone. Donato sat on the left side, calm as always, but quieter than usual. A few minutes later, Kiara joined and sat beside Donato.

The servants placed breakfast in front of everyone, and for a few minutes, only the sound of cutlery and coffee cups could be heard. Then Mr romano finally looked up from his tablet and spoke in a serious voice.

"Is everything done, Donato? Albert? The shipment is ready?"

Albert looked up first and nodded. "Yes, Dad. Everything is done."

Donato also nodded calmly. "Everything is ready. Don't worry."

Mr romano leaned back slightly in his chair, but his expression was still serious. "Good. Make sure there are no new problems. This is a very big deal. The De Luca shipment must reach all their branches around the world without any problem. If something goes wrong, both De Luca and Romano will face huge losses... and whatever damage happens to the Romano name will be separate."

The room became slightly more tense after that. Business between the Romano and De Luca families was not small - it was international, powerful, and very sensitive. One mistake could cost millions and also damage reputation and alliances.

"Don't worry, Dad," Donato said in a calm but confident voice. "Everything is set to go. There is no problem. My team is handling everything personally. The goods will be delivered safely to all De Luca branches."

Mr romano watched him for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. "Good. I trust you."

After that, breakfast continued quietly. Albert finished first, stood up, hug his mother and kissed nonna cheekh, and said, "I'll see you guys in evening," then left.

A few minutes later, Mr romano also stood up hugg his mother and left for the office with aravi, sofi and elana also leave for there college, leaving Donato and Kiara alone at the table. The moment they were alone, the atmosphere changed slightly. The formal business tension faded, but Kiara could still feel something heavy in Donato's silence.

She slowly moved her chair a little closer and gently placed her hand over his hand under the table. She squeezed his hand softly.

"Don't worry, Ro," she said quietly. "Everything will be fine."

Donato turned his head and looked at her. For a moment, he didn't say anything. His face was calm as always, but his eyes were tired - not from lack of sleep, but from responsibility, pressure, enemies, business, family, everything.

He turned his hand slightly and held her fingers properly this time, squeezing them once before letting go.

"Let's go," he said quietly.
___

Romano Industries headquarters was already busy when Donato and Kiara arrived. Employees greeted them respectfully as they walked through the main floor and toward the executive conference room on the top level.

Inside the large glass conference room, the senior management team was already present. The long table was covered with files, tablets, shipment charts, shipping routes, and international schedules displayed on a large digital screen on the wall.

As soon as Donato walked in, everyone stood up slightly in respect. He nodded once, signaling them to sit. Kiara sat on his right side, opening her tablet and reviewing the shipment documents. Donato stood near the screen instead of sitting.

"Start," he said calmly.

One of the logistics heads stood up and began explaining. "The De Luca shipment is divided into multiple consignments. They will not move together. We are sending them in separate routes and separate dates to avoid risk."

The screen changed to a world map with routes marked in different colors. "The three major destinations are Russia, the United States, and Japan. Smaller shipments will go to Europe, UAI, India, and other countries branches later."

Donato folded his arms and watched silently. "Russia shipment will leave first," the logistics head continued. "From our eastern port. Estimated arrival in twelve days."

"Route?" Donato asked.

"Through the Black Sea route with two transfer points."

Donato immediately shook his head slightly. "Too predictable. Change one transfer point." The man nodded quickly and made a note. Then another manager spoke. "The United States shipment will go through the Atlantic route. Departure in three days. This is the largest shipment among the three."

Kiara finally spoke for the first time. She zoomed in on the route map on her tablet and then looked at the screen. "This route passes through two high-risk piracy zones and one inspection-heavy port," she said calmly.

Everyone looked at her. She continued, "If this shipment gets delayed at inspection, the entire delivery schedule will shift. And piracy risk is unnecessary for such a large shipment."

The logistics head nodded slowly. "We chose this because it is the fastest route."

Kiara shook her head slightly. "Fastest routes are usually the most watched routes. If someone wants to intercept or track shipment movement, they will watch the fastest routes first." The room became very quiet because everyone knew she was not just talking about pirates or customs. She was also talking about enemies.

Donato looked at her for a moment but didn't interrupt.

She continued, pointing at another route on the map. "Use this route instead. It is longer by two days, but safer. Less inspection pressure, less traffic, and less attention."

The logistics manager looked at Donato for approval.

Donato nodded once. "Do it."

The route was immediately changed. Then the third manager started discussing Japan shipment. "Japan shipment will leave last, in six days. This one is smaller but high value."

Kiara leaned forward slightly. "This one should have escort security."

"We already arranged port security," the manager replied.

Kiara shook her head. "Not port security. Private escort from departure to first transfer point. After that, route change mid-way."

The manager looked surprised. "Route change mid-way?"

"Yes," she said calmly. "The official route and the actual route should not be the same. Only three people should know the final route." Everyone in the room went silent again.

Donato finally spoke, his voice calm but firm. "She's right." He walked to the screen and looked at everyone in the room one by one. "From now on, shipment information will be divided. No single department will have full route details. Everyone will only know their part."

He paused, then added, "If someone is watching Romano shipments, I want them to get confused."

Kiara looked at him slightly and understood immediately - this was not just business precaution anymore. This was strategy against a hidden enemy.

The meeting continued for another hour. Dates were finalized, routes were adjusted, security teams were assigned, and delivery confirmations were scheduled for each country - Russia, the United States, and Japan.

Finally, Donato closed the file in front of him and said, "This shipment must reach every De Luca branch without delay, without damage, and without attention. I don't want problems. I don't want surprises." He looked around the room slowly.

"If there is a problem, solve it before it reaches me. If it reaches me, it means you failed." Everyone nodded seriously. The meeting ended, and people started leaving the conference room one by one.

Kiara closed her tablet and stood up, but before she could walk away, Donato spoke quietly without looking at her,

"You were thinking about the lucas the one who attack us on the hotel while planning routes, weren't you?"

Kiara looked at him for a moment, then replied softly, "In your world, business problems and enemy problems are never separate."

Donato finally looked at her and a very small smile appeared on his face. "That's why I keep you next to me," he said.

But neither of them noticed that far outside the building, across the street, a black car was parked across the street from Romano Industries for so long that it had almost become invisible among the other vehicles. People walked past it, office employees entered and left the building, traffic lights changed again and again, but the man inside the car never moved much.

He was sitting in the driver's seat, watching the glass building carefully through dark sunglasses. On the passenger seat beside him was a camera with a long lens, a notebook, and a phone. After seeing Donato and Kiara leave the conference room floor and the lights in that section turn off, he picked up his phone and made a call.

The call connected after a few seconds. "Sir," the man said respectfully, "everything is confirmed. They are ready to ship. Preparations are complete." There was silence on the other side for a moment.

"Final routes are not confirmed yet," the man continued, "but don't worry. My men will find out soon. You just give the order - when do we attack their ships?" There was a soft chuckle from the other side of the phone.

Lucas spoke slowly, his voice calm but cruel. "Let them ship their goods peacefully for now."

The man in the car frowned slightly but stayed silent. Lucas continued, "Right now they are alert. They think an enemy can attack anytime. So they are careful, changing routes, adding security, watching everything." He paused for a moment, then his voice became colder.

"That is why we will not attack now."

The man nodded even though Lucas couldn't see him. "Then when, sir?"

Lucas laughed quietly - not loudly, not happily - but in a way that sounded dangerous. "We will attack when they stop being careful," he said. "When they start believing everything is safe. When they are sure their shipment will reach the destination without any problem."

He continued slowly, almost enjoying explaining it. "When a man is expecting an attack, he is strong. But when a man thinks the danger is over... that is when he is weakest."

The man in the car smiled slightly. "That means we attack later... when the ships are already in the middle of the route?"

"Yes," Lucas replied. "You are right. Because I am sure they will change routes. Donato Romano is not a fool. He will change routes, security patterns, schedules - everything." Lucas's voice became darker. "So let them change routes. Let them think they are safe on the new routes. We will wait for them there."

The man asked, "So we track all three major shipments? Russia, United States, and Japan?"

"Yes," Lucas said immediately. "But we will not hit all three."

"Then which one?"

Lucas was silent for a few seconds, then he said slowly, "We hit the one that hurts Donato the most."

"And which one is that, sir?"

Lucas laughed again, this time more softly. "The one he is protecting the most."

The man in the car understood immediately. "So we watch which shipment has the most security, most route changes, most secrecy... and that will be the target."

"Exactly," Lucas replied. "Donato Romano thinks he is playing a smart game. He thinks he is confusing his enemy."

Lucas's voice dropped to a whisper. "But he doesn't know... I am not attacking his ships."

The man frowned. "Sir?"

Lucas spoke slowly, each word cold and dangerous. "I am attacking his peace."

There was silence in the car for a few seconds. Then Lucas gave the final order. "Track all shipments. Track Donato. Track his wife. Track everyone close to him."

He paused, then added quietly,

"Soon, Donato Romano will learn something very important..." Lucas smiled on the other side of the phone. "That in war... sometimes you don't destroy the business." He paused. "You destroy the heart."

___

On the other side of the city, in a tall modern building, Vittoria sat in her office, staring at the bouquet of flowers placed on her desk.

The office was elegant, sharp, and perfectly organized - glass table, leather chair, city view behind her, everything expensive and controlled, just like her personality. Vittoria Moretti did not like surprises, and she definitely did not like things appearing in her office without her permission.

The bouquet was beautiful - black and deep red roses, wrapped in black paper. It looked intimate, elegant, yet dangerious almost like a threat gift. the note attached to it was anything but romantic.

Vittoria held the small card in her hand, reading the message again and again. Her jaw tightened with every word. The note said:

"Stay away from Donato Romano if you want to live a long life. just complete your project and leave." This is not a warning. This is a kindness. Next time, I won't be kind."

For a few seconds, the office was completely silent. Then Vittoria slowly placed the card on the table. Her fingers curled into a fist. Her breathing became heavier, and the anger on her face was slowly replacing the shock.

"Who the hell sent this?" she muttered under her breath.

She picked up the card again, reading it once more like she couldn't believe someone had the audacity to threaten her. Her nostrils flared in anger, and suddenly she slammed her fist hard on the table and shouted her secretary name.

The sound echoed in the office. Her secretary rushed inside immediately. "Ma'am, is everything okay?" Vittoria stood up from her chair, holding the note in her hand and the bouquet still lying on the desk.

"Who sent this?" she demanded sharply.

The secretary looked confused. "Ma'am, it was delivered this morning. There was no sender name. The delivery boy said it was already paid for."

"This is nonsense," Vittoria snapped. "Someone is trying to scare me with stupid notes and flowers?" She picked up the bouquet and threw it back onto the table angrily.

"Check the cameras," she ordered. "Reception, parking, entrance - everywhere. I want to know who sent this."

"Yes, ma'am," the secretary said quickly and left the office.

Vittoria turned back toward the window, the note still in her hand. "Stay away from Donato Romano..." she read again quietly. Then suddenly she laughed. Not a happy laugh. Not a scared laugh. It was an angry, confident laugh.

"Scare me?" she said to herself. "You think I will get scared because of flowers and a stupid note?" She walked back to the desk, picked up the card again, and looked at it carefully. "Whoever you are," she murmured slowly, "you don't know who you are threatening."

Her eyes became cold and sharp. "I don't leave people because someone sends me warnings," she said quietly. "I make people leave." She tore the note into pieces and dropped them into the trash bin. But even though she was acting fearless, confident, and angry, one thought still stayed in the back of her mind:

Who knows about me and Donato... and who is bold enough to threaten me?

And for the first time, Vittoria realized something was happening around Donato Romano that even she didn't fully understand.

___

Donato's office was quiet in the afternoon, the city visible through the glass wall behind his desk. Files were open, shipment routes displayed on the screen, but for the first time since morning, Donato wasn't looking at business reports.

He was looking at Kiara. She was sitting across from him, going through some documents on her tablet, her hair falling slightly over her face as she focused. Donato leaned back in his chair, watching her silently.

After a few seconds, he said, "You know, you came here to work, but you haven't spoken for ten minutes."

Kiara didn't even look up. "I am working. Unlike you, I don't get paid for staring at people."

He smirked slightly. "I own the company. I get paid for everything."

She finally looked up and rolled her eyes. "Arrogant."

"Successful," he corrected calmly.

She closed the tablet and leaned back slightly. "You are impossible."

"And you still married me," he replied.

She tried to look serious, but a small smile appeared anyway. "Sometimes I question my decisions."

Donato stood up from his chair and slowly walked around the table toward her. "You question your decisions every day," he said quietly, stopping in front of her chair.

She looked up at him. "Especially when you act like a dictator in meetings."

"I am not a dictator," he said. "I am efficient."

"You are scary," she corrected.

He leaned slightly closer. "Am I scary to you?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked at him for a few seconds and then said softly, "No." There was a small silence between them. Donato slowly placed his hand on the armrest of her chair and leaned closer. "Good," he said quietly.

Kiara's heartbeat started to speed up a little. "Ro... this is your office."

"Yes," he said calmly. "My office."

"That means people can come in."

"They won't," he said.

"You don't know that."

"I do," he replied, his voice lower now.

He gently held her chin and lifted her face slightly toward him. Kiara's breath caught slightly, and she placed one hand lightly on his shirt, not pushing him away, just holding him there.

"You talk too much," he murmured softly.

"And you don't talk enough," she replied quietly.

He smiled slightly, then leaned down and kissed her nose first, very gently, like he was not in any hurry at all. Kiara's breath caught slightly, and she looked at him, but he didn't give her time to say anything. He kissed her right cheek, then the left one, slowly, deliberately, as if he was enjoying every second of her shy reaction.

"Donato..." she whispered softly, but there was no real protest in her voice.

He finally leaned closer and kissed her lips. At first, the kiss was slow and soft, almost careful. One of his hands moved to her waist, pulling her a little closer while she held onto his shirt unconsciously. The world outside the office seemed to disappear - the company, the meetings, the enemies, the shipments, everything. There was only him and her.

The kiss slowly became deeper, more intense, but still not rushed. It was the kind of kiss where neither person wanted to stop, where silence said more than words ever could. Kiara's hand slowly moved from his shirt to his shoulder, holding him lightly. Donato's grip on her waist tightened slightly, and he gently pulled her up from the chair so she was standing close to him, almost against him. Neither of them opened their eyes.

He broke the kiss for a moment, but only to breathe. Their foreheads touched, and for a few seconds, they just stood there, breathing the same air, feeling each other's presence without saying anything.

Then Donato sat down on the chair behind him and gently pulled her with him. She didn't protest, didn't say anything. She just looked at him for a second, then he pulled her softly onto his lap.

Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders while his arm wrapped around her waist again, holding her securely like he didn't want her to move away. Their faces were very close, their breathing slow but heavy, both of them completely lost in the moment.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face and looked at her for a long second, his expression softer than anyone ever saw. "You are a distraction," he murmured quietly.

She almost smiled. "You are the one who started this."

He didn't reply. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her again, slower this time, deeper, more emotional than before. One of her hands moved slightly into his hair while the other rested on his shoulder for balance.

Both of their eyes were closed, and for that moment, nothing else existed. Not the Romano empire, not enemies, not danger - just the quiet office, the sunlight coming through the glass windows, and the two of them sitting there, holding each other like the world outside could wait.

They stayed like that for a long moment - foreheads touching, eyes closed, breathing each other's breath, feeling each other's presence without needing to say anything at all.

And that was exactly when the office door opened. "Oh my holy eyes! Get unholy! What on earth am I seeing?!" Enzo shouted loudly.

Donato and Kiara immediately separated, but Donato's hand was still around her waist.

Kiara felt her face burn with embarrassment. Oh God, please open the ground and bury me right now, she thought.

Enzo closed his eyes dramatically with one hand, but he was still peeking through his fingers. "I am blind. I am traumatized. I will never recover from this."

"You know you don't have to pretend to close your eyes while looking through your fingers," Donato said calmly.

Enzo dropped his hand and grinned shamelessly. "Should I go? I think you two are very busy. I disturbed something important."

"Yes," Donato said immediately, glaring at him. "You did."

"Don't glare at me, you scumbag," Enzo shot back. "This is your office, not your bedroom. And you are doing unholy things in the office."

Kiara covered her face with both hands, wishing she could disappear. Donato didn't even look embarrassed. He just said calmly, "So what? I was kissing my own wife, not someone else. What's wrong with that? I can kiss my wife anywhere I want."

Kiara wanted to die at this point.

Enzo crossed his arms. "For that, you have a bedroom."

Donato replied immediately, "For your information, I have many places."

Enzo made a disgusted face. "I don't need this information. Keep your romance life private."

"You walked into my office without knocking," Donato replied.

"It's my office too," Enzo said.

"No," Donato said calmly. "It's my building. Your office is on your building."

Enzo pointed at him. "You have changed after marriage. Before marriage you were dangerous. Now you are romantic and dangerous. This is worse."

Kiara slowly removed her hands from her face but she was still extremely embarrassed. Enzo looked at her and grinned.

"Kiara, I am very sorry you married this shameless man," he said dramatically.

Donato immediately replied, "She married me, not you. Control your jealousy."

Enzo laughed. "Jealous? Of you? Never. I value my peaceful life."

"Then learn to knock before entering," Donato said.

Enzo shook his head. "From now on, I will call before coming. I don't want to see live romantic scenes again."

Kiara finally said softly, "Can both of you stop?"

Both brothers looked at her.

She sighed. "You both are impossible."

Enzo smiled. "See? Even your wife agrees with me."

Donato looked at him calmly and said, "Why did you come here?"

Enzo immediately replied, "Oh yes, I actually came for work. But now I forgot after seeing your office romance."

Donato leaned slightly back against the chair, completely relaxed, while Kiara was still sitting on his lap. Neither of them had realized how they were still sitting when Enzo walked in and started his drama. Donato crossed his arms around kiara waist and looked at Enzo calmly.

"If you came here to die, keep talking like that," Donato said.

Enzo grinned shamelessly. "You won't kill me. I am your favorite darling."

Donato replied immediately, "No, that changed now. I have my wife."

"WHAT?!" Enzo said loudly, placing a hand dramatically on his chest. "How can you do this to me, baby? This is betrayal. You can't betray me."

"Oh, but I did, sweetheart," Donato shot back without missing a beat.

Kiara sighed deeply and shook her head. "You both are dramatic."

"See? Even my wife agrees with me," Donato said proudly.

"She said both, not only me," Enzo replied immediately.

"Whatever," Donato said, waving his hand slightly. "Leave. I have to complete my work."

Enzo looked at their postion, then smirked. "Oh, I can see very clearly what type of work you are doing."

"Shut up," Donato said flatly.

Enzo laughed loudly and then suddenly pointed at them. "Did you guys realize Kiara is still sitting in your lap? What a scene. Wait, let me take a picture. This is historic."

He quickly pulled out his phone and pretended to open the camera.

Before he could do anything, Donato picked up the pen from the file Kiara had been reading and threw it straight at Enzo.

"Get out!" Donato shouted. "Just marry once, baby, then I will see you."

Enzo caught the pen mid-air and laughed again. "That will not happen because you won't let that happen."

Donato frowned slightly. "What? Why would I not let that happen?"

Enzo immediately shook his head and started walking toward the door. "Nothing. Continue your work," he said with a laugh.

He opened the door, stepped outside, and closed it behind him. But as he walked down the hallway, his smile slowly disappeared. He put his hands in his pockets and muttered quietly to himself, "Because the one I want to marry... is not possible." you won't let that happen."

And with that, Enzo walked down the corridor alone, while inside the office, Donato had no idea what he really meant.
___

A person standing with photo in hand , they leaned back in there chair, the photo still in there hand, and said softly,

"Let's see, Vittoria moretti...
how much you are willing to risk...
for Donato romano."
***

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