The Exhausted Caterer Woke in Chicago’s Most Feared Man’s Bed—Then His Grandmother Announced a Wedding Before Breakfast

The fire at the south warehouse was controlled by 4:00 AM, but the message Lorenzo Marino sent was clear: war had officially begun.

For three days, the Castelli estate was on lockdown. Armed guards patrolled the iron gates twenty-four hours a day, and the quiet hallways of the mansion were filled with the murmur of low-toned strategy meetings between Dominic and his captains.

Harper refused to stay hidden in her room.

Instead, she took over the management of the estate’s domestic operations, organizing security shifts, ensuring the staff was taken care of, and preparing meals alongside Nonna Rosa. Her background in high-volume catering made her exceptionally efficient, and within forty-eight hours, the estate was running with military precision.

On Thursday evening, Harper walked into Dominic’s private study carrying a tray with fresh espresso and dark chocolate.

The study was dark, illuminated only by a desk lamp and the fire crackling in the hearth. Maps of Chicago’s shipping districts were spread across the leather desk, alongside legal documents and surveillance photographs.

Dominic sat behind the desk, his tuxedo jacket gone, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the black serpent tattoo. He looked exhausted, deep lines carved into his brow.

“You should be sleeping,” Dominic said softly without looking up from his files.

“So should you,” Harper replied, setting the tray on the edge of the desk.

She walked around behind his chair, hesitated for a second, and then placed her hands on his broad, tense shoulders. She began to knead the tight muscles at the base of his neck.

Dominic let out a long, low breath, resting his head back against her chest. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax for the first time in days.

“My captains want to burn Marino’s primary nightclub in River North tonight,” Dominic murmured, his voice heavy with fatigue. “A full-scale retaliatory strike.”

“And what do you want?” Harper asked softly, her fingers working through the knots in his shoulders.

“I want to end this without dragging the city into a war that gets innocent people killed,” Dominic said, opening his amber eyes and looking up at her. “Marino is reckless because he’s losing money. His union bribe networks collapsed the moment I announced our engagement.”

He reached up, taking her right hand and pulling her around to stand beside his chair.

“Your father called me today,” Dominic revealed.

Harper blinked. “My father? What did he say?”

“He said he heard rumors that his daughter was engaged to Dominic Castelli,” Dominic said with a faint smile. “He told me that if I hurt you, he would bring three hundred union dockworkers to my front gate with iron pipes.”

Harper let out a genuine, bubbling laugh—the first real laugh that had echoed in the heavy room in days. “That sounds like my father.”

“I told him,” Dominic continued, his voice dropping into a deep, intense register, “that his daughter was the safest person in the state of Illinois. And that I intended to make her my wife—for real.”

Harper’s breath hitched. The air in the room instantly became charged with a thick, suffocating heat.

“Dominic...” she whispered.

Dominic stood up from his chair, pulling her gently against his chest. His large hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers threading through her soft dark hair.

“I didn't plan for you, Harper,” he said, his amber eyes searching hers with raw, fierce honesty. “You walked into my bed by accident, but you are the only real thing that has happened to me in ten years. This isn't a fake engagement anymore. Not for me.”

Harper looked into the eyes of the man the entire city feared, seeing the profound, fierce loyalty and tenderness he held only for her.

“It isn't fake for me either,” she whispered.

Dominic leaned down and kissed her.

It wasn't gentle. It was possessive, deep, and filled with a desperate, lingering hunger that made Harper’s knees go weak. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, melting into the heat of his body.

When he finally pulled back, both of them were breathing heavily.

Before either of them could speak, Dominic’s phone on the desk rang with an emergency alert tone.