Luca praises Aria’s beauty, but she is tense and afraid. She makes it clear that she does not want to have sex with him. Standing up to Luca is frightening because she knows that he could easily force himself on her, and she fears making him angry. Surprisingly, when Aria begins to cry, Luca cuts his own arm, bleeding into a glass and mixing it with water to stain the sheets. Luca explains that while he will delay consummation (and mislead others into thinking that he and Aria have already had sex), he is eventually going to provoke her desire. He also asserts possessive jealousy toward any man who might want her.

Once they get into bed, Aria continues weeping and trembling, which irritates Luca. To calm her, he puts her hand over his heart tattoo and swears a formal mafia oath not to touch or harm her that night. Knowing he will not break such an oath, Aria finally rests.

Aria wakes spooned by Luca. He warns that the women will soon arrive to collect the sheets and worries that her inability to lie could expose their secret and make him look weak. Aria promises loyalty, noting she has everything to gain by proving trustworthy. Luca explains that any sign of weakness could get him killed, even by his own family. Observing that she does not look properly kissed, he kisses her deeply.

The women of the family, led by Luca’s stepmother Nina, knock. Luca greets them in briefs, an erection visible for show. The women enter; his cousin Cosima helps Nina strip the bed while the others stare at Aria. Gianna bursts in, horrified by the spectacle and what she assumes is Luca’s brutality.

Aria pulls Gianna into the bathroom and reveals the truth: She is still a virgin, and the blood is Luca’s. She swears Gianna to secrecy. Later, Luca tells her that when he eventually claims her, he wants her writhing in pleasure, not fear.

Aria watches Luca dress and arm himself with multiple hidden weapons. Downstairs, the family gathers around the displayed sheets. Matteo comments, and Aria’s father hugs her, saying he is proud. Salvatore Vitiello expresses hope for grandchildren, but Luca deflects, explaining that for the time being, he needs to focus on threats from the Bratva and the Taiwanese.

The women offer Aria condescending advice about wedding nights. Lily and Fabiano sneak in; seeing the sheets, Fabiano loudly asks if someone was killed, making the men laugh. The sight makes Lily sick, and Aria rushes her to a bathroom. Romero helps Aria and Liliana but Aria tells him Lily has a crush on him, which is why she does not want him to see her ill. Gianna takes over caring for Lily.

Aria shares a tearful goodbye with her family, feeling a deep sense of loss. Luca approaches and tells her they must leave for New York. Aria gets into Luca’s Aston Martin, and they drive to New York in silence.

Aria and Luca arrive at his opulent penthouse, which has a private elevator serving only the top two floors. Luca explains that his housekeeper, Marianna, comes a few days each week. When Aria pointedly asks Marianna’s age, Luca counters by accusing her of jealousy. On the roof garden, Luca asks if Aria is contemplating a jump; she says she would never do that to Gianna, Lily, and Fabiano.

Luca invites her to dinner at his favorite Korean restaurant, which surprises and pleases her. The casual meal is warm, with Luca feeding her bites of food, giving her hope. Back at the penthouse, Aria initially enjoys it when Luca kisses and caresses her. However, she is put off when he uses crude language, and she tells him that she still does not want to have sex.

The next morning, Aria meets Marianna, who is kind to her. Over the following days, Luca is largely absent and curt. One night, he returns to bed and holds her in his sleep. Frustrated and lonely, Aria asks Romero to take her to a restaurant. When she returns, Luca’s cousin Cosima approaches her and slips Aria a note. The anonymous note instructs Aria to go to a specific address that night, without Romero, in order to see what Luca is really doing.

That evening, Aria takes a small gun from Luca’s drawer and convinces Romero to take her to dinner near the address. There, she tricks him by pretending to use the bathroom and slips away. At the apartment, she finds the door ajar and discovers Luca having sex with Grace Parker. Grace smiles triumphantly; Luca freezes when he spots Aria, who runs.

Aria escapes onto a subway train just as Luca and Romero reach the platform. She calls Gianna, explains what happened, then discards her phone. After wandering the city for hours, she returns to the penthouse near dawn. Luca storms in, furious. When she accuses him of cheating, he claims it is not cheating since their marriage is not real, and he cannot be expected to live like a monk when she will not sleep with him.

During an explosive argument, he pins her to the bed. She challenges him to rape her so she can truly hate him; he relents. Later, they talk more calmly. She explains the affair hurt because she hoped to build trust and intimacy before sleeping together. He describes his first sexual experience at 13, arranged by his father with sex workers. He apologizes for what she saw and proposes a clean start. Aria demands that he end all affairs if he ever wants a physical relationship with her. Luca promises to be faithful and touch only her from now on. She agrees not to make him wait months to consummate the marriage, and they fall asleep.