The Don's Counterfeit Wife

CHAPTER THREE

Leora’s POV

“Smile,” my mother hissed in my ear with gritted teeth as she pushed me towards the door. “Your husband is here.”

All my pleas had fallen on deaf ears the night before. And not only did the doctor stitch me up, but he also followed my father's instructions to do it without anaesthesia. He said he would help bring a drug that would help flush my child away. For the first time in my life, I hated how weak I was.

I stood beside my mother in the living room to welcome my soon-to-be husband while Isabella was being sneaked out of the country to Aunt Milan, and they had given me pain meds this morning so I would look extremely comfortable in front of him.

The front door opened, and four men in black suits walked in with guns tucked at their belts, and when they were certain that everywhere was safe, they parted to let my suitor in.

He was taller than I expected, well over six feet, with his thick black hair and gray eyes. When his eyes landed on my face, he gave me a quick once-over, and I could tell at once that he wanted this done already.

“Don Cavalli.” My father stepped forward, his eyes filled with so much reverence for the young Don. “You honor my home with your presence.”

“Is that her?” His voice was extremely thick and deep as he still kept his eyes on me, as if my father's greetings meant nothing to him.

Just as he was about to respond, there was a commotion outside, and my heart dropped to my stomach when I saw the familiar matted hair of the doctor who must have come bearing the drugs.

“A doctor?” It was like Lucian Cavalli already knew who he was when his men drew out their guns, and then he turned to my father with a deadly stare. “I gave you instructions months ago, and you didn't think it wise to handle her if she had any health problems? What the hell do you—” He was reaching to his waistband to draw out and c**k his gun, while his eyes were so lethal against my father.

“For my mother…” I didn't know when the words jumped out of my mouth, softly cutting the thick tension across the living room. “My mother is quite sick; don't mind how strong she is pretending to look. The doctor is here for her and not me, Mr. Cavalli.”

“Mr...?” He lowered his gun for a second. I thought my head would be the first thing to come out of my body because I was a woman speaking to a Don. “Leave us at once and turn off all your security systems as I speak to her.” He instructed my parents and his men and tucked the gun away.

One of his men handed him a thick folder of documents before everyone nodded and scurried out of the way, and I was left under the intense pressure that this man carried around him.

He circled me slowly as if he was assessing an item that needed to be purchased, and of course, that's what I was right now. “You are smaller than your photographs,” he said calmly, all his dark aura gone, and my body stiffened when he said that. Was he suspecting already?

“Photographs lie, Don Cavalli.” I cleared my throat, begging my brain to think fast for any responses.

“Do they?”

“Yes.”

Something flickered over his face but disappeared before I could even catch it. He gestured towards the sofa. "Sit."

I obeyed at once while he sat on the opposite sofa, and he passed the thick folder towards me. “This is the contract between you and me, and I suggest you read through the pages of it before signing. I want you to note that I will not be liable for your life, and if you make one stupid decision that tarnishes my image one bit, or lie to me about important things, you are giving me the full authority to destroy the Bellucci family.”

My hands were shaking when I took the pen from his hand and swallowed hard. What choice did I have? If I disagreed now, he would get suspicious, dig deeper into the affairs of my family, and still kill all of us if he found out my father was lying to him from the beginning of this arrangement.

“I understand.” I nodded slowly, my eyes unable to keep up with the fine prints of the contract, as some words were difficult to understand since I never went through a formal education. I pressed the pen on the lines where he pointed at and scribbled something that passed as a signature, under my sister's name.

“Here are my rules,” he said after he was satisfied and gave me my part of the document; his voice was low and even. “You will live in my house, you will not ask where I go or who I see, you will not touch my things, and you will not enter my spaces without explicit permission from me.”

“Okay.” I nodded. That was extremely doable and something that could save my life because the contract stated towards the bottom that the marriage was going to last for only two years.

“There will be no intimacy of any kind.”

I nodded again. This was even much better than I imagined, and I found my body relaxing slightly.

“This is a contract, not a marriage.” He leaned down, and his gray eyes held mine. “In two years it ends, and you will walk away with whatever your father negotiated, and you will go your own way. I do not touch what I do not trust, and I do not trust anyone. Do you understand?”

My throat was dry. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Don Cavalli.”

“Know your place, Isabella.” He finally stood to his full height. “The wedding is tomorrow, and I expect you to be there as early as possible. Your dress will be brought to you this evening, and you don't need to worry about packing because everything will be provided for once you're here.”

My knees went weak after he left, and I sunk into the sofa. I didn't know when my mother came towards me, tapping me harshly on my back.

“Listen to me, Leora.” She hissed, her brows pulled together in a frown. “For that nonsense you did, plus the fact that the wedding is tomorrow, it means we can't ruin tomorrow by flushing that thing out of your system. So, you have two options..." She lowered her voice. “It's either you find a way to sleep with the Don and pass off that child as his within a month starting from tomorrow, or you find a way to get rid of it when you're in his house. But I promise you, if you try to get rid of the child and you're caught bleeding heavily and it is found out you were already pregnant all these while...”

She didn't have to complete that statement. I knew what was going to happen, which meant I had only one choice. And this one choice was already taken care of by Don Cavalli's rule.

No intimacy.