Rejecting the Mafia Boss at the Altar

My name was Sara Sterling. At 18, I became engaged to Alvin Hawthorne, heir to the Hawthorne family. In the dangerous world we lived in, he was the one person I thought I could always count on. I held on to that promise for seven long years. Again and again, he told me things were too unstable or the timing wasn't right, and I kept waiting while the years slipped by. Then, on our wedding day, just as the priest was about to begin the vows, Alvin got word that his assistant, Lina Parker, had been kidn*pped. He left me standing at the altar in front of everyone and went after her himself. In that moment, I saw something in his eyes I'd never seen when he looked at me: real fear, and a depth of feeling he had never once shown me. He came back later with his men and promised we'd try again in three days. But when I caught the scent of Lina's freesia perfume on him, then looked at myself in the mirror, I suddenly felt exhausted. I didn't want him anymore. ****** Today was the day I, Sara Sterling, was finally supposed to marry Alvin Hawthorne. Colored light from the church's stained-glass windows spilled across the floor. Alvin looked at me, an unusual softness in his gray eyes. Before the altar, his deep voice sounded almost unreal. "Before the priest, I, Alvin Hawthorne, promise..." I looked at him, my fingers tightening around the lace of my wedding gown. Seven years had passed since our families formed their alliance when I was 18. For the sake of the family, and for him, I had left my old life behind and learned how to become a proper mafia matriarch. But just before he could promise to protect me forever, the phone inside his suit jacket rang. Alvin frowned, pulled it out, and glanced at the screen. His expression changed immediately. "Something happened to Lina. The wedding is off for now." With that, he turned and headed for the church doors. For a second, I couldn't move. Then I grabbed his sleeve. "Alvin, this is our wedding..." He pulled his arm free without even looking back. "Our rivals took her. This is more important." He moved so quickly he nearly stumbled in his rush to leave. I had never seen that kind of panic on his face, not even when our enemies had surrounded me. And definitely not when I was fighting for my life. Whispers spread through the church, and his men exchanged knowing looks. Apparently, everyone had already figured out what I had spent years refusing to admit. The moment Lina Parker called, Alvin would always choose her first. I gathered my heavy dress and walked out of the church alone. The wind outside was bitterly cold against my face. When I returned to our apartment, Alvin's unfinished breakfast was still sitting on the dining table. Lina had brought him lasagna that morning. A note in her neat handwriting was stuck to the box, reminding him to eat on time. I used to get up early and make him breakfast too, but he always pushed it aside, saying he couldn't eat that early. So breakfast had never been the problem. I was. Alvin stayed at the hospital with Lina late into the night. He even threw the entire city into chaos as he retaliated against our rivals. I curled up alone on the large sofa in the dark. Three years earlier, when I'd asked him to finally honor our engagement, he'd patted my head as if I were a child. The future matriarch of the Hawthorne family deserved a proper wedding, he'd said. I just had to wait a little longer. Now I finally understood. He had never wanted to marry me. The promise had only been meant to keep me quiet while he fulfilled an alliance he couldn't walk away from. His heart had never belonged to me. At three in the morning, I heard the front door open. Alvin walked in smelling of cigarettes and hospital disinfectant. Beneath both lingered the faint scent of Lina's freesia perfume. He turned on the light, saw me sitting there, and rubbed his temples. "Lina was hurt. They nearly slit her throat. She was delivering documents for me when they took her. I couldn't just leave her there." He spoke as if he expected me to understand. "You're a Sterling. You should know when to look at the bigger picture instead of making such a big deal out of a wedding." I stared at his exhausted face. "Two years ago, our rivals cornered me at the West Side docks. When I called you, you said you had a meeting and told me to wait for the bodyguards." Alvin went silent for several seconds before looking away. "That was different. You know how to defend yourself. Lina doesn't." A laugh slipped out. My eyes stung, but I refused to cry. "So because I know how to use a gun, because I'm strong enough to survive on my own, you think that means you can hurt me whenever you want?" His expression hardened, and the same cold authority he used to silence everyone else settled over the room. "Enough. I'm tired. I've already had my secretary tell everyone the wedding has been rescheduled for three days from now. Until then, keep your temper in check and stop making a scene." He walked into the bedroom and slammed the door. I stood beneath the cold living-room light as the last bit of warmth inside me faded away. Then I went into the study, opened the bottom drawer, and took out the old betrothal pact our families had signed when they formed their alliance, along with the emblem that represented their blood oath. Under the old rules of our world, ending an engagement meant cutting every tie between the two families. If the woman was the one to break it off, she must slit her palm before the priest and the crowd, dripping her blood onto the covenant as proof of absolute severance. From that moment on, she was responsible for her own fate and could no longer claim the protection of the man's family. I took out my phone and sent an encrypted message to Mrs. Winni Ashford. Sara: Mrs. Ashford, I've made my decision. Please help me. At the wedding in three days, I would be the one to reject Alvin.