The Mafia's substitute Bride

CHAPTER ONE EMILIA “Emilia,” my stepmom rudely called. I cursed my luck wondering what she needed me for now. She was nothing but a pain in the ass and worse of all was that I couldn’t ignore her; otherwise, she would add to her anger. “I’m coming,” I yelled at the top of my lungs because the last thing I wanted was to get blackmailed by her again. “Yes ma’am,” I ran from the maid's quarters just to answer to her. She was seated at her usual spot in the dining, a warm expression on her face. I noticed my dad and step-sister—Sophia was also seated with them, which was rare since she’s usually not home by this time of the day, it didn’t take long before I guessed that things were wrong here. “Is there an issue? I asked, my heart racing fast in my chest. “Not at all,” Stepmom answered with a weird smile on her face. That was weird. She’s never looked at me with a warm expression on her face especially not with with a smile on her face. “Take a seat, dear,” she urged. I was a bit alarmed but reluctantly took a seat. I was waiting for them to say something but all that I was left with was nothing but awkward silence. “Are you going to treat her or do I have to?” Sophia snapped. I arched my brows in confusion, wondering what they were yapping about. “You want to tell me something? What is it?” I asked trying to keep my tone on a leash. “Can you not be rude to your sister, Sophia? I would appreciate it if you could show a little respect,” Stepmom demanded and I was shocked to the core. She wanted my step-sister to respect me. After so f*****g long? Did these people have a change of heart or what? Isn’t showing up enough? Now I have to face humiliation too?” she replied. I almost laughed at her statement. Like she knew what humiliation was. “Enough!” Dad snapped, breaking his silence at last. He cleared his throat and now, all of his attention was on me. “I have some news to break down to you, but it’s not entirely good news, and there’s a solution, so I expect you to take it well,” he stated. My heart started beating faster than the normal rate it would. My brain was having multiple thoughts, wondering what he wanted to tell me. What if he wanted to cut back on my mom’s cancer fees? It’s not like he’s doing it for free, I’m working as a maid, living in the maid’s quarters because my stepmom demanded that I had to repay the favor somehow. What if she convinced him to stop paying it and kick me out? Where would I go? But why did he mention that there was good news? And why was she smiling at me? I had so many unanswered questions. “Emilia!” Dad called, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Are you even listening to me?” He asked and I nodded in response. He took a deep breath and continued, “I’m saying that there’s a crisis on the ground and we need you to help us fix it,” he told me. I was caught by surprise, why would he need my help? The last thing I wanted was caught in the mafia world. “But why me?” I inquired. “Let me go into the full details and beat around the bush,” he said. “I’m facing some major setback, and ever since the FBI caught wind of my mafia clan, they’ve been onto us, making business hard, even defaming my company; clients took their business elsewhere, and alliances were cut off. I’m going broke right now and an alliance is what can save me right now,” he explained. I was shocked with confusion, wondering where this was heading. “And what does that have to do with me?” I inquired. “No mafia clan wants an alliance with me except one which is the biggest, even I was surprised when he asked for an alliance with me. It would help me very much, providing me with better security, a mole from the FBI, and lots of business booming. But there’s just one thing that’s hindering this alliance,” he further explained. My heart was beating fast. I didn’t want to hear about the mafia or even get related to it. “ So, what’s that thing?” I furthered the conversation out of curiosity. “A marriage,” he stated. “He wants to get married to my first daughter which is you, Emilia,” I was stunned. Trying to form words but nothing was coming out of my mouth. I wanted to say a lot, but it felt like my tongue was tied up. Why the hell would he want the first daughter? The mafia life world ruined my life right from the day that I was born. All I wanted was to stay as far as possible away from it but this man was willing to push me right back into it. “N—No, I can’t get married to him. I can’t get into the mafia world. Who’d take care of my sick mother, I don’t want a loveless marriage. I want a marriage with someone I love and he loves me back,’ I bluntly refused. My dad scoffed. “You’re forgetting this is real life. Do you think all that fairy tale bullshits exists in our world, huh?” He mocked. “I don’t care if you go dead broke. I’d rather die than get into a loveless marriage to save your ass.” “What about your mothers?” he asks and I stop to think for a second. My mom was a cancerous patient, and he’s been paying her bills so far; it’s so freaking expensive. I could never afford it. “It’d be a shame if your mom stopped receiving her treatment and died from cancer,” he said and I felt my heart pounding hard in my chest. I could see my stepmom and sister smirking, happy that I couldn’t fight back anymore. “You’re bluffing,” I said. “And besides, it’s not like you’re doing it for free. I’m working to cover it up, remember?” He scoffed. “Like the maid job could cover for your mom’s payment?” Those words hurt, almost like I was stabbed. “But I’m your daughter, too,” I cried. I realized that for a moment, Dad looked vulnerable. I was about to say something. Maybe then he’d be in my favor, but the next thing that occurred shocked me to the core. My stepmom ran to the front and slapped me hard on the face. “You ungrateful b***h!” She slapped me hard across the face once more. “After everything we’ve done for you. You can’t repay us with this one favor? I knew we should have thrown you out of the house when we had the chance but for some stupid reasons, my husband decided to keep you around. You’re nothing but a freeloader and now that you have the chance to do something useful, I’d advise you not to mess with us.” Her words hurt me deeply. They talked about doing a lot for me and my mom, after making me live like a slave in my father’s house. And somehow I’m the b***h. “He’s coming here tonight. You had better get ready, and if you love your mom like you claimed, then you wouldn’t dare go against me,” she threatened. I blinked back at my tears, nodding in response. I hated the mafia world growing up and couldn’t wait to get out of it once I had the chance,, but someho,w, I got trapped in it again. I was never going to have my freedom. They had me wrapped around their fingers and I had to bear with it because of my mom. ______________________ *NIGHT TIME* “Wear this, b***h,” Sophia threw me an attire. I caught it and stared at it for an amount of time. It was a gorgeous red dress and it looked so expensive. It’s better than all of my dresses combined. “I don’t want to do this,” I threw it back at her. She scoffed, “You truly are ungrateful. I’m giving you one of my best dresses, so you won’t look like the peasant you are, and you’re acting like a b***h? Do you think I want to live poorly? You had better put on this dress with a smile on your face, otherwise, we’re going to have a problem.” She threw the dress back at me, and I couldn’t hold back the tears that were threatening to come out of my eyes, “f**k you, Sophia,” I mumbled. I wore the dress and made my way downstairs. The so-called suitor was nowhere to be seen while I sat there, trying to keep a straight face. “You had better not embarrass us or try to do anything funny,” Dad warned. “And if you truly love your mom then you’d do what’s best.” He was blackmailing me so badly and what made it worse was the fact that I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt so pathetic. I heard footsteps of someone behind me but didn’t bother turning around. My stepmom, step-sister, and dad stood up to greet him. “Welcome, Mr. Martin De Luca,” Martin De Luca?! Why does that name sound familiar? I stood up immediately and turned to see the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid my eyes on. The worst part was that he looked oddly familiar. I felt a churn in my stomach as nostalgia hit me and one question played back and forth in my mind. Where do I know this handsome stranger from?!