The Mafia's Forced Bride

The music was still playing when my father told me he had sold me. "Elena, please. You have to understand." I stood in the middle of our ballroom in my white dress. It was my engagement party. Everyone thought I was going to marry Marco, the boy I loved since university. But my father could not even look at me. "How much?" My voice was shaking. "How much did you lose?" "Two million," he whispered. "Euros. I borrowed from Moretti." The name made the blood leave my face. Alessandro Moretti. The most dangerous man in Italy. The man they whispered about in the streets of Rome. The mafia heir who owned half the city and never showed mercy to anyone who owed him. "He came to collect today. He doesn't want money anymore, Elena. He wants a guarantee." A guarantee. Me. My mother started crying in the corner. My little sister looked at me with wide, scared eyes. They all knew what this meant. In our world, a debt to the Moretti family was never just about money. It was about blood, about loyalty, about possession. The doors to the ballroom opened. Cold air came in. The band stopped playing. Everyone went silent. He walked in wearing a black suit. Tall, broad, with dark hair and eyes that could see right through you. Alessandro Moretti. He was even more handsome in real life and even more terrifying. Two big men in suits followed him, but he didn't need them. Everyone was already afraid of him alone. His eyes found mine across the room and he smiled. Not a kind smile. A possessive, dangerous smile that said he had already won. "Buonasera, Elena," he said, his voice low and possessive, echoing in the silent room. "You look beautiful. Perfect for a bride." "I'm not your bride," I said, trying to be brave even though my legs were shaking and my hands were cold. He walked closer, slowly, like a wolf circling its prey. Each step made my heart beat faster. He reached out and touched my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His fingers were warm but his touch felt like a chain around me. "Your father signed you to me. You belong to me now, principessa. Tomorrow you will wear white again, but this time you will walk to me. You will say vows to me." I slapped his hand away. "I will never marry you! I love someone else! I will never love you!" His smile got darker. He leaned down and whispered in my ear so only I could hear, his breath hot against my skin. "You have no choice, Elena Rossi. You are mine now. And I always collect what belongs to me. You should know, I have wanted you for a long time. Since the first time I saw you at your father's restaurant. Now you will finally be mine." My heart was beating so fast I thought I would faint. I looked at my father for help, but he looked away, ashamed. No one in this room would help me. No one dares to say no to Alessandro Moretti. "I hate you," I whispered with tears in my eyes. "You will learn to love me," he replied, his hand going to my waist and pulling me close against him, so close I could feel how strong he was. "Or at least, you will learn to obey me. That is enough for now. I like obedient wives." Everyone was staring. Marco, my boyfriend, was being held back by two men in suits. He was shouting my name, trying to get to me. Alessandro turned and looked at Marco, his eyes cold and deadly, like ice. "She is not yours anymore. She never was. Touch her again and I will break your hands. Look at her again and I will take your eyes. She is a Moretti now." Then he looked back at me, possessive and dominating, his arm tight around me so I could not escape. "Get some sleep, principessa. Tomorrow you become Mrs. Moretti. My wife. My possession. And I take very good care of what is mine." That night, I packed my small bag with shaking hands. I looked out my window and saw his black cars already parked outside my house, guarding me like a prisoner. I thought about running, about escaping Rome forever, but I knew there was nowhere to hide from him. He owned the streets, the police, even the airport. Tomorrow at ten in the morning, at the little church on the hill, I would have to marry a monster to save my family.