His to Claim, His to Ruin

Chapter 9

Salvatore

Lana is the fastest person to leave after she heard my men are about to depart.

I was about to remind her about a certain thing, but I knew she wouldn't run away—not when I was the reason to find a kidney for her sick mother, so I didn’t bother dragging her back to my mansion.

Paul, along with Owen, appeared in front of me.

“Don Salvatore,” Paul, my man who's handling most of the paperwork, just entered the living room. “Attorney Figueroa reminded me about insurance. Lana’s papers, including her surname, must be changed effective immediately. It is to input her name under your insurance.”

Why does she need to sign one more time when she already did before?

I nodded. “Make arrangements with Attorney Figueroa. I'd like to meet him in three days.”

“Copy, Don.”

I stood up and glanced at him. “Keep me updated about our marriage license.”

“Your past marriage license with Madame has been…revoked. A new one has been issued along with Lana.”

I didn't say anything and made him leave.

Two marriages. One is old, revocable. The second is new.

Great.

Paul found his way out of the living room, leaving Owen and me alone. Meanwhile, Owen is the one who’s handling physical problems that need my prompt attention. He deals with security, trains our men, and works in the field; Paul is his complete opposite.

“Make sure she doesn't get hurt,” I affirmed whilst talking to my other trusted right-hand man, Owen.

Owen bowed his head a little.

“Don't take your eyes off her. She goes home to this place right after getting the kidney. Understand?”

Lana slipped just like that. I would've stopped her from leaving the mansion and, as much as possible, confined her at my villa so she won't dare slip away, but I couldn't.

Caring for her fake family must be hard. Not the one I anticipated but I'm still figuring out the reason behind.

“And who is this ‘she’ you're talking to?” A voice from behind caught my attention.

Standing tall tailored by a Tom Ford three-piece suit is a man standing with confidence across me. A Rolex as his watch, clean-cut hair, and a smirk on his face that annoys the s**t out of me.

Xavier.

I signaled Owen to leave. Lana might have been waiting at the car with trembling hands and a restless mind.

“It's none of your business.”

Xavier tapped my shoulders as our bodies bumped together. “Ahh,” he chuckled. “Not enough to know you're married.”

“Piss of Xavier.”

“Man, I'm your best friend!”

Among all men in my circle, it's always Xavier who tends to press a button. His lips play a significant smirk in it as if he had known something I'm not, and it's f*****g annoying.

“The great Salvatore Mancini, the King of the underground, had married…again,” Xavier spoke with a clear emphasis on the word ‘again’.

I didn't say anything. Lana's face appeared in my mind until a faint longing began creeping to my skin.

“I didn't know marriage was still in your vocabulary, man.” There was a plain, sarcastic tone in his voice.

What does he think of me? A plain, lonely man?

“Last time I checked, you only give a f**k to your silly little secretary. Manipulating her to submit to you, right?” If there’s any stunt I pull just to ditch the topic, I’ll do it.

Xavier showed me his annoyed face. It got darker until he sat down on the couch, spreading his arms at the backrest whilst his eyes stared darkly at me.

He ignored what I said as if I didn't hit a nerve. “You were ballistic. Don Giordano offered you his daughter in exchange for an alliance, but you refused. Hearing about a marriage with another woman…tell me, are you bewitched?”

My attention swiftly turned to Lana. My sweet Lana.

“Is she a slut you picked on the streets and threatened to marry you?” Xavier's assumptions almost made me choke him.

“Careful,” I warned. “She's not like that.”

He's surprised. I give him that.

My grip on the glass filled with alcohol tightened. Lana is not a f*****g slut. She's way far better than that.

“Whoa,” Xavier reacted. “She's no ordinary girl, then. I wonder who's the girl who managed to wrap you around her fingers like that?”

Lana. Alone.

Losing control over my mind is my weakness. No one knew about my marriage to Lana yet, except for my trusted men.

Until a memory comes to my mind. I called Vander Ross—the famous and highest-paid doctor in the country, who happened to work under the hospital Xavier owns.

It must be him.

Vander told Xavier about the case I told him to take.

“Leave now,” I commanded but Xavier isn't the type of person who will let me be unless he gets the exact answer he wanted.

“The more pissed you tend to get, the more I get to be curious about who she is.” My best friend for twenty years is a pushover.

My jaw tightened. “She's not a whore.”

“You refused dating for three years. Guarded, calculated, cold, and in just one day—you just got married. Tell me, what does that w***e have that can ruin your image?”

“Call her that once again, and I’ll make sure you'll regret it.” Statements like this made Xavier speechless, not in a way he's scared, but there was a moment of disbelief planted in his face. He didn't anticipate my reaction.

Her anger when I called her one is different. She changed a lot. My wife is not a w***e, and I've known it from the start.

“I'd like to meet this woman, Salvatore.”

I smirked. “Not yet. I am protecting my wife.”

Lana's appearance might cause her danger. Controlling who will see her and when is in my control. Giving her away just like that to my enemies wasn't my option. The last time I did it, the most important thing to me was stolen.

“A masquerade ball in two weeks. Bring her there.”

“I'll move at my own pace. Do not command me.”

Xavier smirked. “Just saying brother. Ever since she died, you—”

“Leave. f*****g leave, now!”

Triggering the deepest part of my memory isn't something I can withstand. Xavier took his ass out and had his way to leave my villa.

Being constantly reminded of her death is still painful. And Xavier bringing up about it gave a quiet ache inside my heart I can't totally identify.

Three years.

Three years of pure longing and pain. No colors, no warmth but darkness.