Chapter One: The Mafia’s Proposal
"May I join you?" A deep voice came from behind as he pulled out the chair next to me. I ignored him, my gaze fixed on the other side of the club while I took a sip of my beer.
"My name is Angelo." He extended his hand toward me.
I barely glanced at him before tilting my head slightly. "Listen, Angelo, or whatever you call yourself I couldn't care less who you are. I'm not in the mood to talk tonight."
Angelo was tall, strikingly handsome, with a well groomed beard and soft pink lips. He had the build of a basketball player and carried the scent of wealth expensive, intoxicating. It was obvious a rich man had just sat beside me.
But my mind was elsewhere. I was furious at myself for getting entangled with the wrong people. Balancing my studies with a part-time job at one of the city's most prestigious restaurants had been going well until everything crumbled. A coworker I trusted stole a huge sum of money and vanished. The rumors spread like wildfire, whispering that we were more than just colleagues.
And when he disappeared, I became the scapegoat. The restaurant owner was convinced I was his accomplice, I tried to prove my innocence countless times, but they refused to believe me and eventually reported me to the police. and before the police could arrest me, I ran.
"Is that you on the TV?" Angelo's voice cut through my thoughts.
I followed his gaze to the screen where my face alongside my former coworker's, was being broadcast under a bold red WANTED headline. My stomach clenched. Without a word I grabbed my face mask and black hat pulling them on as I prepared to slip away. But as I stood up, his hand caught mine. I yanked it free immediately.
"I can help you" he said, his sharp eyes locked onto mine as if searching for something deep within me.
"I don't need your help I said defiantly."
"You don't look like a thief but your boyfriend sure does." He smirked.
"He is not my boyfriend dummy! " I snapped, turning towards the door.
He followed me outside, his presence unwelcome but impossible to ignore.
I was waiting for a cab when I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
"You look like a fierce woman. I have an offer for you."
I turned sharply. "Are you following me? What do you want? I don't even know you!" My patience was running thin.
Unbothered, he slid his hands into his pockets. "I'm a mafia boss. Money isn't an issue for me, I can erase this entire mess you're caught up in just like that."
He snapped his fingers, and two towering men in black suits stepped forward. One handed him a briefcase.
He flipped it open. It was overflowing with stacks of cash.
"All you have to do is say yes, I'll pay your former boss every cent they're after you for." He shut the briefcase with a confident smile, handing it back to his bodyguard.
My breath hitched. "I didn't even steal the money, this is all a setup. " My voice wavered, and I cursed myself for the lump forming in my throat.
"I don't care if you did or not," he said smoothly. "I'm willing to fix it It's nothing to me, really."
I swallowed hard. "What... what do you want in return? My voice barely came out."
His smirk widened. "Be my wife."
"What? " I blinked, convinced I had misheard him.
"You heard me," he said casually. "Marry me."
I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could speak, his bodyguard slipped a sleek black card into my hand.
"Call me when you've made up your mind." With that, he turned and slid into his car, his bodyguards following without question.
I stood frozen on the sidewalk, gripping the card.
What the hell just happened?
