The Clumsy Baker and Her Secret Mafia Husband

CHAPTER FOUR

The very next morning, the birds were singing so happily outside! My small, trembling hands were gripping my old, kind of ugly canvas bag very, very tightly. Squeeze! But I did not care that my bag was old because my heart was jumping up and down like a super happy little green frog! Boing, boing, boing! Today was finally the absolute biggest day ever! It was moving day! I was officially moving into my brand-new home with my brand-new, incredibly handsome husband, Gio, the quiet corporate accountant. Yay! I felt like a real princess in a fairytale movie!

We were standing right on the sidewalk in front of a very big, beautiful brick apartment building. The large glass windows were perfectly clean and shiny, reflecting the morning clouds, and it looked so very nice and peaceful.

"Is this the beautiful place where we are going to live together, Gio?" I asked in a very loud, super excited whisper.

My voice was super soft, incredibly sweet, and a little bit shy. I used my index finger to push my big, round glasses right back up the bridge of my little nose because I was blushing so hard.

Giovanni stood right next to my small, petite body like a giant mountain of safety. He was holding my two incredibly heavy, old brown suitcases in his massive, strong hands. But wow! He did not look tired at all! He did not even blink! He looked like he was just holding two tiny, light little feathers from a little bird! He wore a beautifully simple, beige knitted sweater today. It looked so incredibly soft and warm, but it completely hid his super wide shoulders and his big, muscular chest underneath. To any normal, random person walking past us on the street, he just looked like a quiet, regular man who loved to do math, look at numbers, and sit at a desk all day long.

"Yes, Bella. This is the place. It is a very simple, quiet building," Gio said smoothly. His deep voice was like smooth hot chocolate. His cold gray eyes looked all around the dark street, watching every single car. "The monthly rent here is very cheap and affordable. It is completely perfect for a poor, simple accountant and a poor little baker."

"Oh, it looks absolutely beautiful!" I smiled. My big, innocent brown eyes were shining like bright twin stars in the night sky! I clapped my hands together cutely. "It is totally perfect, Gio! I love it so much!"

But because I had a very simple, sweet little mind and always trusted the world, I had absolutely no idea about the dark, terrifying secrets of this brick building. No, no, no! I did not know that Giovanni had actually bought this entire giant building last night with his secret, unlimited mafia billions! I did not know that the "nice neighbors" walking past us in the lobby with polite smiles were actually elite, deadly mafia soldiers with big, heavy black guns hidden right under their fancy coats! This building was not just an apartment—it was a scary, dangerous fortress to keep the Shadow King safe from his mortal enemies. And now? It was a hidden fortress to keep me safe too!

We walked inside the clean lobby and took the elevator all the way up to the fourth floor. Ding! The doors opened, and Giovanni used his big key to open the wooden door to Apartment 4B.

Inside, oh my goodness, it was so incredibly cozy! The kitchen had the prettiest white wooden cabinets, the living room had a super soft gray sofa that looked like a cloud, and there was a giant glass window where you could see all the beautiful city lights at night.

"Wow, Gio! Oh my gosh! Look at this kitchen! It is so incredibly big!" I gasped out happily, my voice full of wild, playful excitement.

I was so totally happy that I started to run as fast as my little legs could go toward the pretty white kitchen counter. I wanted to start baking immediately! But because I am the absolute clumsiest, most disaster-prone girl in the whole wide world, my silly left foot caught the tiny edge of the living room rug.

"Ah!" I yipped cutely, my arms flying wildly into the air like a bird losing its wings.

I closed my big eyes tightly, waiting to slam onto the hard wooden floor, get bruises, and cry like a baby. But the painful crash did not come.

Suddenly, a massive, incredibly strong, and muscular arm wrapped tightly around my tiny, soft waist. In one split second, moving faster than a speeding bullet, Gio caught me! He pulled my soft, trembling body heavily against his rock-hard chest. Thump! My breath completely stopped. I forgot how to form words. I slowly opened my big eyes and looked straight up through my round glasses. Our faces were only one tiny inch apart! I could feel the intense heat radiating from his skin, and I could smell his expensive, masculine cologne—it smelled like dark wood, leather, and cold winter rain. His grip on my tiny waist was so incredibly firm, so powerful, and so possessively tight. A strange, hot, and sweet warmth started to melt my stomach like warm white sugar on a stove.

"You are very clumsy, little bird," Gio murmured down to me.

His deep voice was a low, dark growl that sent a hot, tingling shiver straight down my spine.

His beautiful gray eyes suddenly went very, very dark, turning into a storm of heavy emotion. He looked straight down at my soft pink lips with a hungry, intense expression, just like a wild wolf wanting to eat a sweet strawberry cupcake! He wanted to kiss me so badly! I could feel his heart pounding like a crazy drum against my own chest. Thump-thump-thump! But he stopped his lips from touching mine because I was too sweet, too pure, and we had a strict contract.

"T—Thank you, Gio," I whispered softly. My cheeks turned as red as a ripe, blushing tomato.

I quickly stood up straight on my feet, smoothing down my yellow dress, and pushed my round glasses up. My heart was going crazy inside my chest.

Giovanni cleared his throat loudly, his face becoming cold, serious, and frozen again like ice. He put his large hands deep into his pockets. "Your bedroom is on the left side of the hallway. Mine is on the right side. Separate bedrooms, Bella. Remember the contract. We do not go into each other's private rooms at all."

"Right! Separate bedrooms!" I nodded my head quickly, trying to giggle playfully.

But deep, deep inside my secret heart, I felt a tiny, sad bit of disappointment. Why did I want his strong arms to hold my waist for just a little bit longer? I shook my head cutely to stop those silly thoughts!

I ran into my new bedroom to unpack my simple, cheap clothes, singing a happy, sweet song to myself. I felt so incredibly safe and warm with my nice corporate accountant husband. I had absolutely no idea that while I was happily unpacking my socks, Giovanni was standing in the kitchen with a dark, murderous face, talking into a secret encrypted black phone to his dangerous mafia men.

"Put twenty more elite sniper teams on the roof of this building right now," Gio hissed into the phone, his gray eyes turning into deadly ice. "If any enemy comes anywhere near my wife, do not ask questions. Kill them immediately."

He hung up the phone and looked at my closed bedroom door with a dark, deeply possessive smile. Phase one of his secret plan was working perfectly. I thought this was just a simple, funny fake marriage to save a cupcake shop, but the scary mafia king had already trapped me completely in his dark, violent world. And this beautiful monster? He was never, ever going to let his clumsy little bird leave his cage.