MARRIED TO THE MAFIA BOSS

CHAPTER FOUR

DANIELLE

I thought I hated him when he gave me and everyone else the cold shoulder but I was just practicing for later. Later starting from now. Since the moment I heard him shoot a man dead and saw that lopsided smirk on his devilish face, I knew I was making the biggest mistake of my life. Jokes on me because I still haven’t backed out of the mistake. The lesser evil. My subconscious comes calling again. Would I rather lie below Carlos’s big belly while he does his rumpy dumpy or…

Maybe now isn’t the right time to be thinking about what s*x with Luciano Morelli is going to be like. Like I said, he’ll be having other women while I sleep tightly tucked in my bed, free from the plans of my dear father and his beloved son Carlos…

“Wouldn’t that be cheating?” His voice breaks my trailing thoughts and I’m forced to pay attention to him again.

“No. This is going to be a contract marriage that will be lasting for a very short period and you maintain all freedom as a single man while it subsists.”

Pushing to his feet, he strides to the couch on the left side of the room, pours himself a glass of whiskey from the bottle on the stool in front, and lowers himself to sit down.

He watches me over the rim of his glass as he gulps down his whiskey, and I can feel my heart tumbling. An overall sensation of tugging and tightening twists my belly.

“Nico. Nico. Nico,” he murmurs as he places the glass back on the table, adding some Italian that I translate to ‘you f*****g bastard’ before I can no longer hear him.

To be honest, I feel the same way. I’ve been wanting to call Nico a f*****g bastard for almost eleven years, and I’ve never wanted to do it harder than I want to now.

His jaw ticks and his eyes darken and the silence between us enunciates the ticking of his wall clock.

“What’s my benefit in all of this? What do I get in return?” He finally breaks the silence but words hang in my mouth. I never saw this as a beneficial transaction for both parties. Yes, father will lay off the crazy marriage talks for a while and we both get our freedom. I never thought of any benefits outside that.

He pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lights one, the glow of the light illuminating his face, and takes a neat drag. He blows a puff of smoke in the air.

“I don’t like to be kept waiting,” he says.

“I- I haven’t thought about that.”

“Great.” He nods.

His jaw hardens, his eyes darkening as he takes another drag of his cigarette. His lips are pressed into a hard line, and his overall expression is that of a man who is about to hurl a glass across the room or pull out his pistol and fire multiple shots.

“What do you want? To some reasonable extent, I think there should be something I can do for you.”

“No.” there is a rough edge to his tone. “There’s nothing you can do.” Ouch! “I’ll send the contract to you tomorrow. There, you’ll find the things I want in exchange for giving you what you want. You have to go through that contract as many times before signing it. Some things are open for negotiation and some are non negotiable. You don’t have to sign it if you are not okay with.”

“Okay,” I say softly. Something about how authoritative his words were almost makes me quiver. The room grows tense with every passing second.

“You can leave now, I have a lot of work to do.” He says, dismissing me with his hand.

***

The rest of my day was spent going over what had happened in Luciano’s office. From his absurd proposal to the cold shoulder he gave me at the end and the quick dismissal as if I was not that important. Maybe not to him. After all, it’s been years since we had any contact and, If I wasn’t so desperate for a way out, he should be the last person I would ever ask for help. He’s condescending, cynical, and a very arrogant motherfucker. I have to finally admit that I’m making a costly mistake doing this wedding with him. I’m a hundred percent sure I won’t be living under the same roof with him. So despicable!

I sit in front of my vanity, staring at my reflection in the mirror. The contract is sitting just a few inches from my elbow resting on the dressing table. I had found it at my doorstep when I returned home. I did wonder how Luciano got my address and was able to get send it here before I arrived, but I couldn’t give it much thought. It’s Luciano, after all. He would have gotten the address anyhow he wanted to. All that matters now is that the contract is here and I’m a step closer to my goal.

***

Maybe I wouldn’t have to pick up my phone with my body vibrating in fear and anxiety trying Luciano’s number for the second time after he didn’t pick up the phone if I had not just received a call from my father threatening to show up in New York if I don’t return to Sicily in twenty-four hours to begin the wedding procession.

Twenty four f*****g hours. Where the hell sm I supposed to run to in less than a day? I mean, I could find some place to hide, but for how long? My heart slams against my chest. I haven’t even read the f*****g contract Luciano prepared. He’s the only one that can save me now. I’ll read the contract after the wedding, but right now, I need him to pick his goddamn phone up.

“I don’t appreciate my phone getting blown up…”

“How soon can we get this marriage over with?” I cut in quickly, trying to steady my shaking voice.

He pauses for a beat before responding,

“As soon as you agree to the terms of the contract and sign.” He says calmly.

“Done. How about now? We can go to the nearest church and get it over with. I can come to your office now if you want.”

“Relax, diva, this is not something you want to just jump into. Are you so eager to get married to me?”

I don’t respond and he continues. “Are you sure you went over the contract? There can’t be any wedding if you didn’t.”

I shoot a quick glance at the contract in front of me and shake my head. I hope I don’t regret this.

“I did, and I’m okay with it. Most of it,” I quickly add just in case he finds my response suspicious.

His sigh is audible through the phone. “Okay, then. I’ll put a call through to my dear friend in the town hall. I’m sure he can fix us in the the earliest time. I’ll send you the address and you can meet me there. Elio will the there to witness.”

Okay,” I say. Relieved.

“Danielle,” he calls in a cold voice.

“Yes?”

“Trust me, if I find out you did not go over that contract, I’m putting an end to the marriage. Immediately. Wear a nice dress.”

He ends the call before I give any response and I’m left with my conscience and the thick leaflets in front of me. The damn contract. f**k you, Luciano Morelli. f**k you and your damn contract. Once this marriage is complete and father is unable to arrange me with one of his men, I will finally be able to take a deep breath of fresh air and live my life however the f**k I want.