Contract Wife for the Cartel Heir

Romano’s POV “Do you know what your problem is?”My father’s voice cut through the room like a blade, I didn’t answer, I remained silent..I stood near the floor-to-ceiling window of his hotel suite, one hand inside my pocket while the city of Milan glowed beneath us. Midnight lights beaming around; a sight I was used to in a city that belonged to men like him– Men like us.Behind me, I heard a very loud noise, glass slammed against the table.“You have everything a man could want,” he continued. “Power, fear, control, respect. Fear. Yet you walk around like someone stole something from you.”My jaw tightened slightly.Enzo Ciel hated silence unless it came from him.“You called me here to insult me?” I asked calmly.“No.” His tone sharpened. “I called you here because you’re running out of time.”I looked over my shoulder slowly. My father sat in his chair like a king on a throne. Gray slowly took over his dark hair now, but age hadn’t weakened him not even a bit, if anything, it m

Romano’s POVThe car remained quiet after Aria got inside, the quietness was heavy and awkward; those kinds that followed a toxic conversation.Milan’s lights blurred past the tinted windows while she sat beside me still wearing the wedding dress she had run away in. Her hands stayed folded tightly in her lap as though holding herself together required physical effort.Most people fell apart after betrayal, but Aria seemed determined not to and seeing that interested me more than it should have. “You always pick up strangers from the street?” she asked suddenly.I glanced at her.“No.”“Then why me?”A reasonable question, I looked out the window. “You stepped in front of a car.”“That explains why you pulled me back.”Her gaze narrowed.“It doesn’t explain why I’m in your car.”A faint smile threatened to appear, she asked too many questions. “I haven’t decided whether that was a mistake yet.”For the first time since I met her, something resembling amusement flickered across her

Romano’s POV“Aria?”Silence followed, I got no response, my grip tightened around the phone.“Aria.”When she finally spoke, her voice barely sounded like hers.“Someone was watching us.”Every instinct I had sharpened instantly.“What do you mean?”“I found a photograph.”She paused. “Of us.”I was already moving toward the door.“Dante.”He looked up immediately.“Get the car.”His expression changed the moment he saw mine.“What happened?”“Someone got into Aria’s apartment.”The room went silent and within seconds we were moving. I returned the phone to my ear.“Aria, listen carefully.”“I’m listening.”“Are you still inside the apartment?”“Yes.”“Leave.”My tone left no room for argument.“Go downstairs and wait outside the building.”A small pause followed.“Okay.”“Don’t touch anything else.”“I said okay.”For some reason, hearing her answer that way brought a small amount of relief.“Stay where people can see you. I’ll be there soon.”Then I ended the call, Dante glanced a

Aria’s POV“Marry me.”For a second I genuinely thought Romano was joking, then I looked at his face and he clearly wasn’t. I stared at him, then I laughed, a long and real laugh, loud enough to echo across the balcony.Romano didn’t react.That was when my laughter slowly died.“Oh my God.”“I’m serious.”“No.”His expression remained unchanged.“No?”“No.” I folded my arms. “Absolutely not.”Romano nodded once as if he had expected that answer.“Fair.”Fair? That was all he had to say?I stared at him in disbelief.“You can’t just ask someone to marry you like you’re offering them coffee.”“It wasn’t coffee.”“That isn’t the point.”A faint look of amusement crossed his face. Unfortunately, it only made me more annoyed.“Romano, I just ran away from my wedding.”“I know.”“My life is falling apart.”“I know.”“My fiancé cheated on me.”“I know.”“My apartment was broken into.”“I know.”I pointed at him.“So why would marriage sound like a good idea right now?”His expression harden

Aria’s POVI regretted agreeing to this marriage the moment I opened my phone, my face was everywhere.News articles, social media, blogs, and even vdeos.Comment sections filled with people who had apparently made it their life’s mission to discuss my terrible decisions.RUNAWAY BRIDE FINDS NEW FIANCÉ.MYSTERY WOMAN ENGAGED TO ROMANO CIEL.LOVE OR STRATEGY?I groaned and dropped the phone onto the bed.Three days ago I had been planning a wedding and today half of Italy apparently had an opinion about my engagement.A knock sounded on the door.“Come in.”Dante stepped inside carrying a tray of breakfast which he dropped on my bed before speaking. “Good morning, future Mrs. Ciel.”I immediately threw a pillow at him, but unfortunately he caught it, Dante has been more like the brother I never had, a sense of relief in the mansion. “Violence already?” he asked. “The marriage hasn’t even started.”“Get out.”“No.”He sat comfortably in one of the chairs.“I came to warn you.”I narro