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Ch. 26 – The Dinner of Pretenses

Author: Pauline Maxwell
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-08 05:25:37

The Romano dining hall was built to intimidate—long marble floors, chandeliers like frozen storms hanging overhead, and a massive table carved from centuries-old oak. Fifty chairs lined each side, each one ready for another powerful ally, another dangerous enemy dressed as a guest.

Tonight, the table was full.

Tonight, everyone watched Mia.

Her father hadn’t asked her to attend. He had ordered it.

And worse—he had ordered Mark to sit beside her.

Even now, as Mia crossed the room, Mark walked half a step behind her. Always close. Always watching. Not touching her, but the air around them throbbed with a tension that felt almost physical.

The moment they reached their seats, Mark slid into the chair beside hers with the silent ease of a trained predator. His arm brushed the back of her chair lightly—not possessive, just present.

Purposeful.

A warning to anyone watching.

And plenty were.

Mafia men in tailored suits, diplomats wearing alliances like thin disguises, and women with calculat
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  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 48 – Fractured Control

    The mansion was quieter than usual when they returned.Mia tried to tell herself it was relief, not dread, that made her chest tighten. But the tension in the air between her and Mark felt like a living thing, coiling and twisting as soon as the door shut behind them.Mark dropped his coat silently over the rack by the hallway. He didn’t look at her immediately, which only made her nerves jangle louder.“I saw the way you looked at her tonight,” he said finally, voice low. Not accusatory. Not harsh. Just… precise. Like a blade sliding through silk.Mia froze mid-step, hand on the railing leading upstairs. “I… what?”“You,” he repeated, stepping closer. “When Isabella praised me during dinner… the way you tensed, the way your jaw stiffened… don’t try to tell me you didn’t notice it yourself.”Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She shook her head. “I… I wasn’t…”“Wasn’t what?” His dark eyes bored into hers. “Jealous?”“I’m not jealous,” she said firmly, and perhaps a little too qui

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 48 – Fractured Control

    The mansion was quieter than usual when they returned.Mia tried to tell herself it was relief, not dread, that made her chest tighten. But the tension in the air between her and Mark felt like a living thing, coiling and twisting as soon as the door shut behind them.Mark dropped his coat silently over the rack by the hallway. He didn’t look at her immediately, which only made her nerves jangle louder.“I saw the way you looked at her tonight,” he said finally, voice low. Not accusatory. Not harsh. Just… precise. Like a blade sliding through silk.Mia froze mid-step, hand on the railing leading upstairs. “I… what?”“You,” he repeated, stepping closer. “When Isabella praised me during dinner… the way you tensed, the way your jaw stiffened… don’t try to tell me you didn’t notice it yourself.”Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She shook her head. “I… I wasn’t…”“Wasn’t what?” His dark eyes bored into hers. “Jealous?”“I’m not jealous,” she said firmly, and perhaps a little too qui

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 47 – Eyes That Burn

    Mia noticed it halfway through the evening.Not at first—because she’d been too busy pretending she hadn’t just been pulled into something dangerous on the dance floor. Too busy pretending her pulse hadn’t been racing long after Mark’s hand left her waist.But once she calmed enough to breathe again, she felt it.The look.Isabella stood near the edge of the room, champagne untouched in her hand, gaze fixed on Mark with a familiarity that made Mia’s skin prickle. Not longing exactly. Not envy.Recognition.Like she was looking at something she used to know intimately—and wasn’t sure if she still did.Mia’s jaw tightened.She leaned slightly toward Mark. “She’s staring.”Mark didn’t turn. “I know.”That surprised her. “Then why aren’t you looking back?”His voice was low, steady. “Because my attention isn’t on her.”Her heart skipped before she could stop it.They stood close—too close for comfort, too far to touch—surrounded by laughter and clinking glasses and power dressed up as ele

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 46 – A Dance of Fire

    The next day all Mafia's families where invited to a gala, and gala was everything Mia hated.Gold. Crystal. Music so smooth it felt like a lie.The Santori Ballroom glowed beneath cascading chandeliers, polished marble reflecting power and wealth in equal measure. Mafia families filled the space with tailored suits, jeweled gowns, and smiles sharp enough to cut. Alliances were whispered between sips of champagne. Threats were hidden behind laughter.And Mia stood in the middle of it all—on Mark’s arm.She hated how natural it felt.“Stand tall,” Mark murmured beside her, his hand firm at her lower back. “Eyes forward.”“I know how to walk,” she muttered.A corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re doing fine.”She glanced up at him, irritated by the calm in his voice—and by the way her pulse quickened anyway.The dress Don Romano had chosen for her was deep red, silk clinging just enough to be dangerous. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. Every step she took drew attention.Mark notic

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 45 – Protection Order

    The order came the next morning.Not shouted.Not debated.Simply declared.Mia learned this the way she learned most things lately—by walking into a room already arranged without her.She paused at the edge of the breakfast hall, the soft murmur of voices immediately alerting her. Don Romano sat at the head of the table, cane resting against his knee. Luca stood beside him, tablet in hand. Two guards she didn’t recognize lingered near the doors.And Isabella sat to Mark’s right.Close enough that their shoulders almost brushed.Mia stopped walking.Don Romano spoke first. “Good. You’re here.”She forced herself to move again, every step feeling heavier than the last. She took the chair across from them, deliberately not looking at Mark.Don Romano gestured with his cane. “I’ve made a decision regarding Isabella’s security.”Mia folded her hands tightly in her lap.“She will remain in the mansion,” he continued, “but with reinforced protection. Two guards at all times. No unsupervised

  • Enemies At The Altar    Ch. 44 – The Green-Eyed Truth

    Mark didn’t stay where she left him.Confusion was a luxury he couldn’t afford—not in his life, not with Mia. So when she walked away, words still echoing between them like a half-drawn blade, he followed.“Mia.”She didn’t stop.Her footsteps were sharp against the marble, fury driving her forward. Mark lengthened his stride, catching her just as she reached the corridor leading to the west wing.“Mia,” he said again, firmer now. “We need to talk.”She spun on him so suddenly he nearly walked into her.“No, you need to stop following me,” she snapped.His jaw tightened. “Not until you explain what that meant.”“What what meant?”“You said you’re ‘trying not to fall.’” His voice dropped. “You don’t get to say something like that and walk away.”Her eyes flashed. “Watch me.”She tried to move past him. He stepped into her path, not touching her, but blocking her anyway.“You’re angry,” he said evenly. “I want to know why.”She laughed—short, sharp, bitter. “You really don’t?”He studie

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