HIS LOVE WAS A LIE: THE ITALIAN MAFIA'S MARRIAGE TRAP

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"Get married?" Natalia gawked at her bored mother. "Why would you bring marriage up all of a sudden?"

Her mother, Aria, sipped her wine, an amused smirk playing on her lips. "It's not just any marriage, Natalia. It's an opportunity for our family to ally with the most powerful and dangerous family in the city. - The Grettos."

"Exactly, mother. Don't you hear the keyword? 'Dangerous'. They could be the freaking mafia, for all we know. How can you promise them your only child in marriage? Are you nuts, woman?" Natalia screamed at her mother.

"Nuts? Perhaps. But it's a calculated risk, Natalia. Think about it," Aria's eyes glinted with the shrewdness of a seasoned poker player, "The Grettos are more than just a crime family. They're a dynasty. And their son, Alessio, is... well, he's quite the catch."

Natalia rolled her eyes. Her mother was indeed nuts if she even for a moment thought that Natalia would agree to this shit show.

"Look at me, Mom," Natalia said, her voice as cold as ice. "Do I look like someone who's ready to be 'the catch' for some mob prince?"

Aria leaned back in her chair, setting her wine glass down with a clink. "You're a beautiful young woman, Natalia. Intelligent, resourceful, and fiery. Exactly the kind of woman who could handle a man like Alessio."

"What about the fact that I don't want to 'handle' a man like Alessio?"

"You'll want him once you get a taste, darling," Aria said with a knowing smile, her eyes trailing over Natalia's body as if she could already see her daughter wrapped in the arms of the infamous heir.

"Eww, Mom! Stop looking at me like that!" Natalia reeled back, feeling assaulted by the way her mother looked at her like a heirloom to be appraised.

"Like what?"

"Like I am a freaking show pony!"

Aria laughed, a sound that grated on Natalia's nerves. "You're not just any show pony, Natalia. You're a thoroughbred destined for the royal stables. And trust me, once you're with Alessio, you'll be living a life you've never even dreamed of."

"Why would I even want to live a life that I never even dreamed of?" Natalia knew there was absolutely no use arguing with her mother. The socialite, who had fallen from her pedestal when her affair with a married man came to light, was hell bent on doing anything she could to get back her status.

And if it meant that she would have to use her only child to get there, she would do it too.

To put it frankly, Aria Wellington was a narcissist and the only reason she held onto Natalia was because of all the inheritance her father left in her name, and because of all the doors Natalia's beauty and intelligence opened for her.

"My dear daughter... Won't you even do this for me?" Of course, her mother was going to attack her emotionally next. It was always the same old tricks in the same old order - confidence and bargaining, emotional blackmailing, gaslighting and then plain aggression.

Natalia knew that at the end, her mother would end up getting what she wanted. She didn't know why she even bothered to fight till stage two before she folded.

"I will make no promises about marrying him. But I am willing to meet him once before I come to any decision or conclusion. Just one meeting. That's all I agree to." Natalia liked to have some feigned notion of control over the situation.

"Very well," Aria nodded with a victorious smile, "I will set it up."

"Mom, seriously. Do not expect anything more from me!" Natalia sighed, exasperatedly.

"Okay!" Aria chirped happily as she hopped off the chair and went her way now that she had her daughter where she wanted her.

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"This must be some joke!" Alessio bellowed, throwing back his head in exasperation.

Luigi Gretto, his father, remained unfazed. The man had seen his fair share of rages from his son, and this was nothing new. "It's a strategic move, Alex. It's not just about the alliance. The Wellingtons are wealthy beyond our dreams. This marriage will solidify our US empire."

"Aria Wellington made that wealth out of cheating men into marriage and then divorcing them. Then she got knocked up by some eighty-something year-old and had this Natalia Wellington who you want me to marry. They are living off HIS wealth and all of the other men's wealth! Do you have any idea how many influential people would turn against us if I were to marry Natalia Wellington?" Alessio knew the history of the women.

He didn't know much about Natalia Wellington - just that she was as much a minx as her mother. That was enough information for him to stay as far away from her as possible.

"The girl has brains, though," said a sly voice from the corner of the room, making both men turn their heads. It was Riccardo, one of the most trusted men of the Gretto family, "I've seen her around, she's got spirit and fire in her eyes. You could do worse."

"If her mother's brain is anything to go by, then she will have me penniless and on the streets if I get married to her." Alessio huffed, leaning forward to pick up his glass of whiskey.

"Are you saying that the next Boss of the Italian mafia is scared that he will be fooled by a mere woman?" Ricardo laughed his mocking laugh, one that had always grated on Alessio's nerves ever since he could remember. "That does not really sound very promising for a future Boss."

The man looked over at his father, who had a thoughtful smile on his face. "Ricardo is right, Alex. Are you not even confident that you could hold off or even play a vixen?"

"I am not saying I can't," Alessio gritted out, feeling his ears heat up and redden at being cornered from all sides by an attack on his ego. "I am just saying that I don't want to. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

"Yes, but not a megalodon. At least not one as desperate as the Wellingtons."

"I swear this is going to blow up in our faces. And then I would like to hear you laugh, Ricardo." Alessio grumbled.

Ricardo chuckled as Luigi spoke. "Remember, Natalia Wellington should never know who you are. At least not until she becomes so deeply tangled with you that she would not be able to run even if she did."

The words sounded foreboding. Alessio had no intention of keeping her around for that long. So it was either she never knew or that she never lived to recite the tales when they were done.

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