MARRIED TO THE MAFIA

Chapter One. 

The scandal 

Luca. 

The notifications on my phone were going crazy, forcing me to wake up and actually pick up my phone. 

I had over ten missed calls from my father. What on earth was going on? He had sent me a link which I immediately clicked on.

'MAFIA BOSS LUCA DELUCA SPOTTED LEAVING HOTEL WITH A FAMOUS POLITICIAN' S WIFE'

For a second, I thought I was reading wrong when the headline popped up on my phone. I quickly scrolled through different blogs and my face was all over the blogs. 

"Have you looked at your phone today?" my friend Tony said walking into my room with his iPad in his hand. 

Tony was my personal advisor and best friend, he was the one persona that knew all my secrets, the good and the bad. Our relationship dated way back to college which is where we met, freshman year. 

I threw my phone at him, as I quickly got up and started dressing up. 

"This is bad Luca, especially with us in the middle of this acquisition." 

"I know, I will take care of it." 

"How?" 

"Don't worry about it," I said, taking my phone back from him. 

I knew I needed to act fast. I couldn't let this media frenzy go on. If I allowed the media frenzy to continue unchecked, I risked losing everything I had worked so hard for, my company, my wealth, and most importantly, my authority. But how could I spin this disaster in my favor?

The last thing I needed was for the world to think I was screwing a politician's wife.

I needed a solution and fast, something that would reframe the narrative and restore my image in the eyes of the public. Then, the answer came to me, almost as if it had been there all along, waiting to be seen. It was simple. I needed to marry someone, someone uncontroversial, someone with no ties to my world at all, someone who would make me appear noble in the face of the public's judgment. 

A simple woman, and immediately my mind went to the girl from the club downtown. 

Lila. 

She was a young woman, kind hearted and reliable, with no connection to my world. 

I had seen her a couple of times, she was one of my regulars servers, but unlike the other girls, she was polite, professional and always seemed to keep her head down, focused on her job.. She was the perfect candidate, the type of woman I was looking to clean up my image. She was the perfect image of innocence. 

I had to go see her. 

I sat at my usual spot, by the corner waiting for her to come up. I had been in here multiple times, but I had never really paid attention to her. 

She looked young, younger than twenty one. She had one of those bodies, a model body with long hair that went all the way to her waist. 

But her legs were the stars of the show as she walked over towards me. 

“Lila, I need to talk to you about something important,” I said, my voice low and measured as soon as she was standing in front of me.

She paused, sensing the gravity of my serious tone. “Of course, Mr Deluca. Is everything alright?”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure how to frame my proposal. But i knew that time was of the essence, and I couldn't afford to waste any more.

“I need you to marry me,” i said bluntly. I knew I should have brought that up in a different way, but time was not on my side, and I had done my research, she needed me just as much as I needed her. 

She blinked, caught off guard by my sudden request of what I had just said to her, I could not blame her, we barely knew each other. 

“I’m sorry… what?”

“I need you to marry me,” I repeated, my gaze now steady. “I’m in the midst of a personal scandal, and you agreeing to marry me would help me stabilize my public image. You would be doing me a favor, and in return, I can offer you the money you need for your mother's hospital bills. You don't have to love me, it's just a simple arrangement to clean up my public image."

“I’m not sure what to say,” she finally replied after a deafening silence, her voice soft. “This is… a lot to take in.”

I took a deep breath. “I understand. But think about it. This marriage would be a contract. No strings attached. We would both benefit, and I would be able to regain control of my life. You would never have to work again. You will be set for life and your mother will be well taken care of.”

"How do you even know about my mother?" she asked now facing me, 

"Come on, you do know who I am right?" I said smiling, a little insulted that she would actually ask me that. 

"Let me atleast think about it," she said quietly.

I just nodded, I had to respect her decision, even though I thought this was something she would jump on, most women would.

 "Take all the time you need. But know that I need an answer by tomorrow or I have to find someone more in actual need of the money."

"You are asking me to marry you, it might not mean anything to you, but it does to me." she fired back, irritation showing on her face. 

"Have you spoken to the hospital yet? Because your mother's condition is getting worse, this arrangement will save her life. Take all the time you need though, you have until the morning to come up with an answer for me, after that the offer is off the table" I said, before I got up and left, leaving a couple of dollars on the table as my tip for her.