CHAPTER THREE: THE DON'S HUSBAND

Jesse went utterly still beneath the weight behind Donato's words. 

His throat went completely dry, and with one hard, painful swallow, he wet his cracked lips and blurted the only defense he had left.

"No." His gaze locked fiercely onto Donato, refusing to look away first.

Donato slowly lifted a dark brow, amusement flickering across his face. "Say that again."

"You heard me perfectly well, Mr. Sindacato." Jesse frowned, trying to comprehend the absurdity of the man's decision.

"And why do you even need a husband? We both know you are supposed to end up with the Cascio heiress: Miss Ginevra."

Donato folded his arms across his broad chest.

"It's no news about your engagement with Miss Ginevra," Jesse continued, growing bolder despite his rising panic. "Everyone in Italy knows that the Cascio clan and the Del Sindacato are not bound by a mere business agreement, but by a sacred blood oath. The marriage, I believe, is a political alliance." 

He took a step back. "I have a family to watch over, Mr. Sindacato, and I wouldn't like to be caught up in this. Whatever this mess is. So, my answer is no."

He gave a small, rigid bow.

"Thank you for allowing me to keep my job tonight, but I am not interested in your proposal. A lot of innocent lives will be at stake if you actually go through with this reckless decision." He paused, his gaze raking over the terrifying man before him.

"If you ask me, I'd say you should stop being a coward, put on your mafia pants, and just do the needful." He gave one final bow and turned toward the door.

"Jesse," Donato called out. His voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a commanding aura  that stopped Jesse in his tracks. 

Now standing fully on his feet, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the room. Donato pulled a sleek, black card from his trouser pocket and tossed it casually toward the center of the table. "Give me a call when you change your mind."

Jesse cast one dismissive glance at the card. "No thanks."  

He pushed through the doors and left the room without touching it. 

In the quiet lounge, Jesse's parting words seemed to linger, echoing in Donato's ears. He traced the edge of his jaw, a dark chuckle escaping his throat. "Mafia don't wear pants," he corrected softly. 

His gaze remained fixed on the closed door.

"He'll be back."

---

By the time Jesse finally reached his neighborhood, the thick darkness of the night had swallowed the streets. The familiar row of rundown houses was illuminated by a terrifying flashing red and blue lights of an ambulance parked haphazardly on the curb, a small crowd of whispering neighbors standing right outside his front gate.

His heart stopped, and his hurried footsteps slowed down into a state of shock.

"Mama?" he whispered under his breath, shaking his head slightly as a wave of dread washed over him.

His pregnant sister, Alessandra, stood near the flashing vehicle, tears streaming down her pale face. The minute she saw him slicing through the crowd, she let out a desperate scream.

"Jesse!"

He rushed toward her, throwing his arms around her trembling frame to pull her into a tight hug. "Alessandra, what happened? Breathe."

"Mama... she just collapsed. I don't... I don't know what happened, Jesse." The words could barely escape her mouth as she buried her face into his shoulder, crying harder. "They're taking her back to the hospital right now."

Jesse stared at the open back doors of the ambulance. His mother had only returned home five days ago. Just five days of relative peace. He had not even finished paying off the previous hospital bill, and now this nightmare was repeating itself.

His sister grabbed his arm, her fingers digging desperately into his sleeve. "I don't know what to do, Jesse. We don't have anything left."

Jesse looked back at the ambulance. "Why don't you and Daniel go ahead with the ambulance? Go with mom. I will sort out something."

Alessandra nodded quickly, wiping her face as she hurried toward their younger brother, Daniel, who was already inside the vehicle, tightly holding their mother's limp hand.

Jesse stood completely still on the pavement, staring at the ambulance until the doors slammed shut and the vehicle sped off into the dark city. 

His mother was going back to a place they couldn't afford.

He had barely recovered from the financial blow of the last hospital bill. The crushing debt was still right there. Daniel's school fees were entirely overdue. Alessandra was seven months pregnant, and he still hadn't figured out how to ensure she had proper prenatal care or a safe environment for the baby.

Everything he had been desperately holding together with his bare hands was beginning to fall apart. For a moment, anger surged through his veins. He felt anger at their miserable situation, anger at the coward of a man who had abandoned Alessandra, and an agonizing anger at himself for not being strong enough to do more.

His hand slipped deeply into his pocket, his head raising to glare bitterly up at the dark, empty sky. "What do you have to lose, Jesse?" he muttered to himself.

In that moment of ruin, his mind recalled the black card Donato had stretched out. His fingers frantically searched his pockets, digging through the fabric, but there was nothing there. 

Fuck. He had left it sitting right on Donato's table.

Jesse closed his eyes trying to recall the digits he had glanced at for only a second.  The numbers came bearing themselves clearly in his memory. He pulled out his heavily cracked phone, his fingers trembling as he punched the number in exactly as he remembered it. His thumb hovered precariously over the glowing call button. For several agonizing seconds, he couldn't make himself press it. He knew exactly what crossing that line meant.

His thumb hovered. Then, he pressed call.

The line rang only once. The phone was answered almost immediately, but he was greeted with silence from the other end.

Jesse swallowed hard, forcing his voice to remain steady. “Mr. Sindacato. It's me.”

“I know.” The smooth baritone came through the speaker.

Of course he knew. Jesse closed his eyes, leaning his head against a rusted fence post.

“I changed my mind," Jesse forced the humiliating words out of his throat. "I will marry you."

Donato remained silent, letting the weight of the submission hang between them. Finally, he spoke. “Good. Meet me first thing tomorrow morning.”

“No.” The answer came so quickly that Jesse himself was surprised. He went quiet for a beat, his chest heaving, before blurting out the truth. “Tonight.”

“Why?” Donato asked.

Jesse looked toward the empty street, staring at the faint tire tracks left by the ambulance. “My mother.” He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. “I'm... I'm desperate.”

Donato was quiet for a brief moment. Then, his voice came through the speaker, calm, and composed as ever. “Meet me tomorrow morning, Jesse.”

“But—”

“Your mother's bills are no longer your concern.”

Jesse went completely still, his mind racing as he processed the weight of those words. The burden he had carried for months suddenly seemed lighter with a single sentence.

Donato continued, his low voice carrying the faint melody of his Italian accent as he drove the final nail into the contract. 

“You belong to me now, Jesse.” He paused, letting the terrifying reality register fully in Jesse's head. “And my husband will never have to worry about money ever again.”