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Chapter 2

Autor: Belen
The next morning, when I came downstairs, Leon was already sitting at the dining table.

A plate of my favorite blueberry pancakes waited on the table. It was his favorite trick: hurt me first, then offer something sweet. When he saw me, he stood and pulled out a chair.

"Eat while it's hot. After that, I'll take you to try on the wedding dress. The one you've been waiting six months for? It just came in today."

He didn't mention the night before at all, as if nothing had happened.

I sat down and ate in silence. Seeing that I wasn't making a scene, Leon smiled, satisfied.

"Let's go. I'm all yours today."

When we arrived at the private bridal atelier that handled Hall Family weddings, the manager hurried over to greet us.

"Mr. Hall, Ms. Bennett. Welcome."

I nodded and followed the manager inside. The fitting-room door opened just as we reached it. Elena stepped out in my wedding dress. She gasped when she saw me, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Nora, what are you doing here?"

Leon stopped in his tracks.

He stared at Elena. Surprise flashed across his face, then gave way to naked fascination.

I turned to the manager.

"What is going on?"

The manager blotted his forehead, stumbling over his words. "She said she was a friend of Mr. Hall's and insisted on trying it on..."

"I told her she could." Leon snapped out of it and cut the manager off.

He walked to Elena's side and straightened the hem of the gown for her.

"Elena cried all night. She's in a bad place. She said she never had a proper wedding and just wanted to know what it felt like to wear a gown."

Leon turned to me, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"You can try it on after her."

I looked at the dress on Elena.

I had helped design every detail of that dress. Every beaded accent, every curve of the waistline held my hope for the future.

Now it was on another woman.

"Take it off," I said.

Elena's eyes went red.

"Nora, I'm sorry. I was just so envious of you. I've never worn such a beautiful wedding dress. I'll take it off right now. Please don't be angry."

She gathered the skirt and hurried toward the fitting room. Her heel caught in the gown, pitching her toward a side table set with sparkling water and champagne flutes.

"Oh God!"

Elena screamed as she hit the ground.

"Elena!"

Leon's face drained of color. He shoved me aside and rushed to her.

The force of his push sent me stumbling backward, my lower back slamming into the doorframe. Pain blacked out my vision for a second.

Leon didn't even glance at me. He pulled Elena into his arms and frantically checked her leg.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

Elena sobbed and pointed to her leg. A shard from one of the flutes had opened a shallow cut along her calf, and beads of blood welled on her skin.

"Leon, it hurts..."

Panic twisted Leon's face. He spun on me and roared.

"Are you happy now, Nora? She just wanted to try on a dress, and you had to force her to take it off. Now she's hurt. Is that what you wanted?"

I stared at him, stunned by the hypocrisy.

"Did I push her?"

Leon clenched his jaw. "If you hadn't pressured her, would she have fallen?"

"It's one dress. Elena has always been terrified of getting hurt. What if that cut scars?"

Just a dress.

The dress I'd waited six months for, the dress I'd poured my heart into, meant less to him than a scratch on Elena's leg.

The manager stood frozen, too afraid to speak. A disbelieving laugh slipped out of me.

"I don't want this dress anymore. And the wedding is off."

Leon's expression shifted, then twisted into a sneer.

"Again with this, Nora? Calling off the wedding over something this small? Fine. Marry me or don't. I don't have time for your tantrums."

He scooped Elena up in his arms and strode out of the boutique.

Cradled against his chest, Elena looked back at me over his shoulder. The corner of her mouth curled into a smug little smile.
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  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 10

    One month later. Leon checked himself out of the hospital, still far from healed.His first act after leaving the hospital was to show up outside my studio and stand there all day.He leaned on a cane, his spine no longer carrying the posture it once had. Today was the day Victor was going to propose. That evening, rose petals blanketed the ground outside the studio.Victor went down on one knee before me in a white suit, holding up a pink diamond ring."Nora, I know how deeply you've been hurt. I promise you will never have to wonder where you stand with me. I will love you, protect you, and honor every choice you make. Will you marry me?"My coworkers applauded. I met Victor's sincere gaze and nodded, smiling."Yes."Victor slid the ring onto my finger, stood, and pulled me into a tight embrace.Just then, a thud came from outside. I turned and saw Leon standing beyond the glass door.His cane had fallen. He'd crumpled onto the carpet of rose petals.He stared at the ring on my hand.

  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 9

    Elena was cornered. Leon unleashed all his rage on her.He cut off every partnership tied to Damian Russo's casinos and handed the business to a rival family.Damian went bankrupt and lost his territory.Damian took all his rage out on Elena, beating her nearly to death day after day.Elena finally broke and blamed me for everything. One afternoon, I finished an important jewelry showcase while Victor went to the parking garage for the car. As I waited at the curb, a battered van came barreling straight at me.Behind the wheel, Elena's face was twisted with rage."Nora, go to hell! If you won't let me live, then we're going down together!"The van was moving too fast. I had no time to dodge. At the last possible second, a dark figure lunged from the side.He shoved me clear, but the van struck him full-on and hurled him through the air.The impact threw Leon more than forty feet. He hit the pavement hard, and blood spread beneath him.The van crashed into a fire hydrant. Elena was pinn

  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 8

    After the gala, Leon lost what was left of his sanity. He bought the entire building across from my studio.Every morning when I stepped outside, fresh red roses flown in overnight covered my car.Every day at lunch, he reserved the entire restaurant and stood in a corner watching me eat.He was trying to prove how much he loved me. How pathetic. When I'd begged him for a glance, he found me annoying. Now that I was done with him, he clung to me like a shadow I couldn't shake.One afternoon, I'd just stepped out of my studio when the sky opened up in a downpour.Leon was there with an umbrella, stubbornly holding it over my head. Most of his own body was exposed to the rain, completely drenched."Nina, the rain is too heavy. Let me drive you home. Please?"I stopped and looked at him coldly."Mr. Hall, this is harassment. My lawyer has already filed a police report."The light in Leon's eyes dimmed, but he kept holding the umbrella."Then have me arrested. If it makes you feel better,

  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 7

    Two years later, New York's most exclusive high-jewelry gala was underway.I entered in a custom red gown, my arm linked through Victor's.In those two years, I'd built a name in Paris jewelry circles under the identity Victor created for me.Now the world knew me as Nina Laurent, an internationally celebrated jewelry designer. Camera flashes burst across the ballroom when I entered. I faced them with an easy smile, poised and certain of myself.I was no longer the woman who followed Leon and swallowed every humiliation.Halfway through the gala, I took my champagne out to the terrace for some air. Footsteps came up behind me."Nora?"The voice was barely a rasp, trembling with disbelief.I turned around and met Leon's eyes, wide with shock and wild with hope.Two years had taken their toll. He was noticeably thinner. When I turned, the champagne glass slipped from his hand and shattered on the ground.He stared at me, his eyes going red in an instant, tears falling without warning."N

  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 6

    The flight to Paris cut through the night sky.I sat in first class, watching the clouds drift past the window, saying goodbye to the last five years for good.Back in the States, Leon had gone completely unhinged. Victor stayed behind to handle the aftermath. Leon used every Hall Family connection to hunt for me, then stormed back to the estate we'd shared. The moment he opened the door, he froze.The living room was spotless. No white rose wreath. No wedding favor boxes.No slippers of mine in the shoe rack. No clothes of mine in the closet. No toothbrush of mine by the sink.The crew I'd hired had erased every trace of my five years in that house.As if I had never lived there at all.Leon called my number over and over. Each time, a recording told him it had been disconnected.Elena didn't limp into the estate until the next morning."Leon, please stop this. Nora probably just went into hiding. She's just trying to get a reaction out of you..."Elena walked to the couch and tried t

  • The Mafia Heir Chose Her, so I Faked My Death   Chapter 5

    Wind screamed past my ears. The free fall stole my breath, but I kept my eyes on Leon's horrified face above me. That look of agony suited him. Then came a muffled thump as I hit the massive rescue cushion waiting below."Quick. We don't have much time."Victor Moreau, who'd been waiting on the second-floor terrace, rushed over and pulled me to my feet.His team deflated and removed the cushion within seconds.Victor splashed a bag of fake blood along the edge of the terrace and had someone drag a streak of it across the ground."The security footage is already on a loop."He draped a black coat over my shoulders and looked at me with concern."Nora, are you sure about this? After tonight, you'll be a dead woman in Leon's world."I held Buck's urn, running my fingers over it gently."If I could, I'd choose never to have met him. Let's go, before he gets suspicious."Victor nodded and led me out through the fire escape.The moment the car pulled away from the hotel, I looked through the

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