LOGINShare
CHAPTER 69
publish date:
2026-09-21 05:38:19
Latest chapter
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 70
FIRST DAYELIAN’S POVThe morning Leo starts his new school, he stands in the front hall in his uniform, looking so stiff I almost smile.His backpack is hanging from one shoulder, and he’s holding onto the strap so tightly his knuckles have gone white.“You’ll be alright,” Salvatore tells him.He crouches in front of Leo and fixes his collar, even though it was only slightly crooked.“If anyone gives you trouble, tell your teacher. If your teacher doesn’t listen, you tell us. Understand?”Leo nods.Then he looks at me.“What if I don’t make friends?”I kneel beside Salvatore.“Then you come home and tell us about your day anyway.”Leo watches me.“Friends don’t always happen right away,” I tell him. “You don’t have to make one today. Just be yourself. Give people a chance to get to know you.”He thinks about that for a moment.Then he nods.We walk him into the school together.I notice a few parents looking at us. Some of them probably recognize Salvatore.But nobody says anything.
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 69
NIGHTMARE ELIAN’S POVThe nightmares start on the fourth night.A small cry comes through the wall, muffled but loud enough to pull both of us out of sleep. I’m already out of bed before I’m fully awake.I reached Leo’s room first.He’s sitting up, tangled in his sheets, tears running down his cheeks. His little hands are gripping the blanket so tightly that his knuckles look pale.“Leo.”I sit on the edge of the bed but don’t reach for him. I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing I can do is give someone the choice.“I’m here,” I tell him quietly. “You’re safe.”He doesn’t answer.His breathing is fast, and his eyes keep moving around the room like he’s still trapped somewhere inside the dream.Salvatore appears behind me in the doorway.He doesn’t say anything. He just stays there, giving me room to handle it.“Bad dream,” Leo finally whispers.I shake my head.“Hey. You don’t have to be sorry for that.”His eyes drop to his lap.“Bad dreams happen,” I continue. “They don’t mea
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 68
HOMECOMING ELIAN’S POVLeo’s hand feels small in mine as we walk through the front doors of the estate.He doesn’t say anything at first.His eyes move from one side of the entrance to the other, taking in the high ceilings, the wide staircase. He looks like he’s trying to understand how one house could possibly be this big.Then he quietly says, “This is a lot of houses.”I glance at Salvatore.“It is,” he says.He crouches in front of Leo, bringing himself down to the boy’s level.“But you don’t have to see all of it today. You don’t even have to see all of it this week. Take your time, okay?”Leo looks at him for a moment before nodding.Some of the tension leaves his shoulders.I think that might be the first time today someone has told him he doesn’t have to hurry.Rosa is waiting for us in the entryway.She’s clearly excited. I can see it in the way she keeps shifting her weight, like she’s fighting the urge to rush over and hug him.But when she sees Leo’s face, she reins hers
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 67
PATIENCEELIAN’S POVThe final weeks move slowly.I swear, time has never moved this slowly.Every little delay feels bigger than it should, probably because we’re so close now. We’ve already allowed ourselves to imagine Leo here with us. We’ve talked about where he’ll sleep, what he’ll like, what we’ll do together. We’ve let ourselves want this.And wanting it makes the waiting harder.Salvatore handles it better than I do.He’s good at keeping himself calm when things matter. I’ve learned that about him over time. Still, I’ve caught him more than once sitting with the little wooden puzzle Leo gave me, turning it around in his hands without really doing anything with it.I know why.It’s the same reason I keep picking it up whenever my thoughts get too loud.One evening, he watches me pace around the bedroom for what must be the tenth time.“You’re anxious.”I stop and look at him.“I keep thinking something’s going to go wrong.”He doesn’t interrupt.“Like we’ll get this close, and
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 66
THE WAITINGELIAN’S POVAdelina warned us from the beginning that the process would take months.There would be background checks, home visits, paperwork, interviews. More paperwork after that. It felt like there was always another form waiting for us to fill out.We didn’t complain.After everything we’d already been through, waiting a few months didn’t seem so bad.We were allowed to visit Leo every week, and we made sure not to push him or expect too much from him. Adelina reminded us more than once that trust couldn’t be rushed.The first few visits, Leo barely spoke.He would sit quietly and watch us, answering questions when we asked but never offering much on his own.Then things slowly started changing.By the third visit, he was waiting by the door when we arrived.By the fifth, he had started keeping things for us.A drawing he’d made.A small rock he’d found in the garden.Once, it was a broken toy he’d apparently tried to fix himself.They were little things, but they neve
The mafia king’s substitute husband CHAPTER 65
LEO, OUR CHILDELIAN’S POVThe meeting takes place in a small playroom Adelina uses for situations like this.There are toys all over the floor, blocks, cars, puzzles. Everything is arranged to make the room feel like an ordinary place for a child, not somewhere he is being brought to meet two strangers.But that’s what this is.Leo is six, though he looks smaller than I expected. His dark hair falls over his forehead as he sits quietly in the corner, watching us the moment we walk in.I know that look.That careful way of watching people before deciding whether they’re safe.“This is Leo,” Adelina says softly. She crouches beside him. “Leo, these are Elian and Salvatore. I told you about them. They just want to say hello.”Leo doesn’t say anything.His eyes move from me to Salvatore and back again.I don’t go over to him.Instead, I sit on the floor a few feet away and pick up a small wooden puzzle. I turn one of the pieces over in my hand.“I was terrible at puzzles when I was young
You May Also Like
Submission in Secret: Alpha In Heat
tanny-precious23.8K viewsSinful Affairs
Ona Hearts28.7K viewsFifty Shades Of Taboo
RichieWrites21.4K viewsTAMING THE BILLIONAIRE; My Brother's Best Friend
LUNA INK 18.6K viewsMy Savage Captor Wants Me Pregnant!
Angela Shyna2.8K viewsUnprofessional Conduct: The Storme Shield
Odessa188 viewsHe had always been mine
Nikola 150 viewsThe Mafia Boss’s Deadly Little Secret
Amaka 615 views
