Início / Romance / The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Todos os capítulos de The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride : Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

107 Capítulos

1. The Auction

Clara My heart is in my throat as I stare at my reflection in the mirror.My fingers move to the pearls around my neck subconsciously. I rub the pearls with the tips of my fingers, deep in thought. This nervousness of mine doesn’t make sense because I’ve been looking forward to this day for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a little girl, to be exact. Father always told me that it was the greatest honor and a privilege to be auctioned into a good family, despite how it sounds. He always said that an auction was different from a sale in a sense that only valuable things are auctioned. I’m the thing of value here and not the other way around. All the families in New York will gather and bid for me. Only the family who wishes to pay the highest amount of money will end up having me. And it isn’t ‘buying’, not in that sense. I’ll have to be married to someone influential in the family and essentially be a part of them. It’ll also promote associations between my family and the

2. The Highest Bidder

Clara My heart is still racing wildly as I follow the manager through the hall. I’m still thinking about what my mother said about secrets being revealed. I have a feeling she didn’t say that just to mess with me. Why would she? No, she had to be referring to something. What that is, I have no idea. “When you’re on stage, make sure to smile and look pleasant,” the manager says to me. “Try to wave if you can. Statistics show that the friendliest girls always get the highest offers.”I nod but then remember that she’s staring right ahead. She isn’t looking at me. I want to tell her that I don’t care about any of that but then I will myself to calm down. There’s no use in sabotaging myself because of something my mother said. It’s not the worst thing she’s ever said to me and it won’t be the last. It doesn’t matter, anyway. “After the bidding, kindly take the stairs on your right and join your new family,” she informs me. “You won’t be coming back here.” This settles heavily in my

3. Signed in Blood

Clara I’m nestled between the two men who practically shoved me into this car and I’m still in disbelief. Tonight was supposed to be a successful night for all of us. Usually, auction night ends with a glamorous party where all the families celebrate together. It’s a beautiful event and I’ve been looking forward to it for years. I couldn’t wait to be one of the beautiful women who would join their new families and live happily ever after. Somehow, I doubt there will be a celebration this time around. Things were going remarkably well for me before that…I don’t have enough insulting words in my vocabulary for him. That piece of filth ruined everything for me. Being the highest bidder gives him rights over me. He’s not one of us, so he doesn’t understand that I’m not some woman he bought at an auction. I’m supposed to be a connection between two influential families. My children would carry two surnames. What becomes of me now?I’ve never been this terrified before in my life. I’m

4. The Morning After

I can’t move. I can’t think. It’s safe to say that I can hardly breathe. I don’t think I’ll ever truly recover from what happened in that office. I’ll always remember it as the worst thing that ever happened to me. Being held down by those two men while that bastard dragged a knife across my thumb will haunt me even when the cut heals and scars. The helplessness I felt last night is something I’ll carry with me for the foreseeable future. After marking the contract with my blood, I was dragged out of the room and shoved in this small but elegant bedroom. I couldn’t even make it up to the bed. I had no strength in my body then and I still have none. I’ve been sitting on the carpet with my back against the bed since last night, too afraid to feel tired or sleepy. I was forced to sign a marital agreement with him, which means that at some point, I’m going to have to marry that creep. Nobody can save me from this fate, not unless they start a full-blown war. Even then, I might not be

5. The First Dinner

I don't quite know where to put my eyes. They're on my lap, where I'm hoping they'll remain for the rest of the night because I don't want everyone seated around the table to look at my face. I'm sure my cheeks are red because I can feel how hot they are, and shame is probably written all over my face.I’ve been tied to the chair. The bastard actually did it. When I refused to come down to dinner, he sent those cronies to grab me and tie me to the damned chair. I didn’t resist because the situation was embarrassing enough as it was. They were already tying me to the chair; what else was I supposed to do?I’ve been tied down but my hands are free. I’m supposed to be eating the food that’s in front of me but I’m trying to prove a point but I won’t. Anyway, I’m not hungry. How can I eat when all these terrible things are happening to me?There are four people seated around the table including Igor. I’m not the only woman here—there’s one seated across from me that they keep calling An

6. Phone Call

I couldn’t sleep at night, once again. I wonder how long my body will take to completely give up on me. How can anyone sleep with this kind of anxiety, though? A den of wolves is where I am. I’m right at the center of it, surrounded by all of them. They keep snapping at me and growling, and I don’t know when they’ll ever lunge at me to rip me to pieces. It’s exactly the way I’m feeling now. They’ve shown me their teeth and nails, but when do they attack?I twist and turn in bed. After last night, I don’t know where I stand with them. I couldn’t control my anger and maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do, especially when tensions are so high. The way he looked at me gives me shivers even now, hours after the whole thing passed.I tell myself that there’s no turning back now, and that my father would be proud of me. That keeps me going. It diminishes the feeling of an impending doom hovering above my head, threatening to split it open. Just as I’m about to close my eyes, a knock at

7. Challenge

Igor sticks to his word. No food or water is delivered to my room. I drink water from the sink in the bathroom when I'm thirsty, which is degrading but at least it's water. I start feeling the hunger pangs a little too early for my liking but I'm determined to ignore it. If he wants to starve me out, he can do it. I'm curious to see where he's going to go with this. I won't give him the pleasure of watching me beg, though, so he'll be disappointed. Although I have no experience in the matter of starving, I don't think it can be that bad. So far, it's entirely manageable. I'm sure that I'll manage for a few more days. It's more than enough time for my father to get me out of here, so all I have to do is push through. Since I have nothing to do and I don't see the point in packing the new clothes he got for me, I decide to sleep the day away. It's relatively easy because I'm tired from not sleeping for two nights. My sleep is heavy, too. I don't recall what I dreamt about while I wa

8. A New Strategy

I haven’t left this room in four days. I’ve never been this bored in all my life, and it isn’t the kind of boredom I felt when I was a teenager; it’s paired in with despair and hopelessness. I wake up hoping that my father will walk through those doors and rescue me but no such thing has happened so far. I’m still here, surrounded by these wolves. Igor hasn’t come to see me. The only person from their household that I have been seeing frequent is Hubert, who brings me soups and light meals occasionally, as the doctor recommended. I can tell he feels sorry for me. He always speaks to me in a warm tone and I have no complaints about him. I have to say that it’s good to have someone come around and check on me. He has no bad intentions. He isn’t like the Makàrovs. My disappointment is bitter in my mouth. I can’t conceal it, not even from myself. I expected my father to be here a long time ago but it’s been a whole week since I last saw him and he promised me he’d come for me. I don

9. Apology

After dinner, dessert is served. It’s light, so I can easily finish it. It’s a tart and sweet passion fruit mousse, which is one of my favorites. Igor is the only one who doesn’t have dessert. Instead, he sits at the end of the table sucking on the end of a cigar with a glass filled halfway with whiskey in front of him. I only glance at him because I want to gauge the mood. After Leo made that comment in Russian, things became more awkward at the table. I don’t speak Russian, so I have no clue what he said. Waiting for everyone to rise from the table is the painful part. Although nothing much is said, nobody makes a move to stand, which means I’m stuck here for a few more minutes. “The Italian princess doesn’t think she’s too much for us anymore,” Leo says, surprising me. He puts emphasis on the word Italian. “What happened? Your plan didn’t work out for you?”I don’t answer him. I stare at my empty glass bowl and try to keep my expression light and neutral. If he wants to amuse

10. Great Shock

The morning is a slow one, which I’m actually thankful for. I’m dressed in one of the sleeping gowns I found in the shopping bags, which have been packed into the closet by Hubert and another maid. They washed it all and I watched them arrange the closet accordingly and couldn’t help but feel depressed. There was a permanent feeling to the act that was unshakable. Seeing the clothes in the shopping bags made this whole affair seem temporary. Watching them pack everything away made me feel like I’d never leave this damned place. It’s all I want yet things are taking longer than expected. I wish I could talk to my father and ask him why he didn’t come yet but I won’t ask Igor for the phone and anyway, he didn’t come yet because he forgot about me. He certainly didn’t forget. Things are probably more complicated than they seem. Until then, I’ll try to stay calm and I appreciate mornings like this. Firstly, I wasn’t called down for breakfast, which is a big relief because I genuinely

ANTERIOR

...

PRÓXIMO

ESCANEIE O CÓDIGO PARA LER NO APP

DMCA.com Protection Status