All Chapters of The Mafia Boss's Pregnant Bride: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

Back in the dining room, the air had grown heavier.The champagne remained untouched. The roast had long since cooled. The weight of Max’s declaration still lingered like smoke.Rodrigo adjusted the cuff of his sleeve and cleared his throat loudly, trying to restore some semblance of control. “Apologies,” he said with a strained smile. “Susan is…you must forgive her lack of manners.”Valerie looked unimpressed. She set down her glass and folded her hands elegantly. “Is that what you call it?” she said. “Lack of manners?”“She fled in the middle of a formal conversation,” Rodrigo said. “It’s embarrassing. I assure you, Maxwell, she wasn’t rejecting you. She simply doesn’t know how to behave.”Max’s voice was low, steady. “She behaved just fine.”Daphne made a soft noise of agreement.Rodrigo chuckled awkwardly. “Of course, of course. But you can see why this isn’t… ideal. She is not fit to attend events with you or run your household. Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind and

Max had tried to see her three times that week since their engagement. But Suzi managed to stay hidden.Once, he had shown up at the front door with tickets to a local garden exhibit. He thought she might like it. It was something quiet, floral, and peaceful. A way to slip out of the heavy house and just breathe.Irina answered the door that time. Her eyes kind, but her voice apologetic.“She’s not feeling well today,” she’d said, fingers twisting nervously in the fabric of her blouse. “A headache. Perhaps another day?”Another day never came.The second attempt had been more casual. He brought coffee. Two cups, still warm, from a little café he’d passed earlier. He knocked gently, this time on her bedroom door.It was Elizabeth who intercepted him in the hall.“She’s napping,” she said. “Long day of fittings. Sorry.”Max looked past her toward the door, unsure whether to believe it. But Elizabeth only offered a tight smile and added, “Try again later. Or, you know… write her a letter

Max winced inwardly the second the words left his mouth.“It’s not that bad.”God. What a stupid thing to say.He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, his jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the road ahead. Suzi didn’t speak again, and he could feel her withdrawing, not with movement, but with silence. That subtle kind that wrapped around her like armor. The kind that said, This is why I don’t talk.“I didn’t mean it like that,” Max said quickly, trying to soften his voice. “I just meant… it’s not something that makes me look at you differently.”She didn’t respond. Her gaze stayed glued to the window, but he noticed the slight tremble in her fingers resting on her lap. He hadn’t made it better. If anything, he’d reminded her why she didn’t trust compliments in the first place.Fuck…Max sucked in a slow breath through his nose and released it through his teeth.He didn’t know how to talk to girls like Suzi.He didn’t mean that in a condescending way. He just… didn’t have a playbook f

The day of the wedding, Suzi stood in front of the mirror, hands trembling as she touched a pin in her veil. Her dress was high-necked, long-sleeved, ivory lace stitched with the lightest shimmer. It covered everything. Every inch of skin. Every curve. Every mark.Especially the ones she hated the most.Her veil spilled over her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall of silk, long enough to trail behind her. The fabric clouded her face, just slightly. Just enough.Maybe if no one could see her clearly, they wouldn’t stare.Maybe Max wouldn’t regret this.There was a soft knock at the door.“Ten minutes,” came Elizabeth’s voice.Suzi swallowed hard.Ten minutes until she had to walk toward him. Toward a future that was scary and uncertain.A quiet shuffle came from behind, followed by the sound of the door clicking open again.She turned, startled.Her father stepped inside.Rodrick Myers looked exactly as he always did: pressed suit, sharp jaw, cold eyes that scanned her without

“Susan!”Her father’s voice snapped through the hallway like a whip.Suzi froze halfway into the empty room, her shoulders jerking up like she’d been struck. Slowly, she turned, her breath catching in her throat as she saw him storming toward her. His footsteps were sharp, each one echoing off the polished floor like a warning.Rodrigo Myers slammed the door shut behind him.“You humiliated me,” he hissed, his face flushed with anger. “In front of everyone. Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”“I—I didn’t mean to…” Suzi stammered.“Oh, spare me,” he snapped. “You’ve always been pathetic, but this?” He jabbed a finger toward the hallway behind them. “Running away from your own wedding reception like some unhinged little girl? I should’ve known you’d ruin this.”Suzi’s voice trembled. “I was just overwhelmed—”“You are always overwhelmed!” he barked. “That’s the problem. You are weak. Soft. No backbone. And now you’ve made a complete fool of yourself and of me in front of the Co