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All Chapters of Auctioned to the mafia land: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

43 Chapters

Chapter 11

Milene's POV"Welcome to the real Rossi family, Milene."The words sat in the air between us like something rotting.I took another step back before I could stop myself, and my shoulder hit the wall. Cold marble against my skin, and Roberto just stood there watching me flinch, like it was the most entertaining thing he'd seen all week."You don't have to be scared of me," he said, softer now, though his eyes didn't match the gentleness in his voice. "I'm not the one who put a bullet in a man's head tonight.""Stop," I whispered."Stop what? Telling the truth?" He tilted his head, that same lazy smile still there. "You wanted to know if he did it. I'm just confirming."My throat felt tight, like something was sitting right on top of it. I wanted to run, but my legs had turned into something useless, something that didn't belong to me anymore."Why are you here?" I managed. "Why are you always... just, here."He laughed under his breath, and it wasn't a kind sound. "This is my house too

Chapter 12

Milene's POVMara came for me a little after eight, holding a garment bag over one arm like it was made of glass."You look like you didn't sleep," she said, setting it down over the back of a chair."I didn't. Not really." I rubbed at my neck where the crick from sitting up all night had settled into something deeper. "Is that for tonight?""For today. Mr. Rossi wants you fitted before the banquet." She unzipped the bag partway, enough for me to see a slice of deep emerald fabric. "The introduction is in three days. He likes things done early."Three days. The number sat oddly in my chest, too soon and not soon enough all at once."Fitted by who?""A woman named Delia. She comes every season for the family." Mara said it like it was the most normal sentence in the world, like this house had seasons the way normal houses had grocery lists. "She'll be here within the hour. Eat something first, you'll be standing a long time."I didn't argue. I'd learned by now that most of Mara's sente

Chapters 13

Milene's POVThe banquet hall looked like something out of a film I'd have rolled my eyes at a year ago, too grand to be real, chandeliers dripping light over a room full of people who all seemed to know each other in ways that made me feel like the only stranger at my own introduction.Because that's what tonight was. My introduction.The emerald dress fit like a second skin now, Delia's pins long gone, replaced by careful stitching that made me feel both covered and entirely too seen at once. Mara had done something with my hair, half up, soft curls falling loose the way Miss Dennis used to scream at me for during rehearsals a lifetime ago."You look beautiful," Mara said, adjusting one earring I hadn't even noticed was crooked. "Chin up. Smile like you mean it, even when you don't.""That obvious?""Only to someone looking for it." She stepped back, gave me one final once over, and something almost soft crossed her face. "You'll be fine."I didn't feel fine. I felt like a piece of

Chapter 14

Milene's POVThe council meeting happened four days after the banquet, and nobody bothered telling me what that actually meant until Mara was lacing me into a dress far more severe than the emerald one, dark navy, high necked, nothing like the soft curls from the introduction."You're not just meeting family this time," she said, tucking a final pin into place. "This is business.""I thought I was business."Her eyes met mine in the mirror, and for once she didn't correct me.The room they led me to wasn't the banquet hall. It was smaller, wood paneled, heavy with the smell of cigars long since put out, a long table surrounded by men who all looked like they'd rather be anywhere else and yet wouldn't have missed this for the world.Angelo sat at the head of it. I was placed at his right, which I understood, even without being told, was a deliberate choice. A statement.An older man near the far end, silver at his temples, folded his hands and looked at me the way you'd look at an item

Hiatus 1

A Little Hiatus Message from Omotola Pen ❤️Hey, my amazing readers!First of all, I just want to say thank you. Seriously, thank you for giving this story a chance. Every single read, vote, comment, and even those silent reads mean so much more to me than you probably realize. Whether you've been here since Chapter One or you just recently discovered this book, I'm so grateful that you've decided to spend your time with these characters and their journey.I wanted to stop by for a little update because I believe you all deserve one.The story will be going on a short hiatus while I work on the next set of chapters. Don't worry, this isn't goodbye, and I'm definitely not abandoning the book. Quite the opposite, actually. I care about this story too much to rush it.As the plot gets deeper and the stakes become higher, I want to make sure every chapter delivers the emotions, suspense, romance, and twists that you deserve. I never want to upload something just for the sake of updating. I

Chapter 15

Milene's POVTwo weeks moved faster than I wanted them to and slower than I could stand, both at once, in that strange way time does when you're dreading something and hoping for it in equal measure.I didn't see Roberto much in that stretch. Mara made sure of it, rearranging my schedule so our paths crossed as little as possible, though I caught him once from a window, standing in the garden with his phone pressed to his ear, his whole posture different than it was around people. Tighter. Angrier. He caught me watching and smiled anyway, that same easy smile, like he'd flipped a switch.I stopped watching after that."You asked to see your mother," Mara said one morning, setting a tray down on the table by the window. "Mr. Rossi approved a visit. Two hours, supervised."My stomach dropped somewhere between relief and dread. "When?""Today."I didn't touch the breakfast.The house Angelo sent me to wasn't the one I grew up in.

Chapter 16

Milene's POVThe morning of my wedding, my hands wouldn't stop shaking.Not from nerves exactly, or not only from nerves. Something colder than that, sitting underneath my ribs since the moment I woke up and realized this was actually happening, that no amount of quiet dread in the two weeks before had prepared me for the reality of a white dress hanging on my closet door."Stand still," Delia muttered around a mouthful of pins, working the final adjustments to the gown while Mara fussed with my hair behind me. "You're worse than the emerald fitting.""Sorry.""Don't be sorry. Be still."I caught my reflection in the mirror and barely recognized the girl looking back. Ivory silk, delicate lace at the sleeves, my hair swept up in a way that made my neck look longer, more elegant, more like someone who belonged in this house instead of someone who'd been delivered to it like a shipment."You look beautiful," Mara said quietly, catching

Chapter 17

Milene's POVThe commotion started before I even understood what was happening.I'd changed out of the wedding dress by then, into something simpler, and I was sitting with Mia in a corner of the ballroom that had mostly emptied out, nursing a glass of champagne I hadn't actually drunk from, when the doors at the far end burst open hard enough to crack against the wall.The music didn't stop so much as stumble to a halt, instruments trailing off one by one as every head in the room turned.A woman stood in the doorway, blond hair, a dress that looked like it belonged at a gala rather than storming into one, and even from across the room I could feel the fury radiating off her like heat off pavement."Angeline," Mia breathed beside me, and the way she said it told me everything the council meeting hadn't."Where is he?" Angeline's voice carried across the whole ballroom, sharp and cracking at the edges. "Where's Angelo?"Nobody moved.

Chapter 18

Milene's POVThe house was quiet by the time the last guests left, the kind of quiet that felt loud after a whole day of noise, and I was still in my simpler dress, shoes long abandoned somewhere by the terrace doors, when Angelo found me standing at the window of the room that was apparently ours now.He'd shed his jacket somewhere between the ballroom and here, sleeves rolled up, tie hanging loose around his open collar, and for a second he just stood in the doorway looking at me like he wasn't sure whether to come in or not."You're still up," he said."Couldn't sleep." I didn't turn from the window. "Too much champagne. Too much everything."He crossed the room slower than I expected, coming to stand beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth coming off him, smell whatever expensive thing he'd worn under his jacket all day."Your mother," he said carefully. "Whatever she said to you. You don't have to tell me tonight.""

Chapter 19

Milene's POVI found out about my mother by accident, the way I seemed to find out about everything in that house.Mia had invited me to lunch, one of the rare outings I was allowed since the council meeting, two guards trailing at a discreet distance while we sat at a small restaurant downtown that Mia swore made the best pasta in the city. I believed her right up until the waitress came to take our order, and I recognized the hands setting down the water glasses before I recognized the face."Mum?"She froze, the pitcher still tilted in her hand, water dangerously close to spilling over the rim of my glass. For a second neither of us said anything, the restaurant noise rushing in to fill the silence, and then she straightened, setting the pitcher down with a precision that looked like it cost her something."Milene." Her voice had none of its usual polish. "I didn't realize you'd be here.""What are you doing?" I asked, though the black ap

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