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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bride of the Mafia cripple : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

65 Kabanata

The Breaking Point

The pearls around Leora Valencia's neck felt like chains, cold, suffocating, and inescapable.She sat on the edge of the velvet-cushioned chair in her father’s expansive study, surrounded by mahogany shelves filled with ancient books and gold-framed portraits of dead men with lifeless eyes. The air reeked of cigar smoke and old power, a combination that always made her throat itch.Across from her, Franklin Valencia, her father and the most feared underworld magnate in the southern bloc, stood with a glass of brandy in one hand and her future in the other.“You will marry Adam Luciano,” he declared, voice like cracked ice.Leora’s fingers tightened around the armrest. Her heart had been hammering since he summoned her with no explanation, and now the reason stood before her, tall, cruel, and wrapped in an expensive suit. “He’s twice my age,” she said softly.“And twice as important,” Franklin replied without looking at her. He tilted his glass and took a slow sip, his gaze drifting ou

Terms of Surrender

The fire crackled softly behind Leora, but the warmth did little to thaw the tension in the room.Don Allerick sat still, his expression unreadable as his fingers drummed slowly against the armrest of his wheelchair. The silence stretched, taut and dangerous.Leora stood across from him, spine straight despite the storm inside her chest. She had walked into the den of the man her father had tried to destroy. Now, she was offering herself to him.“You do realize what you’re proposing, don’t you?” Don Allerick asked at last, his voice low and deliberate. “A contract marriage with me, a man your father would gladly see buried.”“I know exactly what I’m offering,” Leora replied. “And I know the risks.”His gray eyes lingered on her face, as if trying to peel away her layers. “Why me?”“Because you’re the only one he won’t touch,” she said. “The only one he fears.”A smirk tugged at the corner of Allerick’s mouth. “Flattery won’t get you far, sweetheart.”“It’s not flattery,” she said. “It

A Deal Sealed in Ice

Leora had barely slept.Despite the room’s calm exterior, her thoughts were loud, restless. The faint creak of floorboards above. The cold hush of unfamiliar silence. It all kept her tethered to consciousness until the sun pushed hesitantly through the curtains.This was no longer her home.And yet, in some twisted way, it was her only haven.She stood at the vanity, brushing her tangled hair with hands that refused to steady. Her reflection looked back, pale, stubborn, and unsure.A knock came at the door. Three sharp raps.She opened it to find a young woman, no older than twenty-two, dressed in black slacks and a pressed white blouse. Her blonde hair was tied in a tight bun, and her expression was unreadable.“I’m Maren,” she said. “Mr. Allerick assigned me to you. I’ll assist with your daily needs.”Leora blinked. “Like a... maid?”“More like a shadow,” Maren replied flatly. “Breakfast is in fifteen minutes. The boss expects you there.”Boss. Not husband. Not Don. Just... the boss

The Ghosts We Carry

Leora’s fingers trembled as she poured herself a glass of water. It had been two days since the anonymous phone call, and still, she hadn’t told Allerick.She didn’t know why.No....she did. She didn’t want to appear weak. Vulnerable. Needing him.Because needing anyone had always come at a cost.She stood by the window in the drawing room, staring out at the cold expanse of the garden. The hedges were perfectly trimmed, the fountains frozen mid-spill. Everything in the Allerick estate was precise, calculated—just like its master.She could feel his presence before he entered the room.“I don’t like people hovering by my windows,” Allerick said behind her.She turned. “And I don’t like people lurking like ghosts.”He raised a brow. “Are we trading insults now?”“Would you prefer silence?”“No,” he said. “That’s more dangerous.”She took a sip of water and studied him. Today, he wore a tailored charcoal vest over a black shirt, sleeves rolled up just enough to show the lean strength in

The Weight of Loyalty

Leora didn't sleep that night.Her brother's visit had stirred something deep inside her, a guilt she thought she'd buried and a fear she couldn't quite name. Even wrapped in the warmth of her silk sheets and surrounded by velvet walls, she couldn’t shake the echo of his warning:“Get out while you can.”But where would she go?She had bartered her freedom for a contract sealed in silence. A contract with Don Allerick Moretti, the man her father feared and the world whispered about.She had signed her soul away, but at least it was hers to give.The next morning, the house was unusually quiet. That was how she knew something was wrong.She dressed quickly and descended the marble staircase. The staff avoided her gaze, their lips tight with unspoken tension. Maren wasn't at her usual post, and even Jalen was absent from the hall.Leora's gut twisted. She headed straight for Allerick’s wing.When she burst through the study doors, she found him surrounded by a half-circle of men,clieute

The Blood Beneath the Vows

Leora woke to the scent of cedarwood and the distant rhythm of rain tapping on the windowpane. She blinked against the soft gray light, slowly registering the room, not hers, but his.Don Allerick’s.She was still fully clothed, curled on the chaise near the fireplace where they had fallen into an uneasy sleep after hours of raw conversation. He hadn’t spoken much after she confessed her guilt about Maren. He only listened, and for once, didn’t offer orders or threats—just silence.The kind of silence that wrapped itself around wounds instead of pouring salt into them.The bed behind her was empty, but she heard him moving beyond the partition.She sat up, running a hand through her tangled hair. Her heart felt heavy yet grounded. Something between them had shifted.A door creaked open. Allerick emerged, dressed in his usual black, hair damp, face unreadable. He paused when he saw her awake.“I didn’t mean to stay,” she said.“I didn’t mean for you to leave,” he replied simply.There

The proposition

The cold, oppressive atmosphere of the mansion pressed down on Leora as she paced back and forth in her new, luxurious prison. The grand chandelier above sparkled in the muted light, its beauty starkly contrasting the weight of her decision. She had done it. She had proposed a contract marriage to Don Allerick, her father’s enemy, in exchange for her freedom. But now, standing here, she couldn’t help but wonder if her gamble had been worth it.Her father’s cruel plan to marry her off to a man she despised had left her with only one choice: escape. But in the vast, uncharted world of the Mafia, what had she truly escaped to? What kind of freedom was this? The answer, she feared, was none at all.The day had dragged on in agonizing silence. Allerick had hardly spoken to her, leaving her alone with her thoughts and the suffocating realization that she was tied to him in a way she hadn’t anticipated. The contract was signed, but the consequences—those weighed heavily on her soul.A knock

Under His Thumb

Leora’s footsteps echoed through the vast hallway, a sound that felt too loud for her fragile composure. Her mind was a blur, spinning from the chilling conversation in Don Allerick’s study. His words still lingered, sharp and calculating, like the blade of a dagger aimed at her heart. She had agreed to the contract marriage, but now, in the silence of her quarters, the reality of her situation was dawning on her.I’m his now.The thought was suffocating. The freedom she had so desperately sought felt like a lie wrapped in chains. The weight of her decision pressed on her chest, and the fear of the unknown clawed at her. She had wanted to escape her father’s control, but had she simply walked into a different, far darker trap?The Next MorningThe first rays of dawn filtered through the thick curtains of her room, casting a soft, golden hue over the lavish furnishings. Leora had barely slept, tossing and turning as the consequences of her decision loomed over her. The coldness in Alle

A Dangerous Proposition

Leora’s heart raced as she followed Thomas through the cold, dimly lit hallways of the mansion. The urgency in his step was unmistakable, and she couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in her gut that something significant was about to unfold. Every step she took felt heavier than the last, as if the weight of her decisions were pressing down on her, growing with each passing moment.She had only just begun to grasp the dark game she had entered, and already, Allerick’s world was threatening to swallow her whole. She had hoped for time—time to think, to adjust, to regain some semblance of control. But it seemed time was a luxury she would never have in this place.Thomas led her to the study, a large room at the far end of the mansion. The door was slightly open, and from within, Leora could hear low voices. One was unmistakably Allerick’s. The other, however, was unfamiliar. The conversation had stopped the moment they arrived, and she sensed the tension in the air, thick as smoke.Thoma

The Cold Contract

Leora’s heart pounded as she stepped out of the lavish black car, its sleek exterior gleaming under the dim streetlights. The grandeur of the estate before her was nothing short of overwhelming. The imposing gates, crowned with intricate ironwork, were flanked by tall stone walls that stretched far beyond what her eyes could see. She felt small, insignificant in this world, as if she had entered a realm too grand for someone like her.The mansion loomed ahead, a fortress built from stone and ambition, its windows glowing with the warmth of life that seemed so foreign to her. This was not the place of safety she had envisioned when she first fled her father's clutches. This was the domain of Don Allerick—the crippled, ruthless Mafia boss who had just become her new reality.She hesitated for a moment, a cold wave of doubt crashing over her. She was here to escape, to break free from her father's plans, but at what cost? She had bargained her soul, her freedom, in exchange for a place i

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