All Chapters of The Mafia Queen's Bethroted : Chapter 11 - Chapter 17

One solid kick from Malik and the cabin door slammed open, the wood splintering into the room beyond. The stench of sweat, alcohol, smoke, and under all of it, the sharp, chemical sting of sedatives immediately hit me like a punch .The room stretched wide, a single open space lit by a few lamps and one bulb hanging low.Old furniture was scattered around; sagging couches, tables littered with empty bottles and half-burned cigarettes.Men lounged in chairs, jackets open over their guns and cigar smoke curling from their mouths.As for the women…Some were moving between the men with trays of drinks, heads bowed. Others knelt on the floor at their feet like trained pets.A few sat dazed in the corner, bare skin marked by bruises and legs folded under them like they didn’t even remember how to stand.I’d seen operations like this millions of times.Training houses. Places where women were 'broken in' before being sold to clients for a few months, used until they were spent, then broug

LissaThe apartment door shut with a soft thud behind us. Stanley walked ahead, his body stiff, not once looking back at me.What the heck had happened at that station?I'd been surprised when I received a call from Malik saying Stanley had been arrested but after hearing it had to do with Kara. It immediately clicked. Still, it didn't stop me from using all my contacts to quickly get him out.Yet now it seemed I had still been a step too late. Something had happened there.Did he tell them I did it?“Stanley—” I started.He didn’t answer, just went straight to his room, shoved the door closed, the lock clicking.I stood there, stunned.For the past week, things have been different. He’d stopped looking at me like I was a plague he couldn’t shake. He’d started…opening up, even if it was little things, like his professors, class, he blabbered about everything and I listened with a grin on my face. He might not have noticed, but I did. He'd been lonely for so long that finally havin

Stanley I didn’t go to class the next morning. I couldn’t.The diary still sat heavy on my desk like it was waiting to choke me the second I touched it again.My family died because of these. My parents. And if any of grandpa's last rambling were true, it was the same for him.And they wanted me to join the same life? I'll probably be dead before I even understood it. I tried to shut the thoughts out, think of something else, but every word still echoed.You will hate me when you learn the truth.He was right.I did hate him. How could he just decide my life without my permission?How could he tie me to his world...and her?Lissa Everything just led back to her. My family’s deaths, this betrothal, even my so-called future. Tied up to a girl I didn’t even know two weeks ago.I rubbed my face hard, thinking about going to see Chloe. She had known my grandfather somehow and had given me the diary. She had also looked at me like she actually cared, so maybe she could help me. Help me

(Stanley POV)“THE WHAT?!”My voice was so loud, it bounced against the cabin walls. A few of the suited men even glanced our way, though their expressions didn’t flicker.Lissa just sat there, lounging like this was the funniest thing in the world. Her lips curled up, her gaze traveling over me like I was already hers.“The marriage,” she said, like it was the most normal word in existence, which it was but not at this moment. “Our. Marriage. Didn't you somehow already know about this. So why the shock?"My chest squeezed. Yes I knew but I still hadn't come to accept the fact. Plus it didn't have to be so soon, did it? I'm just twenty two. “No,” I said, shaking my head violently. “No, no, no. That’s insane. That’s old shit. That’s history. People don’t...nobody does that anymore.”Her smirk widened. “We do.”I gripped the armrest like it could anchor me. “Betrothal? Marriage? I’m a fucking college student, not your...”“Not my what?” she cut in, that stupid smirk never leaving her