SUBSTITUTE BRIDE FOR THE MAFIA DON のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 51 - チャプター 60

Dahlia’s POVThe words hung in the air like ice.My head jerked up, my heart instantly pounding. “What do you mean followed?” I asked, my voice trembling as I turned around in my seat. Through the back window, I saw headlights—bright and far too close. At first, it looked like just another car on the road. But then I noticed how it didn’t change lanes, didn’t slow down, didn’t drift even a little. It was following us.Liam’s calm face hardened. “Keep driving,” he ordered. His tone was deep, steady—too calm for the panic already clawing up my throat. He turned his head slightly toward me. “Mrs Romano, listen to me. Don’t panic. I’ll handle this, okay? You’ll be fine.”I nodded weakly, though my body had gone rigid. My palms were clammy, and I could barely get enough air into my lungs. “Who are they?” I whispered.

Luca’s POVAs I sat at the long glass table surrounded by my business partners, I couldn’t stop thinking about my wife. Their voices sounded far away, like background noise I didn’t care to focus on. They were talking about profits, contracts, and numbers, but my mind wasn’t there. It was with her.I leaned back in my chair, pretending to listen, my fingers tapping lightly on the table. The air in the room smelled like expensive cologne and coffee. Papers rustled, pens clicked, but all I could think about was Dahlia.She had been quiet lately—too quiet. I noticed the way she kept to herself, walking through the mansion like a ghost. She never complained, never asked to go out. She just did what she was told, and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit.That’s why I told her to get the birthday gift for Governor Lawrence. It wasn’t really about the gift. I couldn’t care less about the man or his party. I just wanted her to have a reason to go out, to breathe different air, to see s

Luca’s POVI watched her sleep longer than I should have. The room was dark except for a thin ribbon of light that cut across the bed. Dahlia’s breath was soft and slow now. Her face looked peaceful, almost like the girl I’d seen sometimes when she thought no one was looking — small, quiet, and very human. That sight settled something in my chest and made my hands itch to do something—anything—to make sure nothing like today ever happened again.I stepped out of the room on soft feet and went down to the study. Dante was already there, his laptop open and a map spread out on the table. Liam sat in a chair by the window, one hand pressed near his wound. He had cleaned it himself; the rag smelled like alcohol and metal. Both men looked up when I came in. The air in the room smelled like coffee and cold late-night paper.“How bad?” I asked, because facts kept me steady.Dante pushed the laptop closer and tapped the screen. “They were masked,” he said. “We got a few frames from the highwa

Dahlia’s POVLuca looked up from behind his desk, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then, without saying a word, he nodded at Dante. Dante understood immediately, closing the laptop in front of him and standing up. He gave me a polite nod before walking out of the office, leaving Luca and me alone. The door shut quietly behind him, and suddenly the air felt thicker. The room was filled with silence, the only sound coming from the faint ticking of the clock on the wall and the soft hum of the air conditioner.Luca rose from his chair slowly, his movements calm and collected, but his eyes never left me. There was something about the way he looked at me — controlled but curious, like he was trying to figure out what I needed before I even said it. He came around the desk, stopping just a few feet in front of me. Up close, I could see how sharp and tired his features looked in the morning light. His white shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing the veins on his forearms, and I realized

Dahlia’s POVLuca had gone out for business earlier that afternoon, and by the time the sun went down, he still hadn’t returned. I tried to distract myself by reading, but the words on the page just blurred together. I even went to the kitchen and sat at the dining table, hoping that eating would help me relax. It didn’t. The house was too quiet without him. Even the clinking sound of my spoon against the plate echoed through the space.After dinner, I made my way upstairs. My whole body ached from the self-defense session with Bjorn earlier. He had been ruthless, showing me move after move, correcting my stance, and making me repeat them until my arms and legs felt like jelly. He kept saying things like “again” and “don’t stop” in that low, gravelly voice of his. By the time the session ended, I could barely lift my arms.I ran a warm shower and stood under it for a long time, letting the hot water wash away the ache in my muscles. Steam filled the bathroom, wrapping around me like a