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Todos los capítulos de The Mafia Devil’s Wrong Bride: Capítulo 31 - Capítulo 40

204 Capítulos

031

Annalissa Hale The night is a blur of neon. At first, I hated every second of it. The thrum of the bass rattled my bones, the way men stared at us made my skin crawl, and I almost begged Ornella to let me go back to the palace. But Maria pulled me into the middle of the dance floor, Ornella tossed a drink in my hand, and before I knew it, we were shouting lyrics to songs I barely knew. For a few hours, I almost felt normal. I let the music chase Dante out of my head. I laughed until my sides hurt. Maria dared me to walk up to a stranger and ask for his number, and when I flatly refused, they shoved a shot glass in my hand instead. I downed it in one gulp to their cheers. By the time the club lights dimmed and we spilled into the night air, my legs ached. I stumble into the backseat of one of the waiting cars, breathless and smiling. Ornella winks at me and says she’ll sit up front with the driver, leaving me to sink into the cushions in relief. I barely have time to adjus

032

Annalissa Hale The car finally pulls up at the Romano mansion. I stumble a little as I climb out. I know Dante caught the slight tremble in my legs, the way my hand brushes the door for support, because his lips twitch. I head towards the house, trying to catch my breath and I can hear his footsteps behind me. Goosebumps trails up my arm as I try not to look back. Just as I reach the foot of the stairs, Enzo appears. He corners Dante and I turn, watching as he whispers something into Dante’s ears. Dante’s gaze goes cold and our eyes finally meet. My knees almost give out but I hold on to the railings. He turns away towards the exit, accompanied by Enzo. Did something happen? I sigh in relief immediately they’re out of the house. As I walk up the stairs, Ornella rushes past me, giving me a knowing look before turning the corner. Something in my gut tells me she knows. She knows how I fell apart in the backseat under Dante’s punishing touch. She knows how I let him, how

033

Dante RomanoEnzo is a storm in the living room, pacing holes into the marble and cursing under his breath. The rest of the family is buzzing like hornets.Maria’s gone.And all I can think about is how fast this will reach the ears of our enemies if it gets out. They’ll say the Romanos have gone soft. They’ll say we’ve lost control of our women, of our house, of our empire.I’m not letting that happen.I take the stairs two at a time, my blood running hotter with every step. At the landing, Ornella is standing with Issa. Ornella looks pale. Issa’s pacing like a trapped cat, wringing her hands.“Has she been found?” Issa blurts the second she sees me.“No.” My tone is ice. My eyes narrow. “Did you see her last night?”Issa hesitates. “I did. She was… acting weird.”“Weird how?”“I don’t know. Just unsure. Restless.”I step closer, towering over her. “And what did you tell her?”She swallows, turning her gaze away. “I told her to follow her heart.”A muscle ticks in my jaw. “What

034

Annalissa HaleI can’t believe it worked. I’d almost died when I found out Maria was gone. I’d thought, maybe my one simple advice, “Just listen to your heart,” drove her to it. And when Dante drove us to that park and I saw her sitting there, I just knew I needed to make her stop being scared, to believe in something.So I weaved a story about Dante and I. Totally the opposite of what we are but it paid off. She believed it. Probably because the deal about Dante saving my father’s company and marrying Clarissa in return, was not known by any of his family members besides his grandfather.Now, as we drive back home, Dante keeps glancing at me at every turn. His gaze feels like it might burn a hole through me. I shift in my seat. I have a feeling he was very uncomfortable with the story. Being painted as the relentless lover isn’t the kind of image he wants to portray.He probably went with it because it saved the wedding.As we pull into the Romano palace, I glance at Maria thro

035

Annalissa Hale The knock on the car window startles me and I raise my head up to see Dominic. He’s in a loose shirt and sweatpants hanging low on his waist. The exact same deep blue as mine. He gestures for me to step out. His smirk widens when he notices my pants. “Is this fate?” I step out of the car. “No, dummy. It’s called coincidence.” He walks backward in front of me as I head toward the house. “Coincidence?” His grin is infuriating. “Sounds like denial. Admit it, Issa, you and I were cut from the same cloth.” I roll my eyes. “Aren’t you scared of Dante?” “Scared?” He chuckles. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t risk for you, mi amore.” “I don’t want you to die for me, though.” He leans closer. “Relax. Dante can’t kill me. Not this weekend. Bloodshed during a wedding weekend? Against Romano tradition. Even he’s bound by that.” I cock my head. That explains why he just stood there and watched Dominic and I yesterday. That, or he just didn't give a fuck about me enough

036

Dante RomanoIssa arrives late.And looking like sin wrapped in silk.The dress clings to her curves like it was made for her and her alone. White crystals shimmering under the sun, that slit teasing the length of her leg with every step. My jaw tightens as she walks, every eye in the goddamn place dragging over her.I keep mine fixed too.But for very different reasons.Then Dominic has the audacity—the audacity—to wink at her.And she smiles back.My fingers curl into fists. I want to rip his eyes from his skull, snap his neck like dry wood, and scatter the pieces where no one will find them. But not today. Not on a Romano wedding weekend. Bloodshed on a day of union is a tradition I won’t break, not even for him.Because if the Don breaks rules, what message does that send to his capos, his guards, his empire? That I’m ruled by impulse? By jealousy? No.I’m ruled by nothing.So I swallow the urge, but I keep the thought. Slow ways to make Dominic bleed later. Pains subtle e

037

Annalissa HaleThis is crazy. No, Dante is crazy. He asked me calmly if I wanted Dominic. If I wanted to live the fairytale in my head through him. I told him no.But the way he looked at me still made dread coarse through my veins. And now, he’s not let me go from his side since the reception started. I haven’t left his side in six hours. Six fucking hours. I feel like I’m being paraded around because he makes me accompany him to acknowledge every single Romano elder present. I think he’s punishing me. My legs hurt in my heels and I curse under my breath.I’m only able to sit down when its time for the wedding dinner around 6pm. And even at the table, Dante’s palm stays firmly on my thigh. He finally disappears at 7pm when the after party starts. I sigh in relief as I take off my heels and my feet touches the cold tile floor of the ballroom. It’s only 7pm and I’m already exhausted. Most of the elders have left the after-party by now. I’m so exhausted, I want to head back to t

038

Dante RomanoAll day, I kept her at my side. Six hours of watching her smile politely at elders, bow her head when told, pretend she wasn’t chafing under my hand on her thigh. A punishment. My punishment for that smile she gave Dominic.But when I stepped away to neutralize a threat, I forgot to warn her about one thing. The afterparty drinks. They’re never just alcohol. Not in this house. And my little wife seems to have swallowed one whole.Now she’s here, sprawled on my bed. Her pupils are blown wide and instead of being furious, I’m amused. Very fucking amused.I crouch, lowering myself to her level. Her eyes meet mine. “You want me to take it off for you?”“Yes.” The word slips from her mouth without hesitation.Heat slides through my veins. I pull her gently to her feet. “Turn around.”She obeys. My hand finds the zipper and I drag it down slowly. Her dress slides off her body, crumpling at her feet, leaving her in nothing but delicate red panties.Christ. Her skin is fl

039

Annalissa Hale I wake up to sunlight burning through the curtains. My head is pounding, my mouth is dry, and my body—God, my body feels strange. Sensitive. Every nerve is still humming. The bed smells like him. And then it hits me. Last night. The stairs. Dante’s arms carrying me. The zipper sliding down. His mouth between my thighs. My own voice begging. The heat, the way my body came undone for him, twice. Oh God. I slap my hand over my face and groan into the pillow. No, no, no. That wasn’t me. That was the drug. It had to be. I would never…. Except I did. I remember every second. My face burns as flashes of it come back. The feel of his tongue, the weight of his hand on my mouth, the way he growled “Come for me, mi cara” and I actually obeyed. Like I was his. Humiliation twists in my chest, sharp enough to hurt. I push up from the bed and stagger to the bathroom. My reflection is a mess. Hair tangled, lips swollen, neck flushed. I tug at the collar of my robe and c

040

Dante Romano The Romano dining hall is loud with chatter, cutlery clinking, glasses being poured, but all I can hear is the thrum of my own pulse. Issa is seated to my right, close enough that her perfume is in my lungs, close enough that I can feel the nervous energy rolling off her. My hand rests firmly on her thigh beneath the table. She flinches a little. She acts like her body doesn’t respond to me every time I touch her. Just like last night when she came for me, twice. But as usual, she’s either blaming the drug or doesn’t want to admit it happened. Coward. Makes things a little less interesting. I want to conquer her, make her finally admit she wants me to fuck her. After that, she’ll probably seem less interesting or entertaining to me. Then I can decide what to do with her, since my intel already has a lead on the whole Clarissa mess. Annalissa means nothing to me. But even as I say this, I notice how Dominic stares at her from across the table. He doesn’t even

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