Semua Bab Keeping my Mafia Husband : Bab 21 - Bab 30

Claire wants a small wedding. She has no idea who she’s marrying. When the wedding planner came to give me her report, shortly after Claire saw her friends off, I didn’t expect her to be that frugal. Barely twenty thousand rubles, that small. No fanfare. No fuss. No one would hear about it.I needed this wedding to blow up. It should echo in every corner of the city for weeks. I always thought women knew how to spend money. So I left it alone. Let’s see what Claire would do. And this... this is what she did.I smiled at the figure and told the wedding planner to multiply it by two hundred. “Follow Claire’s plan,” I said, “as best as you can.” And now, the entire Ivory Garden Estate is booked, and the field out back has been transformed into the wedding grounds.I had Nico send invites to everyone who mattered. Whether they were free or not, they would attend. It's not every day Aleksei Drognov gets married. And seeing as this would be the first and last wedding I ever hold, it needed

I said it. I said I do to Aleksei.I am smiling like the happiest woman alive when one of the groomsmen suddenly lunged across the aisle, tackling a guest to the floor. A sharp gasp ripples through the audience. Two men scuffle, limbs grappling, and then the groomsman rises, holding a gun.He points it directly at the bald man who froze on the ground, staring at the gun. Another man shifted, but before he could breath, Nico slammed him down with a punch that had everyone gasping and rising to their feet. Screams don't come. Not really. There is shock, alarm, a few cries, but no panic. Not like there should be. Not like me. Not like my friends.My heart slams like a drum in my chest.Aleksei shoves me behind him.There is a man, an actual man with a gun, right there, snarling, another being held down. I am frozen, but everyone else… they barely moved.“Take this outside,” Aleksei says, with calm, almost amused.“Alek, ” I gulped, using the nickname I have started calling him in my hea

I left Claire with Nico, offering her some half-baked excuse about why she’d be returning to the hotel alone. She looked reluctant, ever-curious, but didn’t try to stop me from walking away.I’m soft on her. Softer than I should be. Softer than I planned to be.What is it about her that makes me pull back the punches, loosen the grip?That can’t be good. No, that’s skirting sloppy. And I don’t do sloppy. I’ll tighten the reins later. Make her realize she can’t always get her way and expect things from me.The top button of my shirt is still undone. I check my cuffs, straighten the fabric across my chest, then push open the door to one of the guest rooms.The first thing I see is one of my father’s goons. Big, bald, wearing dark shades indoors like he thinks it makes him invisible. He meets my gaze directly, then bows his head. As he should. He should know better than to look me in the eye.I don’t tolerate anyone who works for my father. We may be in the same business, but we are not

I call Serena as soon as Niko brings me to the hotel. She helps me peel off the gown, carefully, reverently. Then she undoes the intricate hairstyle the stylist had taken nearly three hours to create. I am finally free from my trappings. Only my makeup clings to me now, the last mask.I glance at the time. The wedding started at one o’clock and ended thirty minutes in. No reception. No music.I don’t mind that. But I do mind that Aleksei left me alone like this.“Are you still thinking about it?” Serena asks.We are curled up on the couch in the living room. She is tearing through greasy food like she hadn’t eaten in days, stuffing her face like the act itself could distract us both from what happened.She is talking about the man who turned up at the wedding with a gun.I shake my head. “No… I still need to ask Aleksei what that was about. But–” I shift toward her, dropping my voice. “Do you know what a Pakhan is?”Serena chokes on her food. I frown, watching her rearrange the takeou

It was daytime when we arrived, but now the sky is darkening, the last light fading.“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “Are you… disappointed in me or something?”Irina turns away, pulling the man closer like a child she’s shielding. She shakes her head with one of those dry, unreadable looks. “No, that’s not what I mean. I’m just… surprised.”“Claire,” Niko says my name for the first time, and it startles me. I glance over at him.“Come in. No need to stand outside.”I nod and start walking forward. Pretty trots at my heels like we’re old friends. Behind me, I hear the grown man start crying again, whining that his puppy doesn’t love him anymore.What the hell is that about?The inside of the house takes my breath away. It’s massive, cold air and polished stone, high ceilings, warm lighting. Maids glide past with their heads bowed. I mimic the gesture, unsure what else to do, hurrying to keep up with Niko’s long strides.He leads me into a vast living room. One man sits in a wheelchair, re