Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia's Substitute Bride: Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

Somehow, some fucking how, Rafael guessed who she was talking about and literally threatened to shoot the back window if she took them there.It was just a threat alright, but Rafael was one unpredictable man when he's angry and there was a fucking kid in the dam car.She didn't want to risk it. What if the bullet decides to bounce back or shards of glass punctures holes in his eyes. All in the name of a hot man, who's ou of the city with his wife.So she asked him to apologize for being such a jerk and thank goodness he was man enough to.She turned the car around and gave him the chance to choose their next meal place. "We should just have dinner and go back home."Yeah?" Cam asked, looking at Nico through the window.“Yeah, I might fall asleep before we even get there.“But they got there, parked the car and the boys argued the rest of the way Cam ignored them both and adjusted the strap of her bag. Her head was pounding already. She didn't have it in her to argue. Besides, she'd a

Alecia had turned off notifications, deleted every app that could drag her deeper into the noise, and still her phone kept buzzing like it had a mind of its own. Calls poured in. Unknown numbers. Blocked numbers. Ones she recognized but didn’t dare answer. She switched it to silent, tossed it face down on the couch, stood over it like it might bite her again. Nothing worked. The world had seen the photo. The world had opinions.Her face, Chase's face. His arm around her waist, her mouth near his cheek, their bodies pressed too close to lie. The shot wasn’t even well-lit but it didn’t need to be, people filled in the blanks themselves. Posts flew out within minutes. Her name was trending across platforms. Accusations, edits, side-by-side comparisons with Marco’s last red carpet event, people pulling clips of old interviews where she called herself loyal, fans throwing out her old statements like receipts.“Of course she cheated,” one said. “Girl was never solid.”“Marco deserves better

The staff at the front desk was pretending not to look, but Alecia could feel their eyes on her every time she stepped off the elevator. No one said her name, but they didn’t have to. Every face in that damn lobby knew exactly who she was, and they were all wondering the same thing—how long until the screaming starts again?She wore oversized sunglasses that didn’t match her clothes and kept her hoodie pulled up even indoors. The concierge smiled too politely. One of the bellboys whispered something behind his hand and laughed. The girl at the café kiosk tapped her phone under the counter.This was her fucking life now.She hadn’t left the room all morning, but the hotel was buzzing. Someone had leaked her check-in. She knew it wasn’t the front desk—at least not directly. It was always the same game. A cousin of a cleaner. A friend of the valet. One photo, one rumor, one post.All because of one fucking thing. She didn't know they hated her that much.She rode the elevator down in sil

The hospital room smelled like bleach and artificial lavender. Someone had cracked the window slightly even though the air outside was hot and dry. The light stung her eyes. The machines beside her bed beeped slowly, almost rhythmically. For a while, she stared at the IV in her hand and counted each drip until her vision blurred again. She didn’t remember fainting, she didn't remember the ambulance ride, or even remember hitting the floor while on the call. Only that the floor had been cold, and she felt like she was floating.A nurse came in quietly, adjusted her blanket, and said nothing. They’d been instructed not to make small talk, not to ask her anything unless it was medically necessary. She didn’t know if that was standard or if it was because she was her.She was wearing one of those flimsy gowns that tied in the back. Her wrists were wrapped. The blood had already stopped but the bandages made it look worse, which worked in her favor. On the table next to her was a bottle of

The crowd had already formed outside her building by the time Valentina stepped out of the lobby of the mall. Cameras flashed without pause. Microphones shoved forward like weapons. Voices rose in overlapping bursts, all of them desperate to drag a single word from her mouth.“VALENTINA, is it true you’re pressing charges?”“Why haven’t you responded to Alecia’s video?”“Did you steal Marco or did she?”None of it mattered.She didn’t flinch or look at them, and just kept walking with her heels clicking sharp against the pavement, sunglasses low over her eyes, mouth set in a way that gave nothing away. Her guards making way for her.Olive was already waiting by the car, engine running, jaw tight from the morning’s chaos. She pulled the door open as Val approached. Immediately she got in, Olive shut the door, and the noise outside disappeared.—The Vescari Foundation building was no better. The moment their car pulled up to the side entrance, cameras were already moving. A man with a