All Chapters of Enemies At The Altar : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

97 Chapters

Ch. 41 – The Arrival

The mansion felt impossibly quiet after the chaos with Ethan.Mia was halfway down the stairs when the front doors of the mansion swung open.Not slammed.Not creaked.Swept.As if the house itself had been rehearsing the moment.Mia paused, one hand on the banister, brow furrowing. No one entered Don Romano’s home like that unless they were either incredibly important—or incredibly dramatic.Then she saw the heels.Black. Pointed. Sharp enough to double as weapons.The woman who followed them inside moved like she owned the floor beneath her feet. Long dark hair, glossy and loose, a silk coat draped over her shoulders like an afterthought. She removed her sunglasses indoors—indoors—and smiled as if she were stepping onto a stage rather than into a mafia fortress.Mia blinked.Once.Twice.Who… was that?“I said I needed protection,” the woman announced smoothly, her voice warm and melodic. “Not a parade.”Mark stepped in behind her.That was when Mia’s stomach did something deeply un

Ch. 42 – Old Ghosts

Mia decided—very maturely—that she did not care.Not even a little.She repeated it to herself while brushing her teeth.While pulling on her clothes.While walking past the east wing and very deliberately not glancing toward Isabella’s room.I don’t care, she told her reflection.I’m married to Mark Romano against my will. I don’t get jealous. I get annoyed.Yes. Annoyed was the word.That was why she nearly jumped out of her skin when laughter echoed from the corridor.Soft. Familiar. Female.Mia froze mid-step.Isabella’s voice.And Mark’s.Her jaw clenched.Of course they were talking. Of course they sounded… easy. Like two people who shared history. Like two people who didn’t need to explain pauses or inside jokes.She took one step closer before catching herself.I don’t care.She took another anyway.Mark stood near the open door of the study, his posture relaxed in a way Mia had never seen around her. Isabella leaned against the desk, arms folded, smiling up at him like she kn

Ch. 43 – Lines That Blur

Mia woke up in a bad mood.Not the dramatic kind where she slammed doors or snapped at the staff—no. This was worse. The quiet, simmering irritation that settled deep in her bones and refused to leave.It had Isabella’s name written all over it.She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, replaying last night’s revelation on a cruel loop.Mark and I… were together.She rolled onto her side and groaned into the pillow.Why did it bother her this much?She didn’t love him. She didn’t even like him—most days. And yet, the image of Mark and Isabella together refused to fade. The familiarity. The ease. The history she could never compete with.You’re being ridiculous, she told herself.That didn’t stop the knot in her chest.By the time she went downstairs, she had armed herself with a neutral expression and a very firm resolution to act completely unbothered.Breakfast was already laid out in the sunlit dining room.And of course—of course—Isabella was there.She sat at the table like she belo

Ch. 44 – The Green-Eyed Truth

Mark didn’t stay where she left him.Confusion was a luxury he couldn’t afford—not in his life, not with Mia. So when she walked away, words still echoing between them like a half-drawn blade, he followed.“Mia.”She didn’t stop.Her footsteps were sharp against the marble, fury driving her forward. Mark lengthened his stride, catching her just as she reached the corridor leading to the west wing.“Mia,” he said again, firmer now. “We need to talk.”She spun on him so suddenly he nearly walked into her.“No, you need to stop following me,” she snapped.His jaw tightened. “Not until you explain what that meant.”“What what meant?”“You said you’re ‘trying not to fall.’” His voice dropped. “You don’t get to say something like that and walk away.”Her eyes flashed. “Watch me.”She tried to move past him. He stepped into her path, not touching her, but blocking her anyway.“You’re angry,” he said evenly. “I want to know why.”She laughed—short, sharp, bitter. “You really don’t?”He studie

Ch. 45 – Protection Order

The order came the next morning.Not shouted.Not debated.Simply declared.Mia learned this the way she learned most things lately—by walking into a room already arranged without her.She paused at the edge of the breakfast hall, the soft murmur of voices immediately alerting her. Don Romano sat at the head of the table, cane resting against his knee. Luca stood beside him, tablet in hand. Two guards she didn’t recognize lingered near the doors.And Isabella sat to Mark’s right.Close enough that their shoulders almost brushed.Mia stopped walking.Don Romano spoke first. “Good. You’re here.”She forced herself to move again, every step feeling heavier than the last. She took the chair across from them, deliberately not looking at Mark.Don Romano gestured with his cane. “I’ve made a decision regarding Isabella’s security.”Mia folded her hands tightly in her lap.“She will remain in the mansion,” he continued, “but with reinforced protection. Two guards at all times. No unsupervised

Ch. 46 – A Dance of Fire

The next day all Mafia's families where invited to a gala, and gala was everything Mia hated.Gold. Crystal. Music so smooth it felt like a lie.The Santori Ballroom glowed beneath cascading chandeliers, polished marble reflecting power and wealth in equal measure. Mafia families filled the space with tailored suits, jeweled gowns, and smiles sharp enough to cut. Alliances were whispered between sips of champagne. Threats were hidden behind laughter.And Mia stood in the middle of it all—on Mark’s arm.She hated how natural it felt.“Stand tall,” Mark murmured beside her, his hand firm at her lower back. “Eyes forward.”“I know how to walk,” she muttered.A corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re doing fine.”She glanced up at him, irritated by the calm in his voice—and by the way her pulse quickened anyway.The dress Don Romano had chosen for her was deep red, silk clinging just enough to be dangerous. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. Every step she took drew attention.Mark notic

Ch. 47 – Eyes That Burn

Mia noticed it halfway through the evening.Not at first—because she’d been too busy pretending she hadn’t just been pulled into something dangerous on the dance floor. Too busy pretending her pulse hadn’t been racing long after Mark’s hand left her waist.But once she calmed enough to breathe again, she felt it.The look.Isabella stood near the edge of the room, champagne untouched in her hand, gaze fixed on Mark with a familiarity that made Mia’s skin prickle. Not longing exactly. Not envy.Recognition.Like she was looking at something she used to know intimately—and wasn’t sure if she still did.Mia’s jaw tightened.She leaned slightly toward Mark. “She’s staring.”Mark didn’t turn. “I know.”That surprised her. “Then why aren’t you looking back?”His voice was low, steady. “Because my attention isn’t on her.”Her heart skipped before she could stop it.They stood close—too close for comfort, too far to touch—surrounded by laughter and clinking glasses and power dressed up as ele

Ch. 48 – Fractured Control

The mansion was quieter than usual when they returned.Mia tried to tell herself it was relief, not dread, that made her chest tighten. But the tension in the air between her and Mark felt like a living thing, coiling and twisting as soon as the door shut behind them.Mark dropped his coat silently over the rack by the hallway. He didn’t look at her immediately, which only made her nerves jangle louder.“I saw the way you looked at her tonight,” he said finally, voice low. Not accusatory. Not harsh. Just… precise. Like a blade sliding through silk.Mia froze mid-step, hand on the railing leading upstairs. “I… what?”“You,” he repeated, stepping closer. “When Isabella praised me during dinner… the way you tensed, the way your jaw stiffened… don’t try to tell me you didn’t notice it yourself.”Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She shook her head. “I… I wasn’t…”“Wasn’t what?” His dark eyes bored into hers. “Jealous?”“I’m not jealous,” she said firmly, and perhaps a little too qui

Ch. 49 – Separate Doors

The mansion had never felt so quiet—or so empty. Mia lingered in the grand hallway, glancing from the polished doors on either side. One led to her bedroom, the other to Mark’s. She hated the thought of crossing the threshold, of being that close and yet apart. “Separate rooms,” she said, voice firmer than she felt. Mark’s gaze met hers across the hallway. He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t protest. “As you wish,” he said simply. The ease of it made her stomach twist. Not relief, not comfort—hurt. Like a knife pressed gently against the soft center of her chest. “Too easy,” she muttered, almost to herself. He raised an eyebrow. “Too easy?” “Yes. You don’t even argue. You just…” She gestured vaguely, frustrated. “…accept it. Like this distance doesn’t bother you at all.” Mark’s expression didn’t change. Calm. Controlled. But she could sense the subtle tension in his shoulders, the line of his jaw. The quiet restraint. “I’m not the one leaving,” he said simply. Her eyes narrowed. “That

Ch. 50 – The Ambush

The night shattered without warning.Mia had just begun to drift into uneasy sleep when the first gunshot cracked through the estate—sharp, violent, unmistakable. Her eyes flew open as the second followed, closer this time. Screams echoed from the lower floors, boots pounding marble, alarms screaming to life.Her door burst open.“Up. Now.”Mark’s voice was steel, all hesitation stripped away.She barely had time to throw on a coat before his hand closed around her wrist, pulling her into the hallway. The mansion—usually polished and controlled—had turned into chaos. Guards shouted orders, gunfire rang out, glass shattered.“Who is it?” she gasped as they ran.“Doesn’t matter,” Mark said. “They knew where you were.”That chilled her more than the night air slicing across her skin.They took a back staircase, Mark shielding her body with his own, his gun drawn, eyes lethal and alert. A bullet ricocheted off the wall inches from her head. She cried out.Mark didn’t slow. He cursed once—

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