All Chapters of RUINED BY MY BROTHER'S MAFIA BESTFRIEND: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

76 Chapters

THE LONGEST GOODBYE

~~Sofia~~Rafael snores softly in his sleep, his nose lodged in my hair. It takes me forever to unwrap his arm from around my waist without him mindlessly pulling me back in.I had to exchange my waist for a pillow, but even now I watch the small furrow growing on his forehead, knowing sooner than later he will realize the pillow he holds tight to his chest isn't me.The sun peeks through his gray curtains, and I imagine in another life that I would make him put some color in here. Would he let me change his curtains to green, or yellow? Would he let me change his bedding from black to cream or ivory?In another life, would he let me in?I shake my head, crawling over to his furrowed brow, kissing the unease out of his forehead because none of that matters in this life. I need to put our baby above us. In this life, Rafael being the love of my life doesn't matter. The way he peacefully sleeps nuzzled into me doesn't matter. The baby—our b

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN

~~Rafael~~My arm swept across the bed, searching for warmth, but found only cotton.I smiled sleepily, still caught in the haze of dreams. She'd probably slipped to the bathroom. I wanted to pull her back into bed. Make us both late for whatever responsibilities waited."Sole," I murmured, my voice thick with sleep.Silence.I waited. Counted to ten. Twenty."Sofia?"Nothing.The smile faded from my lips. I sat up, blinking against the gray morning light filtering through the curtains. The bathroom door was open. Dark inside.I swung my legs out of bed, padding across the cool floor. "Sofia?"Empty. The shower was dry. Her yellow dress was gone from where I had discarded it last night. My T-shirt, the one she had been wearing was missing too.My heart stuttered.I moved faster now, checking the hallway, the guest rooms, the stairs. I called her name again and again, each time more desperate than the last.The house was silent. Empty. She was gone.I grabbed my phone from the nightst

Six Years of Darkness

WARNING: THIS HAS MULTIPLE CHANGES OF SCENES, YEARS AND POVMONTHS LATER *At a small clinic in Montenegro.*~~Sophia~~The pain came like waves, crashing, retreating, then crashing harder.I gripped Francesca's hand so tightly I thought I might break her bones. She didn't complain. Didn't flinch. Just stayed beside me, whispering words I couldn't hear over the roaring in my ears."You're doing so well, Sofia. Just breathe. Just breathe."I tried. God, I tried.But each contraction ripped through me like fire, and all I could do was scream."No pain meds," I had told the doctor earlier. "I want to feel everything."Francesca had stared at me like I was insane. Maybe I was. But this pain....this excruciating, world-ending pain, was the only thing connecting me to him right now. Every wave that crashed through my body was a reminder that this baby was half his. That somewhere, miles and years away, Rafael existed, and part of him was here with me."Rafael!" I screamed as another contrac

The Long awaitings

WARNING: THIS HAS MULTIPLE CHANGES OF SCENES, YEARS AND POVFOUR YEARS LATER CHICAGO ~~RAFAEL~~ The call came at 3 a.m."Russians hit the shipment. Three men down."I didn't ask questions. Didn't hesitate. I was dressed and in the car before the line went dead.The warehouse was still burning when I arrived. My men....what was left of them, stood in a huddle, their faces illuminated by orange flames. Three bodies lay covered on the ground.I looked at the fire. Looked at my dead men. Felt nothing."Find out where they are," I said.It took twelve hours. Twelve hours of calls, threats, payments. Twelve hours of the fire inside me burning colder and colder.When we found them, a warehouse on the South Side, full of Russian merchandise and the men who had killed mine, I didn't call for a plan. Didn't gather my captains. Didn't discuss strategy.I walked in alone.Twenty minutes later, I walked out.The warehouse burned behind me. So did everyone inside.I drove ho

When eyes meet again

~~Sofia~~"Did the ring have to be red too, Father?"A blood red dress, red roses, and a ruby red ring worth millions. It sounds more like the beginning of a bad joke than a marriage, but at this point, I feel more like I'm being bought rather than married.Father's face creases and he sighs for the second time in two minutes."Baby, I don't know. That's what he sent."Yeah. Being bought sounds about right.I sigh and look at the ring again.On top of everything, red is not my color.And, I hate rubies.Rafael knows this too, which makes all of this even worse.I stare mindlessly into the mirror, admiring the drape of the dress around my body. The dress hadn't been my idea either. Nothing on my skin had been my idea.I chuckle, the sound catching in my throat as I press my eyes closed and let my head tilt forward so he can drape the accompanying diamonds on my throat. I'd known this day would come. There's no need to pretend otherwise or even feel sorry for myself.Six years was more

Nothing changes

~~Rafael~~I tip my head up and down half of the drink. My brother Rafe hitches his brow and smirks like he's seen something funny."Sofia really won't love it if you're drunk by the time she arrives."I eye him out of the corner of my eye, then keeping my eye on his, down the rest of the drink. His lips twitch at the corner."Fucking asshole. They're here. Get the bottle away from him." Dario growls. Two years younger than Rafe, he's the stiff one of the family, and he's always loved Sofia.Actually, all my siblings have always loved Sofia. Of course, they don't want me drunk when she arrives.They also do not understand that the only way I can face the woman who broke my heart six years ago is if I'm three sheets to the wind."I've barely had a sip of the drink. Get off my back, you two." I snap. I drop the tumbler to the table with a thump and shove my chair back. "Have father brought in."Rafe nods, and this time, his face is an expressionless mask of nothing.I move out of the li

Far but behind

~~Sofia~~Rafael's mother smiles at me, takes my hand in hers, and presses a kiss to my cheeks. "Sofia. It's so good to see you."I let her hug me before pulling away. "It's good to see you too, Elena."And it is. Whatever Rafael and I had, whatever our past is like, Elena has always been kind to me. Six years later, there are streaks of gray in her dark hair and lines around her eyes, but it's obvious where Rafael and his brothers get their charm."Come sit. I've had Asher make a feast. You'll like it."She leads me to the table where a meal is spread out already. Rafael pulls my chair for me before settling into his."Where is your father?" I ask, turning to him.Silence greets my question, and I wonder if I've said something wrong. But how will a family alliance be forged without the man whose very business it is that Rafael would be taking over?I ignore the thought of just what it is that business is. The fact that we are who we are makes it all the weirder that Rafael's father i

She wants me

~~Rafael~~I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and clench my fist beneath the table. I sure as hell didn't want to get hitched to Sofia Romano.She knew it as certainly as I knew. The last thing she wanted to do was get married to me herself. And deflecting the question to me was just something she would do.But calling me the head of the family was an admission, and I find myself hardening, my cock jerking in my pants. Whether the words are true or not, they stroke my ego. Being lord and king over a woman like Sofia feels good.But I pull up before I can fall too far into that misconception. When had Sofia ever been subservient and meek? This Sofia didn't sit well with the image of her I had carried around these last few years.I snap my eyes to my father's and grit my teeth. This was none of their business. Their job here was done. "It's business, Father. Things have changed. Perhaps you two should not interfere any more than you both have already."Father's eyes are like cold steel.

All for him

~~Sofia~~"I'll be your secretary for the duration of your job here."The woman takes my bag from me and points down the hallway to a door that already has my name and tag on it.I smile grimly and follow the tap of her heels down the hallway. "The duration of my job here?""Yes. This is just until your wedding to Mr. De Luca. It'll be great publicity for us if you work here."No one had said there was a duration for my job with De Luca Corp. The business, literally named after Rafael's father, is most probably another money laundering joint, but I wince the thought away from my head.I already miss the simplicity of my day, spending most of it with Nico as I always did. Father would never let me work because he was worried about my safety, but his place is teeming with people, Rafael's men stationed like statues at the door.The real truth he would never say, but which I already know, is that women of the mob do not work. Their men keep them at home, like rich paintings, to be shown

coming for her

~~Rafael~~I arrive at De Luca Corp a few minutes past six in the evening. The men at the door snap to attention, wide-eyed as my car pulls up and my bodyguard Silvio comes around to open my door.I step out of the car and take the walk to the open lobby door. Carla is standing beside Valerie, whispering something to her that has Valerie tipping her head back and scrunching her nose."Carla," I call out. She turns towards me, picks a tablet off Valerie's desk, and walks over."Where's my wife?"Carla glares at me first. "You didn't say you hadn't told her about the trackers. I sounded like an asshole trying to convince her of something she didn't want."Carla is head of security here at De Luca Corp. The extraordinarily tough woman is ex-military, and my father had paid a hefty price to get her to work for us.I'd had her tagged to Sofia immediately after Father had said he'd given her an office here. Once affiliated with the family openly, she would be the person with a target on her

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