All Chapters of The Mafia's Thirteenth Bride : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Ivy“You call this coffee!”I flinched at uncle Richard’s voice. My hands trembled as I stood before his desk. The cup sat between us, steam rising from the dark liquid.“I'm sorry, uncle Richard…” “Sorry?” He stood slowly, his chair scraped against the hardwood floor. “You’re always sorry, aren't you?”“I didn't mean…”“Shut up!” He picked up the cup and threw it. The hot coffee splashed across my chest, soaking through my thin dress. I gasped at the burning sensation but couldn't scream.“Clean that up,” he said coldly. “And make it again. Properly this time.”“Yes, uncle Richard.” I dropped to my knees and started wiping up the spilled coffee with the hem of my dress. It was already stained and faded anyway. One more stain wouldn't matter.This was my life. For thirteen years. I was eight when my parents died in a fire outbreak. Uncle Richard took me in, promising to care for me until I turned eighteen and he’e return my inheritance when I came of age.I am twenty-one now and I’

IvyI dried my hands and followed him to the study. My heart was pounding against my chest.Inside, he closed the door behind us and locked it. That was never a good sign.I stood in the corner of his office with my hands clasped in front of me, and my head down.“Get dressed,” he said, pouring himself a drink. “You’re coming with me.”I said nothing. “Did you hear me, girl?”“Yes, Uncle Richard.” I whispered.He turned to look at me. “Put on something decent. You’re representing this family tonight.”Representing this family?Where? As what?“Be ready in ten minutes. I won’t wait.” He said.I fled from the room. In the hallway, I pressed my back against the wall and tried to catch my breath. Where was he taking me? He had never taken me out. “Oh my God, Ivy. You look even more pathetic than usual.”I looked up to find Celeste standing at the top of the stairs. Why hasn’t she gone to bed already?My cousin was beautiful in the way magazine covers were beautiful. Perfect hair, perf

IvyThe estate was enormous and dark and it looked like the kind of place that swallowed people whole.I saw it through the car window as the iron gates opened ahead of us, the black stone building rising against the sky with lights burning in its upper windows. The gardens on either side were perfectly kept. Not a single weed. Not a single thing out of place. Like the whole property was holding its breath.I pressed my shoulder against the car door and watched it get closer.Marcus hadn't spoken much during the drive. He was a large, careful man who watched me the way you'd watch something fragile, like he wasn't sure if I was going to break or bolt and was prepared for either. He wasn't unkind. He just wasn't warm.I kept my eyes on my lap mostly. It was safer that way.A woman was waiting at the front steps when the car stopped. Small and neat, somewhere around fifty, with silver-threaded black hair pinned at her neck and a face that was soft around the edges. She smiled when she s