Page 37 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

“Um, you were having a nightmare, I think. You said—”

“So what?” he snaps, holstering his gun. “I could’ve shot you!”

“That’s why I stayed over here. But how did you do that?” Having such crazy reflexes when you’re asleep and in the middle of a nightmare...

The pillow barely made any noise.

“Not hearing things and not reacting in time can get you killed. Matteo and I practiced for months to be able to do it.”

“Ah, so you actually heard me when I called your name, and this was all for show. Got it.”

He blinks at me in confusion. “You didn’t call my name.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Before you threw the pillow?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck,” he mutters.

I have no idea why he seems so upset. Is not hearing every single whisper while you’re in the middle of a dream really such a huge failure?

“What was your nightmare about?” I ask.

How does he even live like this? If every single noise at night makes him wake up and jump up with his gun, I can’t imagine how he ever relaxes or rests. Surely, all the money and power aren’t worth this kind of stress. I thought people like him slept peacefully every night with tons of security, and maybe they do, but not Adriano.

“It wasn’t a nightmare, just a distorted version of a memory. Now go back to sleep.”

“I can’t. I’m too awake. Please just tell me.”

“It’s nothing interesting. I was supposed to deliver a small package for Gennaro. I was a kid, so I was small enough to run past certain people without being seen. But there was something that caught my attention and I stopped, and they spotted me. I ran and ran. In the end, I had to call Gennaro because I got lost. He showed up to get the package, and he was very disappointed, so he left me there to find my own way back. Eventually, I did,and Gennaro gave me another chance, but I knew I couldn’t make such a mistake again.”

“What?” I gape at him.

Whenever he tells me something about himself like this, it horrifies me. Gennaro has to be on the list of the shittiest fathers ever.

“If you’re not useful to people, they get rid of you. It’s as simple as that. Now I’m the one who decides who’s useful to me and who’s not.” His lips pull up into a smile.

“Not everyone needs or wants something from you. You were just unlucky to be around such people.”

“I don’t care.”

“What about your adoptive mother?” I just can’t believe everyone in his young life sucked so much.

“I didn’t have one. Gennaro’s wife died shortly after Matteo was born, so I never met her. Their marriage was arranged, and since his alliance with her family has always been strong, he’s never looked for another wife. But enough about that.”

“So if your plan works, and you build your—”

“Gaviani Resort.”

“You build the Gaviani Resort and then what? What are you going to do next? Won’t your satisfaction only last for one meaningless moment?”

“Meaningless?” He raises an eyebrow at me.

“Well, you won’t really care about the resort because getting attached is wrong, right? So even if it caught fire and it all disappeared, you’d only be annoyed you were losing money, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter to you. You’d just be happy you built it and got everyone out of the way for one second. You’d prove you’re the biggest and baddest to your family, and then what? Who would share your happiness? The people you hired to work for you and who you’d get rid of the moment you no longer needed them?”

“I’ll just find another goal. And another.”

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