Page 42 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

Our gazes meet as we make our way down the hallway. If I believed in love and wanted to stay with someone for the rest of my life, I’d choose her. It’s an insane thought.

We’d have really pretty kids, like their mom. Another insane thought. The attraction between us is—or was—only physical.

I won’t accept anything else because actually having a wife and children has never been in my plans. Many mafia bosses want to continue their bloodline, but I couldn’t care less about that. And Chiara is just a pawn. A pawn I have to use very carefully.

“Smile for the cameras,”I say to Chiara as we’re about to enter the restaurant where the party is held. Tons of reporters are already lined up and waiting for us.

“And look at me as if I’ve just told you something romantic,” I add.

“Oh, something romantic?” She raises an eyebrow at me. “Better tell me you’re dying. That would actually make me smile.”

Her face is deadly serious. I want to laugh, but we’re already in front of the cameras. A moment later, Chiara smiles andeveryone’s snapping pictures of her. I keep my arm wound around her waist.

“Who is she?” someone yells from the crowd.

“Chiara Gaviani, my wife.” I give everyone my best smile.

Chiara glances at me. My last name fits her way better than her own. I wish I could tell her that, but she would probably want to stab me. We need to look like the perfect couple. Our photos will be everywhere, and I’m glad Chiara’s smile is convincing enough. The crowd goes wild. Everyone wants to know who Chiara is and how we met. They’re asking her questions too.

“We’d like to keep some mystery.” I grin before leading Chiara away from the reporters.

“I didn’t know you were that famous,” she says.

“I’m a billionaire. Someone put me on the list of most eligible bachelors, and ever since then, reporters have been pestering me whenever I go to an event like this one. I was always alone, but now I’m not.”

“If only they knew the truth,” she mutters under her breath.

“The truth is dangerous. Don’t forget that.” I don’t think she’s going to make the mistake of trying something with her parents’ lives at stake, but who knows what’s going on in her mind?

The best thing about not being alone here is that I can’t get bored. Whenever I want to get away, I’ll just say my wife needs me or that we want to dance.

Actually, I don’t want to miss out on dancing with Chiara. She’s too beautiful not to find an excuse to be close to her. I want to stare deep into her eyes and hold her close, even if she glares at me the whole time.

CHAPTER 24

Chiara

I hate him.

I hate the way he’s looking at me, and I hate the way he’s holding me.

The worst part is that I still feel safe in his embrace, even though I know that’s not true. I still feel the warmth spreading through my body when he touches me.

He tilts his head, his eyes still trained on mine. Our lips are so close that I almost think he’s going to kiss, and some twisted part of me wants it to happen.

I want to pretend that he’s Blue, but I can’t. He’s Adriano, my biggest nightmare, and now I’m dancing with him as if we’re truly married. My arms are around his neck and I want to choke him. I want to end him just to stop feeling the way I feel and to stop this torture.

But I can’t do that. I have to survive tonight and play my role. It’s the only way to get away from him. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget him and the things he’s done, but if he’s not close to me, then maybe he won’t constantly be on my mind.

Adriano twirls me around and a familiar face catches my gaze. I freeze on the spot. No, it can’t be. I’m hallucinating.

My mind must be playing tricks on me because the guy in a suit, with short dark brown hair and blue eyes, can’t possibly be Filippo. This is just not the kind of event he’d be invited to, unless the startup he’d been talking about for ages actually succeeded and...

Filippo’s gaze meets mine, and his lips spread into a wide smile as he raises a glass of wine toward me.

No, no, no! Everything blurs around me. My chest is heavy, and I can’t breathe. My stomach is doing a thousand flips.

I rip away from Adriano and break into a run. Tears cloud my eyes and I can barely see where I’m going, but I can’t be there. I can’t be in the same room as him.

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