Page 2 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

“Come on! It’s going to be fun! I promise. I invited the girls from our—”

“I actually have something planned.”

“Oh.” Surprise flickers through Elena’s voice. “With a guy? Wait, did you finally find a boyfriend? Who is he? Tell me!”

I haven’t found anyone, and I haven’t been looking either. After Filippo, I don’t think I’ll ever trust a man again. No matter how much I don’t want to think about him, I can’t help it. I was young and naive, and I fell for his sweet lies. He made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. But then we moved in together, and he showed me his real face.

His ugly face.

I wince because I can still feel his fist connecting with my cheekbone.

“Chiara, are you still there?” Elena asks.

“Yeah, no. I mean, I don’t have a boyfriend. It’s just something I have to do with my family.” I need to get Filippo out of my head, and that’s not going to happen if I go to a nightclub like the one where I met him.

I would just be on edge all the time, and I’d study every guy carefully for any signs that he’s up to no good. I would compare every single one of them to Filippo. I would wonder if he’s smiling at me because he likes me or because he’s imagining slamming my head against the wall.

“Okay,” Elena says. “But if you change your mind, just text me.”

“Sure.” I’m glad she doesn’t insist or bring up Filippo.

It’s been a year since I managed to escape him, but only physically. He’s still very present in my mind, and I have no idea when I’ll finally forget him. I’m glad Elena stuck with me and didn’t end our friendship while I was helplessly ensnared in Filippo’s trap.

There’s only one place where I can go to relax and forget about everything, even my ex. No one knows I go there, and, hopefully, no one ever will. They’d never understand it, especially if they knew about Filippo.

Everyone deals with trauma in different ways, and mine is potentially problematic, but it at least gives me some peace. It’scrazy how much I can crave things that I shouldn’t, but Amore Bruciante is just the right kind of club for me.

It’s a pleasure club, but it’s members-only with a hefty fee, and getting a membership isn’t easy at all. I don’t know what the hell got me to start the process, but I remember aimlessly walking down the street and thinking about Filippo when I spotted an ad for the club.

It sounded exactly like what I wanted and needed at that time. A safe place to be free and forget about everything. I applied on a whim, and when I was called in for an interview and some tests, I didn’t back down.

I was ready to do anything to get Filippo out of my head without resorting to alcohol, drugs, or some other vice. I didn’t want to risk hooking up with random men either, because that sounded way too dangerous.

Amore Bruciante has guards everywhere. I don’t have to worry someone there is going to judge me for wanting a one-time thing without any strings attached because the club is all about that. Nothing is without risks, but there I feel as safe as I can be.

It’s less likely someone will become so obsessed with me as to follow me home. No one at Amore Bruciante wants the club to get a bad reputation, so even if some creeps slip through the cracks, they get kicked out as soon as they make a suspicious move.

All I want tonight is to find a good-looking guy who won’t ask for my name or number, and who wants the same thing as me—pleasure. Amore Bruciante has many rooms, which is great because I want privacy. Some people like to have sex in the main room, but that’s not for me. At least not yet.

The membership fee includes the room and drink costs, so there’s no worry about who is paying for what. No excuse for someone to try to blackmail me into doing something to paythem back. All we need to do is find a room with a green light above the door to indicate it’s empty and ready to use.

The club’s staff does an amazing job of keeping the rooms clean and fresh. There are VIP rooms too, but they’re too expensive for me. I don’t need a special room just for me. It’s not like I go there all that often either.

Sometimes I just end up watching those who don’t mind being watched. It still gets some of the tension out of my shoulders every time, and I don’t think about Filippo as much because I’m not there to find a potential date.

I don’t know why it relaxes me. Having sex with a guy outside the club would feel different, and I would worry about him turning out to be like Filippo. But in Amore Bruciante, it’s the opposite.

I don’t expect someone will turn out to be a monster. Maybe because Filippo would never go to a club like that. He’d say it would be insane and pathetic to pay for something he could get anywhere for free. But it’s not like that for me. Not that he’d ever care or understand.

I inwardly groan. How many times have I thought about that asshole? Mentioned his name in my mind? I have to get to Amore Bruciante before he overtakes my thoughts and sends me spiraling.

CHAPTER 2

Adriano

A smile spreadsacross my lips as I look at the maquette on the table. It’s a miniature of my project. Rocco, my advisor, painted another one of the houses green on the map on the wall, which means that particular property is now mine.

Soon, I will own the whole neighborhood, and once that happens, I can mow everything down and build the Gaviani Resort—the perfect place for adults to have fun all day long. Hotels, bars, restaurants, casinos, nightclubs, sex clubs... I’ll have it all. People won’t want to leave.

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