Page 42 of Bound to the Mafia King

“Then you sign my death sentence.” Silence followed his confession. My heart clambered to a less than graceful stop. “He has paid his dowry. He also gave me the advance of twenty million in order to secure a lab here in Moscow. I was going to tell you before I left, but I knew that you would cause a fight, and I didn’t even know if I could find a factory that could manufacture the product. But now that I have, he has made itclear that he wants you to be his wife within the coming month. He wants you as his bride and to give him a son within the year of your marriage. If you fail to do so, then he has grounds to kill me.”

Fuck.

Now it all made sense. The man was meant to be coming within the week. This wasn’t just some regular routine visit. He was here to formally announce it to me.

“So, you can choose not to marry him. But in doing so, you will be killing me.”

The guilt washed over me. “Why would you agree to something like this? It is such a stupid deal.”

“It was the only way to secure the capital we needed.”

“And now you have me trapped, Danny. You know that I can’t let you die, so my fate is sealed.”

He didn’t speak.

This had been his plan all along, I believed. He had placed me in this position.

“Why?”

My only answer was silence.

“Why, Danny?”

“You left me no choice. I couldn’t have you trying to run like you did before.”

Flashes of that night moved through the back of my skull.

“You had no right.” A large lump formulated in the middle of my throat.

“You ran, Ana.” His voice was low and filled with emotion. “You ran, and I couldn’t find you for days. I had no idea where you had been, or what you had been up to. I understand that you feel I am being unfair, but this is what is best for you and this family. I needed to carry on our legacy, and you needed to be taken care of. You could grow to love Sergei, and even if youdon’t, you will love your children and you will find consolation in that.”

He could not be serious. This man was breaking my heart apart, and I could do nothing but let him. The one man who was meant to protect me and guard my heart was the one plunging dagger after dagger into it.

“We all need to play a part in this world that we live in, and this is yours.” There was no room for rebuttal in his tone. That was that on his side, and his word was law. “I will leave Moscow in the coming days and return to New York. After I land, we will begin prep for your wedding. I love you, Ana. I hope you know that.”

And then he hung up, leaving me to take on the load that he had just dumped on my chest. The phone went black, and the closet returned to its thick silence.

An unshed tear pricked my eyes. The phone call with Danill had been less than pleasing. He was my older brother, the one entrusted to care for me after my father met his untimely demise. He wanted to restore our legacy and bring honor to our name again.

And this came before my wellbeing. I was sure that, at this point, he was willing to throw me at the literal stake to be burned if it meant that he could rebuild what my father had lost. He was so obsessed with it.The legacy.

When our father died, we could have left this life behind. We could have been normal people in society. I didn’t care for the money or the power. What I craved the most was the one thing that was free for everyone else to take, but impossible within my world.

Peace.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Only a few short minutes ago, my eyes had gleamed with excitement and joy.Now, the same hollow and dead stare that had riddled me for years was looking back at me from the mirror.

Life was so unfair.

The first tear fell, and I watched it move from my eyes and roll down my reddened cheeks until it tapered off the edge of my jaw.

“Cielo?” My eyes moved to the left side of the mirror and that’s when I saw his reflection.

I quickly brushed away the tears, not wanting him to see, but it was too late.

He strode into my closet and crouched down beside me. His eyes stayed glued to my reflection in the mirror. I watched his eyes move from the top of my head across my features.

“What happened?”

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