Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Sofia’s POV “Sit, Sofia,” Father murmured as he gestured towards the seat positioned before himself and mum, I sank into it gracefully and thanked him before he continued. My heart was already beating fast, it had started racing wildly since the moment our housekeeper came to my room to inform me that my parents would like to have a word with me this very instant. A part of me already kinda figured out why they had summoned me, I’ve been dreading this particular ‘talk’ since the day I turned eighteen, two months ago. “Do you know why I had you summoned?” Father asked and I shook my head immediately, silently praying it wasn’t going to end up being what I was already starting to think it was. Father picked up his whiskey filled glass and took a sip before returning it back to the table. My mother was seated beside him with a blank face as usual, her hair was pinned on her hair neatly and tightly, a single strand wouldn’t be able to slip out until she took out the pin herself. “You’re eighteen years already, Sofia.” My father started to say and I felt my heart sink into my stomach with a drop, what he was about to say was already pretty obvious. “You’re ripe for marriage already, which is why we’ve started your wedding preparations the moment you clocked eighteen. You’d be getting married in a week's time and all you have to do is to relax and do whatever your mum and her sisters ask you to do.”“What?” I demanded urgently with my heart squeezing tight against the inside of my chest, blinking unbelievably and glancing from father’s face to my mother’s expressionless face. I knew I was going to get married to one of the soldiers or generals' sons right since I was thirteen, I had been aware and had been brought up to be a good and obedient wife to whoever would end up getting picked out for me. It was tradition for fathers in our own world to marry their daughters to eligible men holding posts worthy enough to benefit them one way or the other. “You’re getting married to Luca Ricci in a week's time.” Father stated and my mouth fell open immediately. Luca? Mr Luca Ricci? “Um, Mr Luca? The mafia lord?” I whispered out with my eyes blown wide and my heart beating wildly against my ribs, my hands were starting to shake due to how close I was to losing control of my emotions and I squeezed my hands together and dragged in deep breath as quietly as I could. “Yes, Sofia. Mr Luca Ricci has requested your hand in marriage and everything has been in preparation ever since. You should be really honored that someone as powerful as him would want to marry from our family, despite the fact that there are higher generals with daughters in which he could pick from.” My mother finally said from the moment I got into the office and I blinked at her with tears stinging my eyes. “But he’s really older than I am,” I tried reasoning with them in a strained whisper, my voice breaking unashamedly, feeling weak and powerless as ever. What could I do? Wasn’t he like fifty? “Age is just a number, and besides he’s just eighteen years older than you are.” My father dismissed my protest immediately as he took another sip of his whiskey. “I don’t want to marry him, father.” I started to say, knowing that I was digging my own grave by voicing out my own thoughts but having no other choice left, “Anybody but him, father. He’s scary and ruthless, you’ve said so yourself countless times. I’ve heard so many rumors about him, scary details about him. Please father...”“Sofia!” My father barked out and I jumped and swallowed emptily, shifting in my seat and staring pointedly at my quaking hands on my thighs. Not him please. Please. “Those are just rumors, and when did you start believing whatever you hear without enough proof?” Father snapped and I swallowed again, trying my hardest to blink my tears away. “He’s ruthless because he has to be as the mafia lord, and you’re going to learn to be fierce like him once you become his wife. Nothing’s going to happen to you if you do whatever he demands of you as fast as you can without questions. Luca hates stupid questions and you females are fond of that instead of  obediently doing as you are told immediately.”“So he wants a slave and not a wife? That’s it? I’m just going to become his slave?” I demanded before I could stop myself and father got to his feet immediately and threw his glass which was half filled with whiskey on the wall exactly where my head was positioned a second ago had I not ducked immediately with a panicked scream. I scrambled to my feet instantly and raced to the doorway with tears streaming down my cheeks, mother was on her feet as well, wringing her hands together but not interfering as usual. “This is why you women need a husband with an iron fist, someone to discipline you until you learn how to obey whatever you’ve told to do without stupid, unnecessary questions.” Father shouted angrily at me with a finger pointed in my direction and I cried harder. “Knowing how Luca is, I’m sure he would be able to make you obey him without questions a day into the marriage unlike me, it took me years to train your mother into being an obedient wife, because she was just like you are now; stubborn, disrespectful and disobedient.” I shook my head with tears still sliding down my cheeks, I didn’t want to end up being like mother, I didn’t want to have to live life the way she did, I didn’t want to have to agree with whatever my husband says without questions, I didn’t want to live like a slave in marriage the way my mother has been doing since the moment she got married to father. I’ve never expected to marry because of love, nor have I thought that I’d be marrying someone of my own choice. But I’ve been hoping I’d marry someone in my own age range who’s already open minded and won’t want to live in the past the way the people in the past generations did. But then I had to get given to someone almost two decades older than I am, it wasn’t even just anybody, it was Luca. Luca Ricci. Everyone’s worst nightmare. Everyone was scared of him, including my father. “Get back into your room this instant and don’t leave there until you’re asked to.” He ordered before turning around and heading toward the bar hanging off the wall in his office to pour himself another drink. I remained in my current position, knowing it was stupid of me to still hope he’d change his mind. He turned back around with another glass of whiskey and I noticed the way his nose flared angrily the moment his eyes landed on me. I glanced helplessly at my mother, hoping she’d back me up for once but she only shook her head and glanced away from my direction. With another wayward sob bubbling in my throat, I whirled around and fled his office when he started advancing towards me. I flew up the stairs with tears streaming down my cheeks and past the rows of doors upstairs leading to my room. I didn’t stop to acknowledge my younger brother who was standing outside his bedroom door watching me silently and slammed my bedroom door shut the moment I got in. I turned the keys and locked it despite the fact that I knew father has the rest of my door keys and could get the door open anytime he wants before sliding down against it and burying my face in my palms, more tears spilled out and I didn’t bother trying to stop it and instead allowed it to flow out quietly. I was going to be identified as Mrs Ricci in a week's time... The thought of that alone was enough to make me sob even harder, hating life and my parents with so much passion all over again.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Sofia’s POV I sat up on my bed the moment I heard a key turn in my keyhole with my heart pounding in my chest, a part of me thought it was father and that thought was enough to send a chilling fear sliding down my spine. It was currently some minutes after ten in the night and I had no idea who it could be. The door cracked open and I felt the breath I’ve been nervously holding in my throat whoosh out a relived sigh on seeing my younger brother standing at the doorway with a proud grin spread across his face. “Come in fast and shut the door.” I urged and he quietly got in and closed the door before turning my keys until the door was locked again. “Did you just pick my lock?” I asked once he got to my bedside, he shrugged with a sly grin before hopping on my bed and waving a tiny nail in my face. “New skill unlocked, yes I did.” He gushed out and I cracked a small smile at his proud facial expression. “Where did you learn that? I thought you weren’t going to start trailing until next year?” I asked because he was only fifteen and training for boys in the mafia officially starts once they clock sixteen. “I figured it out myself, I’ve been trying it on my door for a while now until I perfected the skill, how cool is that?” He gushed again and I shrugged, learning how to pick locks wasn’t something people were supposed to be proud of, but it was a huge deal for boys in the mafia since they were going to be needing all the sly skills they can lay their hands on to become someone big in the mafia, and for someone to master that skill on their own was a pretty big deal since they were still going to officially taught this particular skill once training officially starts for them. “That’s really amazing,” I praised him because it really was and he smiled shyly, his dimples peaking out cutely, that was one of the few features we shared as siblings. “I brought you a few snacks to eat since father ordered food to not be brought up to you so you could reflect on your disrespectful act which you carried out in his office,” He rolled his eyes towards the end of his sentence and dug out the said snacks from his pockets before pushing them into my hands. I grabbed his wrist before he could pull away, “Won’t you get into trouble for this?” I asked warily, my stomach picked that moment to growl loudly and I flushed red when he gave my a sidelong look, picked one of the cookies on my thighs, tore it open before pressing it into my hands again. I accepted it and took a bite, the milky taste melting against my tongue almost immediately. “Thank you so much, Angelo.” I said to my younger brother and he only smiled at me before reaching up patting my cheeks lightly. I sometimes wonder how my brother was already this matured at such a young age, when I was fifteen, I sure as hell wasn’t this smart and matured... I guess it was a guys thing? “How do you feel about getting married?” He asked and I paused the piece of cookie I was about to insert in my mouth at the last second and breathed out a sigh before returning the cookie back into its bag. “I feel scared, nauseated, creeped out and hurt as hell.” I replied honestly, my heart feeling sad and heavy in my chest. I ran my fingers against the cookie bag half heartedly, trying to imagine how it was going to feel like to be married to Luca Ricci. All I could think of was him slapping and hitting me if I dare question any of his decisions and that thought alone was enough to make me shiver slightly, feeling tiny goosebumps cover my arms. “I’m sorry father is such a selfish man, it’s not your fault he had to stupidly lose mr Luca’s money, then why the hell did he had to purpose to give you to him in replacement for the debt he owed.” Angelo snapped out angrily and I blinked at him shockingly, my heart finding it hard to grasp unto what he was saying. “What?” I asked, a loud ringing noise echoing in my ears. Angelo’s mouth fell open for a few seconds, “Oh, he didn’t tell you?” I shook my head slowly, feeling my eyes bite with the telling signs of incoming tears. “I heard him talking about it with a few of his men a few weeks ago while I was eavesdropping, I didn’t think he’d actually give you to Mr Luca since he himself was extremely scared of him. I had thought he was already looking for the money in which he could use to pay off his debt.”“Oh,” I mumbled, not knowing how best to respond to this new piece of information. I felt numb. Numbness everywhere. There was nothing I could do, it wasn’t like I could refuse to marry Luca. Was I even given a choice? “Yeah, I’m so sorry, Sofia.” He whispered quietly and I sniffed quietly before digging out a piece of cookie and threw it into my mouth. “It’s fine, it’s not your fault and there was nothing you could have done.”“You could have run away assuming I had told you this immediately I heard about it...” Angelo started to say and I shook my head vehemently, stopping him almost instantly. “Run away to where? You’re speaking like you’ve suddenly forgotten how father is, he’d find me immediately and only God knows what he’d do to me then. And besides, now that I’m Luca’s property, he could have the whole mafia looking for me and they’d find me in a few minutes... knowing who mr Luca is, he could blow my head off out of irritation.”“No, Mr Luca wouldn’t be involved since you’re not married to him yet, it’s going to be just father. I think running away is way better than getting married to the mafia lord.” Angelo argued but I only shook my head with a small, resigned sigh. I wasn’t as courageous as he was neither was it as easy as he was making it sound, I couldn’t bring myself to run away into a world I knew nothing about. I’ve been shielded all my life and never go anywhere without the guards for my own safety, I didn’t know any place nor anyone, nor do I have any money I could use without my father’s awareness since he always get notified each time we make use of the atm card which was directly connected to his bank. My friends were totally useless as well since they were just like me, powerless in a world like ours. Being a girl in this world was one of the worst things that can ever happen to a person. “There’s nothing I can do and you know it,” I said quietly after a while and Angelo reached out and took my hand in his warm ones. “What was mother’s reaction?” He asked and I let out a quiet snort, “The usual; expressionless, unbothered.”“I hate that woman so much, y’know?” Angelo continued with a frown and I nodded my head, agreeing with him instantly, “I hate her so much as well.”“Sometimes I wonder if she’s our real mother. I mean, aren’t mothers supposed to be extremely in love with their children and would almost never stand by and watch their children suffer unnecessarily?” Angelo continued and I breathed out another small sigh, not knowing what to think anymore. I’ve made up a thousand excuse for her in my head while growing up as to why she was the way she was. I’ve watched my friends talking about their mother with so much love and gratitude dripping off their voice, about how they could ask to their mum to help them convince their fathers on an issue... my own case was quiet different from theirs. Mother never bothers trying to convince father on anything, whatever father said was final and that’s that. I’ve always tried to understand the fact that she also doesn’t have any power when it comes to decisions making in the household... but what about being a mother? Being there when we needed her the most? Being there emotionally? “I don’t know, Angelo,”“I seriously don’t think she’s out real mother, I think our mother died or something and this is just our stepmom.” Angelo continued and I smiled sadly before reaching up with my free hand and brushing his blond away from his face, he ducked away from my touch almost immediately and mock glared at me, silently reminding me that he wasn’t the kid he used to be before. “Don’t be ridiculous, y’know we both got our hairs and dimples from her, that’s proof enough that her blood definitely runs in our veins.” I admonished him because it was the truth. I knew when mother got pregnant with Angelo, I was barely three but I remembered it faintly so she was definitely our mother. “I don’t know, all I know is that I hate her and father so much.” He finally muttered and I sighed. I think I hated them more than he did at this point. “You know once you get married, we won’t be able to see ourselves a lot again.” Angelo muttered quietly, reminding me again about how matured he was now. “Yeah, I know. But I won’t stop loving you and having your back, you know that, right?”“I do... it’s just wouldn’t be the same here without you.” He continued as he slightly squeezed my hand in his, making my eyes prickle with tears once again. “It wouldn’t be the same without you in my life physically anymore,” I whispered, sniffing back tears and blinking away the teardrop clinging to my eyelashes. “We’d still communicate through the phone and would try to meet up anytime we can, I promise.” I whispered, my voice breaking at the last two words with a small sob, leaving my brother behind was heart wrenching than I used to think it would be while growing up. Now it was actually happening so fast and there was nothing I could about it than to hope Luca wouldn’t be against me meeting up with my brother. Angelo tugged my hand forward and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, I slipped my hand around his waist and silently cried against his broad chest in the quiet room. Out of nowhere, my younger brother was all grown up and acting like the elder sibling I never had. We remained in that position for a long while with me crying silently and him patting my hair and squeezing my shoulders tight, offering me more emotional strength than I’ve ever received from anyone else throughout my whole life, the opened bag of cookies long forgotten.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Sofia’s POV The housekeeper brought me breakfast the next morning which made me assume father wasn’t as angry with me as he was last night. I told her I wasn’t hungry and she returned the breakfast tray back downstairs, leaving me to myself once again. I wasn’t hungry since I ate a bit of the snacks Angelo left me last night, the rest was currently in my closet since I wasn’t feeling hungry one bit. I closed the book I’ve been trying to read to no avail out of frustration and sat up on my bed, staring at the rack of gold and silver medals which I had won throughout high school in the far end of my room. Father thought medals were not as important as award cups, which means the medals I won while growing up stayed in my room, while the award cups I won got placed in his office. I let my mind wander aimlessly like it has been wanting to do since the moment I woke up from the thirty minutes sleep I managed to catch after staying up and talking with my brother from ten pm to two am, and then lying awake and just thinking how doomed I was from two am to six am in the morning. The sound of my door getting pushed open made me jolt and dart a fearful gaze at the doorway, my mother’s familiar frame filled the doorway and I got off the bed instantly, “Good morning, mother.” I mumbled quietly as respectfully as I could before sliding back on my bed. “Did you sleep well, Sofia?” She asked and I almost rolled my eyes in irritation. “Yes, I did.” I replied, wondering what it was that has made her take some minutes from her precious time to come all the way to my room. “The housekeeper reported that you refused to eat this morning,” She continued, still standing in the doorway like a stranger that she was in my life. “I wasn’t hungry.”“Your father wouldn’t be happy when he hears,” She continued and I remained silent, staring at my fingers laying motionless on my thighs. “I came to inform you about some important plans concerning your wedding.” My head snapped up the moment the words left her mouth. “You’d be going to the designer’s lounge in a few hours time to pick a dress, shoes and flowers. Your aunt Gianna would be going with you.” She continued and I swallowed emptily, feeling my heart sink into my stomach again, what was I hoping she’d say anyways? For her to inform me the wedding wouldn’t be hoping anymore? “Yes mother,” I acknowledged, thankful she wouldn’t be coming with me, perhaps I’d be able to pick a dress of my own choice at least. ***** “What do you mean I can’t pick that dress?” I demanded of the two women working at the Designer’s lounge. I had fallen in love with the dress the moment I set my eyes on it, it was small and almost resembled a regular, white dress, it was short sleeved with flower prints all over the flare of the dress, it was simple looking and would hopefully allow me blend in with the bride maids and decorations at least. I wanted little to no attention on me during the wedding and this dress was going to help a long way... that was until the owners of the lounge had killed that thought immediately with their next words. “I’m so sorry Miss Giuliani but we’ve been given orders as to a particular style you can pick from, if you’d kindly allow me, I’ll show you to them.” The woman who had welcomed my aunt and I into the lounge said smoothly with quirk of her lips, a list of what I was going to need for my wedding clasped in her right hand. “Why can’t I pick what I want? It’s my own wedding not yours.” I argued, scowling at the women whose stance almost appeared as if bored of the drama I was putting up. “We received strict orders from your mother, Miss Giuliani and there’s nothing we can do about it,” The spokesman of the two women replied smoothly and I glanced at father’s youngest sister who has been quiet throughout the whole outburst, “Why can’t I pick what I want, Aunt Gianna? Tell them that’s the one I want.” “Your mother wants you to pick something else, Sofia, they are way better than what you picked out here.” Aunt Gianna replied and I huffed out a resigned sigh, my hopes about me getting a dress of my choice disappearing into thin air. I followed the women deeper into the lounge until we arrived at a large room housing large, sparkling looking dresses with thousands of layers and diamonds. “If you’d pick any one of your choice, miss Giuliani, we’d get to the measurements part as soon as we can.” The woman announced while waving her hand around the whole room. It was pointless of me to try searching for a small dress when everything here were the same size and almost the same style. “I’d go with anyone you feel like,” I replied, feeling emotional drained all over again. I just wanted to get it over with at this point. “Perfect.” The woman nodded her head and with the assistance of two more women, they managed to pull off one of the huge dress off the mannequin. Thirty minutes later, I was in the dress, in the changing room filled with a floor length mirror on a part of the wall. The dress hugged my waist snugly but was slipping off my chest a little due to the cups being a bit bigger than my breasts, other than that, it was perfectly fine in everyone’s eyes. It was armless and transparent in the waist’s area. Tiny sparkling stones were used to form different intricate designs on the transparent part of the dress, while the flare got designed with bigger stones. All in all, it was a really beautiful dress, a dress meant to make everyone’s head turn, a dress meant to steal the full attention of the groom, a dress made to create a dramatic entrance, a dress that was made for the spotlight, all of which I was trying to avoid from the very start. I breathed out a small sigh as I took in my appearance in the mirror, I couldn’t deny the fact that I looked good in the dress. I hate my life. **** The days came and went by in a blur, making me dread the wedding day as it got nearer. I barely saw father throughout the week except at dinner once and we’d barely exchanged a few words. I spent most night talking to my younger brother, trying my very best to treasure every moment spent with him. He had accompanied me to get my hair and nails done while the guards hovered around as usual, I was already used to doing almost everything with them breathing down my neck at this point. A day to the wedding, mother has accompanied me to get my whole body waxed after a quick breakfast, we didn’t speak to each other until she asked if I was hungry at a point, which I wasn’t and that was it. I was sitting beside my window that evening, looking up advices for a virgin having sex for the first time on my laptop, my mother and I never talked about anything personal and the only time this topic has been mentioned to me was in school during studies and that’s that. Different options came forth, all of which revolved around the girl being extra comfortable to begin with around the man- something I definitely wasn’t around Luca... heck, I haven’t been officially introduced to him, I had no idea what he looked like up close except for a few times that I’ve seen him during some gatherings. Another option was lube for much needed lubrication, an option I knew was out of the question. With a resigned sigh, I closed the laptop and leaned my head against the cold wall, there was so many emotions running through my head. I blinked once before squeezing my eyes tight. I’ve shed a lot of tears since I got told I was getting married to Luca to the extent of my eyes running out of extra tears. This time tomorrow I was going to be sitting beside my husband while everyone wined and dined around me, then an hour later we were going to head to his house where he was going to... I breathed out another sigh and forced my eyes open, refusing to complete the thought in my head. My clothes have already been packed by the house helps, I had no idea what was packed and what wasn’t, mother supervised it so I was sure all what I was going to need was going to be in it. Father said I couldn’t take any of my books since apparently a wife wasn’t supposed to be wasting time away by reading stupid books. I pushed away from the floor and made my way towards my adjoining bathroom, I stood before my mirror and stared at my reflection, my hair was done high on my head to hold the tiara and veil tightly, the skincare I had received today made my face glow, but my eyes looked empty and sunken. I cleaned my teeth and headed back into my room, sliding beneath my covers and hugging to my chest, my favorite book which I had reread a countless times since I knew I wouldn’t be seeing it again after tonight. It was going to be a long day tomorrow and the makeup artist and designers were going to be here by seven. With that in mind, I fell into a dreamless sleep with tears clinging to my curly eyelashes.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Sofia’s POV “Remember to smile once he unveils your face, hm?” Father said as he handed me a bunch of blue flowers which were as big as the dress I was currently in. “Yes, father.” I replied with my heart racing uncontrollably, I was going to be walking down the aisle in a few minutes time with my father and I was about to have a panic attack to my utmost horror. “I am going to miss you so much, Sofia.” Father continued as he pulled my veil over my face, I would have quietly snorted at his words had I not been silently trying to fight the panic attack back. Father stepped out of the car and held his hand out for me but I hesitated, afraid my legs was going to give out on me if I dare stand up. “What are you doing, Sofia? We’re going to be called in a minute.” Father demanded impatiently and I tried really hard to push the dizzy feeling back but it was only getting more intense and threatening to pull me under its waves. “Can you get me water please?” I whispered and father cursed angrily before walking off and returned with a bottle of water almost immediately. I sipped the water and dragged in deep breaths, echoing the same words in my head continuously. ‘You’ve got this, Sofia’ I slipped my hand in father’s and was out of the car instantly. Father didn’t looked happy but couldn’t do a thing about it like hit me or scream at me since we had an audience, he only squeezed my hand harder than necessary for a few seconds while glaring at me before relaxing his hold and wearing a smile on his face as the paparazzi surrounded us and started clicking away. The guards were around us in a instant, pushing the paparazzi away from us and leading us into tip of the hall before standing at the doorway to keep the paparazzi away. I dragged in a deep breath and unconsciously squeezed father’s hand as we made our way into the hall, a long red rug led the way into the gathering, all the way to the front of the hall where the groom was most definitely waiting at, along with the priest. I refused to glance up and instead stared at my feet as we walked slowly, trying to block the fact that thousands of faces were watching me walk down the aisle out of my mind- and failing miserably since I could feel a panic attack building up in my head once again. We arrived at the end of aisle and I finally glanced up slowly as my father slipped my glove covered hand into Luca’s hand, making the breath hang in my throat for a few seconds before whooshing out slowly and quickening uncontrollably. I stared up but refused to look directly into Luca’s face and instead focused on his neck which a blue colored tie clung unto as the priest started the sermon. He held my hand although, the warmth of his palm seeping through the silky material of my hand glove. All what the priest preached about barely made it into my ears as I was worked up to the extent that the thumping of my loud heartbeats was echoing loudly in my ears, leaving a continuous ringing sound behind. The ring bearer, who was a cute little girl in a blue dress which I’ve never seen before, brought forth the rings and I picked up the bigger one and slipped the ring on Luca’s ring finger while repeating the traditional vows along with the priest. Luca did the same, his large palms almost swallowing my left finger completely as he slipped the ring on my fourth finger- and then the priest declared us man and wife, without asking the crowd if there was anybody that would like to object to the marriage- not like anyone would even dare. “You may now kiss the bride.” The priest called out and I felt blood rush in my face and my pulse race uncontrollably as Luca’s fingers reached for the edge of my veil as if on slow motion mode and unveiled my face before nudging my face up with a light grip on my jaw, leaving me no option than to finally stare into his face. Our eyes locked for the first time and my heart stutter slowly as his grey eyes framed with curly, dark lashes lowered and focused on my lips. He leaned down and tugged my face upwards before lightly brushing his lips against mine. My eyes slid shut before his lips touched mine and I felt him press his lips firmly against mine, sending chills sliding down my spine and my heart thumping nervously against my chest as he brushed his lips against mine over and over again before pulling away as everyone started cheering loudly. I blinked my eyes open and our eyes locked again for a few seconds before I ducked my head the moment he released his light hold on my chin. ...and there goes my first kiss. My heart was beating loudly and my lips felt tingly, I wanted to wipe the feeling off with the back of my palm but couldn’t since we were before a huge crowd, and I wouldn’t dare ruin my makeup. Luca took my hand in his and turned around to face the crowd- and the cheers went up even more. I caught sight of my brother who was standing beside father on the front row of the crowd, a scowl on his face with his hands at his sides. I puffed out a breath and focused on the fact that Luca was leading me down the aisle this time- as his wife. I was legally married to Luca Ricci. My name was no longer 'Sofia Giuliani' anymore. It was now automatically 'Sofia Ricci'.

Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Sofia’s POV The crowd cheered loudly as Luca and I got called to the dance floor for our first couple’s dance. He took my hand and led me into the middle of the dance floor. My veil and tiara had been taken away from me by the designer the moment we arrived at the reception hall, leaving my shoulders and upper back completely bare. Luca placed my hand on his shoulder and slid his left hand around my waist before clasping my left hand in his right one and proceeded to lead me in a slow dance. My head was barely reaching his sharp looking jawline despite the fact that I was in tall heels, our eyes locked for the fourth time today as we moved from side to side. He moved his hand over my waist ever so lightly and I puffed out a flustered breath and ducked my head immediately. I felt another shiver slid down my spine when he pulled me closer to him, our clothes brushing against each other’s. “Look at me.” He rumbled quietly, his vibrating, deep voice eliciting goosebumps over my bare arms. I glanced back up almost instantly, locking eyes with him again. His grey eyes bored into my blue ones, holding my gaze captive and leaving me no choice but to drown in his deep eyes. “You’re so beautiful,” He murmured and I blinked a few times before swallowing emptily. I wanted to duck my head in embarrassment but couldn’t find the power to break the eye contact despite the fact that my cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. “Um, thank you,” I whispered before ducking my head and puffing out a deep breath. I was super glad he didn’t ask me to raise my head up again. His voice was quiet, yet so firm and I couldn’t bring myself to ignore it. I’ve caught a few glances of him a few times while growing up, and none of those peaks prepared me for the man I met today. I prayed and wished he’d be ugly looking up close with a mouth and body odor so as to give me more reasons to hate him. I definitely wasn’t expecting him to have eyes deep enough to make me feel like I was sinking into it each time our gaze locked. I couldn’t deny the fact that he was extremely good looking with dark curls framing his face and neck, a nicely curved nose, a light trimmed and neat looking beard hugging his outlined jaw sexily, making him appear way younger than I expected. I couldn’t believe the fact that I was married to the mafia lord, so many people were watching us dancing and I didn’t miss the way some of the girls from the bridal train had looked at him with longing in their eyes. A bunch of clueless girls. They could come have him though, it wasn’t like I wanted to get married to him in the first place. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to tonight as well. ****** I mopped my face and body with the fluffy towels in the bathroom before slipping on the lingerie set I was supposed to wear on my wedding night. Aunt Gianna had told me I was supposed to present myself to my husband on the wedding night this way two days ago. I felt like a sacrificial animal getting all cleaned up in preparation for the sacrifice. My heart was beating fast and my pulse was running faster than my heartbeat as I slipped my robe over the sheer material of the lingerie and made it exit the bathroom. I paused beside the door and puffed out a breath before giving myself a little pep talk and pulling the door open. Luca was sitting on the bed and I paused outside the closed bathroom door as my eyes landed on him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and speaking quietly to someone on the phone, he was only in a black pants and I blinked a few times as my eyes landed on his naked, toned chest and skittered away almost immediately. He looked so huge and tall compared to me, I knew it wouldn’t be hard for him to render me powerless if he wanted to. His eyes lifted up and landed on me and I watched as the top of his lips twitched a little before he ended the call and placed the phone on the bed side table, I glanced at the bedside table and felt my heart jump in my chest with a jolt of fear as I took in the two guns positioned beside his phone. I’ve seen a lot of guns while growing up, on father and his men, I’ve seen some in his office as well on some occasions. But never have I been this close to one and that thought alone was making me nervous all over again. What if he doesn’t like my body and shoots me out of disappointment? What if... “Come over here,” He said, cutting into my jumbled up thoughts and I dragged in a deep breath and closed the distance between us without wasting any time to avoid him from getting mad at me. He wrapped his large hand around my wrist and tugged me down on the bed the moment I got to his side and I sat wide-eyed beside him with my heart sitting in my mouth, our eyes staring into each other’s. I could feel my own heartbeat in my ear and my blood was currently boiling over due to how nervous I was feeling. I broke eye contact and stared down at my robe covered thighs, wondering how he was going to go about everything tonight. Was he going to lift me up and throw me on the bed before getting on with it? Was he going to tear my robe and underwear off if I hesitated on taking them off myself? Was he going to kiss me again the way he did at the wedding today? The way he had brushed his lips ever so lightly against mine... The kiss had left a shivery, confusing feeling behind and I didn’t know if I wanted to experience it again or not. He grasp my chin and tugged my face up, making our gazes lock, we’ve locked eyes a lot today that I had lost count due to the amounts of things on my mind and each time he stared into my eyes with his grey eyes. It felt like he was staring right into my soul and trying to hypnotize me. He leaned down and I squeezed my eyes shut immediately, my heart hammering hard against my chest. I felt soft lips faintly ghost against the edge of my lips ever so slowly before dragging over my cheek. “Let me see those blue eyes, Sofia.” His lips moved over my cheek as he whispered those words and my eyes fluttered open slowly, I tried to duck my head unconsciously but his sudden grip on my jaw prevented that. I was covered with my robe but that didn’t stop shivers from sliding down my spine when his eyes raked over my facial features before coming back to connect with mine. “You look way more beautiful without makeup on,” He murmured against my cheek and I puffed out a slow breath as his voice rumbled against my cheek. Oh. I didn’t know what to say to that so I remained quiet and tried not to close my eyes as his lips lightly traced my jawline. “You look so innocent,” He murmured as his lips traced a line down my neck, warm breath hitting my skin as each word left his mouth and I gasped a little with my eyes fluttering unconsciously. “Um...” I started to say but trailed when he pressed a soft kiss on the spot beneath my ear and I puffed out another tiny breath as another confusing shiver slithered down my spine slowly. “But you are not, are you?” He lightly bit into the spot beneath my ear as the next words left his lips and an unintelligible sound slipped out of my lips, resulting in sparks flying around in my head. What was happening?