My Best Friend's Dad Married Me

When the boy I had loved in silence for five years dropped to one knee and proposed to the very girl who had bullied me, the entire room burst into laughter at my expense. "That fat, ugly Lydia Prescott actually thinks she has a shot with a mafia boss?" In a single night, I became the city's favorite punchline. I fled in humiliation. The next time I appeared, I had transformed. The weight was gone, and so was the ridicule. I stunned everyone into silence. Miles Calloway begged through tears for another chance, but I simply slipped my arm through the arm of the mafia godfather beside me and smiled. "Sorry. I'm married." The man rumored to be cold-blooded and untouchable pulled me closer and declared with chilling certainty, "Lydia is my wife." The room erupted. Only my best friend, Annie Sinclair, gasped, "Lydia, you seriously locked down my dad?" ...... "Eight tonight. Seaview Crest Hotel ballroom. Dress nice." When a message from Miles, my childhood friend I'd been secretly in love with for five long years, popped up, my heart stuttered in my chest. He had been acting strangely secretive lately, constantly preparing something, even asking about my preferences more than once. I let myself indulge in a fragile hope. Was he finally going to confess? I put on my prettiest dress and arrived early, nerves twisting in my stomach. Only to find Tessa Hawthorne clinging to Miles's arm, her body angled close in intimate familiarity. "Well, if it isn't Lydia. All dressed up like this… Don't tell me you thought Miles was confessing to you?" "Dream on. Look at yourself. Do you seriously think Miles would ever choose you? The only one worthy of him is Tessa." Tessa blushed and waved a hand coyly. "Don't say that. Lydia is technically the mafia princess, after all." They didn't take it seriously at all. If anything, they only laughed louder. "Her dad's been dead for years. Mafia princess? Please." "If anyone here's a princess, it's Tessa." Their mockery burned. I instinctively looked to Miles, silently begging him to defend me. Instead, I caught the flicker of irritation and disgust in his eyes. He looked away almost immediately, his expression softening as he leaned in to whisper something in Tessa's ear. It felt like a needle had pierced my heart. The roses, the lavish decorations, the bold, passionate proposal. None of it had ever been meant for me. I was nothing more than a clown who had wandered into someone else's fairy tale. My vision blurred, but I stubbornly remained where I stood, refusing to accept what was unfolding. How painfully ironic. The man who had promised my dying father he would protect me for life was now kneeling before the girl who had humiliated me. The ache in my chest made it hard to breathe. But I didn't even have the courage to question him. Compared to the radiant, confident Tessa, I truly was fat and ugly. The moment Miles dropped to one knee before her, I broke. I turned and fled. But once I escaped, I realized I had nowhere to go. Home? The thought of Miles's disgust, Tessa's taunts, and the servants' whispers made that house feel suffocating. I wandered the streets in a daze until my best friend Annie found me. "Lydia, are you okay? Miles crossed every line! He knew you liked him. He led you on for so long and then turned around and proposed to Tessa?" She was furious on my behalf and insisted I stay with her. "My dad's out of town this month anyway. Stay at my place. No point going back and putting up with those two." Annie's kindness broke the dam inside me. All the humiliation and grief I had been holding back poured out at once. When I was fifteen, my father died in a family conflict. Before he passed, he entrusted me to the mafia leader he had personally elevated, Miles. From then on, Miles became my strongest shield. For seven years, he protected me. And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with him. Everyone knew about my feelings. Miles never openly acknowledged them, but he never rejected me either. In fact, he often favored me in ways that felt dangerously close to affection. Until Tessa appeared. She targeted me deliberately, weaving lies and schemes until she won his trust. He began choosing her over me. Again and again. Until, in the end, he surrendered to her completely. I trembled in Annie's arms as I cried, sinking into the haze of heartbreak. I had no appetite and barely touched food. After who knew how many days like that, Annie couldn't stand it anymore. She dragged me out shopping, determined to distract me. "Lydia, you've got great features. Your face is delicate, your skin's flawless. You only gained weight because of the medication when you were sick. Now that you've slimmed down a little, you already look amazing. Dress up properly and you'll outshine Tessa. Let Miles regret everything." I stared blankly at my reflection. My face looked ashen and worn, but my body was no longer as heavy as before. Clothes that used to cling now hung loosely on me. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. In just one month, I had reduced myself to this over a man. Miles didn't love me. Did that mean I couldn't live without him? No. My gaze slowly hardened. I would live better than ever. "Forget him. That jerk has no taste. Even if he regrets it, we don't want him back. You deserve better, Lydia." Annie was still fuming on my behalf. She swore she would help me glow up and marry the best man in the world. "If you ask me, a real man should meet my dad's standards. Rich, good-looking, disciplined. If it weren't for the age gap, I'd totally set you up with him." The more outrageous she became, the faster I cut her off. Annie's adoptive father was the current mafia godfather. A man who stood at the very top, who held countless lives in his hands. Even with a hundred times more courage, I wouldn't dare imagine something like that. That night, Annie dragged me out for drinks to vent. But after just one glass, my head was already spinning. Annie's tolerance wasn't much better. Before long, she ran to the restroom to throw up. I rested my head on the table alone when my phone rang. "Lydia, you've been gone a month. Getting bold now? Over one text message, how long are you planning to keep this up?" The familiar accusation. I could almost see Miles frowning with that dark, displeased expression. "Tessa feels so guilty because of you that she's gotten sick. Come home immediately and apologize to her." I tightened my grip on the phone until my fingers went numb from the pressure. So my absence for a whole month didn't worry him. But the moment Tessa pretended to be sick, he called to pressure me into apologizing. Bitterness flooded my chest, followed by a surge of anger. "Miles, I'm not coming back." Miles clearly hadn't expected me, who had always been obedient, to defy him like this. He let out a cold laugh, barely suppressing his anger. "Fine, Lydia. Don't come back ever again if you're so capable. But don't forget, your father's inheritance is still in my hands." Using my father's inheritance as leverage was his usual tactic. But this time, I refused to be controlled. "Mr. Calloway, I'll be graduating soon. After that, my father's estate won't require your management." I hung up. My face was already wet with tears. A handkerchief suddenly appeared in front of me. Startled, I realized a man had been standing beside me. He was taller than Miles, and his presence was far more commanding. Maybe Miles had angered me past reason. A reckless thought burst into my mind. "Will you marry me?" The man seemed startled. He said nothing for a long moment. He must have thought I was insane. "I knew it," I murmured bitterly. "A woman like me, fat and unattractive… no one would ever like me." "As long as you're willing to marry, I'll marry you." His voice was low, yet it struck my ears like thunder. My eyes flew open. In an instant, my mind cleared. I finally saw his face clearly. It was Dominic Sinclair. The current mafia godfather. And Annie's adoptive father. Shock left me speechless. My thoughts were in complete chaos. The next thing I knew, I was sitting inside a car. The heater warmed the air, and the alcohol clouded my mind again. In my haze, I reached toward the nearest source of warmth and leaned in. He pushed me back, as if trying to restrain me. I struggled and clung to him like an octopus. I vaguely heard him sigh. "Lydia, do you even know who I am?" A warm kiss landed gently against my cheek.