THE DON'S SECRET OBSESSION ( His Bride, Her Prison)

I never wanted any part in this. But I have no choice. With a deep sigh, I force down an invisible lump in my throat, looking up at the priest. I press my fingers tighter into the flower I am holding, hoping it hides how much I am shaking. Dreading the words the priest is about to utter. "Do you, Ariella Cecilia Boone, take Dermos Salvatore to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asks. I blink. I badly want to say it, badly want to scream that I am not Ariella Cecilia Boone. My lips tremble as I force the truth down my throat, "Yes, I do." I murmur, my voice a little over a whisper. ~~~~ Ariel Hannah Boone didn't know what life had in store for her when she woke up on her twin sister's wedding day, only to find out her sister had run away. She went into panic when her mother insisted she take her place because Dermos Salvatore was no man to joke with. Dermos was the most feared Don in the whole of Sicily, one who killed without care. A blood thirsty murderer with no remorse. In an attempt to save her family from his wrath, she takes her sister's place at the wedding. Pain, suffering, and betrayal are all she knows the moment she became his. Secrets begin to unveil as she realises her family isn't what it seems. And when whispers of her sister's disappearance reach her, she finds out the truth. He never wanted Ariella; it had always been her. Ariel has to choose between a love built on lies or betraying her sister and family. She was his bride, and he was her prison, yet he would never let her go.

Chapters

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I can't breathe. I'm nervous as hell.

And while I hope it is not as visible as it feels, I like to believe that everyone would simply think I am acting all weird because I'm a first-time bride.

But the truth is, I'm nervous because I'm a fraud.

I never wanted any part in this. But I have no choice. With a deep sigh, I force down an invisible lump in my throat, looking up at the priest.

I press my fingers tighter into the flower I am holding, hoping it hides how much I am shaking. Dreading the words the priest is about to utter.

"Do you, Ariella Cecilia Boone, take Dermos Salvatore to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asks.

I blink.

I badly want to say it, badly want to scream that I am not Ariella Cecilia Boone.

My sister ran away this morning, and I am being forced to take her place. I badly want to fling this flower at his face and flee.

Yet mom's voice replays in my head like a broken record.

"You have to do it, Cara Mia, your sister is nowhere to be found. If we don't fulfill the end of our bargain, you know what Dermos will do to us."

Yes, I did know what he would do. So, with that, I go along as planned. Pretend to be Ariella until she is found.

My lips tremble as I force the truth down my throat, "Yes, I do." I murmur, my voice a little over a whisper.

I can't expose family, can't put them in such danger.

The priest nods before turning to the almighty Dermos, asking the same thing.

"Of course, I do." His deep velvety voice resonates through the church. His calm green eyes lock onto mine, steady and unreadable.

They're not searching mine. They don't look like they suspect a thing. The tight feeling in my chest loosens a tad.

The relief in my face might have shown a little as Dermos's lips curled into a slight smirk. I don't know what to make of it, and just like that, my anxiety spikes again.

The rituals continue, but I am barely present. My eyes drink up the man. I know nothing except that he is the Don of the Italian Mafia.

My eyes rake down his body, adorned in a white suit; he has the most innocent-looking face. The way his eyes twinkle didn't fit the description of the ruthless Don I heard so much about.

My thoughts are cut off as the priest's words filter into my ears, "You may kiss the bride."

What?

My eyes widen as I watch him lean close, my fingers tighten harder on my flowers as I watch him lean closer, his pink lips now inches away from mine.

"Boss, watch out!" A loud voice booms as shots ring out into the air.

Dermos moves with speed I didn't know a human could possess. One moment he was leaning over, the next he reached into his suit, pulling out a gun and firing back.

My entire body freezes as I watch people scramble about, screams filling the air, yet I don't make a single move.

Is this how it all ends?

"ARIELLA, GET DOWN!!" Dermos' voice breaks through my haze. "Get over here!"

I come back to my senses instantly. But rather than run, my legs give way as my knees scrape the tile.

"What are you doing!" He doesn't give me the chance to respond.

The next moment, tight arms wrap around my body, dragging my limp body up.

I snap back into control, pushing the panic deep down my throat, letting him tug me away.

My heart is beating so fast.

I don't want to die. This isn't how I want my life to end. Marrying a Don against my wish and having my guts spill out on the pavement where I just exchanged vows.

Men dressed in black are scattered around the old cathedral building as they fire guns at each other. I have never seen a sight like this before.

Mom sheltered us our whole life, kept us hidden from the dark world. I never knew anything about this world until I heard of Ariella's arranged marriage.

"Carlos, get Ariella to safety." Dermos barks at a man hurrying our way. "Don't worry about me."

I don't get a good look at the man as things turn heated.

Before Carlos can follow orders, Dermos' arms wrap around my midriff, and he hurls me in another direction.

A blood-curdling scream tears out of my lips as my body is flung down the altar. Pain sears through my side as tears threaten to roll down my face.

I dig my palm into the tiles as I drag my body up, grabbing one of the chairs as I rise to my feet. I snap my head to look at Dermos when strong arms tug me back as the sound of rings through the air.

Thick red liquid spurts out of the guy in front of me, splashing onto my face.

Turns out that one of Dermos' men shot a man who was about to blow my brains out.

"Come on, I will get you to safety." The man says, reaching out for my arms.

I move away from him swiftly, failing to realise that he is the man Dermos was speaking to earlier.

Breathing hard, I glare at him. "Who are you?" I bark just before it dawns on me.

"Carlos, Dermos's boss," he says sharply, grabbing my hand to pull me forward.

I shut my eyes as I bite my lips, about to protest, but the sound of bullets ringing in the air has me shrinking before him.

"Take me away from here, please." I cry out, flinging my arms out to grip his arm.

Once we are successfully out of the church, I can finally breathe.

"Let's go." He calls out, tugging me like a

puppy.

I dig my heels into the asphalt, refusing to move as I struggle to be free from his hold.

I don't want to leave, not yet. Stepping into that car is equivalent to sealing my fate forever.

"Where is my mom? Where is she? I'm not leaving without her." I argue, snapping my head again to look behind, pretending to seem worried. I am counting on the fact that he's not aware that my mom never showed up for the wedding.

"All attendees are fine," he grits out, annoyance written all over his exterior. "They were not coming for anyone that wasn't the bride or us. Now get in."

I rake my eyes over him. He is a lanky guy with a little muscle. His hair is in a buzz cut, with his piercing blue eyes complementing his pale skin. Blood runs down his jaw over his black suit.

"What of Dermos?" I ask, trying hard to still look worried, knowing fully well that I am stalling.

This might just be the last minute I ever get to be Ariel again. And I plan to savour every second of it.

"What the hell are you both still doing here? I told you to get her to safety. This isn't safe." Dermos's deep voice cuts through my haze.

I snap my head only to see him drenched in blood, his white suit now almost red as his eyes blaze with a fury I have never seen.

He tucks his dripping gun into his suit like it's the most normal thing ever. He looks extremely huge and dangerous as he stalks over.

I barely hear anything until he says something that sends a thrill down my spine.

"You are safe, Ariella." The way he calls my name like he knows something I don't.

Not with him. There was nothing like safety with a dangerous man of this calibre.

What the hell have I gotten into? I think, as I take my first step into my doom.

Continue to next part

On our wedding night, my Fated Mate, Alpha Cedric, left our bed to care for his mistress. He told me our marriage was just an obligation. But the real betrayal came months later on a rooftop. When Rogues demanded a trade, Cedric didn't hesitate. He chose to save Jayden because of her "heart condition," handing me—his pregnant wife—over to the killers. "You are stronger," he said as he pushed me toward them. I fell from the building. I survived, but our unborn pup didn't. Instead of comfort, I woke up to handcuffs. Cedric believed Jayden’s lies that I staged the kidnapping for attention. He threw me into the dungeon, shackling my wrists with silver cuffs that burned my flesh, while Jayden poisoned my food with wolfsbane. He stripped me of my title and dignity, never realizing that the "fragile" woman he protected was the true monster. He didn't know about the glowing rune on my chest counting down the seconds I had left. He didn't know I was the legendary White Wolf, and my time was up. On my final night, I asked for one last ride on the Ferris wheel where we first met. At midnight, as Cedric rushed back to the amusement park, he didn't find a body. He found only my empty clothes and a text message on the seat. "Don't look for me, Cedric. I'm giving my wolf back to the moon." As he watched the security footage, he finally saw me dissolve into stardust and ascend to the sky, leaving him alone in a world that suddenly felt too quiet.

Mafia Romance Werewolf

9.1

His Unwanted Fiancée Was His True Savior

9.1

I was standing in five thousand dollars of hand-stitched lace when I received the medical report. My fiancé, Dante de Rossi, the future Don of Chicago, had gotten another woman pregnant. He didn't apologize. He didn't beg. He looked me in the eye and called it a "strategic necessity." "Isobel saved my life five years ago," he said coldly. "I owe her this child. You will raise it as your own. It is the price of the Peace Treaty." He forced me to cancel our engagement photos so he could take them with her. He took her on the vacation meant for our honeymoon. At dinner, he ordered me the seafood risotto, completely forgetting my deadly shellfish allergy, while fussing over Isobel’s water temperature. When I tried to leave, he cornered me. "You are a mob wife, Nina. Act like one. She is the hero who saved me." I wanted to laugh. Because five years ago, in that alley, Isobel wasn't even there. I was the one in the mask. I was the one who stitched his femoral artery and saved his life, risking my own medical license. He was destroying our twenty-year relationship to pay a debt to a liar. I didn't scream. I didn't fight. I simply picked up a red marker and walked to the calendar. On the day of our wedding, while Dante stood at the altar waiting for his obedient Queen, I was already boarding a one-way flight to the other side of the world. I left him nothing but four words scrawled across the date: "Let's break up, Dante."

Action Mafia Romance

7.6

His Unwanted Wife, The Rival Don's Queen

7.6

The gunman pressed a Glock to my temple and gave my husband a choice. "One walks out. One stays. Choose, Mr. Underboss." I wasn't worried. I was Haven. I was his wife of ten years, his Consigliere, the woman who built his empire. Beside me sobbed Gemma, a fragile twenty-two-year-old he had known for six months. "Take Gemma! Leave Haven!" Connor screamed, his honor twisting into something unrecognizable. He walked out of the warehouse with another woman in his arms, leaving me to be butchered. I didn't wait for the bullet. I threw myself through a glass window into the freezing canal. I survived the fall, but the life inside me didn't. After five years of failed IVF, the miracle baby I hadn't even told Connor about was gone. While I lay in a cold hospital room, bleeding out the remains of our child, my husband was buying diamond earrings for the woman who had set me up to die. When the doctor tried to sedate me for the surgery, I grabbed his wrist. "No anesthesia," I commanded. "But the pain..." "I want to feel it," I said, staring at the ceiling. "I want to feel every scrap of him leaving my body." I burned that pain into my soul. Then, I went home, poured gasoline over our wedding bed, and lit a match. Two years later, I returned to the city. Connor thought I was dead. But when he saw me on the arm of his mortal enemy, wearing the crown of a rival Queen, he realized his mistake. He didn't just lose a wife. He started a war.

Mafia Modern Romance

8.6

Mafia Betrayal: Her Escape From Darkness

8.6

The Maybach glided through rain, Dante's cold cedar cologne a familiar comfort. Seven years, my life revolved around him, my fingers on his suit cuff, a silent promise. But tonight, our normal shattered with a single phone call. He answered, speaking rapid Italian – a language he thought I didn't understand. Every word: a death knell. Confirming his engagement to Sofia Moretti, dismissing me as a 'consolation prize.' Seven years of loyalty vanished. His loving mask back, he left for his fiancée. I stumbled into freezing rain, recalling my foster past. My numb fingers dialed his mother, Isabella, demanding fifty million for my silence. Her insults didn't sting. The true gut punch: Sofia's Instagram, a prenup on Dante's desk, proudly showing *my* watch, captioned: 'Fourteen days left.' This wasn't their celebration; it was my death sentence. I wouldn't stay another day in this gilded cage. My old duffel bag, packed, waited. The Australia brochure, a childhood dream, in my pocket. This time, I would live for myself, and they would all pay.

Action Mafia Modern

9.6

Marked by My Secondhand Delivery Wolf

9.6

To save on the outrageous wages of hired movers, I, Jade Lawson, bought a werewolf who had been returned three times from a secondhand trading site. The seller warned me he was vicious, wild, and prone to biting. What caught my eye wasn't his temperament. It was his build. Six foot three, solid muscle, the kind of body that looked like it could haul six hundred pounds of packages without breaking a sweat. When he arrived, he was indeed vicious. He kept sneaking into my room at night, pressing his scorching body against mine and grinding his teeth against the back of my neck. I thought he was teething. Or worse, developing rabies. I contacted the seller immediately to request a return. After hearing my description, the seller went quiet for a long time. "We don't recommend returning him." "He's not teething. Werewolves only feel the urge to bite the back of their mate's neck during their rut phase. It's a mate-marking instinct." "He wants you. He's trying to get you to bear his pups."

Mafia Romance Werewolf

7.3

Marrying The Rival: My Ex-Husband's Despair

7.3

I stood outside my husband's study, the perfect mafia wife, only to hear him mocking me as an "ice sculpture" while he entertained his mistress, Aria. But the betrayal went deeper than infidelity. A week later, my saddle snapped mid-jump, leaving me with a shattered leg. Lying in the hospital bed, I overheard the conversation that killed the last of my love. My husband, Alessandro, knew Aria had sabotaged my gear. He knew she could have killed me. Yet, he told his men to let it go. He called my near-death experience a "lesson" because I had bruised his mistress's ego. He humiliated me publicly, freezing my accounts to buy family heirlooms for her. He stood by while she threatened to leak our private tapes to the press. He destroyed my dignity to play the hero for a woman he thought was a helpless orphan. He had no idea she was a fraud. He didn't know I had installed micro-cameras throughout the estate while he was busy pampering her. He didn't know I had hours of footage showing his "innocent" Aria sleeping with his guards, his rivals, and even his staff, laughing about how easy he was to manipulate. At the annual charity gala, in front of the entire crime family, Alessandro demanded I apologize to her. I didn't beg. I didn't cry. I simply connected my drive to the main projector and pressed play.

Mafia Modern Romance

THE DON'S SECRET OBSESSION ( His Bride, Her Prison)

Chapter 1

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