The Mafia CEO'S Substitute Bride

o make sense of everything that had happened in the past few hours. Just this morning, she'd been nothing more than a pawn in her

his life? None of that mattered to Dante Romano. She could see it in the way his eyes bored into hers, reading her like an open boo

umb grazing her jawline before he withdrew hi

d already stepped away, his gaze sweeping the room, avoiding her eyes now. He

o know. This wasn't a normal marriage. This was an arrange

ture stiffening. "Now, you learn

gown. "What if I don't?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The words were reckless, but she couldn't sto

low, each word laced with quiet menace. "If you don't play you

tween them. But there was something else there too, a tension that felt less like dan

" she asked, her voice

. He reached down and lifted a strand of her hair, twirling it around his fingers, his gaze never lea

move, couldn't breathe. The way he looked at her, the way he touched her, it

ing to sound braver than she fe

get to survive. You get protection. You get to stay a

t an empty promise-they were a reality check. She w

tepped back, giving her space to breathe. "You'll stay in the west wing for now," he s

ion left her lips before sh

row, amused. "Did yo

, and her mind couldn't keep up with the storm of emotions swirling inside her. She felt trapped, but s

voice calm but resolute. "You'll have the freedom to move

something human beneath the layers of power and control he wore

gone before she could read it. "Because I don't know you," he said simply,

e tension in the room. Dante didn't take h

awline and a clean-cut appearance. He bowed slightly, his ex

Good. Take Bell

g just long enough to make her uncomfortable. "Fol

nything. Something that could give her a clue as to what he really thought of

ed to follow the man. The study door closed behind her with a soft thud, and sh

idors, his silence unnerving. Finally, they reached a set of double doors at the far end of the west wing. He pushed them open, revealing a gr

to let her enter. "If you need anything, there's a bu

ngered for a moment before giving her a short nod and

at the extravagant decor. It felt wrong, all of it

ghtstand, a crystal vase filled with white roses on the table near the window. The luxury was s

night. The estate was vast, the perfectly manicured lawns stretching out as far as she could see. Beyond th

iraled so far out of control? Just days ago, she had been living quietly under her uncle's roof, dreaming of a life of h

e underestimated. He might have taken her as his bride,

xhaustion of the day finally caught up with her, and for the first time in hours, she allowed herself to relax. But even

sure: her life would