Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss (Mob Boss’s Unexpected Twins Duet #1)

14. Chiara

CHAPTER 14

Chiara

I swallow past the lump in my throat. If the idea of Adriano as a villain wasn’t clear enough to me, well, it is now. He showed up all covered in blood, and now he’s in the bathroom.

Whose blood is it? That guy’s? Is he dead? I don’t even know who the guy was, and why he wanted to free me. What did he mean when he shouted that Adriano wasn’t a real Gaviani? Asking Adriano is obviously out of the question.

Have my mom and dad realized what’s going on with me? The fact that I know nothing and have no way to find out drives me crazy. I only have to hope they’re all right and safe, maybe still at my uncle’s place.

The sheer amount of men who stormed the room to take that guy away was scary. They have to be very close nearby all the time. Always ready. Even if I get out of this room, I’ll run into them.

I chew on the inside of my cheek. Coming up with a plan is hard when I don’t have any weapons or anything within my reach. Adriano will always overpower me, and he has a gun. I haven’t even gotten any sleep. Even before the guy showed up, I was too restless.

The bathroom door swishes open, and I gape at Adriano. He’s only wearing a towel. Drops of water are still gliding down his strong body as he runs a hand through his wet hair. He glances at me and heads toward the closet.

I should look away. There’s no reason for me to keep staring at him while he... drops the towel to the floor. But I don’t look away. I can’t. Warmth spreads through me, and I hate it.

Adriano isn’t Blue. I have to remind myself of that. I tear my gaze away from him just as he looks over his shoulder. As I close my eyes, I take a deep breath. If I pretend I’m asleep, maybe he’ll go away. I just need him as far away as possible from me right now. I hear his footsteps coming closer, and I tense. But then I hear the door open and close. I open my eyes. He’s gone. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

At some point, I must’ve dozed off because when I wake up Adriano and Rocco are in the room. Adriano removes my cuff.

“If she tries anything, just shoot her,” he says to Rocco, who has his gun out.

“Go to the bathroom and get ready,” Adriano says to me. “And hurry.”

Hurry for what? Is he taking me somewhere? Rocco’s gun is pointed at me as I get to my feet, and Adriano is already halfway across the room and out of the door before I can ask anything.

Should I try to talk to Rocco? Get him on my side and beg him to help me? I don’t think he’d do that. If he’s here, that means Adriano trusts him. Rocco must be one of his most loyal men.

As I close the bathroom door behind me, I catch Rocco’s gaze. I hope he’s as trustworthy as Adriano believes him to be.

Once I’m out of the bathroom, Rocco trains his gun on me again.

“Walk,” he says. “Through the door.”

I step outside into the hallway.

“Right,” Rocco barks.

I enter a big room to our right. There’s a huge table for maybe a dozen people, and Adriano is sitting in one of the chairs. The table is filled with food, and there are two empty plates.

“Take a seat,” Adriano says.

I glance at the windows. They’re huge too, and I can see some buildings through them. We’re somewhere in the city. Somewhere high up. Jumping out of the window is out of the question then, unless I want to die.

As I sit down across from Adriano, the whiff of food makes my stomach rumble. It suddenly seems like ages since I last ate something. My stomach is a hollow pit, and everything on the table looks appetizing. But I don’t move. Filippo’s face fills my mind.

“Don’t touch it! I fucking paid for it! You eat when I tell you you can!” he screams at me, the artery in his neck pulsing.

A shiver runs down my spine as I return back to the present. Adriano watches me with interest as he gets some food on his plate.

“I hope there’s something on this table that you like,” he says. “You must be hungry.”

Starving, more like it. I’m going to need my energy, so I fill my plate with a little bit of everything. Adriano chews his food, but he keeps staring at me as if I’m some kind of exhibit, or a puzzle that he has to solve.

“What do you want from me?” I dare to ask after I’ve eaten half of my food.

If he gets mad at me and sends me back to his room, at least I won’t be hungry.

“I’m sorry about all this. I know it must be frustrating and scary, but I need you to get what I want. You’re just a pawn on a big chessboard.”

“Then why don’t you let me go? I’m no one important. I’m sure you can get everything you want without me.”

“Your father is in an area without phone service, so until he answers my call, you’re stuck with me.”

“You want to get your hands on my house and my dad’s restaurant?”

“Don’t take it personally.” He smiles. “I want to build something bigger and better there. Why would you want to live the rest of your life in that old, boring neighborhood?”

“Because it’s my home!” I raise my voice without meaning to.

“You can get a new home somewhere else. Your father should’ve just agreed to sell. With the money—”

“You don’t understand. Not everything is about money!”

“That’s what delusional people tell themselves, but no, it’s not true. Everything has always been about money and always will be.”

I furrow my brow. “Is this your home?”

“Yes, why?”

“What if someone wanted to chase you out of here? What if they destroyed everything?”

He shrugs. “I’d move somewhere else.”

“Isn’t there anything you like about this place? Really like?”

He tilts his head as if he’s thinking hard about it. “Good location. Far enough away from the cops. Nice layout. Mostly soundproof. But I can get that somewhere else too for the right price.”

“No, I mean something personal. Do you watch the sunrise every morning? Or is there anything special about this building that you just can’t get anywhere else? Maybe your parents spent their days here, or gotten married, or—”

He shakes his head. “I couldn’t care less about things like that.”

“And people you care about? Are they all here? Your friends? Or you don’t have any?”

“Care about?” He laughs. “Caring about anyone or anything will only get you in trouble. Your family is an example of that. You can move anywhere you want, but you’re too stubborn. Gaviani Resort will make thousands of people happy. Money will flow like crazy. Your restaurant is dying anyway. Your father is barely keeping it afloat. I’m actually doing you a favor. You need to let go.”

“Soulless fun is not what I’m looking for, and no place is like home, but it looks like you don’t really have one. If you did, you’d know that your fancy resort is completely pointless. Why did that man say you weren’t a real Gaviani? Are you trying to prove something to someone so you want my neighborhood so bad?”

His eyes flash with fury, his jaw clenching. I should just keep my mouth shut, but I want to understand why he’s doing all this.

“I’m a successful businessman. That’s all,” he says. “Your neighborhood currently doesn’t belong to anyone, and it’s right next to my territory. So no, I can’t just build somewhere else, because yours is the easiest area to keep and protect. You and your neighbors can buy houses with a view of the sea somewhere else. No one will stop you. And if you love your family so much, then you’ll be happy that you’re with them. Alive.” His lips spread into a smile.

“Have you even visited my neighborhood, aside from coming to my house in the middle of the night? Have you seen how charming it is? Have you breathed in that special mix of trees, flowers, and the sea in the air? If you mow it all down, it’ll disappear. It’ll be sterile. It’ll lose its life. It’ll be just another huge block of ugly concrete. Your clientele will probably be as shady as you and they’ll come and go. Some people have been coming to my dad’s restaurant for decades. They brought their families, who then continued to bring their children. Traditions were created. And my neighbors... They’re all nice, kind, hardworking people. Many of them have jobs close by, and they can’t just move somewhere else because it would be too far. Their kids go to a nearby school. Should they lose their friends? Do you want to uproot their lives? Take away their happy childhood?”

“And why should I give a fuck? They don’t have enough power or money to stop me, so they can fuck off. Find new friends. Create new traditions if that’s something they need in their lives. People didn’t mind leaving me on the street when I had nothing, so I’m actually being really nice and offering to buy their houses instead of letting my men burn it all to the ground. Although, yeah, I admit burning it down would slow down my project and taking over the area would be a lot messier, so... I’m just not a nice man, Chiara. Accept it and move on. You either want to live or you don’t. The rest is just bullshit.”

My breath catches because there’s so much hate in his eyes. What has happened to him that his heart is so cold and shriveled?

“It’s not bullshit to me. I’ve always dreamed about taking over my dad’s restaurant,” I say.

“Taking over, what exactly? His debt? It’s unlikely you’ll be able to expand your business or earn any real money.”

“I’ll be happy to keep it the way it is. I don’t need much. I just want to be surrounded by people who I love and who love me. I want to have that warm feeling of happiness whenever I walk down my street. I want to feel safe. You already have a ton of money, don’t you? Why do you need more? Aren’t you just trying to fill the void inside you? Do you think you’ll be happy even after you get what you want?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You live in some pink bubble that’s eventually going to burst.”

“I invite you to stay in my neighborhood for a few days. Just experience it all for a little bit. It might change your mind. And yeah, things aren’t always ideal, and they’re far from perfect. Not every day is happy and people argue and fight over nonsense, but then there are days when you just sit in front of your house and... you’re happy to be there. You should meet a few people. Talk to them. Forget the hecticness of your life and just enjoy peace and quiet, and children’s laughter.”

“Sounds like a fucking nightmare,” he says through his teeth.

“Don’t you want kids? Don’t you care what kind of environment they’ll grow up in?”

He scoffs.

“Ah, right. You arrange your marriages to women you don’t even know because no one actually wants to be with someone like you. That’s why you don’t want anyone to be happy, especially so close to you, because you’ll never be happy.”

When his gaze finds mine, I’m sure he’s going to kill me. I lick my dry lips. Why did I have to say that to him? What the hell possessed me to provoke him like that? As if I didn’t know any better...

“Take her away,” Adriano says to Rocco. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

Rocco has witnessed our whole exchange? Oh crap. I forgot all about him. I get to my feet and snatch a croissant off the table. Who knows when Adriano will give me something to eat after this, and maybe he won’t take the croissant from me.

Adriano notices, but he doesn’t say anything. His lips are pressed into a tight line as he leans back in his chair.

Is there any humanity left in him? Or has someone irrevocably taken it away from him?