The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ANTONIO.

The situation between Rosalinda and Sofia was awkward, as Sofia realised that Rosalinda and I admired each other. It was even more awkward for me because I found myself questioning why I had chosen to protect Rosalinda instead of my own bride.

“Oh, my God.” Roberto’s voice pierced the air, and I swung my head to the side to see him approaching us with worries saturating his features.

“Rosa, Sofia.” He addressed his daughters when he came to a stop in front of us, darting his gaze between the both of them. “Are you both okay?”

They both nodded gently without uttering a word.

He let out a sigh of relief before flicking his gaze at me, a scowl masking his features.

Before he could open his mouth to talk, I spoke first. “What happened?”

“Why don’t you go and ask your men who ruined everything?” He groaned, pointing an accusatory finger at me.

Fucking hell! I was going to kill whoever started the fight. I was infuriated that my wedding was disrupted, but the revelation that one of my own men was responsible made me even more livid. I pulled out my gun and charged into the crowd, comprising my men, Roberto’s men, and a contingent that I suspected belonged to Lorenzo, given his presence. Every other guest had left the venue already.

“Who started it?” I groaned as I darted my gaze between my men.

They all flicked their gazes at Luca, and without hearing a word from them, I knew Luca was responsible.

“You fucking bastard.” I groaned as I lunged towards him with rage and kicked him on his balls, forcing him to collapse to his knees as he writhed in pain.

Driven by rage, I pressed my gun against his temple. “You better have a reasonable explanation for ruining this wedding. Fucking start talking, bastard!”

I didn’t get a response, and his silence fueled my anger as I swung the gun and struck his shoulder with it. “I swear, I would kill you if you didn’t start talking now.”

Luca was one of my best men, and that was the only reason he was still breathing. If he were one of the other men, he would have been long gone before he could even get the chance to explain himself as to why he disrupted my wedding when he knew how much the alliance meant to us.

“Are you too afraid to speak now? Or is it that you are ashamed?” I heard a voice say, and I turned to look at the source of the voice.

It was a man with a gunshot wound on his arm, standing next to Lorenzo.

“Oh, I’ll save him the embarrassment of having to say it himself.” He continued, a smug smile touching his lips. “I told him how sweet his girlfriend’s pussy tasted, and he couldn’t handle it.”

Lorenzo threw a punch to his stomach, causing him to groan In pain. “Shut the fuck up! You bastard.”

He must be one of Lorenzo’s men.

“What?!” I exclaimed, the anger within me reaching new heights as I returned my gaze to Luca. “You fucking messed up my wedding because of a fucking woman?”

“A woman?” I repeated in disbelief. “Luca, a fucking woman?”

“I am sorry, boss.” He wheezed while still writhing in pain.

“You know. It’s taking everything in me not to blow your fucking head off right now. You signed a fucking death wish when you disrupted this wedding. And hearing the fucking reason is even worse.” I spat out.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

The anger burning within me was so intense, and the only thing that stopped me from blowing his head off was his mother-my aunt. She was so good to me and treated me like her own son. Before she died, she made me promise that I would protect her son, and that is Luca’s saving grace right now.

But he won’t go without a punishment.

“You should be grateful to your mother for your life. Scemo!” I groaned before withdrawing my gun from his head and slipping it into my pocket.

I looked around the venue. Everywhere was fucking scattered, with splatters of blood strewn around the venue. Some of the men had gunshot wounds and were wincing in pain, but thankfully, no life was lost because it might have caused a feud between the two families. With the situation at hand, it was obvious that the wedding could no longer hold. As I continued looking around, my eyes unintentionally caught Rosalinda’s, and I stared at her for more seconds than I should have before tearing my gaze away from hers.

“I am sorry, boss.” Luca’s irritating voice grated, and I shot a withering glare at him.

Sighing in frustration, I walked out of the venue because another word from him, another apology, and I might lose my sh*t and end him.

…

All the businesses I had planned to execute with Roberto immediately after the wedding would have to be put on hold just because of a fight over a woman. I was livid-extremely livid-at that moment, and in a way that I didn’t understand, thoughts of Rosalinda managed to cross my mind.

That incredibly sexy but annoying woman. How could she just stand there while there were stray bullets flying in the air without taking cover? So stupidly dumb. It was her fault that Sofia caught a hint that we were attracted to each other because if she had protected herself, I wouldn’t have had the urge to protect her. Fuck, when did I even start having the urge to protect someone other than my family?

I suddenly heard a knock on the door, and before I could give the person permission to enter, the door was pushed open, and Marco appeared in front of me.

“Your wedding got ruined, and you are here, working already. Is this some sort of coping mechanism?” He muttered as he approached me. I knew he was trying to sound humorous, but I didn’t catch the humour.

“What do you need?” I asked. I didn’t want anyone talking to me about the disaster. I wanted to be left alone. I wasn’t particularly livid about the disrupted wedding; I was only angry because of the business that had been forced to be put on hold.

“I saw what happened back there. You and Rosalinda.” He stated calmly.

“Whatever you’re thinking, deaden the thoughts. Nothing happened back there. And don’t ask me why I protected her instead of my bride. Sofia took cover. But Rosalinda was too stupid to protect herself. She stood there without taking cover. So, whatever you thought you saw back there is all in your head.” I clarified.

But deep down, I knew that if I had to choose someone to protect between Rosalinda and Sofia, I’d choose Rosalinda.

I called her a hypocrite when we almost made out yesterday, but I was even more hypocritical for being the one who initiated it and for prioritising her safety over my bride’s.

“I hope that’s it.” Marco said, cutting through my thoughts, and I smacked my lips in annoyance.

“Enough about Rosalinda. I have more pressing issues to think of and-” I trailed off when my phone started ringing, and I flicked my gaze at it to see Roberto’s name flashing on the screen.

“Yes,” I said when I picked up the call.

“Good evening. I know no one expected what happened today to happen. Why don’t we meet at my place tomorrow to discuss everything that happened and the way forward? I already invited Lorenzo, and he agreed to come. 9. AM tomorrow. What do you think?” Roberto’s voice emanated from the other end of the phone.

“I’ll be there.” I agreed before ending the call.

It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to fix things as soon as possible so that we could go on with the wedding and business afterwards.

Come tomorrow, I’d meet with Roberto and Lorenzo to discuss matters, and it would take everything in me to avoid Rosalinda while at it. A lot of people have been noticing us lately, and I needed to avoid more suspicions, especially from Roberto.