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105. Sacrifice
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The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 106. Interlude V
IgorGetting home is my only priority at the moment, and as soon as I step through the elevator, I feel relieved. The first person I see is Anastasia. She rushes toward me with tear stained cheeks. “Igor. For the love of God. Don’t do anything stupid.”“Where is she?” I demand. “Where’s Clara?”“You can’t kill Leo,” she says, following me all the way up the stairs. “Remember the promise your father made you make. You’re supposed to stick together no matter what. You’re supposed to forgive each other.”I ignore her and start opening doors while calling her name desperately. I have to see her. Fuck, I have to hold her. I have to make sure she’s okay before I go looking for that traitorous fucker. “Igor!” Anastasia exclaims, trying to get my attention. A door on the other end of the corridor opens, and she peers out. I race toward her, and when she sees me, she rushes toward me. I drop my bag and gather her in my arms. “Clara,” I say her name. Like a prayer. “My love.”She’s sobbing.
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride Epilogue
I watch the waves crash into the shore while the ocean breeze rustles my hair. I take a deep breath, drawing the salty air into my lungs and holding it in hopes that it’ll become a part of me. There’s nothing as therapeutic as this. The sun is deliciously warm today. Most days, it’s burning hot, but today, it’s just perfect. I’m lounging in the hammock in the porch of our beach house. I do this every morning as soon as I wake up because it helps me dispel my troubled thoughts. Whenever I think about all those traumatic events of the last couple of months, I feel like I’ll never truly move on from them, but when I come out here, my hope is renewed. Things will get better at some point. As long as I’m seeking help and am surrounded by my loved ones, I’ll be perfectly fine. I close my eyes, take another deep breath, and then reopen them when I hear someone approaching. I turn my head to look at the door and see Igor leaning against the door with a cup of tea in his hand. It’s for me
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 1. The Auction
Clara My heart is in my throat as I stare at my reflection in the mirror.My fingers move to the pearls around my neck subconsciously. I rub the pearls with the tips of my fingers, deep in thought. This nervousness of mine doesn’t make sense because I’ve been looking forward to this day for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a little girl, to be exact. Father always told me that it was the greatest honor and a privilege to be auctioned into a good family, despite how it sounds. He always said that an auction was different from a sale in a sense that only valuable things are auctioned. I’m the thing of value here and not the other way around. All the families in New York will gather and bid for me. Only the family who wishes to pay the highest amount of money will end up having me. And it isn’t ‘buying’, not in that sense. I’ll have to be married to someone influential in the family and essentially be a part of them. It’ll also promote associations between my family and the
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 2. The Highest Bidder
Clara My heart is still racing wildly as I follow the manager through the hall. I’m still thinking about what my mother said about secrets being revealed. I have a feeling she didn’t say that just to mess with me. Why would she? No, she had to be referring to something. What that is, I have no idea. “When you’re on stage, make sure to smile and look pleasant,” the manager says to me. “Try to wave if you can. Statistics show that the friendliest girls always get the highest offers.”I nod but then remember that she’s staring right ahead. She isn’t looking at me. I want to tell her that I don’t care about any of that but then I will myself to calm down. There’s no use in sabotaging myself because of something my mother said. It’s not the worst thing she’s ever said to me and it won’t be the last. It doesn’t matter, anyway. “After the bidding, kindly take the stairs on your right and join your new family,” she informs me. “You won’t be coming back here.” This settles heavily in my
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 3. Signed in Blood
Clara I’m nestled between the two men who practically shoved me into this car and I’m still in disbelief. Tonight was supposed to be a successful night for all of us. Usually, auction night ends with a glamorous party where all the families celebrate together. It’s a beautiful event and I’ve been looking forward to it for years. I couldn’t wait to be one of the beautiful women who would join their new families and live happily ever after. Somehow, I doubt there will be a celebration this time around. Things were going remarkably well for me before that…I don’t have enough insulting words in my vocabulary for him. That piece of filth ruined everything for me. Being the highest bidder gives him rights over me. He’s not one of us, so he doesn’t understand that I’m not some woman he bought at an auction. I’m supposed to be a connection between two influential families. My children would carry two surnames. What becomes of me now?I’ve never been this terrified before in my life. I’m
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 4. The Morning After
I can’t move. I can’t think. It’s safe to say that I can hardly breathe. I don’t think I’ll ever truly recover from what happened in that office. I’ll always remember it as the worst thing that ever happened to me. Being held down by those two men while that bastard dragged a knife across my thumb will haunt me even when the cut heals and scars. The helplessness I felt last night is something I’ll carry with me for the foreseeable future. After marking the contract with my blood, I was dragged out of the room and shoved in this small but elegant bedroom. I couldn’t even make it up to the bed. I had no strength in my body then and I still have none. I’ve been sitting on the carpet with my back against the bed since last night, too afraid to feel tired or sleepy. I was forced to sign a marital agreement with him, which means that at some point, I’m going to have to marry that creep. Nobody can save me from this fate, not unless they start a full-blown war. Even then, I might not be
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 5. The First Dinner
I don't quite know where to put my eyes. They're on my lap, where I'm hoping they'll remain for the rest of the night because I don't want everyone seated around the table to look at my face. I'm sure my cheeks are red because I can feel how hot they are, and shame is probably written all over my face.I’ve been tied to the chair. The bastard actually did it. When I refused to come down to dinner, he sent those cronies to grab me and tie me to the damned chair. I didn’t resist because the situation was embarrassing enough as it was. They were already tying me to the chair; what else was I supposed to do?I’ve been tied down but my hands are free. I’m supposed to be eating the food that’s in front of me but I’m trying to prove a point but I won’t. Anyway, I’m not hungry. How can I eat when all these terrible things are happening to me?There are four people seated around the table including Igor. I’m not the only woman here—there’s one seated across from me that they keep calling An
The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 6. Phone Call
I couldn’t sleep at night, once again. I wonder how long my body will take to completely give up on me. How can anyone sleep with this kind of anxiety, though? A den of wolves is where I am. I’m right at the center of it, surrounded by all of them. They keep snapping at me and growling, and I don’t know when they’ll ever lunge at me to rip me to pieces. It’s exactly the way I’m feeling now. They’ve shown me their teeth and nails, but when do they attack?I twist and turn in bed. After last night, I don’t know where I stand with them. I couldn’t control my anger and maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do, especially when tensions are so high. The way he looked at me gives me shivers even now, hours after the whole thing passed.I tell myself that there’s no turning back now, and that my father would be proud of me. That keeps me going. It diminishes the feeling of an impending doom hovering above my head, threatening to split it open. Just as I’m about to close my eyes, a knock at
Latest chapter
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride Epilogue
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 106. Interlude V
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 105. Sacrifice
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 104. Interlude IV
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 103. Taken
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 102. Unanticipated Confrontation
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 101. No More Doubts
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 100. Suspicious Conversation
- The Ruthless Mafia’s Contracted Bride 99. Function
