Blackmailed Marriage

Chapter One

One Year Later

The whispers had started early tonight. From the moment Aria walked into the home of the capo, she sensed people whispering, holding up their hands as they talked behind them. The laughter also followed her, which is why it was so much easier to stand in one place. They had to do the hard work, while she stood like an asshole and waited for the night to end.

“Why do you think he married her?”

“Well, I thought she trapped him with a fake pregnancy, but I wonder if she got an abortion.”

“There is absolutely no way she is right for Dante Gallo. The whole marriage is a farce.”

“I bet he is cheating on her.”

“He must have to put a bag over her head to fuck her. No wonder she’s not pregnant.”

The brutal remarks went on and on. Aria didn’t even know if they intended for her to hear them or not. Either way, she hated parties, but then, she’d never celebrated. Things were even worse when her family came to these parties. They rarely made time for her. It was like they didn’t want anything to do with her.

She was aware that some agreement had to be struck. Dante couldn’t stand her, even though he’d never openly said so. Everything was a duty to him, especially when it came to her.

He never hurt her or anything.

They’d been married for eight months now. After the sudden announcement of their marriage, which she had to find out about in the paper, it was the fastest arrangement within their circles. No wonder the rumors were rife.

Of course, it was the weirdest event and not one to be missed. Her father told her she’d get married like a princess, even though he told her she’d never look like one. The day itself had been a horrible nightmare, one she tried to forget. Being told on her wedding day about all the other special brides and how she didn’t add up, hadn’t exactly been great for her morale. To add to that, her husband could barely look at her, let alone talk to her.

The wedding night … well, she tried to avoid thinking about that. After they’d been married and consummated, she’d then been dumped in his country estate and left. Her husband didn’t stick around, and only appeared when there was an event that required her presence.

Also, he forced her to tell him her menstrual cycle, and he only appeared to do what was necessary to gain himself an heir. Once a month, he’d come back to his country home, have sex with her, and before the night was over, he’d leave.

Aria hated it.

She despised married life.

In the early days, his staff had hated her, and it made living at his country home one of the hardest experiences of her life. Living with her disappointed mother had been hard, brutal even. This was far worse.

At first, the staff completely ignored her. On top of that, it was like she was never there, which again was fine, but they also refused to cook any food for her. She had no choice but to sneak into the kitchen to make herself something. For a couple of weeks she would wait all day to get any food. Then, after awhile, she didn’t exactly know why, but suddenly they changed toward her. Food was presented to her, as was kindness, and life at the country home didn’t feel so horrible.

She glanced across the room and watched as Penelope Foxington walked right up to Dante, her husband, and put her claws on him.

Aria had no reason to be jealous. He wasn’t really hers, and if the last eight months had taught her anything, it was that her father had somehow arranged all this, or even blackmailed for this situation. She didn’t know how or what, or even why. Well, she could speculate.

It wasn’t news to her that she was plain and boring. All her life, her brothers had told her this, as had her mother and father. She’d been put on numerous diets, and there had even been an interesting trip to a potential plastic surgeon.

The only person who had never treated her coldly or seemed to care about her looks, was her older sister, Isabella, who was married with two children of her own.

Aria knew this was another problem for her father. After eight months, she still hadn’t gotten pregnant. It would seem in their world, a woman’s only task was to look stunning on her husband’s arm, and get pregnant, both of which she failed to do.

She almost burst out laughing at what a complete and total failure she was as a woman.

Instead, she couldn’t look away from Penelope who leaned in close. There were a lot of rumors surrounding her husband. Aria was a little terrified. He had the reputation for being the cruelest man within the Pesci family. These were all speculations which included the number of men he’d killed. Again, she didn’t know the truth. Either way, a man like Dante Gallo was not supposed to marry a woman like her.

“Are you okay?” her sister asked.

Aria was so shocked, she couldn’t control her relief at seeing her sister. “Isabella!” She threw her arms around her sister and hugged her tightly.

“I’ve missed you too.”

It had been a couple of months since she last saw her sister, and pulling away, there was concern in her eyes.

“Sorry, I know that was inappropriate,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve got to stop looking over at your husband. The whole family will be talking if they catch sight of you giving evil death stares to the woman.”

Aria smiled. “It’s fine. He’s probably enjoying her company.”

Isabella placed a hand on her shoulder. “That is unfortunately what happens.”

She looked at her sister and couldn’t help but seek out her own husband, but couldn’t seem to find him.

“My husband is attending to some business in one of the studies with one of the waitresses,” Isabella said. She held up her glass of champagne with a smile.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. If he gets his way tonight, it means I don’t have to deal with him. Marriage is something a woman in this world needs, but doesn’t necessarily enjoy.”

Aria watched her sister take a small sip of champagne, and couldn’t help but wonder how they had gotten here. Isabella was the opposite of her. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and for a long time, considered to be the most beautiful woman of a non-capo. There were a lot of men hoping to gain her attention. Her own marriage seemed perfect in comparison.

Other than his duties, Dante left her alone. She didn’t have to worry about extra attention from him. Even as Isabella started to talk to her about her niece and nephew, Aria couldn’t help but be drawn to Penelope and Dante.

She didn’t know if he was cheating on her. In their circles, as clearly her sister didn’t seem to care, it was only natural.

For many years growing up, Aria had fantasized about having a husband she could love, who would love her in return. That hope had faded as day after day, she was reminded it would be impossible for any man to love her. No man loved a plain woman. Men were only interested in beauty, and she had nothing.

Aria wondered not for the first time if she should just leave, or if it would cause too many problems.

She tucked some of her hair behind her ears and waited.

When Isabella gave a light laugh, Aria smiled, but she had stopped paying attention to what her sister was talking about, and instead was more focused on the man a few feet away from her.

Dante was out of her league. He was ten years older than her, and she knew he could have any woman here. They didn’t need to be single. They were completely mismatched.

This was not a happy union. It wasn’t even a business union. This was blackmail, she knew that now.

She heard the whispers about her father. Men feared him because he was able to learn their darkest secrets. Aria wanted to know what he had on Dante, for him to agree to this loveless sham of a marriage. Unlike her sister, she was not going to accept this fate, not anymore.

Her father had ordered her to be a good wife, to do as she was told, but she refused to play by his rules.

****

Dante hated fucking parties.

What was more, he could no longer stand Penelope trying to garner his attention. He’d fucked her over a year ago, before his wedding, and it had been a mistake. The rumors about her had to be true. One taste of the viperous witch, and she considered it a challenge to have her men again.

He was tired of her attempting to proposition him at parties. She didn’t even seem concerned about his wife being in the same room. He’d noticed Aria watching him. Whenever they went to parties, she always found a quiet corner and stayed there. Usually, everyone left her alone, but her sister decided to approach her tonight and not leave. He had no choice but to separate the two.

Isabella would have to wait for her husband to be done having his fun before he took her home.

Dante had been done with the party five minutes after walking into it. He also couldn’t abide being anywhere near Phillip Lewis. The gloating bastard got on his last nerve, and over the past year, he’d nearly killed him multiple times.

His own father had told him to bide his time. They were in the process of trying to locate the evidence that Phillip had on him, but so far to no avail. They had spies in his home, but they’d been unsuccessful in keeping their position, or locating the evidence.

Stepping into his office, he poured himself a large whiskey. According to his calendar, he had a duty to impregnate his wife tonight. They’d been married eight months, and she had been a virgin. Their wedding night hadn’t gone well, and it hadn’t exactly been his finest moment. Every month since, Aria flinched whenever he went near her, so it was much easier to push her to her knees and take her from behind. His instructions were always the sam e— to keep her pelvis elevated so she could get pregnant.

Dante wasn’t used to failing.

He was expected to have children, and even though Aria hadn’t been his intended bride, he did plan to do everything by the book. She would have his children while they married. Once he had the evidence and could divorce her, he would keep his children. Aria would move on. That was the plan.

There was a knock on his office door. It was soft and not one he was accustomed to.

“What?” he asked.

He was even more surprised to see Aria stepping into his office. She had changed out of her dress. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She wore a pair of loose pants and a shirt that had seen better days.

Dante was used to women trying to seduce him. Aria wasn’t even trying. It wasn’t like they had conversations. He told her what to do, and she didn’t complain.

Now, she stood in his office, hands clasped in front of her, looking positively terrified.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice coming out more abrasive than he intended. He didn’t have time to deal with his wife.

Aria looked at him briefly, and then averted her gaze. He knew he had terrified her. A good man, a gentleman, might have considered the pain he caused her, and taken his sweet time. Dante had wanted their wedding night over, and he’d fucked her hard, tearing through her virginity like it meant nothing.

“If there’s nothing you have to say, then fuck off and get ready. It’s that time of the month.”

He saw her chest rising and falling and he knew he scared her. Her face had gone pale.

“What does my dad have on you?” she asked.

Dante liked her voice. It was sweet, not childlike, but it was soft, feminine. There had been one time during the start of this fuckup, when he heard her laugh. One of the women had gotten a puppy as a present, and Aria had fallen instantly in love with the tiny dog. Of course, she couldn’t have it, because he wouldn’t buy her a dog, nor did he want one himself. Pets were pests as far as he was concerned. Her laughter had struck him hard as he listened to it. The sound called to his very soul, and in realizing how much he liked it, he had gone out of his way to crush it.

“What?”

He saw her hands clench into fists and her back was flush against the door.

“I’ve been thinking about it for some time, and I know you and I were never to marry. My father told me you needed something, and we were helping you out, but I know now that is a lie. You’re Dante Gallo. You don’t need help from anyone, and you certainly wouldn’t ever ask my father for help, and it wouldn’t be to marry his plain, ugly daughter.”

Dante wouldn’t call her ugly. Plain, yes, but not ugly.

“I know what people whisper about my father, and you don’t like me. You don’t want to be married to me. Everything you have to do for me is a chore. So, I was wondering what my father had on you, that meant he was able to blackmail you into marrying me.”

This surprised him. He didn’t expect Aria to have a single thought in her head. Their time together, though brief, had been quiet.

Putting the glass of whiskey down, he turned toward her. “You don’t know?”

“All my father told me was that you needed a wife and I was doing you a favor. I didn’t have a choice.”

Dante laughed. “And here I was thinking you would love being married to me.”

“I hate it.”

Now, this did wipe the smile off his face. She glanced away and then seemed to square her shoulders and finally look up at him.

“And I know you hate it too,” Aria said. “You don’t love me.”

He snorted. “Love … are you still so much of a child that you would believe in some fucked-up notion of love?”

“You don’t even like me,” she said.

This made him laugh again. “Who in our world is actually in love with their spouse?”

“Fine,” Aria said. “I thought I might be able to help, but if you don’t want it, then I guess we’re both stuck in this miserable existence. I’ll wait for you in the normal position.”

She spun around, grabbing hold of the doorknob, and was about to leave.

“He has proof that I killed some men down at the docks.”

Aria turned toward him with a frown. “Is that all? Isn’t that easy for you to … cover up?”

Dante picked up his whiskey. “He has another issue.” For some reason, he didn’t want to tell his wife that she was covering up his biggest fuckup. Screwing the boss’s daughter, prior to her getting married. It would be considered a huge insult, touching that woman.

For Dante, it had been a mistake. One he couldn’t fully recollect making, but there was no doubt in the proof Phillip had. All he knew for sure was that he hadn’t been sober when he had done it. This was his mess and he intended to clean it up.

“And because of this, you had no choice but to marry me?” Aria asked.

“Yes.”

“What if I … could locate the stuff you need?”

Dante didn’t hold back his laughter this time. “With all due respect, I’ve got people trained to locate something of value, and they have failed.”

“You don’t think I can do it?” Aria asked.

“No, I don’t.”

He watched as she licked her lips, and there was something about that action that drew his attention. Maybe the whiskey he’d drank had gone all the way to his head.

“If I find a way to get the information you need, could we get a divorce?” Aria asked.

Now he was thoroughly entertained.

“If you are able to get me everything your father has on me, not only will I grant you a divorce, but I will make sure you never have to marry again, and that you want for nothing.”

He may as well grant her something extreme as she was never going to accomplish her goal. If trained soldiers couldn’t do it, there was no way Aria would.