Matteo

Chapter 4 Stella

STELLA

I can’t believe this is happening. I’m getting married to an actual Mafia don?

My eyes widen as I find my mother in the crowd, passed out from shock. One of Matteo’s guards hovers over her to check her well-being. All I want to do is run over to her and see if she’s okay, but I’m too stunned to even speak as Matteo grabs both my hands and directs me toward the altar.

Lucio looks just as shocked as I am, while Matteo’s guard holds him in place with a gun pointed at his head.

“Pastor, continue where you left off,” Matteo tells the man, who shivers in a corner.

The man swallows and slowly steps forward, clutching his Bible in his hand.

I softly shake my head, but no one sees.

No one’s looking at me. All eyes are on Matteo, while his eyes are solely fixated on me, and it feels as though I’m drowning in them.

Is this really happening right now?

“What’s your name, sir?” the pastor asks.

“You can’t be for real,” Lucio says.

But Matteo’s guard pushes the gun further into his head. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Matteo De Silva,” Matteo says while looking straight at me. “That’s my name. Better get used to it because now it’ll become yours too.”

My breath falters.

Oh God.

This is all my doing.

I should’ve never taken the tracker with me.

“Matteo De Silva, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Not one second does he flinch. “I do.”

My heart palpitates in my throat, and even though I try my best, I can’t take my eyes off him. He even has a proper suit on, as if he were ready for this exact occasion. Ready for the chance to steal me away from Lucio.

“And do you, Stella Runner, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Matteo’s eyes narrow at the sound of my name, as if to warn me not to deny him what he’s owed, but I’ve done nothing to deserve this.

Lucio thrust me into this mess, and now I have to solve his problems for him?

“I … I …” My eyes find Lucio, who sits behind Matteo while he grinds his teeth and shakes his head, threatening me not to say the words. He won’t let this go, I’m sure of it.

Both of these men see me as a prize to win, but only one of them has shown me he’s willing to exert violence to get his way.

Which path do I take? Which man do I choose?

Lucio wants to own me, control me.

Matteo… might be able to protect me from him.

My mouth parts, and without thinking another second about it, I say, “I do.”

A hint of a smile forms on Matteo’s lips. His grip on my hands softens as he slowly grabs my ring finger, opens the little box that holds the rings Lucio bought, and gently slides the ring on my finger. His touch lingers, sending goose bumps all over my body, before he finally retracts his hand.

I pick up the bigger ring and hold his hand, which feels rough from years and years of violence, but I still slide the ring onto his finger as if I always knew I was going to do this. He’s the safest option. Or at least that’s what I tell myself, as I bind myself to this man forever.

“You are now pronounced husband and wife,” the pastor says.

Just like that. I’m now somebody’s wife.

“What? You’ve got to be joking,” Lucio mutters. “This is all a farce, and you know it.”

But no one listens to him, not even me. It feels like a blur, and all I can focus on are Matteo’s hands as they slowly move from my shoulder to my spine, clutching me in the small of my back as he pulls me close. Too close.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the pastor says.

An arrogant smirk forms on Matteo’s face as he leans in and presses the softest of kisses on my lips, completely unraveling my mind.

Just that one kiss is enough to send me spiraling out of control, my body zinging from his touch, his kiss so delicious I nearly lean in for more.

But then people around us begin to clap, and the moment passes.

I lean away in shock at what just happened. My mother smiles at me from her seat. Despite having fainted minutes ago, I know she just saw all of this go down. I mouth at her, “I love you,” and tears spring to her eyes.

“You can’t do this,” Lucio seethes.

Matteo growls, “I already have. She’s mine now, end of story.” He grabs my hand and whisks me away down the aisle, straight toward the exit.

“Wait!” I yell.

But Matteo doesn’t relent in his pace, allowing me no time to breathe, let alone adjust to what he just did. He hauls me all the way to a car waiting for us out front, defended by a dozen guards with guns, all pointed at the venue. The door is opened for us, and he pushes me toward it. “Sit.”

I’m numb to my core as I sit down, and the door is slammed shut.

He walks to the other side of the car and slides in while the driver gets behind the wheel and starts the car.

He holds out his hand. “Give me your phone. And the tracker.” When I don’t react fast enough, he adds, “Now.”

I reluctantly hand them over, and Matteo slips both to the driver, who hides them in his pocket. Matteo pushes a button, and a divider slides up between the front and back seat. My skin begins to crawl.

We’re all alone now. Just the two of us sharing a car ride in silence after he just blew up my wedding to the man I owe, then married me instead just to outsmart him.

Good God.

I’ve become a pawn in someone’s dirty game, and I have no clue how to unfurl myself from this mess.

“When do I get my phone back?” I ask.

“Once it’s safe to do so,” he replies.

Safe … safe in what way? The longer I stay in his vicinity, the less secure I feel.

“What are you going to do with me?”

“What am I going to do with my wife?” he responds, a cheeky smile on his face. “Take her to my home, as I’m supposed to.”

My jaw drops, but I don’t know how to respond to that.

Is he just not going to mention it? Like this isn’t normal.

I gaze out the window and stare at the wedding venue right before we turn. My mother’s still at the venue, and I had to leave her there all by herself.

“My mother’s still inside,” I mutter.

“She’ll be taken care of. I’ll make sure she gets home safely. My men are still there, and they will make sure no guests are harmed while Lucio leaves the premises.”

I don’t care what happens to Lucio. I care about my family… my mom.

“You didn’t even let me say goodbye to her.”

He looks up, brows furrowed, lips parted, like he’s taken aback and didn’t expect me to say something. And after a while, he says, “I’m sorry.”

I frown, making a fist with my hand. “You’re sorry? Sorry for what? Destroying my wedding? Marrying me? Taking away my freedom? Nearly killing my family? What were you thinking?”

The mischievous grin reappears on his face, and he waits until I’m done ranting, then takes it all in.

“I was thinking of saving your life,” he replies.

I frown, my lips parting in shock. I can’t believe he just said that out loud.

“Oh, don’t for a second think I’m going to believe that.”

“It’s the truth,” he says all smugly.

“No, you just wanted Lucio to suffer.”

“I did, but I also wanted to take you out of that situation. It was obvious you never intended to marry that asshole.”

“Whatever.” I roll my eyes and look away again.

I don’t know what to think of this man. When I first met Matteo, he seemed charming and mysterious.

But when I realized he walks in the same shadowy world as Lucio does, I immediately decided it wasn’t an option for me.

Even though he’s so handsome that it’s hard to look anywhere else.

Suddenly, he places a hand on my knee, and an electrical current flows through my entire body, forcing me to look at him.

“I will take good care of you. I swear it on my life.”

I suck in a breath, but it’s hard to let go.

What will happen to me now? How long will I be in this man’s grasp?

“You did well,” he says.

“I didn’t do anything. I was just there.”

He smirks and squeezes my knee. “I mean, you did good by bringing that tracker along.” My face turns beet red as he adds, “A little devil on my shoulder told me you’d do just that for me.”

I shudder in place as he removes his hand, but I can still feel his fingers tingling all over my body even though he only touched my knee.

“You only threw that tracker at me so you could find Lucio’s location and hurt him.”

“Correct,” he replies.

All these Mafia men are the same. They only want two things: violence and money.

“I want him to suffer, yes,” he says. “But I realize that giving him pain would never be enough for me, nor would his death. I want him emotionally, mentally, and physically destroyed.”

He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “And the only way to do that was by taking you away from him and making you mine instead.”

Goose bumps scatter on my skin from the way he says the word mine, like I’m some kind of prize, something he wants to own. I jerk free of his grip.

“I wasn’t yours to take, and I’m still not yours.”

“That ring on your finger begs to differ, Tesoro.”

My cheeks flush with heat as he grabs my hand, brings it to his mouth, and presses a sweet kiss on top, melting my frozen heart.

I shouldn’t be fawning all over this man.

He’s the devil in disguise, a dirty demon in an expensive suit.

He’s only interested in using me for his own revenge plot.

A twisted ruse to destroy an enemy while sacrificing the girl who was in his way.

I’m being used as a pawn between two Mafia lords, and now one of them thinks he actually owns me.

I pull my hand away. “So now what? You just take me to your home? Make me your wifey? Pretend I’m some plaything you own?” I taunt.

“You are not a plaything, but I think you know that.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You are my wife now, and that means you get to live with me.”

The intonation with which he says the word “wife” sends chills all over my body.

But I have to ignore it. “Gee, I’m looking forward to that,” I mutter to myself.

He hums. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” I say.

He tips my chin sideways, making me look at him again. “You think I’m the devil. Say it.”

“Yes,” I reply.

“I’m not the monster you think I am.”

“Right,” I reply sarcastically. “I’m not dumb. I know what it means to become a wife to someone like you. I know what kind of duties are expected of me, but don’t for a second think I’m going to do any of that. I don’t even know you.”

He nods a few times. “That’s right, you don’t know me. But you will. Eventually. I’ll make sure of that.” He smirks and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And I will definitely make sure that I get to know you very, very well.”

Why does it feel like he means more than my personality?

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I never asked for any of this.”

“No? Then why did you take the tracker with you?”

My eyes widen.

Shit.

“You could’ve left it behind, but you chose to bring it to the wedding because you wanted me to come and rescue you, like a damsel in distress,” he says.

“I did not.” I frown. “I never asked you for anything.”

He puts a finger on my lips. “You don’t have to ask for anything, Tesoro. Not with me.”

He leans away again, but the air is thick with unspoken tension.

And I don’t know if it’s because of how he just brutally murdered Lucio’s men and forced me to marry him … or if it’s because I can feel his eyes practically tearing the clothes off my body.