Chapter 25
~Elle~
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the priest declares. He is standing on the raised platform in front of the ballroom facing Dominic and me. Leaning closer, Dominic crushes his lips to mine, coaxing them open as his tongue slowly explores my mouth.
This is surreal. Mrs. Elle Vitelli. Married. Applause erupts. Dominic reluctantly releases my lips and steps back. Holding my hand in his. His smile gives me palpitation.
We’re surrounded by a ballroom overflowing with strangers, their laughter and voices rising like a tide.
Men in tailored suits, women in gowns worth months of my old salary.
Diamonds drape them, glittering under the lights as they glide around the room.
All around us are the hum of voices mingled with the clink of glasses and music.
Above it all, a huge chandelier commands the room and crowns the dance floor.
Spread out around the edges are circular tables covered by ivory tablecloths positioned for guests.
It’s breathtaking, almost unreal—a world carved from wealth and elegance.
And yet, as I stand here, I feel both drawn to its beauty and reminded of how far it is from the life I once knew.
At the head table, I sit beside Dominic, the weight of the evening pressing in from every direction.
Dante, his best man, carries himself with easy confidence, while Dario and Nico trade quiet remarks across the glittering spread.
Serafina, gracious and composed, has taken her place as my matron of honor—a role she accepted when I had no one else to ask.
Her presence steadies me, though it also reminds me of the solitude I’ve carried into this night.
Guests stream toward our table, their smiles and congratulations washing over us in waves. At last, I can put faces to the names Serafina whispered to me in quiet moments, the people who make up Dominic’s world.
Dominic himself leans close, introducing me to his capos one by one—men whose presence carries weight, their eyes sharp, their gestures measured. It’s a world of power and loyalty unfolding before me, and I feel both welcomed and tested beneath their gaze.
Brio Leone was the only one who unsettled me.
In his fifties, with hair graying at the temples, he carried the same handsome features as the other capos.
But cruelty flickered beneath the practiced curve of his smile.
His words were congratulatory, yet every syllable felt laced with disapproval, as if this marriage offended him in ways he would never say aloud.
The other men were of similar age to Dominic. Their camaraderie is easy and unforced. They came across as genuine. But Brio’s presence left a chill, a reminder that not everyone here welcomed me into this world.
Brio Leone was accompanied by his wife Martha and his daughter Catalina. I didn’t like the way Catalina and some of the other women were looking at Dominic. Their eyes lingered on him for too long and their admiration was too bold to ignore.
Hours ago in my bedroom, I didn’t recognize the image staring back at me in the full-length mirror.
I felt like an imposter wrapped in someone’s dream in my Vera Wang lace mermaid wedding gown.
The dress clung to my silhouette from my bust to my knees.
Then it flares out dramatically behind me in a fish tail effect.
White lace traverses from an off the shoulder collar to a long sleeve all the way down to my wrist. My back is exposed in a V down my shoulder to the curvature of my spine with precision.
Behind the gown, my hair was piled high in a mass of curls, my face transformed by flawless makeup applied by the team Serafina had gathered. I looked every bit the bride of Dominic’s world—elegant, untouchable. Yet inside, I still questioned whether I belonged in it at all.
Serafina stood behind me with her hand clasped and eyes glistening with emotions, like a proud mama. “Elle you’re stunning, Dominic wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you.” She gushed, as I studied myself, the two of us left alone in the room.
“Serafina, I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish all of this on my own.
Thank you for agreeing to stand up with me as my matron of honor.
” My eyes started glistening with emotions.
“Don’t you dare cry and mess up your makeup.
” She admonished me while giving me a quick embrace.
"Do you think I’m doing the right thing by marrying Dominic?
I feel like I’m trapping him in this marriage; he's only doing it to protect me.”
“Honey, from what my husband has told me about Dominic and from what I’ve learnt myself….no one can force Don Vitelli to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” Serafina had said. She held my hands and studied me closely as if to solve a puzzle. Then smiled as if she had a ‘eureka’ type of moment.
“You love him?” I looked away from her, not knowing how to answer. "I'm not sure how it happened, but I do have feelings for him. A man like Dominic would never love someone like me.”
She looked at me, smiling. “Are you blind Elle, have you seen the way that man looks at you? The night we met, the sexual tension between you two was glaringly obvious for everyone to see.” I blushed when I remembered that night, only a week ago.
“Sexual intimacy does not equal love.” I said to her stubbornly, not daring to hope.
“It’s a start Elle. That man loves you, why else would he be so protective of you.
Trust me.” Before I could respond, there was a knock on the door.
Dominic looked in. Serafina tried to block me from his view.
“You can’t see the bride before the wedding, it’s bad luck.
” “I only need a few minutes.” He entered and Serafina grudgingly left us alone.
We’d gazed at each other hungrily. He looked handsome in a classic black tuxedo that’s tailor made to fit his muscular frame. “I have something for you, I didn’t give it to you before now because it had to be resized.”
Dominic pulled a box out of his breast pocket, flipping it open to reveal a diamond ring in a princess cut.
With deliberate care he slipped it onto my finger.
“It belonged to my mother, it was passed down to her, from my grandmother.” He said as he held my hand up, admiring the fit.
The ring is gorgeous. The diamond blazed with brilliance, its size commanding, nearly spanning the width of my finger.
It was not only beautiful but the gesture gave me a part of his history and family legacy—binding me not only to Dominc but to the family he came from.
And for a girl who never had family, this was indeed something precious.