Married to the mafia King

While Dario, Niccolo, and the other men toiled in the moonlight, I sat in the parlor with my father. There were so many questions I had.

Once he had answered them all, Papa asked, “I have to know… are you sure this is the life you want?”

I knew what he meant:

The Cosa Nostra.

My father had fled from the mafia to be with the woman he loved…

And now I was marrying into it to be with the man I loved.

“I don’t know about the life itself… but I want Dario,” I said. “And I would do anything to be with him.”

Papa smiled. “I felt the same about your mother. I knew it would mean a life of hiding and secrecy… but I couldn’t live without her.”

Dario sent word to the house that it would be hours before they were finished and that my father and I should go to bed.

A servant arrived to take Papa to his own room at the opposite end of the house.

“Why so far from mine?” I whispered to the woman.

She smiled and whispered back, “So he won’t hear you when you’re with Don Rosolini.”

I blushed bright red

But I had to admit, it was good foresight on her part.

After hugging Papa goodnight, I went back to my room and showered. Then I slipped into bed and fell asleep, exhausted.

I awoke at dawn as Dario slipped under the sheets beside me.

He had showered, too, and his hair was still damp. The only thing he was wearing was a pair of black boxers.

“Is everything alright?” I murmured sleepily.

“Yes. Everything’s taken care of.” He smiled at the ring on my finger as it twinkled in the early morning sun. “I like seeing you wear that.”

“Good… because it’s the only thing I’m wearing,” I said mischievously.

He raised one of his eyebrows. “Really.”

His hands roved under the sheets, and I felt his fingers brush against my breasts.

Immediately my nipples became hard at his touch.

He moved to kiss me

But I stopped him by placing a finger on his lips.

“I have one thing to ask you,” I whispered.

He peered deep into my eyes. “What?”

“Our children…”

He grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

I smiled back. “I do, too.”

Then I grew serious.

“But I don’t want their father handing a pistol to my son when he’s 15 years old. I don’t want that for any of them. When Fausto was here, Roberto said the family would be legitimate in two years. Can you promise me that our children won’t have to be in danger like you and your brothers were? That they’ll be safe?”

Dario nodded somberly. “I swear upon my family’s name that they will not follow in my footsteps. They will inherit an entirely new life… one where they can be doctors, or lawyers, or actors, or artists, or anything else they want to be… but not mafiosos.”

I smiled and teared up a little. “Thank you.”

He kissed me softly…

And I reached down to his boxers and began to pull them off.

“I like this new side of you,” he said with a grin.

“I want lots of babies, so you’re going to have to make love to me a lot.”

He laughed. “Absolutely. Starting right now.”

The wedding was only two weeks later. Dario said he didn’t want a long engagement just enough to arrange everything. I happily agreed.

Security was ‘all hands on deck’ as every Rosolini foot soldier patrolled the property. Massimo and Valentino strolled the grounds dressed in tuxes and carrying guns. Even Roberto, who was usually much more like an accountant, kept a pistol inside his suit jacket.

Lars kept watch from the top of the mansion with his sniper rifle. He had saved me from the Turk that awful night as Dario posed as bait and put his own life in danger; I liked the idea of Lars watching over us again under much happier circumstances.

Fausto and Aurelio arrived with an even larger convoy of cars, and dozens of their foot soldiers helped Dario’s men guard the property.

Niccolo had brokered a truce with the Oldani family in Genoa. I met my long-lost relatives with Niccolo at my side since Dario couldn’t see me before I came down the aisle.

As I walked down the stairs into the foyer, I choked up when I saw an older woman with white hair in a beautiful blue dress. She looked so much like my mother that it was astounding.

The woman’s mouth dropped open when she saw me. “E un miracolo!”

It’s a miracle!

“Signora Oldani,” Niccolo said with a smile, “may I present your granddaughter… Alessandra.”

The old woman touched one hand tenderly to my cheek and began to cry. “You look so much like your mother I can’t believe it!”

I hugged her tight. “Thank you for coming… it means so much to me…”

“Of course I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!” Then her voice grew stern. “Although I’m going to have a few words with that father of yours ”

“Signora,” Niccolo said lightly, “remember: it’s her wedding day. Play nice.”

The older woman gave Niccolo a dirty look but when she did meet Papa afterwards, she was civil.

Out on the grounds of the estate milled dozens of distinguished-looking men and their beautiful wives… but I had never seen any of them before.

“Who are all these people?” I whispered to Niccolo.

“Cosa Nostra,” he whispered back. “The heads of the most powerful families in Italy.”

I frowned. “I thought you had a lot of enemies.”

“Oh, don’t be mistaken most of these people want us dead,” Niccolo said as he waved and fake-smiled at someone far away. “But we had to invite them. You have to keep up appearances in this line of work and you know what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.”

When Niccolo saw my face, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, they would never do anything on your wedding day. It would be an infamia.”

An infamy a wicked, horrible thing.NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

“Plus, we didn’t let their guards bring in any guns… so we’d just kill them,” Niccolo said cheerfully as he waved at someone else.

“Wonderful,” I muttered.

Caterina was my only female friend, so I’d asked her to be my maid of honor two weeks before. She had immediately said yes.

Now she beamed at me as the makeup artist from Rome put the final touches on me before the ceremony.

“You look so beautiful,” Cat sighed. “Like a fairytale princess.”

“Maybe you’ll get your own fairytale prince!”

“Not gonna lie you’ve given me hope,” she grinned. “If you can snag a Rosolini…”

Finally it was time for the ceremony, which took place in the field behind the mansion. Gorgeous flower arrangements lined the white chairs set out for the attendees.

But I didn’t look at any of them as my beaming father walked me down the aisle.

I only had eyes for Dario.

He stood at the altar in a tuxedo and a small white rose pinned to his lapel.

He smiled at me as I came down the aisle. I had never seen him look happier or more handsome.

Adriano was his best man. The other brothers would have served as groomsmen, but I only had one bridesmaid. Everyone else agreed they wanted to make sure the wedding was safe as possible.

“That’ll be our present to you,” Massimo had joked the night before the wedding.

To me, it wasn’t a joke. Their protectiveness was a sign of their love for me.

The priest a cardinal from the Vatican led the ceremony.

When he said, “You may now kiss the bride,” Dario wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss that made everyone in the audience cheer.