Contract Marriage: Taming My Mafia Heir Husband

By Luigi Salvatore

After that awkward moment, no other woman muttered anything about me in a way that I could hear, and Guido never spoke of it again. The truth was that everyone knew that marriage was something I ran away from like the devil from the cross. It wasn't always like this, after all, I did once truly love, but my heart was broken when Nina, one of the daughters of a member of the famiglia¸ left me on the night of our engagement. Everything was already completely settled for our wedding, we had our engagement party thrown for about 100 guests, everyone was drinking and rejoicing at the news of the marriage of the heir to the northern territory. That night when I showed her my engagement present, Nina was lost in my arms a few minutes before the engagement ring was offered to her, but when the time came to receive it, my fiancée who had said she needed to go to the bathroom, never returned, instead she sent a measly letter through one of the waiters at our party. As I opened the letter and read everything that had been written in Nina's perfect handwriting, I was only certain of one thing... I was a jilted fiancé with a ring on my hand and a heart in pieces.

It seemed that Nina had run away with one of the guests who was there only to take her away without my even suspecting the whole betrayal. Her father even wanted to go after her by promising to bring her back to me dragged by her hair so that she would honor our commitment, but I didn't allow it. As difficult and painful as it was, in that instant I no longer wanted her in my life, even though my heart screamed to the contrary. Since then, no one has ever heard of Nina's whereabouts, not even her family has heard from her. And me? well, I concluded that love is for fools and so I would never again give myself to any woman for more than one night of pleasure and satisfaction.

Hours later

“Have I told you how much I hate these nosy people here?” Giovanna said affected, as she approached us together with my brothers and uncle. “I would bet a kidney that most of them don't even feel for my aunt and uncle's death. They're actually a bunch of snakes trying to attract your attention, Luigi.”

My cousin, who was always a suspicious woman, didn't hide the dislike she felt for the members of the famiglia. Just like me, Giovanna was not the type of woman who was easy to deal with. To win her trust I had to face a war at the very least. I just couldn't understand why, even if she proved to be capable of giving her blood for a Salvatore, Guido had never won her over, considering that the two lived on a war footing.

“You can't let yourself be shaken now, Luigi.” Uncle Dario called my attention to him, completely ignoring the grumblings of his adopted daughter. “You can tell from miles away that you're vulnerable, but that can't happen. Who can assure you that we're not being watched by the murderer?” Despite his harsh manner, I knew I couldn't ignore my uncle's advice. “We don't know who did this, but if there is one thing I have learned from my brother, it is to understand the signs.”

“What does this mean, Dad?”

My cousin Giovanna asked her father. Her expression made it clear that she was already looking for an answer to her war plans. If there was one thing Giovanna was good at, it was manipulation.

“It means, my child. That the Salvatore family must be ready for a new war.”

“With a shadow? How can we fight against someone we don't know?” Edward couldn't hide the impatience and anger he felt.

“Remember what our father used to say, Eduardo. In a puzzle, all the pieces fit together, even if one of them is hidden. We have to start looking for the least likely place.”

When the subject was missions, Paolo put aside his mocking characteristic and always became the more restrained twin. Which I was grateful for, because Eduardo's impulsive side always put us on the alert to deal with possible problems.

“Mr. Salvatore...”

We all turned to face the owner of that hoarse and visibly tired voice.

“Guiseppe Santinelle!”

I greeted back the old man Santinelle who was standing next to his wife, Dante, his eldest son, and a blond woman as beautiful as she was visibly unpalatable.

“Despite our differences, I could not fail to honor his parents. Your father was a great man, gave me a lot of trouble, it is true, but still a great man.”

The older man's voice made me break eye contact with the woman next to Dante. I shook the man's hand even though I could see the tension in my brothers and Guido, as if they were ready to draw weapons at any moment. Despite the truce established by my father and Giuseppe, trust was something I don't know if it would ever be able to be shared between the Salvatore and Santinelle.

The command of the Italian Mafia a few years ago, after direct conflicts between the ancestors of our families, ended after many agreements until they finally reached a solution; dividing themselves into a single organization (la famiglia), but with commands in two territories, the north and the south, that is, the north being a territory belonging to my family, and the south belonging to the Santinelle family. This way the Italian Mafia would remain one of the most feared in the world, without there being a war between us.

“Thank you, Guiseppe. My father is gone, but I remain here to continue his legacy.” I looked him in the face without fear.

“I have no doubt of that.” The man tapped his son, who was taller than he was, on the shoulder. “This is what we raise our children for. As you know, this is my son Dante.” I greeted the younger man, who seemed cordial, yet attentive to my brothers. “And this is Antonella, my youngest daughter.”

Personally I had never seen the Santinelle daughter before, but from the woman's fame, I could have sworn she was there under obligation. However, breaking my own rule of never being nice to any woman, I took her hand and kissed it gently in a greeting like a true knight my father taught me to be. The woman in turn rolled her eyes, visibly bored.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Santinelle. Although these are the circumstances.”

The soft skin of the blonde's hand somehow made me shiver. Her perfume was like a real disturbance to my judgment, so I quickly tried to fasten myself to the woman who had the most luminous truthful eyes that ever crossed mine.

“I am sorry for your loss.” The husky, velvety voice was far from delicate. Then the woman looked at her mother. “Mamma, I'll wait for you in the car. Excuse me!”

The blonde left without even waiting for an answer, and when she passed me she seemed to make a point of bumping into my shoulder, making it clear that she didn't sympathize with me at all, which caused Giovanna and my idiot brothers to curl their lips in arrested laughter.

Ignoring the young Santinelle's unexpected defiance, I turned to the older one

“I appreciate your solidarity for coming.” I said putting it without letting any reaction show. “Now if you will allow me, I must leave you now. I have a hunt to do.”

I turned my back on the Santinelle family expecting to be followed by my own, but before I could take another step forward, Guiseppe's voice again made me stop, but this time I didn't face him.

“You no longer have any allies. Out of wounded pride and too much ego, although he was an active member of the famiglia, your father was wrong when he decided to conduct the family business alone. But you? You are young, intelligent. You know better than to underestimate an enemy, don't you? I advise you not to face your enemies alone, Luigi. You are the heir to your father's place in our organization. Whoever this insolent man is who dares to try against the life of an Italian, he is one step ahead of you, and you need help.”

“Well, then I have to surprise him, don't I? A game is not won before the final move, Mr. Giuseppe.”

“Certainly! But I'm afraid we are all worried about the fate of our business. Now that the mourning is over, we would like you to accept the invitation to join us tonight at a meeting. The whole board will be present, and not only do we need to understand a few things, but we also need to make your entry as Enzo's heir effective.”

I knew that the family council would not let many more days go by than that. No matter what, it was time for me to effectively become Enzo's heir. Those were the rules, and I had to follow them.

“All right! You can count on my presence.” I finally said coolly.

I left without looking back, and as much as I hated to accept it, old Guiseppe was right... I was on my own fighting against the dark, but it didn't matter, whoever was behind this, I would find out and I would take his head off with the best of my blades. That would be it, or my name wasn't Luigi Salvatore.