BETRAYED BY THE MAFIA LORD

Sophia Pov

"Our first item of the night is the whispering city," the auctioneer announced. I stared at the painting from across the room, the dim lighting in the gallery seemed to heighten the painting's quality.

"The bid will start at $1,500," the auctioneer said, and bidding began.

"$2,000."

"$2,500."

I observed as others raised their paddles to bid. It wasn't that I wasn't interested in the painting, in fact, I was only here for the painting. I saw no reason to join the rest in the bidding game, there was no real challenger for me.

"$7,000."

The room went silent. I guessed everyone was done playing. After waiting for a few more seconds, I raised my paddle just as the announcer was about to declare it sold, "$8... $1,000,000."

Everyone turned around in shock.

"Wow! Did I hear that right? $1,000,000 from the gentleman at the back!" the auctioneer announced happily.

I turned to see a man standing at the back, dressed in a black tuxedo. He had long hair tied in a short ponytail and a permanent scowl on his face, but he still managed to look hot.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the announcer calling for more bids. Everyone began murmuring among themselves. "Who would be crazy enough to bid higher?" someone muttered. I would.

"$2,000,000!"

The room went dead silent. I turned to see that the man now had his eyes on me. His scowl seemed to disappear for a second, but I wasn't sure since I could barely see.

"Wow, the painting is only worth $1,500, but we are already at $2,000,000," the auctioneer exclaimed.

"Any other bidders?" the auctioneer asked. I stared at the stranger with a proud smile, knowing that he wouldn't go higher. To my surprise, he lifted his paddle and, with a low yet authoritative voice, said, "$5,000,000."

My jaw dropped in surprise. Who bids $5 million on a painting? Even the announcer was dumbfounded. "F-f-five m-million?" he stuttered.

I gripped my paddle tightly, I couldn't be defeated like this. I glanced at the man, who was staring back at me with... interest? Curiosity? I couldn't tell.

After a moment of hesitation, I decided to throw caution to the wind and take this hot stranger head-on. "Twenty million dollars!" I yelled. If I thought the room was already dead silent before, then I was wrong. The room became so quiet that I could hear the inhales and exhales of others.

"Sold!" the auctioneer announced, and the room erupted in applause. I had just bought a painting for twenty million dollars!

I turned to look at the person who had successfully made me spend my life savings on a painting and saw him staring back with a grin. It was the first time his lips had curved up since the auction began.

After the auction ended, I made my way to his table and introduced myself. "Hey there, I see you didn't buy anything?" I started with a smile.

"A pretty lady stole the only piece I was interested in," he replied, flashing me a smirk, the same one he had given me from across the room.

"Bummer, but I know another piece of art you could take home," I said, trailing my fingers along his tuxedo. His grin grew wider, hinting that he knew what I was implying, and soon his hands found their way around my waist. Maybe that painting was really worth 20 million dollars.

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I woke up the next day in the stranger's bed. He was no longer lying next to me, but I could hear the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, meaning he was taking a shower.

I scanned the room, admiring the interior and decorations. There were many paintings hanging on the walls, he must have been an art enthusiast like me.

The sound of water stopped, and the door slid open, revealing the man standing half-naked, with only a towel tied around his waist.

"You're still here?" he asked with a bored expression.

"Where else would I be? I haven't gotten your name after all," I replied with a smile.

"You don't need it," he said, beginning to get dressed.

"Come on, I gave myself to you. Do you think it was for nothing?" I asked with a scoff. He turned to look at me with furrowed brows.

"This was supposed to be a one-time thing," he stated.

"One-time thing my ass! Do you think I'm a slut?" I asked.

He stared at me with an unreadable expression. "So what do you want then?" he asked, making me almost scoff again.

"I WANT YOU!" I snapped. He stared at me with an amused expression.

"You want me? But we just met," he said, leaning against the wall.

"Call it love at first sight," I replied. He burst into humorless laughter. When he stopped, he took slow strides to the bed and leaned over so that our faces were inches apart. "Can you handle being with me?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Why wouldn't I be able to?" I asked. Before he could reply, the door burst open, and two men barged in, dragging a nearly unconscious man with them. They dropped the man in the center of the room and made him sit in a kneeling position.

"Is this the bastard that stole from me?" the hot stranger asked in a chilling voice.

"Yes, boss. We found him trying to sell the drugs," one of the men replied. Drug? Was he a drug lord?

He walked to the almost lifeless man and held his chin in his hands. "Do you know what I do to people like you?" he asked.

"Please forgive me! It won't happen again!" the man cried in a weak voice.

"Trust me, it won't," the stranger replied, and without warning, he brought out a knife from his pocket and slit the man's throat.

Then he turned to me with blood smeared all over his face and asked, "Do you still think you can handle being with me?"

My instincts told me to say no, to put on my clothes and flee while I had the chance, but my heart said otherwise. I had fallen head over heels for this stranger, and even though I knew about his dangerous job, I just couldn't stop now.

"What are you?" I asked in a whisper. He didn't reply, instead, he tilted his head to the side and signaled his men to get out. I watched as they dragged the body out of the room, then turned to look at the stranger, who was back to putting on his clothes.

"Leo," he said, and I shot him a puzzled look.

"My name is Leo," he stated, turning to look at me.

"Oh, I'm Sophia," I replied.

"Now, Sophia, back to my previous question. Are you sure you can handle being with me?" he asked again. I stared at him, unsure of what to say. I wondered what he would do if I said no. Would he kill me so that I wouldn't tell anybody about what I saw there?

"Yes." I didn't realize when the words escaped my mouth. He smiled again, this time more genuinely.

"Well then, let's get married," he offered. My mouth fell open. "Married? But we just met!" I exclaimed.

"Call it love at first sight," he used my words against me.

I thought about it, I'm really in love with him, and I did want to spend my life with him. Plus, if I had spent all my money the previous night, I wouldn't have any money to survive on. "Sure, let's get married," I agreed.

He seemed shocked by my reply, he must not have been expecting me to agree so easily. "Let's go then," he said when he finally found his words. I got out of bed and got dressed, then he led me to a black car. We got in, and he drove us to a courthouse where we were going to get married while in our casual outfits.

The clerk who got us married was confused to see how we showed up but didn't question it. I was sure it had something to do with the stern look on Leo's face. We finally got married, and I returned home with Leo.

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The next two years with Leo went smoothly. We barely ever fought, mostly because we barely ever talked. There were times when I wished he would spend more time with me, but I knew that his job required his time.

During those two years, Leo and I rarely ever went out on dates, except when it was about his business, so I was shocked when he suddenly informed me that we were going out that evening.

I spent more time than usual getting ready because I wanted to make sure that Leo wouldn't be able to take his eyes off me all evening. Since Leo had been out all day, he wasn't taking me to the restaurant, he asked Reggie, his right hand man, to bring me to the restaurant.

"Damn! You look hot," Reggie commented as I walked over to him. He is a nice and funny guy but seemed to transform into a different person whenever it is time for business.

"Let's go, Leo's waiting," I reminded him. He held the door to the car open for me, and I slid in. He shut the door after me and got into the driver's seat, and off we went.

Reggie drove me to a five-star restaurant that was very popular, it was said to be the best in the country. "Have fun,but not too much fun," Reggie teased as I got out. I flashed him a playful smile and made my way into the restaurant to meet the man of my dreams.

I saw him seated at an empty table. I expected to see at least flowers or something, but I decided to be content with what I got. "Hey hon," I called, and he turned to look at me. He scanned me from head to toe and signaled for me to sit.

I sat across from him and picked up the menu to order something. I hadn't even gone through the first item on the menu when Leo dropped a bombshell on me. "I'm getting married."

I looked up from the menu with a puzzled expression. What did he mean he was getting married? He's already married, after all.

"You're joking, right?" I asked with a scoff. The expression on his face showed that he was serious. "But we're married! How can you be getting married when you're already married to me?" I snapped angrily.

"That's why I brought you out tonight," he continued to talk calmly. "We are getting divorced."

"Getting a divorce?" The words kept ringing in my head as I walked down the dark street. I had refused to get into the car after he broke the news to me.

My feet were hurting from walking for so long in heels, but the pain couldn't compare to the hurt I felt in my heart.

For years, I'd forced myself to believe my marriage was perfect, that I was lucky to have a man like Leo. Anytime someone asked if Leo loved me, I would say, "Of course he loves me, he's just not very good at expressing his emotions." What a fool I had been.

I finally couldn't bear the pain in my feet, so I took off my shoes and tossed them aside before continuing my journey barefoot.

It soon began to rain heavily, and I was drenched from head to toe. I finally arrived at the mansion and made my way into the place I once called home. The maids were all stunned to see me soaking wet, and they tried to help me, but one glare was enough to send them back.

I made my way to my room and pushed the door open, only to see a blonde woman standing there with luggage by her side. "Who are you?" I asked. She turned to look at me with a big smile on her face. "I'm Sam, Leo's fiancée," she replied. My mouth flew open immediately. What was she doing here?

"You must be Sophia. I'm sure you're here to pack your things," she said and went to my closet, flinging it open. "Get to work now. You should leave before he gets back," she suggested. I felt my blood boil and my fists clenched in anger. I grabbed the nearest object I could find, which was a vase, and ran to her with the intent of striking her.

I raised the vase as I reached her and was about to bring it down on her head when someone snatched it from me. It was Leo. He was staring at me like he wanted to kill me. "REGGIE!" he called, and soon Reggie came running.

"Get her out of here now!" he ordered. Reggie froze for a minute, he was probably as shocked as I was. He finally got a hold of himself and gently escorted me out of the house. He took me to his car and drove me to an old condo.

He pulled up in front of it and turned to me with eyes filled with pity. "I'm sorry. He doesn't mean any of this," he said. I turned to look at him in disbelief. After everything Leo had done, he was still trying to defend him.

"He's getting married! Did he also not mean that?" I asked with a scoff. "You don't get it, it's... it's complicated," he replied. "Then explain it to me! Explain why my husband is suddenly leaving me for another woman!" I snapped. "It's a contract marriage, okay!" he yelled.

"Contract marriage?"

"Contract marriage?" I exclaimed, unable to believe my ears. "Yes, the only reason he's getting married to Samantha is so that he can form a partnership with her father," Reggie replied.

"But Leo is a mafia lord. Since when do mafia lords even form partnerships?" I asked with a scoff. "They do. It's not common because of the lack of trust in the drug business, but Leo is sure that Sam's father won't hurt him if he's married to Sam."

On hearing that, I realized that Leo cared more about his business than he did about me, iif he cared at all.

"I have to go, Reggie. Thanks for bringing me here," I said and got out of the car to leave. I couldn't handle hearing about how Leo never loved me any longer.

"Sophia!" Reggie called out. I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. "He still loves you, he's just in a really tight position right now," he said. I almost scoffed at his words. "Sure," I muttered and slammed the door shut.

I walked into my new condo. It isn't big or fancy, but it is quite homey. I felt more at peace there than I ever had at Leo's in the last two years.

I grabbed a bottle of wine from the counter and popped it open, pouring the contents into my mouth. I don't remember how much of the wine I drank, all I remembered was drinking on the couch until I passed out.

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The ringing of the doorbell woke me up the next day. I got up too fast and was immediately knocked back down by a banging headache. "Shit!" I cursed and massaged my head with my fingers.

The doorbell rang again and again, making my head hurt even more. When I couldn't take it anymore, I forced myself to get off the couch and practically dragged myself to the door. I slid it open expecting to see someone, but there was no one there.

"Is this thing broken?" I mumbled and took a look at the doorbell, but it seemed fine. I poked my head out and looked around to see if someone was hiding in a corner, but there was no one.

"Must be a ring and ditch," I thought to myself and made to close the door. Suddenly, a tall man jumped in front of me, and before I could react, he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

I screamed, punched, and kicked, trying to attract the attention of the neighbors, but since it was a Monday, everyone had gone to work or school.

The man carried me to a red car and threw me into the trunk. I was extremely claustrophobic, so being stuck in the trunk was traumatic for me. I kicked the trunk, hoping a cop or passerby would hear and become suspicious, but it seemed like everyone in the world had disappeared.

I finally gave up kicking as I was running out of air in the enclosed trunk. I still had a headache from the hangover, and I was beginning to feel nauseous.

I felt the car finally come to a halt, and the door opened and shut. I guessed we had arrived at our destination, wherever that was. The trunk was finally opened, and I was hit with a wave of fresh air and light.

The man dragged me out of the trunk, and I saw that he had parked in front of an abandoned warehouse. He pulled me into the warehouse and made me sit in an old chair. "What do you want from me? Who sent you? How much did they pay? I'll pay triple," I promised in a desperate attempt to be let go.

"Shut your mouth while I'm being gentle," he threatened, and I quickly went quiet. He was really muscular, and I feared one hit from him would leave me dead.

The door to the warehouse slid open, and two women walked in. One had her face covered by a mask, so I couldn't make out who she was, but the other person I recognized right away.

"Sam!" I gasped. Why did she have me kidnapped? Hadn't she done enough by stealing my husband?

"Hello, Sophia. How are you doing?" she asked with a stupid smile on her face. "What is wrong with you, Sam? Haven't you done enough?" I yelled, wanting to break out of the chair and slap her across the face.

"Easy there. We don't want you straining your voice now. You can scream your lungs out later," she said, and I wondered what she meant by that. "Why are you doing this? Does Leo know about this?" I asked. "Leo gave me permission to do whatever I wanted with you," she replied, and my heart sank on hearing that.

"Lies! Leo would never do that!" I yelled, though deep down, I was beginning to think he was actually capable of doing it. "After the stunt you pulled yesterday, he asked me to get rid of you," she replied with a smirk.

"So what are you going to do to me now? How else are you going to hurt me?" I asked with a scoff. The worst she could do was hit me. She turned to the man standing next to her and, with a wicked smile, said, "Burn her."