Betrothed To The Ruthless Mafia

"Your father is waiting in his study"

Rosana looked down at the luggage she was holding and sighed. What could be so important? She wasn't even allowed to drop her bags before her mother conveyed the message.

"Father!" She called out in excitement after bursting into the quiet room. Mr. Santos turned from the window and smiled at his daughter who had long grown into a beautiful woman.

"I have good news, Papito. I..." Rosana started but was cut off by her father.

He took a deep breath,"You will be married tomorrow, Rosana."

"My wedding? Tomorrow?"

"Sì. We do not have any more time. You have to be ready."

She stared at him, confused. "We have a lot of time, Papiti. Allen and I are not planning to rush anything-"

Mr. Santos paused. It was now his turn to look confused. When she smiled and looked down at the ring on her finger, his heart stopped in his chest. The glass he was holding fell from his hand and broke into pieces.

"Papà!" Rosana yelled in shock. She immediately rushed over but he stopped her before she could get closer to him.

"What have you done, Rosana? You got engaged?"

The look on his face terrified her but she managed to respond. "Yes, Father. Allen and I got engaged one week ago. We've been in love for four years-"

"Do you know how dangerous this is, Rosana? He could have our heads if he finds out!"

The confused look returning to her face. What was he talking about? Who was he talking about? If the wedding wasn't with her fiance, Allen, then who?

"You are going to return the ring and end things with this man, è chiaro?" [Is that clear?]

He yelled and walked over to her. Rosana was now frightened. Her father had never yelled at her and she had never seen him look this way.

"He is coming to take you tomorrow, so you will do as I say, Principessa. Tonight, you will pick your wedding gown and you will be ready for him."

Rosana was on the verge of bursting into tears but she held herself. It couldn't be a forced marriage. No, her father will never do that. He loved her so much and wanted her to be happy, always.

"Who is this man, Papito?" Her voice quivered.

"Your betrothed, Sergio De Niro"

Her breath hitched at her throat and her heart started racing a million miles.

She had never seen him but she had heard stories of how ruthless, deadly, and evil he was.

Tears brimmed her vision and this time, she couldn't hold it in. She wished she was dreaming.

"No Papito, no... I am engaged, you can not do this... Non puoi farlo, Papito!" [You can't do this to me, Father]

"It has already been done, Rosana" His voice was filled to the brim with irritation. "Now, be a good girl and start getting prepared"

Rosana begged and cried but it fell on deaf ears.

"Vattene!" [Get out!] He ordered and turned back to face the window. Just like that, her fate had been sealed.

*

Rosana stared at herself in the mirror, eyes red and swollen from crying all night. She only agreed to put on the wedding dress because her father had threatened to find Allen and end his life.

"Boss, we are here."

She held onto her veil firmly, feeling thankful that she wore it. At least, no one could see how messed up her face looked from crying so hard.

All eyes turned to look at her and she wished the ground could open up for once and swallow her. With her arm entwined with her father's, he walked her down the aisle.

Rosana clung to her father's arms like her life was depending on it. All the men in the room were dressed in black and it caused a thrill of shiver to run down her spine. What were these people, she wondered.

When they finally got to the altar, Rosana searched around for her groom but he was nowhere to be found. Silently, she prayed that he had forgotten about the wedding and had abandoned her.

"He will be here soon" The Bishop spoke softly.

Rosana felt like crying all over again. She was not even betrothed to a normal man.

The king of hell, Sergio De Niro. The name that caused thousands to bow in terror and powerful men to cower in fear. That was the person she was going to marry in the next few minutes.

Rosana didn't realize when she started struggling to untwine her arms from her father's. She wanted to be anywhere but there, she wanted to run.

"Rosana... Rosana, what are you doing?" Mr. Santos whispered and looked around. Everyone was watching but none of them could utter a word. "Comportati bene, signorina. You are embarrassing me!" [Behave, young lady.]

"Let me go! I do not want to marry him, Father!"

"Enough, young lady!" He gritted, glaring hard at her. "I am your father and you will do as I say. If I ask you to live, then you will live. And if I ask you to die, Rosana, you will die!"

"And who gave you such rights, hmm?" A deep monotonous voice broke in behind them. It was enough to nail the terror to their limbs.

Mr. Santos tried to speak but the words couldn't flow out. He couldn't even look at him in the face. Instead, he bowed and stepped aside so he could stand beside Rosana.

"I would have your head the next time you speak to my bride in such a manner." He spoke acidly, his metallic eyes covered with darkness.

"My apologies, Mr. De Niro-" Mr. Santos's knees hit the ground immediately.

Rosana stared at him, completely appalled. When he finally turned to look at her, her heartbeat froze and blood drained from her face. He was there, he was standing right in front of her...

Sergio De Niro.

He quickly appraised her from head to toe. Then he frowned.

"Troppi vestiti" [Too much clothes].

"What is your name?"

"R-Rosana." Rosana's tongue suddenly felt tied but she managed to answer.

"Ro, lo facciamo?" [Shall we?] His voice was deep and his Italian accent dripped out of every word he spoke.

Her breath hitched. No one had ever called her that-except her dead brother.

How did he know?

"Ro, la facciamo?" Sergio asked and held out his right hand.

He was cut an imposing figure, his tall frame encased in a black suit that spelled splendor. The fabric clung to his well-muscled chest, and the first three buttons were left undone, revealing intricate tattoos that snaked up his chest.

The sight made her edgy but she couldn't look away. He wasn't even wearing a tie.

Why her? How could her father do this to her? She kept asking herself.

Her mind was filled with lots of thoughts that she had forgotten the hand stretched out in front of her. When she finally lowered her gaze and saw it, her stomach clenched immediately and her heart started hammering wildly in her chest.

This was happening, this was real, she thought.

She slowly raised her soft dainty hand and placed it on his cold, firm hand. The sudden contact caused her to flinch but Sergio held her still.

He had been watching her the whole time, quietly waiting for her to take his hand. It took so much for him to exercise patience, instead of showing her exactly what he does to people that waste a tiny bit of his time.

Together, they both turned and faced the priest who began the wedding processions.

"Till death do us part" Rosana whispered the last part with a heavy heart. She deeply wished the man in front of her was her Allen, not this man she just met some minutes ago.

Sergio stared deeply at her. Even with the veil that covered her face, he could still see how beautiful she was. Her saddest green eyes were the prettiest yet he had ever seen.

"Finchè morte non ci separi" [Till death do us part] He repeated the vow and slipped the gold ring into her dainty finger.

"With the power vested upon me as the High Priest of the country, I now pronounce you man and wife!" A loud applause erupted from the congregation. "You may now..."

Before the Priest could finish, Sergio had already unveiled the bride.

Slowly, she looked up at the man who was now her husband and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight of him. How could someone look handsome and dangerous at the same time?

"Sei bello!" [You are beautiful!] Sergio muttered, causing her heart to skip.

"You may now kiss your bride"

He took a step closer. Before she could think of running, Sergio wrapped his right hand around her small waist and pulled her close and stared into her green teary eyes.

Rosana turned cold being so close to him. The only man she had ever been this close to was her Allen but now...

"I do not want to marry you!" She whimpered, tears clouding her vision.

"Too late" He smirked. "Sei mio, amore" [You're mine now, love]

With that being said, he kissed her fiercely, claiming her in front of everyone.

*

In the limousine, Rosana stared out the window, fighting tears.

Her father had whispered, "You're doing this for Nino," before disappearing.

Nino-her dead brother. What did this marriage have to do with him?

She looked up at Sergio, who was scrolling through his phone.

"You know you have all the time in the world to drool over me, Bambolina. I would advise you to breathe. You look dead" He looked up at her and returned his gaze to his phone. [Babydoll]

Rosana stared at him in disbelief.

Did he just accuse her of drooling over him? She couldn't even look at him without feeling irritated.

"I look dead because I was forced to marry you against my will. I do not love you and I do not want to be with you!"

He chuckled lightly but she considered it dark.

"You will learn to be with me, Bambolina, because you are mine"

"No, I will not!" Rosana rebuffed. She dipped her hand into her cleavages and pulled out a ring. "I was engaged to the one I love before you and my father came along. I do not love you and I never will!"

He stared at the ring without saying a word. She had expected him to react-to apologize, to terminate the marriage. But instead, he just sat there, emotionless.

"I do not want to be with you. Do you not understand?" She yelled out in frustration. "I want to be with the man I love!"

A minute passed before he asked quietly. "What is the name of this man you love so much?"

"Allen... Allen Iverson"

He nodded and then picked up his glass of whiskey.

Rosana waited for him to speak but he didn't, her heart sinking. He didn't care. Not at all.

*

The limousine finally pulled up in front of a gigantic mansion.

She sluggishly got down from the car and wasn't aware of the men that bowed to her with their heads almost touching the ground.

"Where is he?" Sergio inquired.

"We have him, Boss." Alfonso, one of his men replied, still bowing. "What should we do?"

"Take me to him, I will take care of him myself"

Rosana didn't know what was going on and just followed him, admiring the mansion, until she heard someone screaming.

She was terrified. She wanted to stop and run back but Sergio held her firmly, forcing her to walk with him.

When they entered the room, she froze.

Rosana blanched at the sight in front of her. The man who was tied to a chair was bleeding profusely from everywhere. His right eye was pulled out and his fingers were chopped off.

Quietly, Sergio unbuttoned his suit, and rolled up his sleeves, exposing his strong tattooed arms.

"I heard you tried to attack me" He started, walking over to a table in the room which was filled with torture equipment.

"I... I was ordered by Grasso Romon!" The man confessed without being asked.

"È così, hmm?" [Is that so?]

"He has my family!" The man cried. Tears rolled down from his left eye and blood from his right eye socket.

"You should have let them die rather than make such a mistake"

Sergio picked up a hot blazing knife from the furnace and dived it into his stomach. A loud ear-piercing scream erupted from both the man and Rosana.

But Sergio wasn't done.

He carved open the man's chest and pulled out his heart-still beating.

Rosana screamed again, all the blood drained from her face.

"Let's go, Bambolina." He grabbed her hand, but it wasn't harsh.

Rosana's legs buckled beneath her. She couldn't even think or ask questions, she just followed him.

What kind of monster had she married?

Rosana followed him quietly, her legs trembling with each step. She couldn't speak. She couldn't think. The image of that man's heart in Sergio's hand was burned into her mind.

Sergio opened the door to their bedroom and ushered her in. "Welcome home!"

She looked around the room in fright. He was still standing behind the closed door, not making any attempt to step further into the room.

"Why did you kill him?"She croaked, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"He deserved to die, Amore"

"Aveva una famiglia" [He had a family]

Sergio scoffed and started walking towards her. She took a step backward, trying to avoid him.

"Do not try to run away from me, Bambolina"

"No, stay away from me. You killed him... You..."

Before she could take another step backward, he caught her by the arm and pulled her to himself.

"You cannot run away from me. Do not ever think you are capable of doing that!"

His voice was gravelly and it caused chills to run down her spine. She was scared of his cold voice, the deadly look in his eyes, his nearness...

"Take it off" He ordered, staring at her wedding dress.

"No!"

"No? Let's see about that!" He stepped closer and was on the verge of tearing it with his hands.

"No... Stop touching me. Take your bloody hands off me!" His white shirt was stained too and there were prints of blood on his face. But he didn't care. All he cared about was how to get rid of her wedding gown which was now ruined by the blood on his hands.

"What did you just say?" He paused and looked down at her with dark metallic eyes.

"Stop touching me!"

He grabbed her neck and she gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"You should not make me do this on our wedding night, Bambolina. You are mine and I will take whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I want, and however I want, till death do us part, Mi Amor"

Without warning, he crashed his lips on hers, his mouth encompassing hers.

With his hand still wrapped around her neck, he tilted her head to angle for deeper contact. "Kiss me properly!"

But instead of that, she pushed him away and sent her shaky palm to his cheeks before she could even process it.

"Mi dispiace. I... I am not used to people forcing themselves on me" [I'm sorry!] Rosana uttered, keeping her head up and shoulders high. It took everything in her to stifle the panic that sliced through her.

Sergio stilled. He couldn't believe he had just been slapped so hard.

When he finally looked up at her, his eyes were bloodshot and dark. His hands were itching to retaliate so badly that they started hurting.

"Non avresti mai dovuto farlo, Bambolina. Not even by mistake" [You should never have done that]

***

After hours of sitting and staring at the window, Rosana managed to slip out of her wedding gown and take a shower.

She needed to get dressed before Sergio returned from wherever he went. He had walked out of the room like an angry lion and Rosana was still scared of what he would do when he returned.

To her surprise, there was plenty of female wear in the wardrobe ranging from different colors of underthings to sexy night wear and expensive dresses.

Did Sergio get all those for her? She wondered.

She heard a soft knock on the door and gasped in fright. She grabbed one of Sergio's long coats and covered herself up because the nightwear was too revealing.

"Good evening, My Lady" The older woman bowed. "Your dinner"

The woman walked in and began setting the table. "I am Viola, My Lady. Your husband assigned me to take care of you"

"Where is he? Are we not supposed to have dinner together?"

"I am afraid I do not know, My Lady," Viola responded, still bowing.

The response didn't soothe her nerves. Quietly, she started eating alone with Viola keeping her company.

"Thank you for the meal, Viola, I enjoyed it" She lied. Viola smiled in satisfaction. "I want to go outside."

"It is late, My lady."

Rosana frowned. She wanted to take a tour around the house and see if there were any chances of escape.

"Can you lend me your cell phone? I want to call my mother and ask if everything is okay"

"I do not have a cellphone."

Rosana sighed in defeat. "I am bored and cannot stay here like a prisoner. Please do not tell me no, Viola, please!"

Viola's face paled, a sharp pang of pity twisting her chest. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Alright, My Lady."

Rosana followed her around, admiring the interior of the house. All the maids and soldiers they came across kept bowing to her.

"What was that?" Rosana asked. It was the sound of something pleading desperately. "Can you hear it?"

"My Lady I..."

Before she could complete what she was saying, Rosana dashed toward the direction the sound came from. When she finally got there, she froze in front of the slightly opened door.

"My Lady!" Viola whispered and rushed over. Without looking into the room, she shut the door and led Rosana away.

"Who is she?"

"I am sorry, My Lady..."

"I said-Who is she, Viola?" Rosana had seen the lady who knelt before Sergio but she couldn't see her face.

"She... She is his mistress"

Rosana froze. The woman knelt before Sergio, her head bowed, his hand resting on her hair like she was his to command.

If Sergio already had a mistress warming his bed-what the hell did he want with her?