Falling in love with a mobster by force

Victoria tapped her fingers against the steering wheel while the engine remained on. Outside, the rain pounded relentlessly on the windshield, as if urging her to move. It was the fourth time this year she had waited for a call from the clinic, and the fear of hearing the same verdict again had her on the verge of collapse.

"Victoria, my love, no matter what happens, you're not alone. Did they tell you anything yet? I'm going crazy waiting."

Eder's voice echoed through the car's speaker, heavy with tension. Victoria swallowed hard. Her hands trembling, she opened the email on her phone where the lab had sent her the results. The moment she read the first lines; her soul went dark. There was no need to say a word: her cry burst out violently, uncontrollably, while the phone remained in the palm of her hand.

«Negative.»

"I can't do this, Eder..." Victoria murmured, her voice faint. "I won't be a mother. I'm almost thirty. I don't even know why I keep trying."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

"Don't say that, please. It's not your fault, and you're not alone," Eder replied firmly, though his voice carried a note of pain. "If it can't happen one way, we'll find another."

"But I want to have a child! " she cried, slamming her hand against the steering wheel. "I want to live it! I don't want to give up."

She took a breath with effort.

"My sister mentioned some vitamins, and there are options, I know that. I won't give up, Eder. I swear to you, I'll do everything I can. "

Her tears returned, quieter this time, without bursting. Just a couple of them slipping down her cheeks as she watched the rain slide down the glass.

"I'm with you, Victoria. Whatever you decide, I'll be there," Eder tried to lift her spirits. "Don't cry, my love, I beg you. We'll have a child, trust me. Now go home... Put on the most beautiful dress you own, get ready, make yourself even more stunning than you already are. We're going out for dinner."

Victoria shot him a glare.

"Dinner? Are we going to celebrate that we're not parents?"

Eder stood up and extended his hand to her, inviting her to rise.

"Don't say that my love. You need a distraction. Tonight, will be unforgettable."

***

At the city's renowned steakhouse, an impeccably dressed waiter approached with the menu in hand.

"Waiter, bring me the best wine in the house. " He looked at his wife with a conspiratorial smile.

Victoria returned the smile, feeling the warmth of his love in every gesture.

"I need to fix my makeup; my eyes must be swollen." She headed to the ladies' room.

Eder took a pair of glasses and poured the wine slowly. However, he added a special touch to hers. When he said the night would be unforgettable, he meant it.

Dinner unfolded amid laughter and a lighthearted atmosphere. After a few glasses of wine, Victoria seemed to leave behind the sorrow of not being able to have children.

"Eder, darling..." Victoria reached out beneath the table, seeking her husband's hand. "Eder..."

He looked up, noticing the sudden hesitation in her voice.

"Tell me, love, what is it? "

Victoria blinked several times, as if trying to focus her vision.

"I... I don't feel well. I don't think I should drink any more..." She brought a hand to her temple. "I feel dizzy..."

Eder immediately stood and circled the table to her side. He took her hand with apparent concern and helped her to her feet.

The moment their bodies met; Victoria collapsed in his arms. Unconscious.

Exactly as Eder had planned.

***

In a luxurious hotel room, Salvatore shifted abruptly into bed and felt a warm shape beside him. He frowned, turned on the main lamp, and the moment he saw what lay next to him, he shot upright. Blood rushed to his head, and a furious heat surged through his body.

" Who the hell is this woman?"

He looked her up and down, and a shiver ran down his spine.

She was wearing a sensual red lace set that highlighted her perfect, natural, almost unreal figure. Her lips, painted in a deep crimson, matched her skin tone.

"She must be a damn prostitute," he thought with contempt.

Without bothering to cover more than necessary, he punched in the door code and stormed into the hallway, half-naked, shouting in fury.

"Who brought her?" His voice boomed with authority as his men looked at each other in bewilderment. "Who put that bitch in my bed? I didn't ask for any damn service tonight! "

None of his men answered, not even Jordano, his right-hand man, who frowned without fully understanding what was happening.

"Sir, what do you mean?"

Salvatore glared at him.

"Tell me, Jordano, did you bring a prostitute tonight?" Because I didn't ask for anything.

"No, of course not, sir. What's going on?"

"That there's a naked woman in my bed," Salvatore growled, each word filled with fury.

The men looked at each other, even more confused. Salvatore shook his head irritated and returned to the room. Whoever that woman was, he had to get her out of there immediately.

He walked over to the bed and took her arm, shaking her firmly to wake her up. The woman opened her eyes slowly, and as soon as her mind seemed to connect with her body, an immediate change came over her.

Her breathing became heavy, her skin bristled, and a scorching heat ran through her. Her nipples hardened, and her body began to respond in a way she didn't understand.

"Love... what's wrong? Where are we? " She asked confused, feeling an urgent and uncontrollable need.

Salvatore tensed his jaw and looked away from his exposed skin.

"Go away. I have not requested your services," he said coldly, pointing to the door without daring to look at it again.

But the woman shook her head, confused.

"No... spouse... I... "

Victoria blinked, her vision still blurry, but her body burned. He looked at Salvatore, or rather, looked at the prominent bulge under his boxers, and, unable to help himself, licked his lips.

Salvatore gritted his teeth, feeling like he was losing control. The stranger was completely naked in front of him.

"I warned her to leave," he growled, grabbing her arm with the intention of pulling her out of the room.

But Victoria did not see him as a stranger, in her altered mind, that imposing and furious man was her husband.

"Eder... Please..." she murmured in a broken voice, clutching her chest.

Salvatore froze. Eder? His cunning subordinate?

His jaw tightened as he felt his hands running down his bare torso. The heat that emanated from her body was scorching, her skin seemed lit up and her aroma...

Salvatore closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath.

"Honey, make me yours, I feel Oh, please! I feel like I'm burning," Victoria was trying to reach for him to touch him.

"Don't call me honey, go away, I don't like prostitutes,"

"You're a tough boy, I like it," Victoria, consumed by the immense desire that ran through her body, and the desire to be possessed, continued acting as if it were a game.

Salvatore looked her up and down, swallowed whole, and maddened by the need that also ignited inside him, he took Victoria by the arm and wanted to take her by force.

"Go away, please." Salvatore kept insisting, but Victoria kept seducing him.

Salvatore felt like he was going to explode. The air became thick, his body tensed. He was too excited, too consumed by the addictive feeling that this unknown woman emanated.

"Honey, look at me..." Victoria gasped eagerly. "I wish you very much. Don't leave me like this... Make me yours once and for all."

Victoria hung on to his neck, her lips seeking his with desperate hunger, kissing him against his will.

That was too much for him. The caresses, Victoria's excitement, her shameless dedication... and the months of dark celibacy that ate away at him.

He looked her up and down, and a shiver ran down his spine.

She was wearing a sensual red lace set that highlighted her perfect, natural, almost unreal figure. Her lips, painted in a deep crimson, matched her skin tone.

He gave in.

He seized her with force, overtaken by an unrestrainable passion. That night, he made her his.

With lust, with longing, with the intensity of a man who had always denied himself the touch of strangers. But Victoria did not behave like just any woman. And he had no idea when exactly he had ended up in her arms.

***

Salvatore's eyes flew open. He remembered what had happened the night before and let out a frustrated sigh. He turned his head and squirmed.

It hadn't been a dream.

Beside him, the woman he had slept with lay sound asleep. She was completely naked. But what disturbed him the most was the expression on her face. It wasn't the look of a prostitute satisfied with her payment. It was the expression of an innocent woman, unaware of the disaster she had just walked into.

"Shit!" he whispered, running a hand down his face.

He got up immediately, pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of soft cotton pants, and left the room to look for Eder. He needed to investigate who this woman truly was, to make sure she wasn't a spy sent by the enemy.

Weeks later.

"Miss Victoria, here is your dinner." The maid set the plate on the table. Suddenly, at the sight of the food before her, Victoria felt her stomach churn. She shook her head and picked up the fork, determined to take the first bite.

But... she abruptly stood and ran to the bathroom, overwhelmed by a wave of nausea. It wasn't the first time this week. As she wiped her mouth in front of the mirror, a thought struck her like lightning: her period had been absent for a couple of months.

Could it really be what she suspected?

Without hesitation, she asked for a test at the pharmacy and, upon seeing the result, tears blurred her vision. After waiting so long for a miracle, it was finally there. What she had longed for so desperately was now reflected on the test strip.

«Positive.»

She jumped with joy and embraced her belly, unable to believe it. At that precise moment, the mansion's door opened. Eder had just returned from work and, upon seeing her bouncing with excitement, furrowed his brow.

"Hi, my love. Why are you so happy?" He dropped his briefcase on the floor as Victoria, eyes brimming with tears, approached him and held out the test in front of his eyes.

"My love, I have something very important to tell you."

Eder, feigning surprise, took the cassette in his hands. Upon seeing the result, he managed to smile.

"Is... is this true, Victoria?" he asked, a melancholy note in his voice. He looked into her eyes, and she, glowing with emotion, smiled back tenderly.

"Yes, my love, yes! We're going to be parents!" she exclaimed, radiant with happiness.

"What a joy!" Eder embraced her and lifted her into the air. "You make me so happy, my love. We're finally going to be parents!"

"I'm so happy, Eder. Finally!"

While Victoria celebrated, clinging to his chest, Eder's expression changed behind her back. His gaze turned dark and calculating, as though everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.

Their euphoria filled the mansion. They celebrated fervently the miracle they had waited for so long. However, the insistent ringing of the doorbell interrupted the moment.

Victoria pulled away from her husband and looked at him, confused.

"Who could it be?"

She opened the door, and upon seeing Carolina's face, her joy was complete.

"Sister! What a joy to see you here."

She threw herself into her arms and hugged her tightly, unable to contain her excitement.

Carolina returned the hug, but behind her sister's back, she shot a threatening glare at Eder.

"I've come to visit you, little sister."

Carolina stepped inside and stared coldly at her brother-in-law. "I didn't know you were already home, Eder."

"How are you, Carolina?" he replied indifferently.

Victoria looked at them both, feeling her complete joy. Taking their hands, she exclaimed with enthusiasm:

"Let's celebrate. I asked Jacinta to prepare a special dinner."

Carolina frowned slightly, showing confusion.

"Celebrate what?"

"Sister, I'm pregnant," Victoria announced, her eyes shining with emotion.

Carolina smiled nervously, pretending to be happy for her.

"Congratulations, Victoria."

Amid that forced happiness, the three sat down to dinner while they chatted about plans for the future with the baby on the way.

"Well, I made the dessert myself. I'm going to bring it." Victoria smiled delightedly and stood up from the table.

"Thank you, my love." Eder took her hand and gave it an affectionate kiss.

Still wrapped in her joy, she ran off to the kitchen. While she prepared the desserts, she couldn't stop smiling. Sharing the news with the two people she loved most filled her with happiness.

She placed the three plates on a tray and returned to the dining room.

Upon arrival, her husband and her sister had vanished.

"How strange... Where did they go?" she wondered.

Quietly, she began to search for them throughout the house, still holding the tray in her hands. It struck her as odd that they had both disappeared at the same time.

Then, a sound coming from the end of the hallway, right in Eder's study, caught her attention.

Were those moans?

Victoria brought a hand to her mouth and froze beside the half-open door. What she saw on the other side shattered her heart completely. She couldn't believe it!

Carolina was clinging to her husband's neck, kissing him passionately. Her wet lips barely whispered in the air, and the intense moans confirmed the betrayal. But that wasn't what shocked her the most.

"And tell me, when are you going to get rid of my stupid sister, my love?" Carolina whispered seductively, caressing the back of Eder's hand.

"Very soon," he replied coldly. "Now that she's pregnant with that idiot Salvatore Mancini's baby, it'll be much easier to get rid of her... and of him."

"It's incredible, my love." Carolina wouldn't let go of his neck. "And tell me, darling, how did you manage to get her pregnant with that idiot's child?"

Every word Victoria heard was a dagger straight to her chest, tearing her apart inside.

"It was very easy," Eder confessed with disdain. "I just drugged her and paid Mancini's men to help me put her in his bed. And clearly, the slut didn't waste any time. He fell for it."

"And to think that for so long the dumb bitch was taking contraceptives thinking they were vitamins," Carolina burst into a mocking laugh, while Eder grabbed her face to kiss her wildly.

Victoria bit her lips, unable to utter a single word. She shook her head, trying to silence the phrases that still echoed in the air. Her mind clouded over. The child she was expecting... wasn't her husband's. And the pain of betrayal, carried out by the people she loved the most, pierced her soul like a burning dagger.

Her hands trembled, and the dessert tray fell abruptly to the floor. The crash of steel against the tile shattered the silence, startling Eder and Carolina, who turned their heads toward the door.

It burst open.

With her eyes full of tears and her chest burning with fury, Victoria stormed into the study, ready to confront them.

"You filthy traitors!!"

"You filthy traitors!!"

Victoria clenched her fists in rage. A whirlwind of emotions shook her from within: love was turning into hatred, and pain into an uncontrollable thirst for revenge. She approached her husband and looked him straight in the eyes.

"You damned traitor! Since when you have been cheating on me with my sister, Eder?"

Her voice trembled, heavy with heartbreak.

Eder looked at her with cold indifference. He was no longer the man she had once loved, not the one she thought she knew. Meanwhile, Carolina shamelessly perched herself on the desk, wearing a mocking smile, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"Victoria, darling... It's not what you think," Eder lied, without a hint of shame.

"Oh, isn't it?" Victoria's eyes moved from her sister's face to her husband's, as if searching for even a shred of humanity in them. "How could you?"

Eder shrugged with utter indifference, stepping out of her way. He lit a cigarette with an insulting calm before replying:

"It's your fault, Victoria. You stopped treating me like your husband. Our nights became cold and boring. You no longer gave me good sex, so I had to turn to Carolina... she knows how to do it right."

Carolina strutted past her sister with arrogance, shoving her without the slightest care before grabbing Eder's arm possessively.

Victoria felt her world collapsing. Her chest tightened-each word a dagger driven straight into her soul. The pain was so deep that, for a moment, she thought she might die from it.

"You're such a fool, little sister. While you were obsessed with having a child, I was giving your husband pleasure." Carolina looked her up and down and slid a brazen hand along Eder's arm.

"No! Please... this can't be happening." Victoria shook her head desperately, her voice breaking between sobs. "It's not my fault... I love you, Eder. I've always loved you, unconditionally. Why are you doing this to me? And... tell me the truth... Is it true that you gave me away to another man?"

Eder exhaled a cloud of smoke and stared at her with icy detachment. There was no compassion in his eyes, not a trace of the love he once swore to her.

"Victoria, if you really love me and want another chance with me, you'll give an heir to my boss, Salvatore Mancini. He's the father... and that will be your greatest proof of love."

He stepped closer and brushed her tear-streaked cheek, but Victoria slapped his hand away in disgust. Her world was crumbling before her eyes; it was like being trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

"Over my dead body! I'm not giving my child to anyone. This can't be real!"

Eder grabbed her arm tightly, forcing her to look at him.

"Darling, if you love me, you'll do as I say. You don't have a choice."

"No!" she screamed in desperation, feeling her blood boil with rage. "I'll abort this child. I won't carry it. I won't give you anything!"

Eder's expression darkened. His features twisted into something cruel and merciless as he tightened his grip on her arm with brutal force.

"You have no choice, Victoria."

"Yes, I do!" She tried to run to the door, but before she could reach it, she felt a wall of force stop her. Escaping wouldn't be so easy.

Eder and Carolina gave her no reprieve. While Victoria fought desperately for her life, they tied her hands and feet, dragging her out of the mansion without the housemaid noticing. They stuffed her into the trunk of the car like a mere object.

Eder drove for an hour. When the car finally stopped and the trunk was opened, a cold shiver ran down Victoria's spine. Panic seized her the moment she recognized the place: the Mancini Corporation, the front for the city's most powerful mafia boss, used to cover up his dark dealings. Her mind painted a terrifying image of her husband's boss, a violent criminal who killed without flinching.

The walk to the office felt endless. Eder didn't ask permission, nor did he announce himself. He barged into Salvatore Mancini's office, surrounded by the mafioso's men. With a shove, he threw Victoria to the floor in front of him.

Salvatore looked up, visibly annoyed.

"Why are you here, Eder? I didn't summon you."

Eder gave a calculating smile.

"Sir, I've brought you something you might be interested in."

Victoria's head was covered with a dark hood. Without warning, Eder yanked it off, exposing her face.

Salvatore felt a jolt piercing through his chest. His gaze locked onto her, stunned. That woman... she was the same one who had slipped into his bed just nights ago. What was she doing here?

His jaw clenched.

"What does this mean, Eder?"

Eder held his gaze with brazen defiance, savoring the moment.

"You know perfectly well what it means, sir. Allow me to introduce Victoria Ventura, my wife. She's carrying your child. Do you remember that night?"

Victoria shook her head, confused. Her eyes settled on Salvatore, and, to her surprise, he didn't inspire the fear she had imagined. There was something in him-an inexplicable connection that made her feel less terrified. But when she processed the brutal confession from her husband, she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.

"I don't understand a damn thing, Eder. What the hell is going on here?"

Eder, however, smiled shamelessly.

"Boss, I'm going to give you your heir... in exchange for five million and control over the northern territory. That zone must be mine."

"What? You're selling your wife for money?" Salvatore looked at him with utter disgust. In all his years in the mafia, he had seen ruthless men, but even the cruelest of them respected their wives.

Eder shrugged with cynicism.

"'Selling her' sounds very harsh, my lord. Let's call it an exchange. And if you don't accept..." he paused, "I'll break her neck myself."

In a single motion, Salvatore closed the distance and landed a brutal punch to Eder's face. Blood spurted from his lip.

Eder didn't move. Not because he didn't want to strike back, but because he was surrounded by his boss's men.

"You filthy bastard... I should rip your balls off, Eder!" Salvatore spat the words in rage.

Victoria remained silent, paralyzed, unable to process what was happening.

Eder, on the other hand, wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand and smiled insolently.

"Sir, if you don't accept the deal, one way or another, this woman will die... with your child inside her. It's your decision."

Salvatore, despite being a cold man without remorse, could not ignore the woman standing in front of him. If she truly carried his child, he couldn't let her bastard husband kill her. There was something in her that stirred an uncomfortable feeling within him, something he wasn't ready to confront at that moment.

Still, neither the five million nor the northern territory meant much to him. So, without giving Eder much credit, he gave a brief nod.

"Let her go, you damn fool!"

Eder untied Victoria and smirked arrogantly.

"Very well, boss. Then let's make it official. I'll see you in seven months, with your son."

Salvatore let out a dry, dark laugh.

"Bullshit, Eder. Victoria stays with me."