Too Late, I’m the Don’s Bride

The day before my engagement, my childhood friend, Leonardo Rossi, took my private yacht without asking and left me stranded on the island where I was vacationing. When I called and demanded he bring it back, he snapped. "Julia, I'm marrying Anna. She's going to be my wife. If you behave yourself, I might keep you around as my mistress." A storm hit, and I barely made it off the island alive. Once I reached shore, I rushed to the most luxurious hotel in Port Haven. Leonardo and Anna Bianchi were there to celebrate the engagement of the Don of the Vaccaro family, the most powerful mafia family in Belloria. He wore a tailored suit, and she wore an elegant gown. When Leonardo spotted me in the lobby in a black coat, he scowled and grabbed my arm. He pulled me into a corner and lowered his voice. "Julia, this is the Vaccaro family's engagement party. If you make a scene, you're only going to embarrass yourself. Anna's going to be my wife. You need to know your place." I pulled my arm free and went back to waiting for my dress to arrive. Little did he know, I was the one marrying the Don of the Vaccaro family. Chapter 1 Leonardo Rossi looked down his nose at me, lecturing me without realizing I was the bride-to-be everyone was there to celebrate. "You know what I can't stand? People like you who don't know their place." He set down his glass of red wine and frowned. "Our engagement ended months ago. I love Anna. You can chase me all you want, but I'm not changing my mind. You're just embarrassing yourself." I pulled my arm free and turned to head back to the lobby to wait for my dress. Leonardo and I grew up together. As a boy, he always rushed to my defense, playing the knight in shining armor. At family gatherings, our parents and grandparents teased us about getting married someday and bringing the families together. I never grew to see him as anything more than a friend, but I agreed to marry him for my family's sake. Then, six months ago, he fell in love with his secretary. He made an ugly scene and forced his family to call off our engagement. After that, I followed my heart and found the man I wanted to spend my life with. Leonardo, apparently, mistook my presence for an attempt to win him back. Just then, Anna Bianchi walked up to me with a crowd following her. Leonardo hired her himself, and she was certainly pretty. Standing beside him, she looked like a perfect match for him. His friends avoided my eyes and whispered among themselves. "What's Julia doing here? Didn't she and Leonardo call off their engagement? He's marrying Anna." "Is she trying to win him back?" "She must be. She's too in love with him to let go." Leonardo's expression tightened. He strode over to Anna, slipped an arm around her, and kissed her cheek before turning back to me. "See? Anna's the woman I want to marry. You and I are over, Julia." Anna leaned into him with a coy smile, but she made no effort to hide the scorn in her eyes when she looked at me. "Oh, you must be Ms. Amato! Leonardo told me you two grew up together. He said his family tried to make him marry someone, too, but he never loved her. Did you know her?" She covered her mouth, her eyes widening. "Oh, sorry, Julia. Did I say too much? You don't mind if I call you Julia, do you?" Leonardo answered before I could. "Of course she doesn't. You're my future wife. She's..." He paused and glanced at me. "You're the one who's going to be Mrs. Rossi. Everyone else is in the past." Anna nodded, flashing me a triumphant smile. "It's so nice to meet you, Julia. I hope we can be friends!" As one of the hosts, I owed them a little courtesy, but their arrogance was testing my patience. If Leonardo hadn't taken my yacht without asking the day before, I wouldn't have spent so long stranded on that island. Now, I was scrambling to get everything ready, and my staff were so busy that I had to wait for the dress delivery myself. I gave them a cool nod. "Hello, future Mrs. Rossi." Anna smiled and held out her right hand. As we shook hands, she leaned in as if to kiss my cheek and whispered, "Being an Amato didn't stop Leonardo from dumping you. He told me I'm the only woman he loves. You lost." I pulled my hand away and stepped back, running out of patience. "That's between you and him. It has nothing to do with me." Anna turned to Leonardo, her eyes filling with tears. "Honey, I don't think Julia wants me here. I guess someone from the Amato family thinks she's too good for a girl like me." Leonardo frowned at me and lowered his voice. "Apologize to Anna, Julia. Unless you want the Rossis to stop doing business with your family." Chapter 2 After tonight, the Amatos would be connected by marriage to the most powerful mafia family in Belloria. The Rossis only received an invitation because my family approved it. Behind me, Anna put on a fresh show of tears. "Honey, I think Julia took that the wrong way. I don't want to come between you two." Leonardo held her close and murmured reassurances before turning on me. "Julia, I told you to apologize to Anna. Now! Just because we have history doesn't mean you can disrespect my future wife. Your family doesn't own this place. If you want to stay, you'll do as I say!" Two bodyguards in black suits stepped into my path. I sighed and turned back to the two of them. They were feeding off each other, growing more convinced of their own version of events. "Leonardo, I'm only going to say this once more: I was never in love with you. I'm here for my own engagement party." Panic flickered across his face as I raised my right hand, showing him the silver band on my middle finger. He strode over and grabbed my wrist. "You're getting engaged? To whom?" I frowned and jerked my hand away. He never used to be this aggressive, and I couldn't stand being around him anymore. I just wanted to get away from them both. "That's none of your business. I don't need your permission to get engaged." I glanced at the lobby clock. My dress was due any minute, and I wanted to pick it up and get back to my fiancé. A man in his position had too much at stake for me to let anything disrupt our engagement party. Leonardo glared at me, his jaw clenched. "Is this because I'm marrying Anna? You're really going to marry some random guy just to make me jealous?" His friend, Rocco Taccari, laughed and turned to the others. "Come on. We all know Julia's crazy about Leonardo. She's not marrying anyone else." "The Rossis are about to go into business with the Vaccaros. They'll have more power than ever. She's just trying to get back at him." Leonardo stared at me. "What's his name?" "None of your business," I said flatly. Anna let out a little laugh. "Honey, look at her ring. Doesn't it look like our wedding bands?" She turned to me. "Julia, did you buy a knockoff just to get Leonardo's attention?" Leonardo relaxed a little, though his disapproving look remained. "Julia, I said I'd look out for you. That doesn't mean you get to upset Anna. Take off that cheap ring and apologize. Maybe she'll forgive you." Chapter 3 Anna held up her right hand, her eyes shining with pride. "But Leonardo designed this ring just for our wedding. There are only two in the world! Didn't the Amatos sell a few hotels recently, though? Your family isn't going broke, is it?" She covered her mouth, but the malice in her eyes was unmistakable. "Sorry, Julia. I didn't mean to hit a nerve. I'd just hate for you to embarrass your family because money's tight." I nearly laughed. We simply sold a few underperforming properties. Once I married the Don of the Vaccaro family, we planned to move our main business operations here. I gave Leonardo a cold look. "Did you really design that ring, Leonardo?" He looked away. I designed that ring when I was 16, along with my engagement dress. Leonardo was visiting with his family at the time. He pestered me to show him my sketches and even slipped into my room when I wasn't home. Then he grinned and promised to hire the best artisans to make the ring and dress for me. I told him repeatedly that I didn't need any promises from him. Even if we married for our families' sake, I was still the Amato heir. I could afford my own ring and dress. After that, I moved out of the family estate. I hated having my privacy invaded, especially by someone who ignored what I wanted and tried to plan my future for me. He clearly had little respect for me. Still, I never imagined he would steal my designs and then accuse me of buying cheap imitations. Anna turned to Leonardo, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but my wedding ring means something to me. You understand, don't you, honey?" When she started crying, Leonardo rushed to kiss her eyelids. He looked so worried about her that any guilt over what he did to me seemed to vanish. Now he treated me as if I were the one at fault. "I'll give you 100 grand for the design. That should be more than enough. Take off the ring. We're done talking about this!" There was no reasoning with him. Leonardo always assumed he could make my decisions for me, regardless of what I wanted. He was just as selfish when he broke off our engagement, without a thought for either family's reputation. I curled my fingers around the ring. "It's not for sale, Leonardo. This is my engagement ring. You two owe me an apology." Anna spoke softly. "But that's the ring Leonardo gave me as his future wife." She looked at me. "Julia, are you trying to make people think you're marrying him?" Leonardo gave me an impatient look. "I'm not telling you again. Hand it over, or I'll have someone take it off you!" Chapter 4 Anna signaled to the two bodyguards behind me. They each grabbed a shoulder, holding me in place. I struggled against them. "Leonardo, Anna, you can't do this!" Leonardo looked down at me coldly. "I warned you, Julia. I love Anna. You let your jealousy get the better of you, and now look at you. You just don't know when to stop." The guards held me down in the middle of the lobby and wrenched the ring off my right middle finger. Pain burned through it. Leonardo glanced at the ring in disgust. "Throw it away." "Yes, sir!" The guard tossed it, sending the silvery band flying out of sight. I lunged after it, desperate to see where it landed, just as the designer arrived with my dress. "Ms. Amato... My God! What's going on?" The Vaccaro family's personal designer saw me struggling in the guards' grip. Horrified, he dropped the dress and rushed over to push them away. He knew that if my fiance found out, everyone here would end up in the ocean as shark bait. Then Anna gasped. "Why does that dress look just like mine? Mine was custom-made. I only posted one photo of it online." She frowned and turned the dress over in her hands. "There's not even a label. Julia, is this a knockoff? You'd actually wear a fake to something like this?" People around us started whispering. "Maybe the ring was a coincidence, but the dress, too?" "She's only going to get hurt. Leonardo doesn't care about anyone but Anna." Leonardo kicked the brand-new dress aside. "Burn it." I snatched it up and clutched it to me. "No! This is my engagement dress. You have no right to touch it!" Anna nestled into his arms, looking wounded, though her eyes mocked me. "Is this what the Amatos taught her? To copy another woman's wedding ring and try to steal her fiancé?" "It's alright, honey. I forgive her. She's so in love with you that she can't help being jealous." Leonardo's face hardened. For the first time, he looked at me like an enemy. "Maybe this will teach you." He turned to the guards. "Take her to the Rossi estate and lock her up. She stays there until the wedding's over." The guards reached for me. The designer stepped between us, trembling, but one of them kicked him aside. They grabbed my arms and dragged me across the lobby toward the doors. "Let go of me!" I fought with everything I had until a hand clamped over my mouth. No one came to help. Just before they dragged me outside, a man appeared on the second floor. Heads turned as he strode down the stairs, his expression cold, his presence drawing every eye in the room. A gunshot rang out. Someone hit the floor, and screams filled the lobby.