Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
She had been a virgin, and he couldn’t get the memory of her tears out of his head, as he claimed her virginity. He didn’t want to hurt her. It was strange, because causing pain to anyone had never bothered him. He had killed a lot of people, both men and women, without batting an eye. Hurting Ella felt fucking soul-destroying.
He had come to his country home in the hope of distracting her. He had taken her on a tour of the whole house when they first arrived, nearly a week ago now. They shared a bedroom, because he simply would not sleep without her in his arms.
Mateo made sure he went to bed long after she had fallen asleep. He didn’t want to risk waking her up and having the temptation of fucking her. Never had he felt like such a fucking coward.
Watching her now, she looked so beautiful in one of the many skirts she now owned, and a thick, wooly sweater. He had made sure she had everything she needed, taking her shopping one day. Ella didn’t want to spend money, but he had an abundance of it. She was not like a lot of women.
He forced himself to step away from the window and face his study. In the last week, he had spent a lot of time here. Being the head of the mafia, he had a lot to keep on top of. Admittedly, he had changed the mafia by killing most of its leading members.
No one dared question his wife’s identity. He could just imagine his father rolling in his grave because of what he had done—marrying a “nobody.” In the mafia, marriages were business contracts. Only those most profitable were made. There was no wealth or power promised with him and Ella. They had a mutual agreement.
The temptation to turn around and look at his wife was so damn strong. Instead, he forced himself out of his office. He intended to go to the kitchen to find out if Lewis had finished with lunch. Only, that is not where he found himself.
He didn’t know how it happened, but he was standing outside on the back patio, less than ten feet away from his wife. Ella had turned toward him with a smile on her lips.
“You decided to stop hiding in your office?” Ella asked.
“I’m not hiding.”
Both her brows went up. “You know, when I was working at Cole’s, I think I saw you more than after I married you.” She moved across the grass and took the steps leading up to where he stood. “Maybe we should divorce and attempt to have children through work?” There was a smirk on her face.
“Not happening.”
“Do you want to tell me why you’re hiding from me? Do I smell?”
He couldn’t believe she actually lifted her arm and inhaled.
“No, you don’t smell.”
“Then, tell me, o husband of mine, what have I done wrong?” She folded her arms. “Because I didn’t realize I signed up for a marriage that meant I was going to be ignored.”
And this is why he was never going to choose a wife among the remaining capos’ daughters. They were all trained to not speak, to not look their husbands in the eye, to be nothing but doormats. Ella was no doormat.
He looked at her, and at first, he thought about lying, telling her that work was getting in the way. He was not going to start his marriage by lying. Honesty—something he was not used to.
“I hurt you,” he said.
She frowned. “No, you didn’t.”
“On our wedding night. I hurt you and I promised I wasn’t going to. I broke our deal.”
Ella folded her arms beneath her breasts and looked at him. “It doesn’t count.”
This made him laugh. “Are you serious right now?”
“Look, you didn’t hit me. You didn’t beat me. You didn’t take your belt off and whip me with it, or yell at me. You certainly didn’t put me in a closet in the freezing cold. Trust me, I knew our wedding night was not going to be easy.” She looked past his shoulder and lowered her voice. “I had never been with a man before. Now, unless you’re having second thoughts, and you want a divorce, I get it. Our wedding night was a one-off occasion. I’m not a virgin anymore. You claimed that. Don’t push me away because of that. I don’t want to continue if you keep doing this.”
“You’re threatening to divorce me?”
“I know we don’t love each other, but we agreed to have a family. I think it goes without saying that being parents when we have children, we won’t be able to ignore each other. I don’t want that. I’m sorry I was a virgin, but I can’t go back and have random sex with another man.”
He cupped her face and smiled into her eyes. “You know you’re incredible, don’t you?”