I Married You For Your Brother’s Face

I married the most ruthless Don in Chicago, but not for love, money, or power. I married Luca Falcone because he was the only man on earth who carried the same DNA as his dead identical twin, Dante—the love of my life. For three years, I played the role of the submissive, obsessed wife. I endured his coldness. I cooked for his mistress, Sofia. I even stayed silent when Sofia pushed me down a flight of stairs in a jealous rage, nearly killing me. Luca thought I stayed because I was weak. He thought the way I stared at his face was adoration. He never realized I was looking right through him, seeing the ghost of the brother he could never live up to. But the moment the second pink line appeared on the pregnancy test, my mission was complete. I had secured the heir. I had brought a piece of Dante back to the world. The vessel was no longer needed. I signed the divorce papers, packed my bags, and vanished into the night while Luca was busy with his mistress. When he finally tracked me down months later, broken and begging on his knees for me to come home, I didn't feel a thing. I looked down at the man who thought he was a King and delivered the final blow. "I never loved you, Luca. I married you for the sperm."

Chapters

Chapter 5

The relentless bass in the VIP section hammered against my bruised ribs, mocking the rhythm of my own pulse.

It was a so-called "Celebration" party.

Sofia had convinced Luca that a festivity was in order-specifically, to mark her "recovery" from the trauma of... witnessing me fall down the stairs.

The irony was thick enough to choke on.

I remained wedged in the corner of the plush leather booth, nursing a glass of ice water that I prayed passed for vodka.

Luca sat in the center, holding court.

His soldiers surrounded him, laughing too loudly at his jokes, lighting his cigars with trembling deference.

Sofia perched on his lap, whispering in his ear, draping herself over him to mark her territory for everyone to see.

"Let's play a game!" Sofia announced, clapping her hands sharply. "Truth or Dare!"

The soldiers cheered. They were already deep in their cups.

"I'll start," Sofia said, her eyes gleaming with a toxic sweetness. "Elena."

The room went instantly quiet.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," I said. I wasn't going to dance for her.

"Boring," she sighed, feigning disappointment. "Okay. Truth."

She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that carried clearly over the music.

"Everyone knows you chased Luca for years. You bought your way into this marriage. But tell us..."

She paused for dramatic effect, letting the question hang.

"Is the man you truly love in this room right now?"

Luca stopped drinking.

He set his glass down with a deliberate clink.

He looked at me.

His arrogance filled the booth. He expected me to say yes. He expected me to confess an undying, pathetic devotion to him in front of his men, validating his cruelty.

He wanted to see me bleed.

I looked around the room.

I saw the soldiers. I saw the sycophants. I saw the monster on the throne.

My mind drifted to the wind-swept cemetery on the hill.

To the worn photo hidden deep in my purse.

I met Luca's gaze.

"No."

The word hung in the air, heavier than the cigar smoke.

One syllable.

Absolute devastation.

The silence was deafening.

A soldier coughed awkwardly, shifting in his seat.

Luca's face didn't change, but his eyes... his eyes turned into shards of ice.

"You're drunk," he said, his voice low and laced with menace.

"I'm drinking water, Luca," I replied, calmly lifting my glass.

"Then you're lying."

"It's Truth or Dare. I chose Truth."

Sofia laughed, but it sounded brittle. "Oh, honey, don't be embarrassed. We all know you worship him."

"Next person," Luca barked, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and pouring a glass that was half full.

He downed it in one swallow.

The game continued, but the air had shifted.

Luca was angry. Not the explosive anger of the stairs, but a brooding, dark storm brewing beneath the surface.

He started losing on purpose.

"Dare," he growled when it was his turn.

"Show us your gallery!" a brave soldier shouted, trying to break the tension. "Last photo taken!"

It was a standard penalty.

Luca threw his phone on the table. "Unlock it."

Sofia grabbed it, beaming. "It's probably a picture of me."

She unlocked it and projected it onto the screen on the wall.

It was a shrine to Sofia.

Sofia sleeping. Sofia eating. Sofia trying on shoes.

The men cheered, relieved. "The Don is in love!"

Sofia preened, kissing Luca's cheek. "See? He's obsessed with me."

Luca didn't smile.

He was staring at me.

He was trying to find a crack in my mask. He wanted to see jealousy. He wanted to see pain.

He saw nothing.

I regarded the slideshow of his mistress with the detached disinterest one might reserve for peeling paint.

"It's getting late," I said, checking Dante's watch on my wrist. "I'm going home."

"Sit down," Luca ordered.

"No."

I stood up.

"I said sit down, Elena!" He slammed his hand on the table, making the glasses jump.

"And I said no."

I grabbed my purse.

"Enjoy your night, Luca. You two deserve each other."

I walked out of the VIP room.

I felt his eyes burning a hole in my back.

Let him burn.

I had a flight to catch in three days.

And when I left, I was taking the only part of him that had ever mattered-the part that belonged to Dante-with me.

Continue to next part

Riley Collins had never planned on an arranged marriage, but family duty-and the desperate need to save her comatose younger sister-pushed her to the altar. Halfway through the vows, her fiancé's identical twin burst in, claiming he was the real groom now. A gunshot split the air, guests dove for cover, and Luca Black dragged Riley off, ordering his brother dumped in the back row to watch their wedding. When the night came to its end, she wore a ring from the twin who ran a criminal empire, a man with her groom's face but a darker soul, and nothing about her life felt safe again.

Mafia Modern Romance

9.8

Raven's Kiss

9.8

I'M NOT MARRYING HIM AND THAT'S ON PERIOD!!! echoes of my voice filled the room, and almost immediately dead silence. It's been barely two minutes since my parent exposed their long hidden secret.....marrying me off to someone I know nothing, absolutely nothing about. "Diana, please" comes my mom's voice, she sounds broken but I don't care, "..........but you're doing it to save us all" "What could be worse than this.....than marrying me off to a bastard" "Hello Diana" comes a firm masculine voice from behind, different from the one I'm used to and at least unique enough to steal my attention

Mafia Modern Romance

9.2

Rising From Ash: The Mafia Queen Returns

9.2

To my husband, I was just a political bridge, a treaty with a heartbeat. While I sat alone in our cold estate, hiding the child growing inside me, Dante spent his days comforting his late brother's wife, Vanessa. He treated her like porcelain and me like furniture. The breaking point came the night I went into labor. Dante didn't hold my hand. He ran out of the clinic to comfort Vanessa over a fake emergency, leaving me and his unborn heir alone in the cold sterile room. So, I decided to give him exactly what he deserved: a ghost. I staged my death in the storm, leaving behind nothing but signed divorce papers and a tiny, mud-stained onesie. When Dante returned, he was told I died screaming his name. He spent months digging through the wreckage of the lighthouse with his bare hands, sobbing into the mud, finally realizing he had sacrificed his diamond for a stone. He discovered too late that I wasn't just a submissive wife—I was the secret daughter of Don Stefano, the most dangerous man in Europe. It took him three years to find me again. He fell to his knees at my feet, covered in grime, begging to meet his son. "I will fix this," he wept. "I will give you everything." I looked down at him from the steps of my private jet, flanked by my own army. "You can't fix what you broke, Dante," I said coldly. "If you ever come near my son again, I won't send a lawyer. I will send a war."

Mafia Modern Romance

9.6

Silent Hearts, Golden Lies

9.6

She came to St. Jude's to be invisible. He made that impossible. Elara Vance doesn't speak. Not because she can't, because the world stopped being safe enough to speak to. She's brilliant, she's careful, and she has survived worse than an elite private school full of students who treat cruelty like a sport. She just needs two semesters. That's all. Julian Reed was supposed to be background noise. The soccer star. The golden boy. The one everyone watches and no one really knows. She was not supposed to catch his attention. He was not supposed to keep hers. But when Julian steps in to help her and accidentally paints a target on her back, Elara discovers that some enemies don't just want to win. They want to destroy. And some protectors don't know when to stop. She doesn't need saving. She needs to get through senior year without falling apart. She's failing at both. Enemies in the hallway. Secrets in the group chat. A stepmother at home who calls it honesty when she cuts. And a boy in the front row who keeps sliding notes backward and saying things like I pay what I owe like he actually means it. Elara has one rule: don't let anyone in. Julian Reed is very bad for her rules.

Mafia Modern Young Adult

8.6

The Mafia Don's Regret: Too Late To Love

8.6

My husband, the city's most ruthless Don, left me standing at the altar to comfort a woman with a sprained ankle. I thought our marriage was a protection pact, but when a kidnapper held a knife to his childhood sweetheart’s throat on a rooftop, Cedric made his choice. He physically shoved me—his pregnant wife—toward the blade to save her. I survived the fall, but our unborn baby didn't. Yet, there was no apology. Blinded by her lies, Cedric accused me of staging the attack out of jealousy. He had me thrown into the family dungeon, where I was beaten while still bleeding from the miscarriage. He didn't know two things. First, that his "perfect" sweetheart had voluntarily sterilized herself years ago and could never give him the heir he craved. Second, that I had terminal cardiomyopathy. My heart had an expiration date, and I had only days left to live. On my 27th birthday, I asked him for one final kindness: a midnight ride on the Ferris wheel where we had our first date. He promised to be there, but he was late again, attending to her needs. So I went up alone. When the carriage came back down, it was empty. All I left behind were my shoes and a medical file that would destroy him.

Mafia Modern Romance

7.8

The mafia's king bride claimed by his obsession.

7.8

Dad sold me off to pay a debt to the scariest guy in New York, no less. Damiano Rossi isn't just some mob boss. He's like a hurricane in fancy clothes, a handsome, mean beast who controls everything around him. Except for me. I'm only his wife on paper. I'm still a virgin, and he won't sleep with me, but he also won't let me go, until we did it, and since then, my heart has belonged to him. He's cruel in a sophisticated way. Every night, he brings other girls into our house. I can hear them laughing, whispering things, and making noises of enjoyment. It's a constant reminder that I'm just something he owns, not someone he cares about. He's slowly breaking me, teaching me to obey him by ignoring me, and keeping me locked up with expensive gifts. But even diamonds can be used as a weapon. I said I might give myself to someone else to feel free for once. He reacted by threatening to kill anyone who touched me. He may not want me, but he'll ruin anyone who does. Then Lucas, my first boyfriend, showed up again. He's kind, genuine, and not scared of the monster who owns me. He's willing to fight to set me free. And for the first time, Damiano's cold act slips, and you can see something scary underneath: jealousy, like burning fire, an obsession that won't let go. So here I am, stuck between a messed-up guy who won't love me and a nice guy who can't save me. I'm realizing that the real problem isn't the fight over my heart. It's the hidden enemy, the one no one suspects, that they are plotting and betraying that could screw us all over. I was sold, silenced, and broken. But a girl who has been broken can become a queen that's fearless. And this queen has decided to start her own game where the rules are top secret, the price is blood, and the only way to win is to burn everything to the ground. Get ready for a story packed with risky romance, killer secrets, and a love life that's so rough, it feels like war.

Action Mafia Romance

I Married You For Your Brother’s Face

Chapter 5

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