The Ugly Substitute Bride of the Mafia King

My adoptive family, the Castillos, treated their biological children like royalty, but used me as a disposable pawn. To secure a mafia alliance, they forced me to take my beautiful sister's place and marry Don Damien Moretti, a man rumored to be a ruthless, bloodthirsty monster. They thought they were sending me to my execution. At our engagement banquet, my mother and sister deliberately gifted me a cheap, counterfeit gown to humiliate me in front of New York's elite. When I publicly exposed their lie, my father demanded I apologize. My mother even raised her hand to slap me in front of everyone. "You are a vicious curse! You ruin everything!" They eagerly waited for the Don to execute me on the spot for embarrassing them. I had spent years secretly saving their company from bankruptcy and supplying the underground experimental drugs that kept my brother's mafia career alive. Yet, they threw me to the wolves without a second thought, disgusted by my very existence. But they didn't know that just an hour before the banquet, I had saved a bleeding, masked stranger in a dark alley-who turned out to be Damien Moretti himself.

Chapters

Chapter 3

Seraphina POV

The air in the suite evaporated. I stared at the chiseled, ruthless face of Damien Moretti, my lungs burning as I forgot how to breathe. The bleeding stranger from the alley. The man whose life I had just saved-and whose men I had lied to.

He knew. He knew I was a fraud, and now, he was going to kill me.

Damien stepped fully into the room. Behind him stood another man, tall and lethal, his sharp eyes sweeping over me with blatant distaste. This had to be Luca "The Viper" Mendoza, Damien's Consigliere. Luca's gaze lingered on the ugly, jagged scar I had painted on my cheek, his confusion evident. Why would the Don accept such a flawed bride?

But Damien didn't look at my scar with disgust. As he closed the distance between us, his dark eyes locked onto mine. There was a strange, terrifying hunger in his gaze-a greedy, consuming fire that stripped me bare. He stopped mere inches from me. The scent of blood, expensive cologne, and raw danger wrapped around my throat.

I braced for his hands to snap my neck. Instead, he slowly raised his uninjured hand. His warm, calloused fingertips brushed against my cheek, tracing the very edge of my fake scar. The touch was agonizingly gentle, yet heavy with an undeniable, absolute claim. A shiver violently wrecked through my spine.

He didn't expose my lie. He didn't mention the alley.

Damien turned his head slightly toward his Consigliere, his voice a low, emotionless verdict that sealed my fate. "Luca, inform the families. The engagement proceeds as planned. Tonight."

Luca stiffened, his mask of indifference slipping for a fraction of a second. He looked from me to his Don, opening his mouth as if to protest, but the icy, unyielding dominance radiating from Damien silenced him instantly.

Luca bowed his head. "Yes, Boss."

My heart plummeted into my stomach. Tonight? Why was he doing this? It wasn't mercy. The possessive darkness in his eyes promised a cage far more terrifying than death.

Less than an hour later, I was paraded into the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel.

The space was a suffocating display of wealth and power. Massive crystal chandeliers cast a golden glow over the sea of New York's most dangerous elites. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume, Cuban cigars, and the underlying, metallic tang of fear.

"Don Moretti," my mother, Elena, simpered, practically shoving me toward the towering man at my side. Her voice dripped with sickening sweetness. "Our Seraphina has always admired you. We are so blessed by this union."

I kept my face blank, refusing to look at her. Instead, my gaze caught on my sister.

Bianca stood a few feet away, her champagne glass trembling in her grip. She had expected a monster. She had expected a deformed, cruel beast to drag me into the shadows. But looking at Damien-young, breathtakingly handsome, and radiating the kind of absolute, lethal power that brought men to their knees-Bianca was unraveling.

The smug satisfaction that had painted her beautiful face upstairs was entirely gone. In its place was a twisted, ugly mask of profound regret and venomous jealousy. Her eyes darted from Damien's broad shoulders to the space beside him-the space she had willingly forfeited. The throne of the Mafia Queen.

When Bianca's gaze finally snapped to mine, it was lethal. It was a silent, screaming vow of hatred. That should be me.

I looked away, a hollow numbness settling over my chest. My family had thrown me to the wolves, and now they were furious that the wolf was a king. I was nothing but a pawn to them, and a prisoner to the man standing beside me.

I stood stiffly next to Damien under the blinding lights of the chandeliers. Surrounded by women dripping in haute couture and diamonds, the plain, understated day dress I had worn for my supposed execution felt like a glaring target on my back.

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I shattered my knee jumping in front of a silver bullet meant for him. The poison seeped into my marrow, putting my wolf into a coma and leaving me crippled. I thought my sacrifice would secure his love forever. Instead, five years later, Brennan stood in a warehouse while a Rogue held a silver-laced dagger to my throat. Beside me sat Debbi, his mistress—a spy who had staged the whole kidnapping. "You can only save one," the kidnapper sneered. Brennan didn't even hesitate. He looked me in the eye, his gaze cold and devoid of the bond we once shared. "I choose Debbi," he said. He walked out with her in his arms, leaving his Fated Mate to bleed out on the concrete floor. As the blade dug into my skin, I felt the mate bond snap. He thought I died in the explosion that followed. He spent weeks howling in grief when he finally realized Debbi was a traitor and he had killed the only woman who truly loved him. But he was wrong. I didn't die. A federal agent pulled me from the fire, and the trauma didn't kill my wolf—it woke her up. A year later, Brennan walked into a small bistro in Italy, looking for redemption. He fell to his knees when he saw me standing there, healed and glowing with the aura of a White Wolf. "Alyssa," he wept, reaching for me. "I'm so sorry. I'll do anything." I looked him dead in the eye, my gaze icy blue. "Get out," I said. "We don't serve traitors here."

Mafia Romance Werewolf

9.7

His Regret: Rise Of The Boss Lady

9.7

‼️ WARNING: Rated 18+ | Mature content What happens when a young, naive woman enters a world of guns, loyalty, and blood? She's underestimated. Used. Broken. But she returns with fire in her veins and a heart no one can control. Caught in a deadly web with three powerful men who would do anything for her, Megan is done being a pawn. Smart, witty, and ruthless, she's determined to climb the mafia ranks-no matter who she has to destroy along the way. With twins from her ex-husband and secrets closing in from all sides, revenge becomes a dangerous game. The man who betrayed her wants her back. The man who trained her wants her forever. The man obsessed with her would die for her. And her? She wants revenge.

Action Mafia Romance

9.0

My Baby's Father Is A Mafia Boss

9.0

"You and your baby are mine whether you want it or not." Renata Neroni's life was shattered the moment she discovered her boyfriend and stepsister's betrayal. In a rare lapse of judgment fueled by grief and alcohol, she spent a single, anonymous night with a stranger, unaware that she had just surrendered herself to Domenico Veronesi, the most formidable figure in the global underworld. That night left Renata with more than just a memory; she was pregnant with the heir to a mafia empire. As her father, desperate to free himself from the debts, prepares to marry her off to a man nearly his own age, Renata finds herself trapped. Her only escape arrives in the form of Domenico himself. Asserting his claim, he interrupts the arrangement and brings Renata to his secluded estate. Within the fortified walls of the Veronesi estate, the man known for his cold, merciless exterior reveals a singular obsession: the protection of Renata and their unborn child. However, Domenico's readiness to provide is met with a wall of ice. Despite his efforts to provide for her, Renata's resentment initially hardens into a wall of silence. To her, Domenico is simply another powerful man attempting to control her fate. However, as she is forced to navigate the inner workings of his life within the mafia world, she begins to see the man behind the fearsome reputation. Renata discovers the deeper layers of Domenico, a loyalty and a hidden vulnerability regarding their child, and the fear that once defined her begins to dissolve.

Mafia Modern Romance

9.5

No More Doormat: Dump The Fiancé, Snag The Underworld Emperor

9.5

Clara had to die once to see who truly surrounded her-traitors and opportunists everywhere. After her rebirth, she swore to make her enemies pay. Her fiancé mocked, "You think you deserve me?" She punched him and ended the engagement. Her stepsister played innocent, but Clara shut her down with a cold retort. "Stop pretending! I'm tired of your little act!" They called her a loser, but Clara didn't bother defending herself. Instead, she revealed her real power: superstar, racing champion, and secret mogul. When her masks fell, chaos erupted. Her ex begged, and the crime lord claimed her, but Clara had already conquered them all.

Mafia Mystery Romance

7.6

Not Just A Nanny: The Genius Returns

7.6

I spent five years as the perfect wife to Easton Harrington, smoothing his midnight-blue ties and fading into the wallpaper of his massive estate. I thought I was the heart of our family, but I was really just a ghost in a sensible beige dress. The illusion shattered at a charity gala when Easton’s "family friend," Georgina, appeared in a gown that matched his suit perfectly. While they basked in the flashbulbs as a golden couple, I was literally pushed into the velvet ropes by a cameraman. No one noticed. Then my four-year-old son, Holt, slapped my hand away in front of the city's elite. "Don't touch me! You're not my mom, you're just the nanny. Daddy said so." The room went silent, but Easton didn't defend me. He just looked annoyed that I was causing a scene, making a sharp shooing motion for me to take the boy away. Beside him, Georgina feigned shock while her eyes crinkled in pure amusement. I realized then that I wasn't his partner; I was a placeholder. They had stripped me of my dignity and even my child's love, treating my five years of devotion like a temporary staff position. I didn't scream. I just slid off the Harrington heirloom ring, tossed it into a fountain, and walked out into the night. Easton thinks I’m a penniless housewife who won’t last a week without his credit cards. He doesn't know that I’m Dr. Althea Morrison, the "prodigy" researcher his company has been begging to hire. I'm not asking for alimony, and I'm not begging for a second chance. I’m returning to the lab to build an empire that will bring his to its knees.

Mafia Modern Romance

7.7

The Devil's Bride.

7.7

She thought her life was normal. One night at her father's party changed everything. Isabella Romano discovers her father has promised her sister to a dangerous man. To protect her, Isabella steps forward-but she never expected to fall into the hands of Dante Moretti De Luca. He is feared as Il Diavolo. Ruthless. Powerful. The Mafia King of New York. And now, her husband. Trapped in a marriage built on power and secrets, Isabella finds herself pulled into Dante's dark world. Passion burns between them, but so does danger. Rivals want her dead. Family secrets could break her. And the man she fears most may be the only one who can save her. When love and blood mix, there is no escape. She made a deal with the devil... and he always collects.

Mafia Modern Romance

The Ugly Substitute Bride of the Mafia King

Chapter 3

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