Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
When he gets married, he doesn’t intend to be blackmailed into it. However, Phillip Lewis has some damaging evidence. To keep his secrets, Dante must marry the man’s plain youngest daughter, Aria.
Being married to Dante is a nightmare. One that Aria intends to get away from. Even though she is terrified of this man, who is considered to be the most brutal in the Pesci family mafia, she finds the courage to confront him.
Once learning the truth, Aria is horrified. She doesn’t want anyone to be forced to marry her. All she has to do is figure out a way to get the evidence to set Dante free.
When Dante overhears a conversation about how Aria feels about him, about sex, about being married, he doesn’t like it. He is going to give them something to talk about. He will hold onto his wife, he will be proud to be married to her.
But Aria has to set Dante free. She doesn’t want him to be forced into a marriage he didn’t want. The only problem, she has fallen in love with him. Letting him go is proving to be the hardest thing she has ever done.
What will Dante do when he is given the means to be set free? Will he leave or has he fallen in love with his plain bride?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
“Well, what do you say to us making a deal?” Phillip Lewis asked.
Dante Gallo didn’t even need to look over at his father to know the man was pissed off. He’d played right into Phillip’s hands, and now, he had no choice but to pay the price. That price for Phillip’s silence and to keep the peace: Dante had to marry the man’s youngest daughter.
This shouldn’t have been a problem, if the man had negotiated for any of the Gallo children. Dante wasn’t the only son, just the oldest one. At thirty-five years old, he was aware of his parents making the necessary arrangements to marry.
In their circles, he was high in the ranking, and seeing as his father was a capo, any union would have to be lucrative.
The Lewises were a whole different breed. Phillip Lewis wasn’t a capo, he didn’t even have his father’s name because he was the bastard son of The Boss himself, but he also didn’t bear the Pesci name either. Phillip had gained respect from his ability to get the job done. Dante had always assumed it was through violence, and even though he wouldn’t put that past him, he had a feeling being a blackmailing, manipulative bastard had its perks.
“You’re not open to negotiations?” Dante Gallo Sr. asked.
“No. I can promise you that my daughter, although not much in the looks department, is in fact a virgin. I have the documentation from the doctor. She will make a wonderful wife.”
Dante had seen Aria Lewis quite often over the last five years. She was plain, and he knew many of the men often looked at her and considered her unattractive. Brown hair, brown eyes, and for some, a little too much on the chubby side. She often kept to herself at social gatherings. Phillip’s place within their world was not one that should be celebrated. Normally, bastards were nothing more than soldiers, but over the years Phillip earned his place. He was never going to be a capo, but he’d earned the respect to walk amongst them, as his father was The Boss, and his half-brother would be taking over that role within a few years.
“I assure you, my daughter will make a fine wife.”
“Then why does she have to marry Dante? What about my son Oliver? Or Nixon?”
“No, and don’t continue to insult my intelligence. I’ve got the proof to see you go to prison for a very long time, Dante. Not to mention the trouble it would cause our very boss, if he were to find out the truth of what you did.” Phillip smiled. “Come now, surely this is a small price to pay for my silence.”
Dante knew it was a large price, and one he doubted his father wanted to pay.
He expected his father to decline this offer. If he were to marry Aria Lewis, the whispers around their union would be fierce.
“I guess it’s time for us to plan a wedding.”
He was well and truly fucked.
Chapter One
One Year Later
The whispers had started early tonight. From the moment Aria walked into the home of the capo, she sensed people whispering, holding up their hands as they talked behind them. The laughter also followed her, which is why it was so much easier to stand in one place. They had to do the hard work, while she stood like an asshole and waited for the night to end.
“Why do you think he married her?”
“Well, I thought she trapped him with a fake pregnancy, but I wonder if she got an abortion.”
“There is absolutely no way she is right for Dante Gallo. The whole marriage is a farce.”
“I bet he is cheating on her.”
“He must have to put a bag over her head to fuck her. No wonder she’s not pregnant.”
The brutal remarks went on and on. Aria didn’t even know if they intended for her to hear them or not. Either way, she hated parties, but then, she’d never celebrated. Things were even worse when her family came to these parties. They rarely made time for her. It was like they didn’t want anything to do with her.
She was aware that some agreement had to be struck. Dante couldn’t stand her, even though he’d never openly said so. Everything was a duty to him, especially when it came to her.
He never hurt her or anything.
They’d been married for eight months now. After the sudden announcement of their marriage, which she had to find out about in the paper, it was the fastest arrangement within their circles. No wonder the rumors were rife.
Of course, it was the weirdest event and not one to be missed. Her father told her she’d get married like a princess, even though he told her she’d never look like one. The day itself had been a horrible nightmare, one she tried to forget. Being told on her wedding day about all the other special brides and how she didn’t add up, hadn’t exactly been great for her morale. To add to that, her husband could barely look at her, let alone talk to her.