His Unwanted Wife is the Mafia Princess novel Chapter 46

+25 BONUS

#Chapter 46 – Tide Pools

#Chapter 46 – Tide Pools

Adrian

My foot taps against the marble floor of the resort’s lobby. I look around the room, which is now busy and vibrant from the people who are visiting, and glance at my mother. She wears a worried look on her face, watching the elevator entryway with close eyes.

“You should go check up on her, dear,” she says, worry laced throughout her voice. “She may need your help. You did say she was feeling sick.”

“She just needs a few minutes,” I breath out. I place a gentle hand on her back, gently rubbing slow circles to comfort her. “Stella will be here. She would not miss spending time with you, you know that.”

“I know, I know,” my mother sighs. “I am just worried about her. The poor girl looks so sick and tired…I hope she was able to sleep well last night.”

“She slept…” I hesitate to respond, sucking in a breath before releasing it, “she slept okay.”

Right on cue, Stella exits the elevator entryway. She wears her brown hair up in a ponytail and has on a casual outfit of a loose shirt, that reveals a bathing suit underneath, and jean shorts. I smile at her, a genuine one, and take in her appearance as she walks up to us.

“Stella! Adrian said you were feeling sick this morning. Is everything okay?” my mother immediately walks up to Stella and takes her hands in her own. Stella’s eyes move to mine before going back to my mother.

“Of course I’m okay. I slept really well last night and couldn’t shake the grogginess. But I’m here now! Are we ready to go?”

“The car is waiting for us outside,” I say.

The two women nod at me and they turn towards the lobby doors. With a few quick and long strides, I find myself at Stella’s slide. I slip an arm around her body.

She tenses up and does not look at me. She stares forward, her smile faltering. A pang of guilt attacks my heart.

She must be upset from last night. I wish I could tell her that Clara came to this resort of her own volition, that I had nothing to do with it, but I doubt that she will believe me if I told her that. Hell, I did not even believe her when she said that she had nothing to do with Sebastian who showed up..

Life must be having fun by toying with our lives like this, making it extremely difficult to anything productive or effective on strengthening our relation…or lack thereof.

The drive to the tide pools is beautiful. Stella sits beside my mother, who claimed that I am somehow hogging my wife and that I have to share with her. The comment made me laugh.

The dramatic irony that my mother is living in makes me wonder how she would react to the news that Stella and I never loved each other.

Would my mother’s heart give out? She has been our biggest supporter from the very beginning. She planned our wedding and made sure that Stella and I had nothing to stress over before the big day.

Without a doubt, I know that my mother will be absolutely gutted to know that Stella and I signed a contract that only despicable people would sign…or people who are just desperate enough to do anything to obtain their goal.

Stella helps my mother along the rocks of the tide pools. She even bought her special shoes to wear to give her extra grip against the slippery rocks that are covered in algae and other ocean materials.

I watch them from afar. The sun shines down on them and the wind whips their hair around their faces. I watch as

1/3

+25 BONUS

#Chapter 46 – Tide Pools

Stella throws her head back and laughs when my mother splashes some water on her.

“I’m going to get you back for that, Lilian!” Stella’s voice carries over the water with ease.

I sigh, feeling comfortable in the scene that I am watching unfold. If life could have been like this instead of all the drama and angst that Stella and I have been through, I would press the button to go back in time and take it.

Maybe, just maybe, we could have had a happy marriage together. One that had no contactual surgeries or ended in bright, festering flames.

Maybe we could have been happy together.

“Adrian?” Stella’s voice snaps me back to reality. I look down at her and nod my head, humming in response.” Your mom wants to find us matching starfishes so we can take a picture.”

“That sounds nice,” I fight back the urge to smile, to give in to the beauty and temptation that is Stella.

A comfortable silence falls between us. I help her up a rock and she takes her place by my side. I look down at her, unable to take my gaze away.

“Stella? Can I…talk to you about something,” I breathe out. I look away, foolishly thinking that by not looking at her face the conversation will be easier to have.

“What is it?” Stella’s voice is cold yet there is a slight hint of warmth, a small regret of her slight snap.

“I didn’t bring Clara,” I watch as her body goes still out of the corner of my eye. “I do not know how she managed to find me here, but I didn’t invite her. I-

“It is okay, Adrian,” Stella’s long sigh interrupts me. I look down at her and notice her watching my mother with a close and careful eye. “You don’t have to explain a single thing to me.”

“But I want to,” I try to force my way back inside the conversation, unable to handle it if she continues to push me

away.

“Your life is your life,” she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. There is a bitterness behind her words, though, that catches me off guard. “You can choose to spend it with whoever you wish. We’re getting a divorce anyways… it’s not like I can police you on who you can and cannot marry.”

“Marry?” confusion is laced throughout my voice. “Did Clara say something to you about marriage?”

Stella shrugs. Her hazel eyes glance up at me, lingering on my face, before my mother interrupts us.