His Unwanted Wife is the Mafia Princess novel Chapter 5

Adrian

With Clara in my arms, my mind can finally go quiet. There are no anxious voices lurking in the depths of my consciousness, no lingering thoughts of hopelessness or despair revolving around her health condition. I gently brush her hair out of her face, a small smile spreading across her face.

“Hey,” I whisper, filling in the silence. Clara looks at with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. “You can’t risk your life like that again, okay?”

Five years ago, my hospital failed to save a mafia member. He came into the emergency room with a bullet lodged into his heart. The doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to save him but at the end of the day, he died.

Because of their failure, the mafia decided to place a bounty on my head. When that fateful day came, the one where someone decided to try and fulfill the bounty, it was Clara who got shot instead of me. She slipped into a coma not too long after, her body protecting itself from death.

The memory of her body in my arms keeps me awake at night. It is a day that I will never forget. I am so grateful that she is awake, alive, and still breathing.

Clara’s face twitches, her smile hardening for a split second before her face softens. She nuzzles into me and places her hand on my chest.

“Everything that I have gone through has been worth it,” she sighs. Her lips push to the side, though, and her eyes fill with pity. “I didn’t expect Stella to react so strongly to us wanting to be together…I hope it doesn’t affect our relationship, Adrian.”

“It’ll be okay, Clara,” I smile down at her, “I’ll talk to her. You should get some sleep, though, and rest up.”

Clara nods. I slide off of the bed and help move her pillow back under her head. A quiet groan escapes her lips and I tug the blankets up her body.

She takes my hand in hers. I give it a gentle squeeze, leaning down to press a tender kiss to the top of her head. She lets go and I hover in the room, silently watching her fall asleep.

Clara’s breaths remain steady as sleep easily overtakes her body. I put my hands inside my pockets. There’s an itch in the back of my brain.

Stella’s reaction today was…odd. The tears in her eyes seemed genuine, the way her voice cracked made it seem like she didn’t want to divorce me.

My heart aches. I place my hand over my chest, trying to remedy the sore feeling that forms in my chest.

The feeling is unfamiliar to me. Is this guilt? Does her heart also ache like mine does?

No, that can’t be. Stella is in our marriage for money, not love. Why would she have agreed to all of the surgeries if it weren’t for the financial stability and security?

The thought leaves me feeling unsteady, unsure of her motivations behind out marriage.

I shake my head and exit Clara’s private room. The door silently clicks shut behind me and I take my time walking down the hallway. Loud voices catch my attention, though, and I hesitate to turn the corner.

“Every extra day that I spend with him means more money for me. It doesn’t matter if I love Adrian or not,” Stella’s voice echoes down the hallway.

Any trace of remorse that I once felt for that woman vanishes. My ears heat from irritation, her voice sounding like nails being dragged across a chalkboard.

So…Stella is exactly what I thought she was: a gold digger. Nothing more, nothing less. I scoff.

She’s afraid of losing her status as my wife, isn’t she? She’s afraid that my money will soon dry up and she’ll have nothing to spend on whatever it is that she buys for herself.