Forced To Be The Mafia King's Bride (by Oma Green) novel Chapter 214

Dante's POV

"Isn't it obvious?" Her voice cracked.

"Nothing is obvious!" I roared. "Nothing about you makes sense to me! One minute you kiss me like you want me, like you're begging me to touch you, then you pull away. Fuck... on our wedding night... you broke my heart..." I stopped, the words catching in my throat.

"You told me you didn't want me to make love to you. Do you have any idea what that did to me? How the hell do you think that made me feel? A man doesn't just get over his wife saying she didn't want him to touch her. After everything... I thought finally we could have a real marriage..." I ran both hands through my hair. "Just say it. Say what you mean."

"We've talked about this," she said, her voice shaking. "All through this honeymoon, I've been trying to fix things between us. I've told you why..."

"No, you haven't told me a damn thing that makes sense! You want me to trust you? Then speak plainly!"

"I didn't say no for the reasons you think..."

"Then why did you?" I took a step closer. "Tell me the truth, Gianna. No games or hiding behind walls."

She opened her mouth, then closed it. A single tear streamed down her cheek.

"I'm waiting, Gianna." My voice dropped, desperation bleeding through every word. "Because from where I'm standing, you can't give me one good reason why I should believe a word that comes out of your mouth."

"Because I love you!" The words exploded from her, raw and honest. "I love you, Dante DeLuca."

The room went silent.

I stared at her, unable to move, unable to breathe. Those three words I'd longed to hear her say hung between us like a confession and a curse all at once. My mind went blank. She couldn't have just said that. She didn't mean it. This was a trick, manipulation, another way to get under my skin.

"What did you just say?"

"I love you." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "I'm in love with you."

"Don't." I turned away from her, my hands clenching into fists. "Don't say things like that to me. Don't say that just because you want to manipulate the situation."

"I'm not..."

"Don't say what I know you don't mean." The words came out strangled. "Don't you dare use those words like a weapon against me."

I felt her hand on my arm, turning me back around. When I looked at her, she was standing so close I could see every detail of her face, the tears clinging to her lashes, the way her lips trembled.

My eyes searched hers, looking for the lie, the deception, but all I found was honesty staring back at me.

"I mean it, Dante," she insisted, her voice tender. "What I said. I've been in love with you for months now."

No. She was lying. Manipulating me just like her father would. I needed to see her for who she really was...

"Gianna..."

"On our wedding day. That's when I knew. When I said those vows to you, I meant every word."

Pain cracked through my chest. "That doesn't make sense. If you were in love with me on our wedding day, then why...?"

"But what if..."

"If I wanted you dead, you'd have been dead a long time ago." My voice was firm now. "That's not going to happen. I will protect you with my life. You are mine, Gianna, and I am yours. Completely."

"Let's say I believe that you love me." She looked up at me with those beautiful, tear-stained eyes. "But I'm scared of the future."

"There's nothing to be scared of." I pulled her closer, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Let's stop hiding behind our fears and doubts. Life played this cruel joke on us. Your father took away my wife, and somehow I ended up falling in love with his daughter. It should be impossible. It should be wrong. But it's not. This is real, what we have. And you're never going to remind me of your sick, psychotic father. You're nothing like him. You never will be."

She was quiet for a moment, just breathing against me.

"Tell me again," I said softly.

She held me closer, not looking up. "What?"

"Say it again. How you feel about me. How much you love me. I need to hear it."

She pulled back just enough to look at me. "I love you with all of my being. I love you, Dante. I would never betray you."

Then she placed her hand on my chest. "I promise that when the time comes, I'll hand my father over to you. I choose you. I choose us."

Relief flooded through my chest, everything I'd been holding back for too long finally breaking free.

"I love you even more than you can comprehend or imagine." The words rushed out now, unstoppable. "When Esme died, I thought that was it. I thought I'd never find love again. She was the only woman I'd ever fallen in love with. And then I met you. I tried to fight it every day, every second, every minute. But I couldn't. The love just... took over. It consumed me. You consume me, Gianna. And I don't want to fight it anymore."