All Chapters of SUBSTITUTE BRIDE FOR THE MAFIA DON: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Luca’s POVPedro was there. He’d been careless, drunk on his own power. A young woman sat against the headboard, wrists bound, her face a mess of fear and tears. She looked no older than twenty. Seeing her like that made my stomach flip. Every sick thing Pedro had ever done came into sharp focus in that single instant.He froze when he saw us. For a poisonous second his mouth opened and closed, then he tried to find his bravado, to toss out some lie or threat. It died in his throat. The look on his face was not fear. It was surprise that his luck had run out.He froze the second the door crashed open. For a heartbeat he looked almost human — mouth opening, closing, searching for a lie to wear — and then the look slid off him like a bad mask. Surprise was written all over his face, the kind of surprise that says: maybe I got lucky two times too many.“Get back.” My voice cut through the room cool and flat. It didn’t shout. It didn’t have to. It carried the weight of every man under thi

Dahlia’s POVAfter spending the entire day with Andrea, I could still feel the buzz of excitement in my chest. It had been such a long, busy, wonderful day. We’d gone shopping at the biggest mall in the city — the kind of place that smelled like expensive perfume and had music playing softly from hidden speakers. Andrea made me try on everything from glittery dresses to silk tops, saying “It’s your birthday, you have to look perfect!” every time I tried to protest.People kept staring at us the whole time, and not because we were that special — but because of the guards. Everywhere we went, they followed, all dressed in black suits with earpieces, scanning the crowd like hawks. Four of them in total. One walked ahead, two followed behind, and another waited near the car. At first, it made me nervous — like everyone was watching me — but after a while, I got used to it. Andrea said it made us look like VIPs, and honestly, she wasn’t wrong.We’d spent hours trying on clothes and laughing

Dahlia’s POVHe looked straight at me, smiling like he knew me. I didn’t recognize him at all.“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “You must have the wrong person.”But he shook his head and took a step closer, his breath smelling faintly of whiskey. “No, Denise, it’s me. Leo. You don’t remember me?”Andrea frowned, glancing between us.“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” I said again, keeping my voice calm even though I was starting to feel annoyed.Leo’s smile turned into a smirk. “Come on, Denise. Don’t pretend. We can still get together like old times. I can make you feel good.”That was it. I felt my blood boil. I stepped closer to him, close enough that he could see the anger in my eyes. “Listen to me carefully,” I said, my voice low but firm. “I don’t know you. You’ve got

Dahlia’s POVThe man’s knees gave out. He fell forward, trembling. “Please! Please don’t— I didn’t know, I swear! I didn’t mean—”Luca’s voice was cold and steady. “You saw her ring. You saw her guards. And you still touched her.”He took one slow step closer, his arm never wavering. The crowd around us had gone completely silent. Even the music had stopped — the DJ must’ve noticed the tension and killed the track. All you could hear was the man’s ragged breathing and the faint hum of the lights.Andrea stood beside me, her hand gripping mine tightly. I could feel her shaking.“Luca,” I whispered, my heart thudding painfully.He didn’t look at me right away. His eyes were fixed on the man, unreadable, cold as winter. Then, finally, he lowered the gun just slightly.“You’re lucky she’s here,” Luca said. His tone was low but sharp as glass. “If it were just me, you’d already be dead.”The man let out a shaky sob, nodding frantically.“Apologize to her,” Luca ordered. “Loudly. So everyon

Dahlia’s POVLuca stayed close to me, his hand resting at the small of my back as I leaned over the counter to look at the flavors. “Hmm,” I said thoughtfully. “Chocolate or strawberry?”“Vanilla,” Luca said simply.I turned to him and grinned. “You seem like a vanilla guy.”He gave me a look. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”I laughed and ordered one scoop of chocolate for me and one vanilla for him. The vendor handed them over, and we started walking down the quiet street, side by side, the city lights painting the pavement in colors.It was quiet for a while, just the sound of our footsteps and the soft music from a nearby café. Luca looked relaxed now, less like the ruthless mafia don everyone feared and more like just… Luca. My Luca.I glanced up at him and smiled. “Thank you,” I said softly.He frowned slightly. “For what?”“For this,” I said, gesturing around. “For being here.”He didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, his lips curved just a little. “Always, princess,” he