All Chapters of BLOOD AND VOWS: THE MAFIA WRONG BRIDE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

CHAPTER 1 THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE CHIARA “What the—” The water hit me like a fist. I didn't just wake up… I drowned. Gasping and choking, I scrambled upright as the freezing water flooded my nose and mouth, and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. Mum stood over me, the empty bucket swinging from her hand. "Get up; your sister is gone." I pushed sopping hair from my eyes, swallowing the hurt like broken glass. "Gone?" "She ran away last night." Her lip curled as she looked at me like I was a stain that had learned to speak. "Valentina left a note and climbed out her window. Your father is beside himself." I forced my shaking legs over the edge of the bed. My nightgown clung to my skin, the morning cold biting deep as I stood. "Why would she run?" She scowled. "That's not your concern. What matters is tonight there needs to be a bride, and you're the only one left." Bride? Who's getting married? "Your father made arrangements," she continued with an impatient voic

CHAPTER 3 THE PRICE OF DEFIANCE The silence after her scream was worse than the scream itself. I pressed my forehead against the cold marble floor as I curled myself into it. Until eventually, my mind became exhausted and my body shut off. The lock turned what felt like years later. The housekeeper stood in the doorway, her black dress swallowing the light. She looked at me with a blank look like I was nothing more than a chore. "Mr. Moretti will see you now." Two guards appeared behind her, seized my arms, and hauled me upright. My legs buckled immediately as pins and needles shot through my feet, knees, and thighs. They dragged me down the hallway, my heels scraping against the marble. Focus and breath, Chiara. Survive this. Stopping in front of a food made with dark wood panels and painted with faded frescoes, they knocked thrice before dragging me in. Lucien sat behind his massive desk, the orange light from the fire in the grate casting shadows across h

CHAPTER 5 WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? "You're not Valentina." At first, my mind refused to register what he just said. It didn't feel like a sentence meant for me. It just hung in the air between us while my heartbeat turned erratic inside my chest. Lucien stood watching me like he was waiting for reality to catch up with his conclusion. His expression hadn't changed, but something in the room had shifted. The air felt thinner. I tried to laugh, but it came out forced and hollow. "That's impossible. I am Valentina." Even as the words left my mouth, I didn't believe it myself. Lucien's eyes didn't change; they stayed fixed on me with unsettling precision. "I don't work with assumptions," he said quietly. "I work with facts and patterns. And you don't match any of hers." My throat tightened until it hurt to swallow. "You're wrong." He tilted his head slightly as if listening to something I couldn't hear. "Valentina Rossi is loud even when she's silent. She reacts bef

CHAPTER 7A SONG IN THE DARKCHIARAThe moment the door closed behind him, I breathed. Letting myself feel all the emotions at once. A single, hot, traitorous tear slipped from the corner of my eye, trailing down my cheek.Oh! Thank God..Relief… that was all it was. The kind of relief that comes when your body finally accepts you're still breathing, after staring down the barrel of a gun and hearing the trigger click.Without wiping the tear, I pushed myself off the wall and crossed the room on shaking legs. I sat on the edge of the bed, bending forward, and pressing my palms against my knees, rubbing slow circles into the bone.The repetitive motion was the only thing tying me to the present.Breathe, Chiara… Breathe. When my heart finally stopped slamming against my ribs, I stood and began to pace. I moved back and forth, my bare feet padding against the cold stone, while my mind raced faster than my body ever could.I need to get out of here. I can't keep living with the constant

CHAPTER 9THE NOTHING'S BARGAIN CHIARAThe door slammed, and I sat frozen on the bed, my chin still throbbing from where his fingers had dug into my skin.What the hell does he mean I shouldn't sing the song again. My memories aren't his fucking property, not everything in this godforsaken fortress was his, including a lullaby I'd known since before I could walk!I touched my chin and winced. Thank God I didn't slip about me not being Valentina. I almost did. Telling him Harriet's name wasn't an option too, so I had to lie. If Signora Harriet was still alive somewhere, the last thing she needed was Lucien Moretti hunting her down because of something I'd said.Days bled into each other and all I could do was count the routine. At one point, I stopped counting the hours because counting made it worse. Morning, noon, night… they all looked the same in a room with no windows. I didn't sing again, in fact, I barely spoke. The silence wrapped around me like a second skin, and I let it.