His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies by C. Tamika

Chapter 371

Aria

It had been three days since the wedding, and Vince had yet to say a word to me. Ever since the ceremony he had ignored me like the plague, and I knew I deserved it

What the hell was wrong with me?

Why did I have to open my big mouth and call him Vincenz Morales?

Sleeping in separate rooms was not what I had in mind for marriage, nor was Vincent’s coming home late every night, making sure he didn’t have to see me.

Lais, who rolled his eyes at me whenever he got the chance, locked himself in the room because he didn’t want to be in the same space as me. The only ones keeping me company were Angelo, who had gone away on a family trip, and the maids.

Mom and dad, who had finally retired, had treated themselves to a nice vacation and were out of sight.

I felt lonely, broken, neglected, and regretted ever marrying Vince-but it was too late to turn back.

Due to dad’s latest request, I sent Vince a text, telling him it was time to work on our family’s future.

That was why he needed me to marry him-right? So I could fix his meu? Because it had been days, but he had still not opened his mouth about the business.

Angelo was kind enough to tell me that Vince had visited some warehouses and businesses with his men, leaving out the Morales,

I was only good enough for him to use my name, and that was it.

Our people were trying to deal with these changes, Vince owned half of the Morales, and still, he didn’t want anything to do with us. What a leader.

Pacing back and forth, I waited outside of his bedroom, determined not to let him escape this time. There was no point in merging our families if we were going to do everything separately.

My heart stopped in my chest as the door opened, revealing a half-naked Vince with only a towel wrapped around his lower body.

“Yes?” He leaned against the door. “Is there something I can do for you?”

With a dry mouth. I lowered my eyes to his sculptured abs, fresh water dripping down his body. Why was I here again?

-1-1__1-I’m here because-

“Yes, this is not working.” Vince smacked the door in my face. “I’m putting on some clothes-stay there!”

My jaw dropped at his rudeness. I knew he didn’t like me-but smacking a door in my face?

Hot abs or not, Vincenzo Garcia was a prick, and I was done trying to make him fall for me.

I had a lot to offer, and if he didn’t want me-that was his problem. For now, my only focus was strengthening our families and creating a household name in the city.

“So, that’s better.”“ Vincenzo exhaled, opening the door again.

Biting my lip, I took a peek at his gray sweatpants. I wasn’t trying to be creepy, but it was difficult to ignore the obvious bulge through his sweatpants. Didn’t guys get the memo they were banned from

wearing those?

“Congratulations, lucky bird.” One of my cousins said to me at my wedding. Rumor has it Vincenzo Garcia is packing.”

He sure was-but how much exactly?

“Arial” Vince furrowed, locking his hands in front of him to cover the damage.

“Jesus, I’m sorry!” Looking like a creep was the last thing I wanted-but I guess it was too late. Trying to pretend like I hadn’t just pictured him naked, I rolled my shoulders and held my head high. “I’m going wherever you’re going today.”

Vince blinked. “Says who?”

“Your wife,” I informed him. “Because….whether you like it or not, I’m still your wife, and I’m just as much the boss as you are.”

“You can come with me if you want to.” He surprised me as I had already prepared my following argument, but that wouldn’t be necessary. “I’m having lunch with Serena and Christian. After that, I’ll be heading over to the Garcia factory for some business-

“Great-we’ll do that, and you also owe me dinner sometime this week.” I completed his schedule. “If you care about your family and want our people to get along-you should know they need to see us together.” Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Ok.”

If there was one thing the people in this town were good at, it was gossip. I didn’t want word to get out about how Vince and I despised each other. That wouldn’t be good for business.

It wasn’t true anyway-at least not from my side.

“Were you going to do all of that in those sweats?” I breathed, thinking about ‘the’ distraction.

“No,” Vince said. “I was going to change clothes.”

“Wear a suit.” Since he didn’t want to be with me either way, there was no point in me trying to sugarcoat it. “People will take you more seriously wearing a suit.”

“Fine, I will.” Vince didn’t argue, taking my advice.

“And don’t drive yourself. It makes you look like a cheap aspirant.” There was no point in stopping now. “You have a driver-use him.”

This time Vince let out an unimpressed huff, disagreeing with my ways. “I don’t want to push him around like a dog.

“Vince, he’s getting paid.” I refreshed his memory. “I know he’s getting a large sum of money because I’ve seen the contracts.”

“Of course you have.” Vince scoffed, a bored smile plastered on his lips.

“Yes, and we’ll be getting to that because those terms look ridiculous.” I used the exact words as Angelo, who told me to address the issue to my husband. “Letting people get out of the business whenever they please-so they can do what? Run to the FBI and bring us all down with them?”

“Maybe that’ll be my escape from this marriage.” A whisper left his mouth, which wasn’t for me to hear.

It felt as if a thousand daggers had gone through my heart. “What was that?” My voice cracked, daring him to repeat those words.

“Nothing.” Vince spat. “I’ll go wear a suit. You wait downstairs.” The door got smacked in my face for the

second time.

“Thank you for looking out for me, Aria. I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

Why couldn’t I just have a husband like that? According to everyone, Vince’s only error was the Garcia name. Others called him a gentleman, charming, ambitious-but I couldn’t see any of that.

They must’ve been mistaken.

I walked downstairs, past the maids, to the living area to show my presence which was a standard morning

routine,

Growing up in the Morales household, I learned that I should always appear with a smile and reassure the maids that everything is well and that the household remains intact.

Unfortunately, fooling everyone while having a husband and a brother-in-law who made sure I knew I wasn’t welcome had become a double effort.

Looking out of the window, I noticed Luis sitting at the table as he read a book in the garden. Intending to be talkative for once, I made my way outside and joined Luis.

“Hey, good morning!” I greeted him, reminding myself not to pet his head like a puppy.

“Morning.” Luis mumbled, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“What are you doing?”

“Homework.” He kept his answer short.

“Nice-what kind of homework?”

“Math.”

“Do you need help? You know, I graduated-”

Luis closed his book loudly, and I knew there was no point in finishing that sentence. “There’s no need. I’m already finished.” He stated, getting up from the chair with his book.

“Please excuse me.” Luis left the garden, not meeting my gaze.

Once again, I felt a sharp pain in my chest which I tried hiding by plastering a smile on my face, ignoring the sounds of the gossiping gardeners and maids. See, that was the exact thing I had been trying to avoid.

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, and my lips were trembling, but I did not and could not allow myself to be weak. Smiling through my tears was something I had been doing for as long as I could remember, and it had always worked.

“Princess?” Vince’s voice made me turn my head. I hated that nickname, and he knew that. The name princess’ wasn’t a compliment but a mocking term he and his friend Beau had made up for me.

Vince’s eyes softened, and I could tell he knew I was on the verge of crying. He didn’t seem to care, though, because he had turned his back, refusing to take another look at me. “It’s time to go.”

After getting settled, the driver drove us to the Lamberti estate. Vince listening to my advice, changing his outfit, and giving his driver an actual job was a pleasant surprise.

Arriving at the Lambertis, one thing that caught my attention was that it all seemed to be sunshine and rainbows. All the workers walked around with smiles. The grass was bright and green, and flowers were blooming.

As I stepped out of the car, it made me wonder whether all of this was pretend or if the two really lived the life I had in mind for the Garcia-Morales household.

My perfect fantasy got interrupted by Vince, who had grabbed my hand to lead me to the door.

“Vince!” Serena’s voice called out from a distance. Almost tripping, she ran down the flight of stairs and rushed to Vince.

Feeling insecure about her presence, I let go of his hand, allowing her to pull him into her embrace. “Oh my god-I can’t believe you’re wearing a suit to lunch!” She leaned her head against his chest. “I thought you were on my team. What happened?”

“I got married!” Vince opened his arms, showing himself off. He would turn into a completely different person whenever he was around others. The Vince who had initially grabbed my attention.

His behavior towards me was not the same as his behavior toward Serena.

I smiled at the two who were caught up in their own little world and stepped back to give them the time to

reunite.

Meanwhile, Christian walked out the door to greet his friend. “Why are you dressed as if you care?” He pointed out Vince’s suit, hugging him.

Just as I was about to take another step back, Serena surprised me by grabbing both of my hands. “It’s so nice to finally really meet you!” She looked into my eyes with her million-dollar smile.

Besides a simple introduction, we hadn’t gotten the opportunity to hang out, and I had no desire to. She was the one Vince acknowledged, and she was the reason why he wouldn’t open his heart to me.

Let’s not forget, I had called her some horrible names.

I smiled awkwardly, losing my confidence as I couldn’t come up with more reasons to dislike her. She looked like a nice person.

“Come on. You’re scaring her.” Christian pulled away his wife. Standing in front of me, he slammed his arm around my shoulder and led me to the house.

What did these people have with hugs?

“She isn’t always like this. I promise.” He spoke quietly in my ear. “She’s just too excited because she admires you.”

She admires me, and I had been nothing but a bitch.

Stepping inside, I could hear the voices of two loud children. “Kids!” Christian summoned the two, not letting go of me, while Vince and Serena were behind us.

“Yes, daddy?” A little girl and little boy revealed themselves, the boy stumbling to keep up with his sister.

Siena and Lucio Lamberti

Everyone knew their names, mainly because Christian couldn’t stop talking about his children.

“Come greet your aunt, Arial” Serena, spoke excitedly. Aunt? I barely knew the two, and now I was suddenly their aunt.

Vincenzo’s bond with the Lambertis was tight enough for them to introduce me as an aunt.

Siena stood in front of me while Lucio glued himself to his mom’s legs, and I immediately knelt to be at the same level as the little girl.

She was a carbon copy of Serena, only inheriting Christian’s eyes. “Hi, aunt Aria.” Siena tilted her head, smiling.

“Hi, sweetheart.” I pouted, my heart melting at the sight of her cuteness. Automatically, my hand reached for her soft cheek as I felt an instant connection. “You look beautiful.” I complimented her princess dress and her tiny tiara.

“You look……..stunning?” She carefully thought about her words. For a three-year-old, she was a good speaker.

“Thank you, cutie.” I patted her head.

“You’re welcome, aunt Aria.” She surprised me once again.

“Now, who’s hungry? Because I’m starving!” Serena rubbed her pregnant belly while Siena and Lucio ran off.

“You’re always starving.” Christian commented, offering his hand to help me stand up straight.

“Well, I’m eating for two,” Serena argued, yawning.

Christian walked past his wife. “And who’s fault is that?” He spoke.

Serena caught up with him. “Yours!” She accused him. “For not pulling out.”

“You’re the one that told me not to-

“Wow-okay!” Serena overpowered him, covering his mouth with her hand. The two had a healthy relationship, and it wasn’t pretending.

Flustered, Serena turned her head and shot us an embarrassed look. “Ignore him.” She said, pushing him to the backyard. “Are you guys coming?”

I felt so out of place that my legs didn’t allow me to take a step. At all times, I made sure I was the one in control-but this time, I was outnumbered. Christian and Vince had known each other since childhood, the three of them were close, and I was new in town.

Fun was a word that was hard to find in my vocabulary. I tried having fun throughout the years and figured it wasn’t for me.

Unless it involved business talk, I was not the confident Aria others would describe me as. Interacting with people had never been my strong suit, and it was all because I had no idea what would leave my mouth

next.

The best way to keep myself from saying something I shouldn’t was by not saying anything at all.

“Don’t be nervous.” Vince placed his hand behind my back, his voice softer than it had been these past days. “Relax, princess.”

He used the same method to calm me down at the altar. Luckily, it worked as I was able to breathe again. and regained the feeling in my legs.

“We’re not here for business-so please stop being awkward and just be my wife for the day.”

“Your wife.” I composed myself. “I can do that.”