My wedding, I heard, was today.
My first day in Casa Rios and it's already my wedding. He didn't want to waste time, it appears. Of course. They've been planning on welcoming their master's wife for so long, that they've already prepared the wedding. Like I was the last missing key to finish this all.
"The mansion's garden has been prepared for this special event, Madame. I have arranged everything nearly to perfection that any bride would find this wedding dreamy," said Linda as we made our way to the event place.
It didn't surprise me at all that they chose the garden, not a church. Their rivals might take advantage of this peaceful event and ruin it—either by attempting to assassinate Jett or me. The floral pink dress I wore had a sheer pink veil over it that ended at my waist, with a wreath on top of my head. This is a very feminine dress, although not extravagant.
As we reached the glass double doors to the garden, the mellow orchestra reached my ears. I almost winced. A servant gave me a bouquet and opened the double doors. Linda held my elbow, making me turn to her.
"Please, Madame, walk down the aisle," she muttered, her head bowed, but I could feel her smiling. I quietly nodded and looked ahead. This is it, I'm taking another step towards my mission's success.
My breath hitched when the beauty of the garden overwhelmed me. Vibrant trees lined up neatly and at safe distances made up the pathway to the small lifted aisle at the end, where a priest stood behind a lectern, and to his side was the man I'll be marrying.
His unruly yet oddly neat hair swayed with the breeze, and his black suit added to his magnificence. The witnesses sat beside the trees, their number only a little over 20. All of them were dressed up in either white or pink attires. I could only see a handful of women.
As I sauntered to the aisle, taking my time as a bride on her special day would, I felt their gazes of mixed emotions weighing on me. Some were curious, some awed, some staring with excitement.
"Took you long enough," he greeted me as soon as I reached him. He was half-grinning as he surveyed my outfit.
"You look decent compared to last night, at least. I'd be offended if you didn't dress up for our wedding."
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Rios. I only found out about the w-wedding this morning..." I replied, my lips trembling. "I can change to a proper wedding dress if you—"
"Mr. Rios?" He frowned at that, as if not registering the other words I said but that. He was about to retort something when the priest in front of us cleared his throat.
"Shall we start?" The relatively aged man opened his bible before we even had the chance to answer. I saw Jett scowl at him from beside me.
"Rude," he whispered under his breath.
We both quietly listened to the priest. I didn't expect a traditional wedding, to be honest. I also didn't expect him to be patient with the priest's ceremonies, but it was obvious he wasn't paying attention. I wasn't too. I was still surprised by the amount of effort given to this wedding. I expected a civil wedding and even planned a new signature of mine befitting Fallon's fragility and innocence.
We said our vows and exchanged rings, and I was even more surprised to witness Jett's cooperation. I expected a dangerous boss like him to ignore all these embarrassing parts of the wedding, but he seemed like he was waiting for those. His personality did not match his line of work.
"You may now kiss the bride."
My heart hammered so loud I thought it'd break my ribcage and leap out with every beat. Jett turned to me again, a playful smirk dancing on his lips as he lifted my veil. My grip around my bouquet tightened as he leaned in. We were in such close proximity and his subordinates were loudly cheering him on. I kept my gaze down in nervousness. This feeling isn't an act, I realized.
I remained frozen on my spot, my feet rooted to the ground. This wasn't my first kiss. God, no. This wouldn't have made a difference from the last kisses I've done if not for the highly charismatic man in front of me that's overflowing with sex appeal. Oh, and that he's also a notorious man—a savage, coldhearted beast.
His rough, large hands snaked around my skinny waist as he paused.
"Don't be so frightened, wife," he whispered. Our faces are so close that our breaths mixed. I could still feel his smirk. "A kiss won't cost you your virginity if you still have it."
My shaking muscles tensed. My gaze on the floor steeled.
His sharp honesty made my once cold blood boil. All nervousness I had suddenly evaporated and dissipated in the air, replaced by my fury. This jerk of a man.
Then, he leaned away and planted a kiss on my forehead instead. I heard his faint laugh and the audience's cheer. Some were even whistling. We turned to them with his hand resting on my waist. He waved at them and grinned.
I remained quietly pursing my lips, even when they released the party poppers as we passed the path I had taken earlier. The vibrant garden was shining with glee and the environment was so bright, courtesy of the wide smiles plastered on the audience's faces. I forced a tight-lipped smile to compensate for my sour mood and accepted their good wishes.
"Congratulations!"
"Best wishes to the new Mistress!"
"All the best to both of you!"
Inside, the main hall was decorated too, with a big four-tier cake on one side and a table full of meals. There were balloons, confetti, and garlands all over. The servants joined the celebration with his subordinates, to my surprise.
"It's time to cut the cake! Everyone, make way for the groom and his bride!" Someone shouted and everyone cleared a path for us to the cake. Is this necessary?
I roamed my eyes around the place, their happy faces clouding my sight. Even the priest is clinking glasses of wine with someone. I thought of the worst-case scenario for this wedding, and for this scene to play out—a complete opposite of the one I expected—is overwhelming me. Still, I didn't want to break out of character. So I accepted the jerk's offered arms and encircled my arm with his as we neared the cake.
He held the knife and turned to me. "Well?" He asked, smiling. I subtly observed the emotions playing in his eyes and didn't believe what I saw.
With much hesitation, I held the knife over his hands and we sliced the cake together. Sincerity. I saw the sincerity in those eyes, as well as perfervid joy. No sign of deceitfulness or wickedness. Did he dream of a wedding as simple yet fun as this? Is he living his dream right now? Or is he glad to finally be one step ahead of his mother's fortune?
Probably the latter.
I chose to stop thinking about his questionable emotions and let him feed me a bite of the cake. Once again, the others erupted in cheers and yells. I forced my cheeks to redden out of embarrassment.
"Cheers to the newlyweds! To a long-lasting union!"
Everyone raised their glasses of wine and cheered. I looked around, feeling the warmth of the people. What a way to welcome.
I found Linda's eyes and smiled at her, quietly mouthing 'thank you'. She smiled back, her wrinkled eyes twinkling, and bowed.
The celebration lasted all day. I was tired from the intense partying and was bewildered beyond belief by the childish party games they played. Linda, who was standing at a safe distance from me was the one to inform me of what they were doing. She said they were mostly traditional party games of the Hispanic culture. When she said that, realization dawned upon me. They were a very traditional sort."That's Veo Veo, Madame," said Linda. "Similar to the game 'I Spy'."I nodded understandingly. The jerk was the one in the middle, looking around, while his subordinates were the ones that are to look for what he said. He was saying something Spanish, although there was a repetitive phrase he said every time.Another game was similar to fencing. But, they used real swords. Probably a more dangerous rendition of the game befitting their organization."We call that La Verdadera Destreza. It is the true art and skill of Spanish swordsmanship.""I see. They're good with words too." Not just gu
Old Barry left shortly after that, saying he'll retire for the night. Ross stayed by my side, even teasing Old Barry for his bedtime. Then, Ross turned to me and shyly scratched the back of his head."Your impression of us might've been tainted by Old Barry. Don't worry, Fall, he has the worst attitude! The rest of us are kind!" He beamed.He acts like a child...but I guess nothing can surpass that jerk's childishness because Ross is more tolerable than his boss.I attempted a smile, which might or might not have just appeared as a wince. He took a sip of wine, silence lingering around us. He must've felt my uneasiness because he also left shortly after Old Barry.When I was alone at the table again, my thoughts went to the events after tonight. Will the environment remain as bright as tonight? I highly doubt it.And what of their carefree, jolly attitudes? Will they return to their usual cold, ruthless personalities like the rumors? That, I believe will be the case.They're cold-bloo
The following day, Linda informed me early on about the schedule as well as my role. She was a bit nonchalant this morning, probably because I didn't sleep with her master, but I pretended to be unaware."You'll be making your first appearance today, Madame Fallon. So I prepared this dress for you." She showed me an ivory satin knee-length wrap dress, with elbow-long sleeves and a bit of embroidered handiwork at the shoulder blades. "I hope the Madame doesn't mind sultry dresses like this. It was the master's order to get you a dress that would leave an impression. However, I didn't want the Madame's scars to be revealed, so I kept it as conservative as I could.""N-No...It's beautiful." I gulped. "Thank you, Linda."She bowed her head gratefully. "It is nothing, Madame Fallon. Would you like me to help you get dressed?""Yes, please. Is it...Will the gathering continue even after sunset?"She nodded. "It is a formal business gathering in the casino's ballroom. You can just stay besid
The building, I confirmed, was a golf club. It was a joint project by the casino owners of Las Vegas, Jett being one of them, and it's an exclusive club. We are to greet and play with the co-owners, as Ross informed me. He has been looking at me weirdly ever since I left the van. Probably because of whatever transpired inside, I came out as a completely different person. I started the act the jerk ordered me to be as soon as I left."Are you alright, Fall?" Finally, Ross asked the question he's been itching to ask."Yes, perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern," I replied with a controlled voice, my tone well-modulated. His gaze only became more suspicious, but thankfully he did not push it. The jerk, the person whose side I was supposed to be on, was out asking for a golf cart and his equipment that was stored in his office. He was talking with staff in the distance, so I stayed with Ross. His grumpy mood was still there. Really, he's a man of a lot of questionable personality sid
LeoMy first impression of the underground base of the Agnello mafia was 'spine-chilling'. It has a dark ambiance wherever I go, whichever hallway I turn to, or whatever room I enter.My hasty steps turned to a quiet hallway, a route I'm sure is to the supply room. I've already mapped out the entire base for the entire week I've been here. A few moments later, I stopped in front of a locked door.I pulled out my ID and was about to go in when I heard approaching footsteps."Hey!"Ugh, how unlucky. I slowly turned to the owner of the voice. My eyes went to the color of his ID—gray—an upper officer. I immediately recognized his face once I realized he was an upper officer, a rank only a handful of people have. Rico Brown.His eyes also went to my ID and frowned at the color—brown—I was an errand girl."Who ordered you to the firearms supply room?"I slightly bowed at him, recognizing the huge gap in our ranks, and muttered, "A superior asked me to check the inventory, sir.""Which super
FallonI forgot the time when I was talking with the wives. I only realized two hours had passed since I joined them when their husbands returned. I was enjoying telling the story of an innocent bar waitress seduced by a lustful, pathetic mafia man who almost begged to be wed to me. I held my laugh when I saw my supposed husband coming my way, dripping with sweat and unaware of all the humiliating fake scenes I told the wives.I covered my breath hitch with a smile when he immediately wrapped his arms around me as soon as he returned. I noticed the wives' eyes on us so I decided to solidify my stories by showing him so submissive of me.I gently stroked his hair and rid his face of some stray strands."Are you tired?" I purred, my voice soft and seductive.His right brow and right scarred lip twitched in subtle surprise. "Mhmm...""Oh, how sweet!" One exclaimed. "The freshness of a newlywed couple takes me back!"The others agreed and I faintly laughed. "If we wish to last until the g
Warning: This chapter contains mature content.Even with my racing heart, I still heard the heavy exhale that escaped my lips when he pushed me on the bed. The canopy bed felt so tiny in comparison to last night.Why...Why did I even try avoiding him last night?Looking at him now, he looks like someone who gets what he wants. And he also reacted subtly vicious last night when I slept on our honeymoon. A small part of me knew he'd still get 'it' if he really wanted. And now..."I find smart girls attractive," he said, unbuttoning his polo and flinging it over his head. "But not so much with devious girls."Too bad. He met a two-faced girl like me. The most devious of them all.I bit back my snarky comments and let him go over me. My wrap dress was easily undone with a single pull from the knot and my undergarments were immediately exposed. It was only midday, yet here we are.I held my breath when he surveyed my bareness. I did the same. My throat suddenly dried at the sight of his to
It became a battle of pride – of who'll pass out of exhaustion first.I wasn't very experienced in bed, but he seemed like he was. I couldn't even deny the limitless pleasure I felt. And I couldn't say he forced himself inside me because I humiliatingly ached for him too. He was a fit man, so it was a given that his stamina was good, but I pride myself in my endurance.And now, it's been a week and we've been continuously doing it. We barely got out of the room and we've both been neglecting our duties. I... couldn't get enough of him.At first, Jaguar's face popped up in my mind but as time passed by, I didn't realize I already had Jett's face and body memorized that I see him even when my eyes are closed. The sexual attraction and thirst we had for each other was unbelievable. So much so that after my third release, I decided to have a little fun while on this mission.Now, how long has it been? I lost track of time.I stared blankly at the ceiling; my body naked under the thick cov