The Italian Don's Captive Bride

Chapter No.3

Cassandra Petrov:-

After two months:-

"Oh my God, just look at you, Cassie." Tatiana, my best friend and sister-in-law, exclaimed as she looked at me in the bridal gown. I stood in front of the mirror, ready to get married to my groom. "You are the most beautiful bride to exist in the world. Your groom is a very lucky man, my dear."

"This marriage is not about being lucky or in love, right? This is all about building an alliance with the other mafia family to strengthen our connections." I reminded her and let out a sigh. "But, I am happy. Dominic is a nice man. As nice as he could be, he cares about me. That's what matters. I am sure we would fall in love one day and lead a happy life."

"Are you telling me or trying to convince yourself, Cassie?" Tatiana asked with a raised brow. "Because to me it looks like you are trying to convince yourself that you like him."

"I do like him," I said with gritted teeth.

"Then why haven't you been able to forget about that charming Eliseo Leone from the club after your sizzling hot one-night stand with him?" she asked with a laugh, and I rolled my eyes. She is the only one who knows about my sexy encounter with one of my family's enemies. Every member of the Leone family is nothing but an enemy to the Petrova family. This has been going on for centuries and none of us knows how and when this enmity started but it just did.

"I have forgotten about him, Tia. I don't give a f**k about him or anything. All I know is that he deserves to be in a coffin for handcuffing me on his bed the next day. Thank God, I fled on time, or it would have been my coffin coming to the Petrov mansion two months ago. I made a mistake and I learned from it." I took a deep breath and nodded my head.

"Ok, let's go. I am ready to walk down the aisle," I announced, and she nodded as she fixed my veil and did the final touch-up. My father, Nikolai Petrova, walked in surrounded by his guards and nodded at me with a straight expression. That's Don Nikolai Petrov for you—the cold, ruthless, and heartless man ever alive—not to forget a cold and heartless father, too.

"Good, you are ready," he announced, approaching to tangle my arm around his. "Be a good and obedient wife to Domininc and keep him happy. You know how powerful connections he holds in the underworld. We need to be stronger than the Leones. The f*****g bastards are already flourishing in the underworld. More than us, and I don't like it."

"Because you want to stay on top, Father?" I snickered. "I know, don't worry. I know the drill. You didn't raise a daughter but an assassin and a tool to bring you nothing but power."

"And, you should be proud of it, otherwise you wouldn't have survived a single day in this underworld. Women are nothing but pleasurable and bargaining chips," he snaps. "Now smile for the camera. I don't want anyone to think the bride isn't happy. Dominic is a nice man, and you know it."

"He is a nice man, Dad. I know it. I am not denying that, but he is not the man I love." I said with an attitude. "I am walking down the aisle to get married to him because I know he will keep me happy. And I hope to make him fall in love with me one day."

"Love only exists in the fairytale book, my child," he said with a smile and nodded at one of the mafia leaders as we walked down the aisle. My eyes landed on the altar where he stood. Dominic, a mighty American Mafia King, looked handsome in his wedding tuxedo. He looked at me with a smile on his face, and I smiled back.

I could do this. I could marry and fall in love with him. He is better than any man out there. I chanted to myself mentally as I walked and finally reached the altar, where Dominic stepped forward, took my hand in his, and, with a charming smile on his face, leaned down to kiss my knuckles.

"You look stunning, my precious bride," he murmurs. " I am one lucky man."

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself," I teased, stepping onto the altar with his help and took place in front of him, with the priest between us. My father went to his place beside my mother, where my brothers Ivan and Tatiana sat. I smiled at Dominic and heard the priest start the ceremony.

"Beloved ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here to witness the wedding ceremony between Cassandra Petrov and Dominic Blackstone," the priest began. Silence took over, and everyone turned their utter attention on us.

"Do you, Dominic Blackstone, take Cassandra Petrov to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the priest asked. Dominic smiled, looking into my eyes, and squeezed my hand gently.

"I do," he announced.

"Do you, Cassandra Petrova, take Dominic Blackstone as your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked me this time. I returned the smile to Dominic and the audience. I was just opening my mouth to speak when, all of a sudden, three gun shots were heard out of nowhere in the ceremony.

Bang...Bang...Bang!!

My hands went to the weapon hidden in my thigh holster under my dress, while Dominic's hand went to his gun on his waistband, while the guests freaked out and lowered their heads as everyone searched for the source of gunshots everywhere.

That's when I saw the person responsible for these gunshots, standing in the middle of the aisle with his gun raised in the air, while he stood surrounded by his men.

"I object!" Eliseo announced with a cold, sexy, and arrogant smirk on his face, dressed in a black button-down dress shirt and pants, looking dangerously hot and delicious with his eyes locked on mine. "The bride belongs to me! She's mine!"

Thunder rolled through the room in a wave of gasps. Guests were forced to turn around, and guards stood between them and the chaos that had just barged into the ceremony.

I gasped for air. He was supposed to be gone. I was dreaming. It's just a nightmare—a nightmare I am going to wake up from, but this wasn't a dream. It was all real and happening in front of my eyes. Eliseo stood looking more handsome than I remembered.

My fingers grasped the gun hidden underneath my gown, but my hand shook with fear. Why was it trembling… damn it?

An instant later, Dominic stepped in front of me and placed himself between me and Eliseo, his weapon aimed at him. My father’s guards flooded the aisle between the guests and the altar, and his men sprang into action, surrounding the altar. A war was about to break out at the center of my wedding.

"Lower your weapons!" Dominic’s voice was deadly calm, but his bark sounded like he would poison Eliseo’s men. "You have a fool's chance. You are trespassing on Petrov's grounds, and you're outnumbered. Leave now, if you have any semblance of a life left in you."

Dozens of guns pointed at him did not faze him in the slightest. Eliseo only chuckled darkly and stepped forward. I never broke eye contact with his icy gaze.

"Outnumbered?" He lifted his hand lazily and drawled. A stunned silence fell over the room when his men immediately displayed their heavy artillery, military-grade weapons. "Did you take me for a fool who would just barge into the Petrov territory without ensuring the odds are in my favor?"

Muscles tensed, and under his breath, Dominic growled. My breath got caught in my throat; I grabbed his arm subtly, signalling him not to shoot.

"Enough, Leone, or the only thing returning from here would be you in a coffin." Standing up, with a face like a storm, my father roared from his seat. "How dare you f*****g crash into my daughter's wedding and playing a crazy stunt like this? Do you have a death wish?"

Smoothly, Eliseo interrupted, tilting his head slightly.

"I dare, Nikolai. I dare to crash the wedding because I won't let you marry your daughter to someone she doesn't belong with. She might be your daughter for now, but she will be my wife in a few days. She will be a Leone!!"

"Are you f*****g out of your mind, Leone?" Dominic growled, taking steps closer to Eliseo and even dared to point his gun at his head while Eliseo smirked and pointed his weapon at Dominic's heart.

"No, my mind is in the right place." Eliseo hissed with his gun still pointed at Dominic, while Dominic removed his. "I don't mean any harm to you or your mafia, Dominic. I am just a man who has come here to claim what belongs to him."

"And, what makes you think my fiancé belongs to you, Leone?" Dominic asked with gritted teeth when Eliseo looked at me over Dominic's shoulder, grinned and winked at me before announcing loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Because she is carrying my child in her womb," he announced proudly. "She’s carrying a Leone heir. My heir. My legacy!!"