The Curse of the Mafia's Bride

(Emma’s POV) Busy preparing a favorite recipe, Brandon’s arm suddenly wrapped around me, cornering me between the table and his body. “Damn… The smell is too addicting!” he whispered, sending chills down my whole body. I wasn’t sure if he meant the dish I was cooking or the smell of my flowery perfume, but it felt as if he was smelling both the dish and my neck. I turned around to face him. His eyes were on fire while he was staring at mine. My heart was racing so fast! His biceps moved when he turned off the stove. And I couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of it and his very close proximity at the moment! His hands slid and caressed my back down to my waist. “W-what are you doing?” I stuttered. I felt like the heat and s****l tension between us was too strong, that it was also unstoppable! “Loving you, admiring you, desiring you…” He said, almost running out of his breath. Oh, damn… I smiled. He did not. He remained serious and intense while not breaking his eyes from my face. It was as if he was memorizing every inch of it, never wanting to forget any of the detail… He kissed my forehead, and I closed my eyes, savoring each moment. He wasn’t content with just kissing my forehead, though. His kisses went down to my nose, spreading to my cheeks, and eventually, he found my lips. The way he kissed was slow yet passionate, and I responded with the same rhythm of intensity. My arms wrapped around his nape, pulling him even closer to me, giving him all the access and permission to deepen our kisses. He, on the other hand, was hugging my waist. The kisses went from slow and passionate to hungrier and more longing. We were kissing each other torridly, and as usual, we both liked what we were doing. Our bodies were happy because of the pleasure we felt when we were this close to each other. He carried me in a bridal style; all I could do was submit to and trust him. He brought me to the room, locked the door, and there, we resumed our intimate moments… Remembering those days I once shared with my lover, Brandon, made me shake my head in disbelief after hearing all that Henry, his old friend, had revealed about him. His job and his real intentions of why he drew himself close to me, and made me fall for him. Henry was claiming that it was all just a lie! A trap! Brandon only wanted to get my trust because he was spying on to destroy my father! “No! You’re lying, Henry! You just want to make my fiancé appear bad in my eyes! You’re only lying!” I defended my fiancé and didn’t believe this old friend of his. Unless it came from my fiancé’s lips, I would not believe anything Henry was saying! I knew he only wanted to destroy Brandon’s image to me, and none of his words were ever true! “What will I get if I lie, Emma, or if I make a story just to destroy Brandon’s name? Anyway, whether you believe me or not, it’s all up to you, but don’t you ever forget, I warned you—” “I would really never believe in you! You’re not even an old friend for no reason! Now, I finally get it! You’ve always been insecure about Brandon; that’s why you see him as a competition, and thus, you’re doing everything to stain his name and, now, even destroy his relationship with me!” I angrily continued. Henry’s jaw clenched, and then he nodded. “I admit, Brandon was such a threat to me for the rank. But won’t you even wonder why I’m saying his true intentions to you when in fact I can just simply let it slip away and don’t care because you have nothing to do with our competition in our job’s race?” I could not say a thing. His words were refusing to sync into my head! “To make you fall for him deeply until he gets your trust to the point that you will not doubt him and hesitate to tell him everything once he asks about your father and your father’s business is Brandon’s strategic tactic to get what he wants,” he continued with his narrative. I continued shaking my head. I refused to believe Henry! I would not believe anything that was not coming out of my love’s lips! I would only believe at my fiancé! “Let me ask you one thing—was there a time, even once, that he asked about your dad and what your dad does for a living?” I remembered that, yes, indeed, Brandon had asked about my father’s business. At first, he was even hesitant and shy to ask about it, but eventually, he got comfortable asking. But I never thought that he had a hidden agenda for asking, that he was actually investigating. All I knew was that he was just casually asking because he was purely curious, and he wanted to know more about me and the only family left with me, which was my father. “You could not answer it because, whether you admit it or not, there’s a part of you that tells you you should believe my warning, Emma. But of course, you wouldn’t listen to it because you’ve been too blindly in love. I guess Brandon is really good at his job—getting closer to the target’s daughter and charming her to his best.” Still, no matter what the man was saying in front of me at the moment, I would not listen to him! “Now, if you want proof and want to see it for yourself, go to the rooftop, Emma. There, you will see that I am not lying at all,” he challenged me. I glared angrily at him. He didn’t care, though. He even pointed the way to the door. “Go, Emma. You must go so you will see it. See how your fiancé, the person you trusted and loved the most, is going to kill your beloved dad!” With a heavy heart, I walked to the door. The truth was, I wanted to just run away from this building. However, there was really a part of my head that was saying to go and see what was happening on the rooftop. I wanted to prove to myself that Henry was nothing but a pure, insane liar! I needed to make sure that Brandon was innocent of all of the serious accusations that Henry was making about him! I was already in the middle of the stairs and my feet felt becoming even heavier! I didn’t know why but I was so afraid of what was waiting and what I was about to see there! I shook my head and turned around. I already made up my mind, I would not continue! I would not go there— About to just walk away, gunshots coming from the rooftop made me stop. It seemed like my world had frozen for a moment! And then a loud voice shouted in agony! My heart raced so fast. That voice was so familiar to me! I couldn’t be wrong! It was my father’s voice! Throwing away all my hesitations, I followed my instinct. Without thinking so much anymore, I ran as fast as I could to the rooftop because all I wanted was to see what was really happening there, and I needed to know for myself that it wasn’t my father who shouted in pain after numerous gunshots had been fired. But to my horror, when I got there, I felt like my whole body turned cold after seeing my father’s helpless body bathed in his own blood while he was lying on the ground! There were multiple shots on his body, mostly in his chest, making sure that there was no way he would survive! “Dad!!!” I screamed in dread and horror when I ran to him. I held him in my arms. He was badly wounded! “Daddy, don’t leave me! Don’t die! Dad!!!” He forced himself to open his eyes even though he was hurting a lot. “Emma, my dear daughter, you aren’t supposed to be here…” he said, but the words hardly came out of his bleeding mouth! I disregarded what he said, and instead, I dialed the emergency line’s number to call for help! However, my dad held my hand, making me stop. I could just stare at him while tears were endlessly streaming down my cheeks! He forced himself to shake his head to gesture to me that he would not want me to call for help because he knew he still wouldn’t make it to the hospital. I cried like a child. “Dad…” “My dear Emma… my forever princess…” In the middle of my cries, I was still able to follow his hand movement as he pointed at the man standing still behind me. There, I saw my fiancé—Brandon. And he was holding a gun! My anger flared up. All I was feeling at the moment was betrayal and hatred! When I heard my father’s breathing cut off, I saw how his lifeless hand fell to the ground. I screamed and cried in immeasurable pain at witnessing how my father died in front of me, for he had been killed! “Daddy!!!” Nothing could be compared to the misery of losing a family member! I kept shouting until I couldn’t cry anymore. “Emma…” Brandon’s sad voice called my name. As soon as I heard him, I stood up and went straight at him! He must face the consequences of what he did! He killed my father! He killed the only family I had! He was sobbing in front of me, looking miserably regretful. But what else could his regret do by now? Nothing! Could his tears bring my father back to life? Certainly not! Most importantly, I would not be deceived by those lying eyes ever again! Henry was right. This monster right in front of me had just used me for his own gain! He gained my trust and made me fall in love with him so he could cause the downfall of my father! Had I known about this from the start, I would’ve killed him first before he could even lay a finger on me and my father! I looked at the gun in his hand—the very thing he used to end my dad’s life! He cried. His countenance was full of guilt, despair, and regret. “Emma, I’m sorry…” Gone was the Emma who once loved and trusted him! I would not believe any of his words ever again! I learned my lesson the very hard way! No words came out of my lips, but surely, my hand flew to his cheek. I slapped him. Hard!