THE MAFIA’S MISTAKEN BRIDE

Xavier’s POV

My eyes scan over the silky robe she is dressed in, showing a clear picture of her cleavage as she rolls over to one side while I take a drag of my cigarette.

I lean backwards in my chair, my eyes not leaving her as I continue to puff out the air and take in another drag just to get my mind occupied with something else other than the guilt I feel each time she is like this.

I don’t want to think about anything else but the fact that she is Andre and my woman.

I don’t want to think about her being Jasmine, a weak woman who wants to leave the second Andre is found. I don’t even want to think about what would happen to her if she leaves and gets into Vicenzo’s trap.

That bastard must have injected her with heroin.

My business also entails the shipment of drugs and weapons. The moment she lost consciousness, I knew it was a result of the drug from the day before.

I didn’t expect her to wake up so soon that morning. The first time I gave that to a traitor, he slept for 18 hours but Jasmine barely slept for 10 hours before her eyes flutter open.

Now, it’s been over 8 hours and she is still asleep.

I have stuff to do by noon but I want to stay here till it is time to leave.

Her hand leaves her side as she scratches her hair, making the wig shift a little to reveal the white hair beneath it. Then she turns, making me hold my cigarette halfway, wondering if she is about to wake up.

She rubs her hand over her legs, bringing her robe up her thighs, showcasing a beautiful set of legs, milky and glowing from the morning sun.

I gulp as I blink in surprise.

She is beautiful, no doubt.

There is no more movement so I let my eyes leave her pretty legs back to her face. When I shift my attention to her almost opened breast, I curse beneath my breath, realizing what I am doing and quickly look away as I take another drag of the cigarette.

I barely take cigarettes. But I need to do this to keep sane.

Jasmine might not be as stubborn as Andre but she is beginning to make me feel insane. Stupid.

I hate the feeling of passion. I couldn’t help but shout at her and now I feel guilty for doing that. She doesn’t deserve all of this. She doesn’t deserve to be a prey to Vicenzo nor does she deserve to be mistaken to be someone else.

Why I find it so hard to admit to her that I know the truth now is a mystery to me. I don’t know why I don’t want her to know that I know she isn’t Andre.

For no genuine reason, I just don’t want her to know.

Perhaps, this is to protect her. If she knew, she would leave without a second thought and I can’t let her go until I get rid of Vicenzo.

“You smoke?” The softness of the sleepy voice stuns me, making me hold the cigarette halfway again as I shift my eyes to meet hers.

She is awake. Her eyes are now clear as the day unlike last night when they looked watery and glassy.

Perhaps, she didn’t rest well throughout yesterday which was why she collapsed last night. Right now, she needs a lot of rest and I am going to ensure she gets that.

I want to say something but nothing comes to my head. In fact, my throat is clogged with a lump so I look again and continue taking my drags when she sits upright.

“What happened again?” she asks, ignoring the thick tension in the air and my silence.

“You lost consciousness. I think it’s the drugs. You should rest well to get rid of it from your system”, I tell her.

Our eyes lock and it feels as if she is reading through me. At first, I wanted to keep staring at her till she looked away but she wasn’t doing any of that. It seems like she is enjoying the view of my face, making me wonder what she thinks of me as a man.

“So you do smoke too?” she mutters, more like a statement than a question that gets my brows up in confusion.

“What do you mean by that?” I demand her with my face in a frown as I click the cigar with the tip of my forefinger to let go of the lights.

She shrugs and hugs her arms around herself. “Vicenzo does too. I thought only the bad guys do.”

Amusement fills her expression, making me stare hard at her.

What the hell does she mean by that?

Suddenly, she seems nonchalant about her statement as she rises and moves to the closet.

I guess I should go now. It’s almost noon and time to get to work. I have a lot to do today and considering the time now, I might get back home late again.

“Here is your phone”, I say to her as she turns around hurriedly and rushes back with excitement written all over her. When she grabs the new package from me, I point to the food on the table. “Your breakfast is also there. I asked them to microwave it almost an hour ago so you should eat it before it gets cold.”

She does not hear me as she continues to gush over the product in her hand.

“Did you hear what I just said?!” My loud voice makes her look up immediately and she nods.

“Good”, I nod, another wave of guilt sipping through me. I made a resolve not to bark at her anymore but here I am doing it again. With her attention back on the well-packaged phone as she begins to unwrap it, I disappear into the bathroom.

I need to take a quick bath.

I don’t bother to take off my clothes in the room. I am still in my pajamas. I changed last night after putting her to bed even though I know I won’t sleep a wink.

I worked on my laptop for a while before exercising in the room, then I took coffee and began to smoke when she woke up.

My phone will start blowing up soon so I hurriedly get to work, opening the shower as I let water wash through my entire body after peeling off my pajamas.

Five minutes later, I am done. I look in the mirror to notice a stumble above my mouth. I hate it but there is no time to get rid of it right now. I will do that later tonight when I am back from work.

Before I can grab a hold of the towel hanging low on the towel hanger after putting off the shower, the doorknob turns but it does not open.

I furrow my brows, wondering who it is.

Jasmine would never come in since she knows I am in here so it must be someone else.

With alertness, my eyes scan the bathroom for something to use as a weapon, I am less bothered about my nakedness as I move slowly to the door.

Right on time, just before I can open the door to check who the intruder is, the doorknob turns again and a naked woman appears from nowhere.

She looks up to see me standing naked in front of her and her eyes go large in surprise, probably at my presence here or the fact that she is seeing me naked again for the second time.

I am less bothered about that because it gives me enough room to admire the beautiful unclothed woman in front of me.

At the remembrance that she is my wife, I feel a throbbing but it gets ruined when she slams the door shut in my face as a scream pierce the air.