Mia Figlia

Chapter 27 ✔️

PoV Riccardo

We drove to the mall with Lucius and Romano as bodyguards. Stella sat quietly next to me, staring out the window while playing with a strand of hair, lost in thought. Her other hand rested quietly on the bench next to me. Should I dare? As my future wife, she had to get used to physical contact with me anyway. Nevertheless, I hesitantly stretched out my arm, which she did not notice. Relieved, I intertwined my fingers with hers. They trembled slightly due to the touch. A short twitch revealed that the brunette wanted to pull her hand away in reflex. Her startled gaze was on me, then she turned her head back to the window. But her hand stayed nicely where it was. Warm, gentle, below mine. Lightly I squeezed it as we arrived at our destination.

Romano opened the door for her, and she hesitantly got out. I grinned to myself in amusement. Stella was not used to such a life, but at my side she would soon get to know and love it.

I put my arm around her waist and led her confidently to the optician first.

"Forget it, no contact lenses," she hissed at me. Surprised, I raised my eyebrow as the brunette struggled to break free of my grip. Emphasis on struggling. Because I would not dream of letting go of her!

"Calm down, I solely wanted to pick out two or three new pairs of glasses with you, to go with different occasions. Your current ones are a dreary pile of metal and glass." I did earn an elbow in my ribs for my line, but the dumbfounded look on her face was worth it. Grinning, I pushed her inside and waved an optometrist over. An hour later, we had three frames picked out. One in black as a more serious model, one in dark red metallic, and one with a delicate gold rim. The optician's staff assured me that the glasses would be ready for pickup within twenty-four hours. Satisfied, I dragged my fiancée to a boutique to pick out two cocktail dresses. After some discussion with the saleswoman, we finally took only one. Most of the dresses either did not suit Stella in terms of color, were cut too wide in the front or back, too short, or so tight that she could barely walk. But the one we took, was worth it in my opinion. It was a sleeveless lace panel wine red high low dress with a round neck and a high waist. Men would start drooling at the sight of her without seeing too much of her body at the same time. The foresight made me cheerful. My companion, on the other hand, became more and more silent. I guessed that it was largely due to Romano and Lucius, who were excited about the upcoming wedding like little children.

"You are finally getting married, boss. About time." Lucius grinned broadly at me as we arrived at the car.

"Peculiarly to a wonderful woman like Stella," Romano added, just as cheerfully.

"Could you two just shut the hell up, for fuck's sake?" My fiancée got into the car irritated and waited for us to get in as well.

"You are acting like marrying the boss is the cruelest thing in the world. Aren't you happy about it?" Romano asked, after he had dropped into the passenger seat.

"And how happy I am! Isn't it wonderful to have to marry someone you hardly know? Just because his father is a complete tit and thinks his son needs a wife to carry on the business. A man who first withheld my daughter from me because he felt entitled to take her as his child. Who, on top of that, is a dangerous mafia boss who made me kill a woman? Every young woman's greatest dream to get such a husband. Not!"

My heart ached at her sudden outburst of anger. I could understand her pain, understood that she resented me kidnapping Isabella. But I had believed that she would forgive me because I was protecting her and the girl. Apparently, I was completely wrong, and I was still, or again, at the start. Cazzo! Why hadn't I stood up to my father? I was such a fucking idiot.

"Where do you want to go now, boss?" Lucius glanced briefly at me, then his eyes darted to Stella, who was looking outside, ignoring all of us. Romano, on the other hand, leaned his head against the window. I noticed him clenching his jaws. We could better skip further shopping. It would be too much of an ordeal for the brunette. A smile played around my lips when I got an idea.