Unknown Territory [Mafioso Book#3] (SAMPLE)

Chapter VIII: Trophy Wife

Marriage was not what Salvatore imagined it to be, rather it was meticulous, dutiful, obedient, and unsettling. Very, very, very unsettling. 

The Mafia Boss had a certain routine, and every morning, he would be up at 5:30 and work out for an hour and a half. When he would get back into his room, his wife wouldn't be asleep anymore, so he always took the hour to do some yoga, and then shower. Getting dressed, he would go down to the sunroom for breakfast and find his wife dutifully standing there, or setting the table, all made up and ready for the day in a beautiful dress with her hair made and an apron around her waist. 

"Good morning," She would greet him with a smile and a nod of her head, waiting for him to settle down before offering him the breakfast she had made and pouring in his coffee just the way he liked it. 

And then she never spoke. 

Not a single word until he would get up to leave for work. 

That would be the time she would stand up with him, regardless of having eaten or finished breakfast and she'd hand him all his necessary things, helped him put on his blazer before wishing him a good day at work. 

According to the guards and maids, Nicole cleaned their room when he was at his company: Armamentarium Incorporate. But not only did she clean their room from top to bottom, but she also did his laundry and would put out an outfit for him in case he wanted to change before handling the Mafia dealings. 

She was always waiting downstairs for him to get home from his company, and bid him a "welcome back" before taking his things to their bedroom and asking him if he needed anything. Be it lunch, drinks, clothes, shoes, anything. Rarely he would tell her a glass of water, but other than that, nothing more. 

While he dealt with the Mafia, Nicole did her errands, going shopping, getting groceries, taking the dogs out to the park or a spa, sometimes even met with old friends, none of whom knew she had gotten married. Then she would get home and personally make dinner herself, effectively leaving the maids useless. 

And no matter how late he would come back into the room after a day of working, she was always awake. Be it 10 p.m., or 12 a.m, or 2 a.m. she was awake. She would try to massage his feet when he would settle down in bed, and he always stopped her, not particularly enjoying that gesture.

It took Salvatore less than two days to realize, she was there for his every beck and call, and he hated it. He even noticed that she hated it, too, yet he couldn't understand why she did it.

He had let it go on for one and a half-week, not sure how to bring it up to her, but now he had enough. 

"Nicole," He called out to her in the morning when she stood in her walk-in closet, dressed in a vintage cream dress with a round neckline and a form fitted bodice, fixing her make up before the mirror. 

"You're done with your work-out early," She noted, pulling away from the reflection. "I'll have breakfast ready in 5 minutes," His wife smiled at him complacently before beginning to make her way towards the door, Salvatore halting her by grabbing her forearm. 

"Do you enjoy this?" He asked her calmly, letting her go. 

"Enjoy what?" Nicole feigned ignorance. 

"This...'trophy wife' persona, because you don't seem the type of person who would want to be there for her husband's every beck and call," 

"Why would I? You're my husband, it's my duty to be there to take care of you, no matter what you need," She spoke the words as if though they had been rehearsed, something which caused Salvatore to feel even more disturbed. "Is there something you need,"