THE MAFIA’S MISTAKEN BRIDE

Xavier’s POV

It took everything in me to say those words.

Finally, I breathed out when it came out.

I had to breathe in and out, unlocking my heart to say the one thing I have never said to any woman.

Desire floods through me as I caress her entire body, deepening the kiss. Her body trembles with passion as she whispers against my lips. “I love you too, Xavier.”

It is taking everything in me not to scoop her up and throw her to the bed, to show her just how I want and love her and just how much I want to worship her beautiful milky body.

She brings out a different part of me. That part I don’t want to show anyone. She has managed to pull down that strong high wall I built around myself which makes me think I can never feel the emotion called love again.

She holds onto me strongly, as though she is scared I will disappear. I hold her back with the same firmness, letting her melt into me with pleasure.

Before I know it, I’m kissing her like she is the last air I need to breathe. I never thought I would love kissing a woman as much as I love kissing her. I never thought I would find a woman who would love me for who I am the way Jasmine loves me.

Now I have proven it.

She loves me so much. And that is all I need.

Despite everything. How we met. How I treated her. How I deceived her. How I punished her.

Yet she loves me this much.

I know I am not worth it. I don’t deserve her but I want to be selfish just like I have always been. I won’t let her go. I will never let her go. I will hold onto her till the end. I will protect her with everything in me and everything that I have. And I will make sure to make every day with me worth it, to make up for my past and erase the bad memories with new beautiful ones.

When she reciprocates, kissing me with the same vigor, my heart bursts open making me lose all self-control as I push her against the wall, cursing inwardly.

Just then, a knock comes to the door.

But I keep kissing her. Ravishing her lips. Exploring the insides of her mouth and wanting to do more than just this.

We continue kissing each other like nothing else matters and not giving a shit about anything else.

The knock resounds on the door again. Again and again until she pulls away, making me open my eyes to meet the intensity of her brown almond eyes.

She smiles down at me and pecks my lips before adjusting her sexy dress and pointing to the door to remind me about the knock.

The sound comes again and I growl in irritation.

Wrong timing

I take long angry strides towards the door and pull it open. Andrew stands in front of the door with his hands clasped behind him.

“What is it?” I demand impatiently, wanting to go back to continue from where Jasmine and I stopped.

“Mr. Moore is here to see you with his wife”, he informs me, making me raise a brow.

“Mr. Moore?” Jasmine interrupts me and I turn around to see her right beside me with excitement.

Really? Those people abandoned her and she is getting all excited about having them here?

“We will be down in a jiffy”, I face Andrew, waving him away. He nods at me before leaving.

I look back at Jasmine and her excitement has been replaced with anxiety. She is trembling slightly and gazing at me with sadness lurking behind her eyes.

I hold her waist and place her head on my broad chest.

When things like this happen, I handle them roughly but I am trying so hard to keep my cool because of Jasmine.

I don’t want to break her. I don’t want to show that side of me that might break her completely anymore.

“Let’s go”, I say to her, dropping my hands to hold her as we go out.

She does not say a word till we get downstairs and approach the living room where her parents are seated.

As soon as we appear, Christiana breaks down into tears while Nicholas stares at Jasmine squarely with an expressionless face.

Suddenly, I see a flash of guilt, then irritation as he snaps his head to scold his crying wife.

“Stop crying, will you?”

Jasmine and I stay rooted in the spot. She must be afraid. Afraid to talk to them or even ask questions as to why they abandoned her for years.

Afraid to forgive them and forget the past. Afraid to accept them wholeheartedly. And afraid to start calling her parents when she had always thought she was an orphan.

On the other hand, I am trying to contain my anger towards them, especially Christiana who is in tears.

How could she not know Jasmine was hers? How could she have sacrificed and chosen Jasmine over that spoiled brat?

Suddenly, she rushes towards us and engulfs Jasmine in a tight hug still bawling her eyes out.

“Forgive me, Annabel. Forgive me”, she cries out, making Jasmine turn to look at me.

Annabel? Jasmine was never her name from the start. What the hell happened?

“Is Jasmine your daughter too?” I demand from Nicholas who is standing now.

He nods without a word.

Christiana eventually lets go of Jasmine, holding her face in between her palms. “Please forgive me.”

“What happened?” Jasmine questions out of the blue.

I thought she would never ask. I thought she would never bring herself to demand answers and explanations to what happened and why she was abandoned.

She never ceases to amaze me. One minute she is shy, the next minute, she is confident and courageous.

“Let’s sit”, I force myself to say, even though deep down I want to hear her pathetic story before throwing her out. But I need to do this for Jasmine.

Nicholas settles back on the couch and Christiana goes back to sit on the next couch beside him. Jasmine and I are left. I stretch my hand towards her and she takes my hand before we move to the sofa opposite them.

As soon as we are seated, Nicholas begins. “We knew we were going to have twins, the numerous scans said it all but when she put to bed, it was just one and we named her Andre.”

That does not answer all the questions.

Sniffling, Christiana chips in. “It wasn’t one child. They were two but I told Nicholas it was just one. When we got to know we were going to have twins, we set up the nursery and planned to name them Andre and Annabel but I ruined it. I…I.. I…”

I spare Jasmine a glance. She is engrossed in the conversation.

Christiana begins to sob again and I am tempted to shout at her to spill.

“My elder sister took one of the babies. No, I gave it to her willingly and bribed all the nurses on duty not to say a word to my husband.”

Her elder sister?

“She had been barren for years. Just a week before I went into labor, she came crying to me after her seventh IVF failed. Her marriage was on the verge of breaking up. I wanted to help so I told her about our babies. I promised I was going to give her one of the babies but when my babies arrived, I wanted to go back on my word. They were too beautiful together to let go of but then she appeared and reminded me of my promise. Nicholas wasn’t in town when I went into labor but he arrived before noon when one of the babies had been taken away by her.”

“I cried my eyes out and blamed myself for promising to give her my child. When Nicholas arrived, I had to pretend everything was ok. I tried looking for my sister after that but she disappeared into thin air. I couldn’t find her or the baby. Four years later, I gave up.”

Silence falls.

“When I saw Jasmine that night when you two came to our place, it reminded me of our preparations for our babies. I knew she wasn’t Andre but I was not at rest ever since I saw her. A part of me wanted to question my wife but I trusted her. As soon as I noticed she was helping Andre out and hiding her whereabouts, I lost every trust I had in her and I decided to make findings about our babies 24 years ago. I went back to the hospital where she was put to bed but no one seemed to have information about her or the babies. Then I met an older matron who had been working for 30 years in the hospital. After promising her a fortune, she told me everything.” Nicholas chips in, sadness lurking behind his eyes.

A pin drop can be heard.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

No one is saying a word. Jasmine is sitting frozen beside me with tears rolling down her face.

Christiana is still sobbing quietly and Nicholas is also on the verge of crying. I’ve always found women’s tears annoying but tonight, what I feel is different especially for Jasmine.

I want to get up and comfort her. Tell her everything is all in the past. Console her. Promise to be there for her at all times.

But I can’t find my voice.

Surprisingly, Jasmine rises slowly and takes baby steps towards them. She moves towards Nicholas who stands up again muttering. “I am sorry.”

I watch them embrace each other tightly. Then she pulls away almost instantly before turning to Christiana who is also watching with regrets.

I thought Jasmine would come back to sit but she didn’t. She moves towards Christiana who is as surprised as I am.

Suddenly, Christiana shoots to her feet and rushes to meet Jasmine halfway before slamming her body to hers in a tight embrace.

A second pass and Jasmine’s hands are hanging loosely by her side.

She closes her eyes and breathes out heavily before raising her hands and hugging Christiana back firmly.

A sigh of relief leaves my mouth and I let out a smile.