Relucatanaly Ruined & Owned By The Mafia Novel

The Mask He Never Removed by Ariana Drew 9 Summary In Chapter 9 of "The Mask He Never Removed" by Ariana Drew, Dante and his wife, Lucia, along with her grandmother Nonna Rosa, arrive at their penthouse after a chaotic wedding reception. The atmosphere is heavy with tension, particularly from Lucia, who remains silent and distant, fixated on the elevator numbers rather than engaging with Dante. Nonna Rosa's disapproving glances suggest a deep mistrust of Dante, which he feels is justified given the violent circumstances surrounding their marriage.

Lucia's silence frustrates Dante, who feels unappreciated for saving her life during the chaos. Upon reaching the penthouse, Dante tries to assert his authority by welcoming Lucia to their new home. However, Lucia surprises him by insisting that her grandmother stay with them, challenging Dante's control just hours into their marriage. This defiance ignites a simmering conflict between them, as Dante is both infuriated and intrigued by Lucia's boldness. He tries to remind her of their marital bond, but Lucia views him as a stranger, further complicating their relationship.

The chapter captures the emotional turmoil of both characters, with Dante's possessiveness clashing against Lucia's desire for autonomy and safety. The tension escalates when Dante's twin brother, Clyde, unexpectedly arrives to congratulate them, bringing with him a threat to their fragile peace. Clyde's flirtatious and dangerous demeanor unnerves Dante, who feels the need to protect his new wife from his brother's predatory nature. Their confrontation reveals Dante's fierce protectiveness and the complexities of familial loyalty, as Clyde taunts him about Lucia.

The chapter ends with Dante feeling a mix of anger and possessiveness, realizing that his marriage is fraught with challenges, not only from external threats but also from the deep-seated animosity between him and Lucia. As dinner approaches, Lucia descends in a simple black dress that highlights her beauty, but her scowl indicates her disdain for Dante. The contrast between her vulnerability and her contempt for him creates a charged atmosphere. Dante reflects on how their marriage, meant to be a union, feels more like a battleground.

The chapter concludes with Lucia's deliberate choice to sit away from Dante, emphasizing the emotional distance that still exists between them, hinting at the struggle they will face in navigating their new life together. Continue Regular Chapter Reading Below **CHAPTER 9** **DANTE** X4X4 The elevator in the penthouse ascended thirty floors with an eerie stillness, the kind that wraps around you like a heavy fog. I stood a few paces behind my wife, Lucia, and her grandmother, Nonna Rosa.

I could see the tension in Lucia's shoulders; they trembled subtly, a telltale sign of the delayed shock from the chaos of the wedding reception. Nonna Rosa kept casting me glances that could only be described as daggers. It was as if she believed I was the embodiment of evil itself. Perhaps I wasn't entirely undeserving of that reputation. Lucia hadn't uttered a single word since we left the church. Not one damn word. Most women would at least acknowledge that their new husband had just saved their ungrateful lives, but not my little rabbit.

She stood there, a statue of silence, fixated on the elevator numbers as if they held the secrets of the universe-or perhaps the coordinates to her escape route. It was infuriating. The elevator chimed softly as we reached the top floor, and I broke the silence, letting a hint of mockery lace my words. "Welcome home, Mrs. Cummiskey." She flinched at the name, but still, she didn't turn to face me.

The doors slid open, revealing the vast expanse of ten thousand square feet adorned with black marble and floor-to-ceiling windows, a testament to my bachelor life, which I had been enjoying in blissful solitude until the events of last night. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Nonna Rosa murmured, crossing herself in a gesture that seemed to encapsulate her disbelief. "Nonna," Lucia finally found her voice, albeit faint. "This is..." "Home," I interjected smoothly, stepping past them into the living room. "At least for you, little rabbit.

Nonna gets the guest room for tonight, and then she'll head back to her own place by morning. I'll make the arrangements." "She's not going anywhere." Lucia's voice had sharpened, a newfound steel threading through her words. About damn time. I turned slowly, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Excuse me?" "I said she's not going anywhere. Nonna Rosa stays with me." The audacity of this woman was astounding. Six hours into our marriage, and she was already attempting to set house rules-in my house. After I had just taken four lives to ensure her safety.

"Let me explain how this works," I said, stepping closer. She instinctively took a step back, and I couldn't deny that it pleased me more than it should have. "This is my home. You are my wife. What I say goes. Your grandmother can visit, but she doesn't live here." "I don't know you," Lucia shot back, lifting her chin defiantly. The gesture made me want to both strangle her and sweep her off her feet. "I'm not staying here alone with a stranger who kills people." A stranger.

After everything-the bullets I had nearly taken to claim her, the pleasure I had sacrificed last night, condemning myself to a lifetime of hearing a woman's nagging and dealing with her single-minded stubbornness-she called me a stranger. "Sweetheart," I said, closing the distance between us until I could sense the fear radiating off her in waves, "I'm not just any stranger. I'm your husband-the man who owns you now. And tonight, you're going to get very familiar with exactly what that means." Before I could say more, Nonna Rosa stepped between us, her courage outstripping her wisdom.

"You leave her alone. She's just a child." I looked down at Nonna Rosa, my smile a predatory grin that had made grown men tremble. "She stopped being a child the moment she signed those marriage papers. And she ceased being your granddaughter the moment she became my wife." "Dante." My name slipped from Lucia's lips, sounding like both a prayer and a curse. "Please. Just... give me tonight to process this. Everything that happened today." Process this. As if marrying me was a traumatic event rather than the best thing that could ever happen to her.

"Fine," I relented, raising my hands in mock surrender. "One night. But tomorrow, we start married life properly." Relief flickered across her face, and I found myself disliking it intensely. She shouldn't feel relieved to avoid me; she should be thanking whatever deity she prayed to that I wanted her at all. "Mrs. Calham will show you to your grandmother's room," I gestured to the housekeeper who had appeared as if conjured by my command. "Dinner's at eight.

Don't be late." An hour later, I was in my office, wrapped up in a call when Cian knocked and entered without waiting for an invitation. "Cleanup complete," he reported as he settled into the chair opposite my desk. "But you have a guest." "Who is it?" I asked, ending the call and turning my full attention to him. "Clyde's here. Says he wants to congratulate the happy couple." The copycat. Of course, he would show up now, when I had a new wife to protect and a mess to clean up.

"Where is he?" "In the kitchen, charming the help and asking questions about your bride." I was out of my chair before Cian finished speaking. Clyde had many talents-killing, lying, stirring up trouble, seducing, and even kidnapping other men's women-but impulse control was not one of them. And he had a peculiar fondness for things that belonged to me. I found him leaning casually against my kitchen island, chatting with Mrs. Calham as if they were old friends. He looked exactly like me, a fact that women found either irresistibly appealing or terrifying, depending on their taste for danger.

"Ah, here comes my womb-sharer," he said without bothering to turn around. "Heard you got married. Condolences." "Clyde." I poured myself three fingers of whiskey, deliberately not offering him any. "What do you want?" "Can't a man congratulate his twin on his wedding day?" He finally turned to face me, his smile predatory. "Though I must say, I'm hurt that you didn't invite me to the ceremony. I should have been the best man." "The situation didn't call for one.

Besides, you would have tried to fuck my bride before I got the chance to." "Would have?" He laughed, a sound that sent a chill down my spine. "Brother, the night is young." The glass in my hand cracked under the pressure of my grip. Mrs. Calham took the hint and discreetly excused herself. "Stay away from my wife, Clyde." "Or what? You'll kill me?" He stepped closer, and for a moment, we stood face to face-mirror images, except for the scar across his left eyebrow, a souvenir from a job gone wrong in Budapest. "We both know you won't do that.

I'm the only real family you have left." "My wife is my family now." "Your wife." He savored the words, as if tasting something exquisite. "Tell me, has the blushing bride warmed your bed yet? Or is she still playing the innocent virgin?" I set my glass down with deliberate care. "Leave. Now." "Touchy." Clyde raised his hands in mock surrender, but the laughter in his eyes betrayed his amusement. "Fine, I'll go.

But when she realizes what kind of monster she married and starts looking for comfort elsewhere, remember that I offered my congratulations." He was almost to the elevator when I called out, "Clyde." He turned, curiosity etched on his features. "If you touch her, I will kill you. Family or not." "I touched a girl once, and I'm still here." "Eustacia Mancini was another man's wife," I said tersely. "This one is mine." His smile widened, a gleam of mischief dancing in his eyes.

"Looking forward to the challenge, brother." I watched him leave, my heart pounding with a mix of anger and protectiveness, until he was completely out of the house. By the time dinner rolled around, I had received two more calls about Fabrizio, signed off on three different shipments, and reviewed the security footage from the wedding a dozen times, searching for how they had gotten so close. I was in a mood that would make even the wisest of people reconsider crossing my path. Lucia, however, didn't seem to possess that wisdom.

She descended the stairs for dinner, clad in a simple black dress that somehow enhanced her beauty far more than the old-fashioned wedding gown had. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders, still slightly damp from her shower, adding an air of vulnerability that was both alluring and maddening. As she approached the table, her hips swayed in a way that reminded me vividly of how eager she had been for me to claim her last night, how sweetly she had moaned, how shamelessly she had begged for my touch.

I had indulged in a solitary moment of pleasure in the shower that morning, conjuring memories of her hands, her nails, and the feel of her tight, wet heat around my fingers. My last sin as a bachelor, I had called it. Imagine my shock when I lifted her veil and found her-the one woman I thought I had fumbled. My bride. And now, here she was, scowling at me as if I were the devil himself. The only thing connecting her to the bold girl from the Crimson Room was the contempt that dripped from her lips whenever she uttered the word "husband." She had hated me before she even knew me.

Now that she had met me, married me, and-Christ-she hated me even more. Fuck Cian. Fuck her father. And fuck her brothers for ruining that one clean shot I had at her. If only they had been an hour later, she would have come to me willingly, without chains, without vows, and without the Moretti name to spit back in my face. An hour later, and she might have been mine by choice. "Where's Nonna?" she asked, taking a seat across from me instead of the one beside me, a choice that felt like a deliberate rejection. "Tired.

She's having dinner in her room." I cut into my steak with more force than necessary, the knife gliding through the meat as I tried to mask my irritation. "It's just us." The color drained from her face, and I could sense the tension in the air thickening between us. Conclusion As the evening wore on, the atmosphere in the penthouse shifted, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavily in the air. Lucia's defiance was a spark igniting a fire in Dante, revealing the chasm between their worlds.

He had fought tooth and nail to claim her, yet here she was, a stranger in his home, her heart still locked away behind walls he had no key to. Each bite of dinner felt like a battle, her silent contempt a reminder of the gulf between them. The anger and frustration that had simmered throughout the day now morphed into a desperate longing for connection, a yearning to peel back the layers of resentment and reveal the love that lay dormant beneath. But as the night deepened, it became clear that the road ahead would be fraught with obstacles.

Each glance exchanged was a reminder of the trust that had yet to be forged, the understanding that had yet to blossom. Lucia's resolve to keep her grandmother close was a testament to her need for familiarity in the face of overwhelming change. For Dante, the weight of his past loomed large, a specter that threatened to overshadow the promise of their future. Yet, amidst the tension, a flicker of hope emerged-perhaps this tumultuous beginning was the catalyst they needed to break down the barriers that had kept them apart.

As the night unfolds, the dinner table becomes a battleground of unspoken emotions and veiled threats, where every glance and word exchanged is charged with the weight of their tumultuous circumstances. Will Lucia's defiance continue to stoke the flames of Dante's frustration, or will there be a moment of vulnerability that cracks the icy facade between them? Moreover, the chapter promises to delve deeper into the complexities of their marriage.

As Dante navigates his dual roles as a husband and a protector, he must confront the consequences of his violent past and the shadows it casts over their future. Lucia, on the other hand, is torn between her growing fear of the man she is bound to and the undeniable chemistry that lingers beneath their animosity. Expect revelations that will challenge their perceptions of each other and force them to confront the reality of their situation. Will they find common ground, or will the chasm between them widen, leading to a confrontation that could change everything?

The stakes are high, and the tension is palpable-prepare for a chapter that will leave you breathless and eager for more.