CHAPTER LXXXVIII
~~~
THE CAR PULLED up in front of a huge, white building with a screech, which had Sophia’s heart jumping in her throat. She turned to look at the building and then at Chase who was seated beside her, looking as calm as ever, as if he wasn’t the same angry man before they left the Romano compound earlier.
“What are we doing here?” She frowned, looking back at the building, then at him. “A marriage bureau? Why?”
Chase looked at the driver and Alessandro. “Lasciaci,”
{“Leave us”}
They chorused. “Si, Don” And then, they were out of the car, leaving Sophia and Chase alone.
{“Yes, Don”}
Before Sophia could say a thing, she was pulled into Chase’s lap. His hands held her shoulders in a tight yet gentle manner. He rasped out. “Gattina,”
{“Kitten”}
Sophia’s frown deepened. “Chase,”
“Fuck” He threw his head back on the chair and closed his eyes, adding to Sophia’s confusion again. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Sophia. I can’t watch you in pain,”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Sophia swallowed. “What’s this all about?”
Chase opened his eyes and stared at her without raising his head up. “I want us to get married,”
That explained the white dress he made her wear at a boutique after dragging her from the mansion.
Sophia heart skipped as his words sank in, and her lips parted. “You-,”
Chase raised his head up and stared at her in the eye, cupping her cheeks with one of his large palms. “Don’t say no. I want you to be happy, and if being with me will make you happy, I’m ready to marry you. I’ll be your husband, and you’ll be my wife,”
“S- Saige?” She asked. “What about her?”
“I’ll still marry her,” He replied. “I have to,” He had to marry her too.
Marrying Saige was his first step to the gateway of destroying the Romano empire.
“Then why are you marrying me?” Sophia questioned.
“I made this decision last night after seeing you in that vulnerable state. I want to be the one there for you. I want to protect you and keep you safe,” He replied. “If you’re mine, I want to be yours too. I want to reciprocate that, at least,”
Tears glistened in Sophia’s eyes, and she hurled herself to hug him. “I love you,” She murmured against his chest. “I love you,”
Chase smiled and patted her hair. He had come to understand that no matter what he wouldn’t be able to change her mind about what she thought she felt for him. It was better to leave her like that than hurt her with the truth that she was only infatuated.
“Let’s go and make me yours,”
~~~
Sophia and Chase walked out of the marriage bureau, hand in hand, as a couple with a wedding band on each of their ring fingers. She didn’t care if their marriage was a secret one. She didn’t care if it was meant to be kept secret. All that mattered was that Chase was hers’.
Sophia smiled at their interlocked hands as the diamond band shone brightly, the sun reflecting through it. She couldn’t believe she was finally with the man she wanted. The man she loved. She couldn’t believe she, MS Sophia Bennett was Mrs. Sophia Romano.
It was too hard to believe because almost an hour ago, she was an unmarried woman. It was so surprising how she was even allowed to marry him at her age. But then, she was already past the legal age of marriage by a year.
“Chase,”
He didn’t look at her. His attention was on his phone. “Hmmm,”
“I love you,”
Chase moved his eyes away from his phone and looked at her with a small smirk on his lips. “I know,”
Sophia blushed and looked away. Chase placed his sunglasses over her eyes, dark amusement dancing in his eyes. He seemed happy, relieved, and more confident like it was a normal thing for him to just get married.
Soon, the driver walked out of the car and opened their doors for them. They both slid in, and the driver drove away
Chase’s next words to the driver were short and full of command “Portaci all ‘hangar,”
{“Take us to the hanger”}
In less than an hour, Sophia and Chase were settled in one of his private jets.
Sophia stared at the interior of the jet in awe. “I love it,” She looked at Chase, who was seated, typing into his phone. “Where are we going to?”
Chase looked up at her and smiled. “Where couples go after their marriage,”
Sophia gasped and let out a squeal of joy. “We’re going for our honeymoon?!”
“Yeah,” Chase replied and looked back at his phone to continue typing.
“You’d have told me about it. I have no clothes to wear!” She whined.
“That’s not a problem. I have our things sorted out there already. Our presence is all that’s remaining,” he said without looking up. “After all, telling you about the honeymoon would no longer make it a surprise, don’t you think?”
Sophia sat next to him. “And others?”
“They think we’re both on a vacation,” He replied.
“A vacation is too sudden,” She tilted her head to the side. “By the ways, you were working when I went to your office,”
“Lucas and Luciano aren’t useless,” He replied.
“Tell me about the mafia,” She urged. “I really want to know what it’s about,”
He still didn’t raise his head up. “Why do you want to know about it?”
“Because I’m your wife, and I have every right to know about what you do,” She replied.
Chase finally looked up, and a smirk tugged at the end of his lips. “You’re already using your title,” His smirk widened. “I thought I’d use mine first,”
“You left me with no choice,” She smiled. “You still need to tell me about the mafia, remember?”
“In our world, the wives don’t interfere in their husband’s affairs,” He said.
“So that’s why Saige has no right to complain about you cheating on her with me?” She asked, amusement dancing in her eyes as she stared into space. “That’s nice,” She pursed her lips into a thin line and stared back at him. “Too bad I don’t want to be like her. I want to the wife that will change the mafia world,”
“If you change the mafia world, Saige will have the right to fight against you,” He said.
She winked innocently. “Then I’ll exercise my rights as your main wife to her,”
His voice came out stern, giving no space for disobedience. “You won’t do that, Sophia,” He gritted out. “No matter what,”
She was enjoying pissing him off. She wanted to know his reaction to her words. “I didn’t know you were a coward,”
Chase’s eyes narrowed into slits and he wrapped her hair around his fingers forcefully, tilting her head up so he could grip her chin with his other hand. He leaned in, snarling at her face in obvious annoyance. “I. AM. NOT. A. COWARD,”
Sophia’s lips curled up into a sly smile. Her mind told her to stop what she was doing, but she was far too gone. She wasn’t stopping. “Then announce to the world that I’m your wife,”
“We both know it’s impossible,”
“Is it because you’re a coward?” She asked, not breaking eye contact.
“I’m anything but a coward,” Chase rasped out, his eyes mirroring the lust in her own eyes.
She scoffed. “Feed that to your ego,”
Chase growled, tightening his hold on her hair. “Sophia,”
“Don’t be too upset,” She smiled, placing her palms on his chest. “You made me who I am today. You ruined my innocence, remember?”
“I didn’t teach you to be a disobedient little girl, Sophia,” He said.
Sophia glided her palms seductively over his chest, wondering where she had gotten the courage to do so even though she had learnt through her numerous research that it was a way of flirting and seduction. Maybe Chase was the only one capable of bringing out that part of her.