Married to Mafia Boss novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Alia POV

I walked into the restaurant and spotted Maria sitting there lost in thought from a distance.

Three years had passed, yet Maria looked just as I remembered her–soft and fragile, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

I approached Maria, and when I was a few steps away, she looked up at me and smiled. “Alia, you’re here.”

“Hmm. I responded coldly. Apparently, I could remain this calm upon seeing Maria again, as if the person before me wasn’t my sister at all.

Maria said, “I ordered your favorite dishes.” She pointed to the empty chair across from her. “Seafood flat noodles with the spicy sauce you’ve always le Remember how Mom used to make this for you every Sunday?”

I’ve already had lunch. You said you wanted to talk about Mom, so just get to the point, I interrupted bluntly. Seeing Maria’s disappointed expre

no regret.

Back then, Maria had knelt on the ground with that same pitiful look in her eyes, apologizing to me. But what happened afterward?

It was all in the past, and I didn’t want to think about it anymore, but I could never forget the terrible things Maria had done.

“Father sent me to find you this time.” If I didn’t want to hear nonsense, Maria would be direct too.

“Huh…” I laughed coldly.

Father?

I had almost forgotten I still had a father.

Maria continued, “Father hopes you’ll return to Montrano with me, and stop wandering outside.”

“What else?” I asked coldly.

I’d been away from Montrano for three years, and no one had asked about me. Now that Gabriel had come looking, my so–called father wanted me to return. It didn’t take much thought to realize Gabriel was the reason.

“Alia… Maria pressed her lips together, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes. “I lost my baby, and I can’t have children anymore. I can’t give birth to the Castro family bloodline…”

“So he wants me to come back? To bear children for the Castro family?” I stated these words very calmly.

I appeared calm, but my heart still ached. Even if I didn’t want to acknowledge it, he was still my biological father.

I wished he could be like other fathers–loving his wife and daughters, living happily as a family without chasing fame, instead of ignoring his wife and treating his daughter as a breeding tool.

I suspected that when Maria became involved with Gabriel and even had his child, my father must have known about it.

After all, both of us were his daughters, and it didn’t matter which one married into the Castro family as long as they could climb that powerful family tree.

Although Gabriel and I were engaged, I was still young, and there had been no substantial progress in our relationship.

Father had even hinted to me that I should hurry and consummate the relationship with Gabriel, saying that was the way to firmly hold a man’s heart.

I had my own ideas. I believed that if a relationship had to be maintained through physical intimacy, how far could such a relationship really go? So I always left my father speechless with my rebuttaly.

Maria became pregnant with Gabriel’s child shortly after returning home, which must have been wonderful news for our father.

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Chapter 87

Once Maria gave birth to a Castro heir, it would solidify the relationship between the Rossi and Castro families. No one would dare look down on the Rossi family after that.

So when they told me they were canceling my engagement to Gabriel so Maria could marry into the Castro family, my father said just one thing: “It’s your fault for being useless–as a woman, you can’t even bear a child.”

Now that Maria had lost her baby and couldn’t have more children, our father had set his sights on me.

The very thought made me sick.

1 said, “Maria, please go back and tell him to never set his sights on me again. I stopped having a father long ago,”

Maria said softly, “Alia, I know you’ve always been a strong, independent girl. You won’t let Father manipulate you.”

Maria knew my personality too well. I was fierce and couldn’t tolerate the slightest injustice.

If I could say I no longer wanted a father, how much more would I reject Gabriel, who had betrayed our relationship?

When Maria initially forced the situation by sleeping with Gabriel, she had calculated that once I learned of Gabriel’s betrayal, I would never forgive him.

Because she understood my decisive nature so well, Maria already knew I would never follow my father’s arrangements or return to Montrano with her. That’s why she came to Positano to “persuade” me.

Her claim of coming to Positano to convince me to return was more about confirming that I wouldn’t go back.

As Gabriel’s wife who couldn’t bear children, she could allow any woman to have Gabriel’s children–any woman except me.

If I returned to Montrano and to Gabriel’s side, he would no longer have eyes for Maria.

Father had always acted according to the Castro family’s wishes. If Gabriel favored me, naturally Father would only see me, and there would be no place for Maria in the Rossi family.

What I experienced three years ago might become Maria’s future reality. How could she possibly want me to return?

I knew Maria still had more to say. I didn’t ask, but I would listen if she spoke, and if not, I wasn’t interested in knowing.

I watched as Maria took her purse from the chair, deliberately displaying the logo facing me–a French luxury brand, with the small purse worth several tens of thousands of euros.

Looking at my own bag, from some unknown small Italian brand, handcrafted and available for just a few hundred euros.

After showing off her bag for a moment, Maria took out a bank card from her purse, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward me.

Maria smiled and said, ‘Alia, there’s five hundred thousand euros in this card. That’s enough for a person to buy a small house in a modest city, and if you’re frugal, you could live your whole life without working.”

So Maria’s real purpose in finding me was to pay me off to leave Positano.

I found it amusing and smiled gently. “Maria, you think five hundred thousand euros is enough to get rid of me?”

Maria froze, blinking her eyes, pretending to look innocent and helpless.

I continued, “If I went back to Montrano and had a child for Gabriel, the Castro family wouldn’t treat me poorly. Perhaps the Castro patriarch would be so pleased he’d give his grandson a percentage of shares. As the mother, I would naturally benefit from my child’s status. Would I need your measly five hundred thousand then?”

If she wanted to disgust me, I could play that game too. And I wouldn’t be any worse at it than Maria.

“Alia, how could you… Maria’s smiling facade crumbled. She bit her lip, once again looking as if she was about to cry