The Mafia’s Stand-In Bride Chapter 02

The Mafia’s Stand-In Bride Chapter 02

I had been with Lorenzo for seven years, and in love with him for seven years.

This was the first time I had ever heard him speak to me in such a condescending, disgusted, irritable tone.

I had almost forgotten—once, he never even had the heart to raise his voice at me.

But after less than six months of Maya Reed being in our lives, our relationship seemed to turn ice cold overnight.

I first heard the name Maya Reed at a party.

I was sitting next to Lorenzo, drinking and laughing with his friends.

A long-haired girl burst in recklessly and knocked over the wine the waiter was carrying.

It was 20 grand a bottle, and she spilled three full bottles.

When she heard how much it cost, her face drained of all color. She kept bowing to Lorenzo and apologizing over and over.

Sixty thousand dollars was nothing to Lorenzo, just a trivial sum he could wave off. But for a young girl fresh out of college, it was a staggering fortune.

The other wealthy heirs started teasing her, telling her to drink shots—one thousand dollars off the bill for each glass.

That was the usual game these rich guys played at parties.

It was 45-proof hard liquor, but Maya forced herself to drink glass after glass.

I felt bad for her and was about to say something, but Lorenzo moved before I could.

His face cold, he snatched the glass out of her hand.

“Get out.”

Maya froze, completely overwhelmed.

Lorenzo softened his tone and looked at her. “You wanna stay and keep drinking here?”

Maya bowed to him quickly and ran out.

A woman’s intuition was always sharp. From that day on, the name Maya Reed was a thorn in my side.

I started paying more attention to everything about her.

I watched her climb from a regular assistant step by step to become Lorenzo’s personal secretary.

I watched her become the top contact on Lorenzo’s WhatsApp.

I watched their messages get more and more frequent. Sometimes, they shared more small daily moments in one day than Lorenzo and I talked about in a whole month.

But Lorenzo let me check all his messages openly. Even when they chatted, he always kept it strictly professional between boss and subordinate, never crossing a line.

Until one day.

I came home early from a business trip, pushed open the bedroom door, and saw Maya in only her underwear, lying on top of a completely wasted Lorenzo. Their lips were almost touching.

The second she saw me, she jumped up and stammered out apology after apology.

“I’m sorry, Lily. Lorenzo got drunk, I walked him home. He threw up all over me, that’s why I took my clothes off…”

As Lorenzo’s fiancée, this was the first time I had spoken directly to this 20-something girl. I didn’t pull any punches, and I called her out directly.

“You’re young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t ruin your reputation over a moment of recklessness.”

I meant it as a warning to get her to back off before it was too late.

But the next day, when Lorenzo came back from handling family business, he yelled at me for the first time.

“Lily, how did you become such a bitter person? Maya already explained everything to you clearly! Why do you have to keep hounding her? Why do you have to judge her with such filthy, twisted thoughts?

“She’s not like you. She’s just a 20-something kid fresh out of school, just doing her job as an assistant. What’s wrong with that?

“Now look what you did—she’s quitting because of you. Are you happy now?”

He had come to confront me. He wouldn’t even let me get a word in. As soon as he finished talking, he slammed the door and stormed out.