You Kept the Don’s Daughter Waiting and Now She’s Someone Else’s Chapter 02

You Kept the Don’s Daughter Waiting and Now She’s Someone Else’s Chapter 02

My great-grandmother, the family’s anchor, stood by the doorway leaning on her cane.

Her voice trembled as she spoke. “Luca, Nina’s wedding is a big deal. Our family follows strict traditions. We’ve been up since four in the morning getting everything ready, just to make sure we can depart at 12:30.

“You young people don’t care about tradition, but our family takes it seriously. If you don’t respect our ways, then we might as well cancel…”

Before she could finish, Coral cut in. “Grandma, I know the timing matters, but I’m not stalling on purpose.”

“Nina, come on, tell her not to be so serious. It’s a happy day!”

Luca turned to me. “Yeah, Nina. With so many people here, don’t make a scene.”

I blinked. “I’m making a scene?”

He nodded, his tone light. “Coral’s just fixing her makeup. Now you’re making the whole thing tense. It doesn’t look good for anyone.”

I laughed.

So in his eyes, Coral making every Conti family member wait for her touch-up wasn’t a scene, but me reminding him about the time was.

12:21. The butler called.

My cousin answered, listened for a moment, and his face changed. “The butler says the cars are ready. The bride can come down now.”

The tension in the room tightened like a wire.

I locked eyes with Luca, word by word. “Luca. 12:30. I have to leave.”

If he still had any sense of being a groom, this was his last chance.

Luca’s brow furrowed, annoyance flickering across his face.

Then Coral let out a little “Oops.”

She held up her eyeliner and frowned at the mirror. “Damn it, I used the wrong color. This one’s brown-black. It doesn’t pop. I need to switch to black and redo it.”

She reached for her makeup bag again. My mother, the Donna of this family, couldn’t hold back. “Coral, why don’t you just come with us and touch up in the car?”

“The relatives and the convoy are all waiting. The church has the timeline set. We can’t afford to be late.”

“The Five Families are on their way to the ceremony. If we show up late, both the Contis and the Russos will lose face.”

Coral turned, her expression defiant. “Auntie, the car’s too bumpy. And there are so many guests down in the garden.”

“Do you really want me walking out with one brown-black eye and one black eye? How humiliating would that be for Nina?”

My uncle, the Underboss, cut in coldly. “Missing the hour is what truly humiliates Nina.”

Coral froze. Then her face crumpled into a wounded look.

“Underboss, the way you put it makes it sound as if I’m deliberately holding Nina up. I’ve been friends with her for years. Why would I ever hurt her?”

I stared at her. I was the one who’d vouched for Coral to get her into the family. And this was how she acted, completely ignoring orders from the Donna and the Underboss.

If it weren’t my wedding day, she’d probably already be shark bait in international waters.

Luca immediately stepped in, raising his voice. “Mom, Uncle, I told Coral to fix her makeup. If you want to blame someone, blame me then. Don’t talk to her like that.”

My uncle looked like he’d been slapped.

My mother went pale, but with so many guests around, she couldn’t lose her temper.

I watched Luca, and something heavy slammed into my chest.

The clock on the wall read 12:22. “Luca. Eight minutes.”

He rubbed his forehead. “I know. Nina, it’s just a few minutes. Our wedding won’t fall apart because we’re a little late. And seven years of us, that doesn’t disappear over a delay, does it?”

I let out a bitter laugh. This wasn’t about time. It was about the Conti family’s dignity.

“So you really think the hour doesn’t matter?”

Luca looked at me, his voice certain. “Nothing matters more than you marrying me.”