My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

All her life, Ashley had always wondered what her life would’ve been like if she had been born as someone else’s daughter.

They didn’t have to be wealthy.

Or rather, she had never thought that far.

All she had ever truly imagined was being born as someone else’s daughter. Would her life have been different? Would she have been loved? Cared for? Valued? Would she have been able to smile freely without constantly worrying about when—or whether—she would ever be accepted?

Would she still have witnessed and endured everything she had gone through as a Di Carpio?

She had thought about it—fantasized about it, even.

She imagined being able to call someone Mama and Papa without worrying that doing so might get her killed. She imagined foolishly sleeping in the same room as them or doing something as simple as casually chatting with them about school, the friends she never had, or boys—anything under the sun.

Maybe, she had once thought. Maybe if I were Isabella... Carmella and Marshal’s daughter, I would be happy too.

Maybe if her mother hadn’t been a mistress who deceived a mafia don just so she could have a child, Ashley would’ve been happier.

At every stage of her life, Ashley had come up with countless maybes.

Maybe if she had never been born. Maybe if she were someone else. Maybe if her parents were different. Maybe...

Year after year, the list continued to grow until she eventually stopped wondering. She stopped trying to convince herself that things could’ve been different, and everything simply boiled down to luck.

She had been born without it.

It was as simple as that.

Every day of her life, she woke up believing that no matter where she went in the world, she could never erase what had been done to her. She could never undo what she had done to others—or change the fact that she existed when, in her mind, she never should have.

She had lived and died believing that.

Yet now, as the world seemed to pause, everything around her fell completely silent.

THUD!

Ashley held her breath, her lips parting as Marshal’s body struck the ground and bounced slightly. The sound was deafening, yet somehow distant at the same time.

For what felt like an entire minute, Ashley simply stared at the man bleeding out several meters away from her.

Marshal was still alive despite all the bullets that had struck him. She could see his chest rising and falling. His fingers twitched weakly against the ground.

Then his chest fell one last time.

The world around Ashley slowly began moving again. Lucian crouched beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Darling," he called under his breath, checking her over. "Are you okay?"

But Ashley didn’t answer.

She continued staring blankly at Marshal.

"Ugh..." Raka groaned beside her, reaching for his sore shoulder. He looked up at the people in front of him and spotted Lucian and Ashley.

His face twisted.

Before he could start panicking over their presence, however, he noticed the body lying beyond them.

His gaze shifted to Marshal and then to Carmella, who lay near another body in a pool of her own blood.

Raka gulped before turning his attention back to Ashley. From where he sat, he could clearly see the blank look on her face—the expression of someone still trying to process what had just happened.

For a moment, Raka stopped using his head and assumed that being taken hostage had shocked her as well. It was as though his mind had conveniently erased everything he had witnessed before she was captured.

"He..." Ashley’s voice came out soft and quiet, her eyes still fixed on Marshal. "He’s... dead?"

The tension in Lucian’s shoulders eased as they sagged. He nodded and glanced at Marshal. At the same time, Tommy approached the body and stood over it.

"Yes," Lucian breathed. "He’s... gone."

The moment those words reached her ears, Ashley’s face twisted. The corners of her eyes reddened, yet no tears fell.

Perhaps it was because she had already spent so long grieving.

Finally, Ashley turned to Lucian. Her eyes softened, and a faint smile appeared on her face as he cupped her cheek. She leaned into his palm and rested her hand over his.

"I’m tired, Lucian," she whispered, closing her eyes. "And hungry."

"Let’s go home," he whispered back, leaning forward until his forehead rested against hers. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Do you want to stop at a drive-thru on the way?"

She chuckled softly, her lips still closed. "Maybe."

Seated only a few inches away from them, Raka’s face twisted in disgust. His gaze darted between the couple as he fought the urge to throw up at the shameless display of affection happening right in front of him.

"Drive-thru?" he scoffed, causing the couple to pause and turn toward him. "You seriously think you can eat right now? There’s a dead person—actually, there are a lot of dead bodies around us! I mean, what are you two even doing here?!"

Ashley and Lucian blinked, staring at Raka blankly.

For a moment, they had genuinely forgotten he was there.

"What?" Raka blurted out. "Why are you looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost? Also, what the hell is happening here? Who are these people?!"

Raka looked around frantically before turning back to them.

"And who are those guys? The dead ones! Why am I even here?" He clutched his head, his vision spinning as reality slowly seeped into his bones.

"No. Are you guys..." His voice trailed off as he lifted his gaze to them again.

Lucian and Ashley raised their brows and held their breath, unsure how to break it to Raka that they might be the reason he had been dragged into this mess.

They had only recently become friends, and Lucian had grown rather fond of the man. Not to mention, Raka was currently overseeing Lucian’s treatment.

How were they supposed to make him keep quiet?

Raka gasped and covered his mouth. "Are you guys... undercover agents? Is that why you get along with Julius?!"

Ashley: "..."

Lucian: "..."

Raka’s gaze darted between the couple until Lucian suddenly spoke.

"We’re here because we heard you were missing," Lucian blurted out.

This time, Ashley stared at her husband in disbelief. Lucian merely shrugged.

He’s not going to believe that, she thought.

But when they turned their attention back to Raka, they found him staring at Lucian in surprise.

"Really?" he asked, his eyes beginning to shine strangely. "You really came to save me, best friend."

Ashley was stunned.

Not just her—the men who had rushed to her side also stared at Raka and Lucian in horror.

At that moment, only one thought crossed all their minds.

He believed him!

"Yes." Lucian smiled at Raka and nodded. He reached out, placing a hand on Raka’s shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. "Best friends... forever."

Raka grinned from ear to ear, his eyes twinkling.

Lucian, meanwhile, maintained a carefully controlled smile.

But to Ashley and everyone else watching—including Red and Gustav—the sight before them looked like nothing less than a sheep happily walking straight into a wolf’s mouth.

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