My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rapid sound of fingers hitting the buttons echoed in the family room until Ashley’s voice erupted.

"Nonsense!"

Her voice thundered, making Primo and Lucian pause. She jumped off the couch, whipping her head toward the duo, her chest heaving heavily. Meanwhile, the two of them simply looked up at the fuming Ashley.

"Are you cheating?!" she shouted. "How come I keep losing even against him?! Primo, are you helping him!?"

Primo blinked innocently, shaking his head profusely. Lucian raised his brows, not sure what he was doing wrong.

Ashley’s plan for family night involved playing the tons of games she had bought today. At this point, they could easily open a game store with the stacks piled in the corner. So far, one hour in, they had barely played one game that had three modes.

And somehow... she kept dying.

"How is this possible?" She muttered, glaring daggers at the controllers in their hands, and in hers. "Have you played this game before?!"

Lucian blinked and shook his head, earning a dramatic gasp from her.

Ashley ground her teeth, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. There was no way. Something had to be wrong. She couldn’t be this bad—not when Lucian, who surely hadn’t touched any of these games before, was somehow better than her!

"It’s my controller, isn’t it? It’s faulty! There’s no way Lucian is better at this game than I am!"

Lucian and Primo slowly raised their brows in confusion.

Did she ask Lucian to play this game because she didn’t want to be the frog at the bottom of the well?

"There’s no way!" she harrumphed, scrambling toward the shopping bags to grab a new controller. "It’s faulty—this one’s more expensive. It should be better!"

With that, the father and son watched the angry pink monster march to the console to connect her new controller. Lucian slid his eyes toward Primo, and the boy pursed his lips and shook his head.

No words were spoken, but they understood each other.

Lucian was quietly signaling him to give her one win, but Primo couldn’t do that.

Ashley had told him before not to go easy on her. He didn’t want her to get angry at him.

Lucian, on the other hand, was already trying to lose. But somehow, his wife had a talent for dying first.

Both of them knew why—it was because Ashley’s gameplay was reckless. She kept rushing forward without regard for her life. Meanwhile, Lucian was careful, and Primo was strategic. Even in a game, it was his instinct to stay alive as long as possible.

"Done!" Ashley smiled in satisfaction, jumping back onto the couch with them.

She smirked, showing off the expensive controller. "This is a three-hundred-dollar controller. There’s no way it’s faulty."

Both Lucian and Primo’s mouths parted as they stared at it in awe.

"The seller told me that if I use this, it’ll give me the smoothest gameplay ever!" she added, making the duo nod slowly.

But then again, they couldn’t help glancing at the other boxes stacked to the side—also controllers. What were those for if this one was already the "smoothest"?

"Let’s do it again!" Her excited voice snapped them out of their thoughts. "Just watch! You’ll see the rise of the underdog! Bwahaha!"

Primo and Lucian could only watch her laugh evilly, silently wishing her the best.

And so, they reset the game.

But the result? Still the same.

Ashley kept dying with her reckless play style, while Lucian and Primo gradually reduced the fingers they were using until they were playing with just two forefingers.

"Screw this three-hundred-dollar controller! I have another one that’s better!"—and more expensive.

With that, Ashley unboxed yet another controller, and the duo could only watch. Sadly, Ashley never blamed her play style. Her reasoning? It worked in real life, and that was enough for her.

"I don’t like this game!" she frowned after dying for the umpteenth time, having switched controllers five times in two hours.

She beamed as she picked up another game, facing the two of them. "Let’s just play this! These violent games are not good for Primo!"

Lucian and Primo stared at her smile... then at the pile of games in the corner, which were mostly violent games. She had bought all of them.

"This is much better!" she chirped, rushing to the console to switch the disc. "In this one, we can take care of things. I was told we can even play it on portable devices and save our progress there too!"

As she explained, Primo and Lucian watched the game’s intro.

It was... a farming game.

And just like that, the intensity in the room melted away. Ashley harvested crops, Lucian helped build their village, and Primo took care of their animals.

"The family room went quiet," one of the maids idling outside muttered, glancing at Nolan, who stood nearby just in case. "Did something bad happen?"

For a while now, they had heard Ashley shouting, laughing evilly, and even weeping. But now, everything inside sounded calm.

"Should we check?" Betty, who couldn’t sleep for some reason, asked. "Or maybe they... fell asleep?"

The servants had arranged the family room so that the three of them could sleep there if they wanted. Their first sleepover, if ever.

Nolan hesitated. But like everyone else, he wanted this first family night to go smoothly. With Primo soon starting boarding school, Nolan believed this moment mattered.

"Just... a peek," he relented, seeing their eager faces light up.

They gathered by the door as Nolan pushed it open slightly. Countless eyes peeked through the gap, searching for the family of three.

Ashley, Lucian, and Primo were all on the large couch that doubled as a bed. Then their gazes shifted to the screen, where three adorable characters worked on a small farm.

Everyone: "..."

Betty’s face twitched. Their real work already involved farming, and seeing Ashley play like this made her look like a... workaholic.

"Is she a workaholic?" she muttered.

As for Nolan, he quietly observed the trio before his expression softened. He gently closed the door.

The moment he did, everyone stepped back as he straightened.

"I guess there’s no need to worry," he said with a smile. "They’re fine."

Their brows rose at the shift in his expression from concern to peace. Not everyone fully understood it, but what Nolan saw just now...

Was a normal family.

Having a simple family night.

He smiled faintly before snapping his gaze back at them. "Go on now. It’s late. Get some rest."

With that, he ushered everyone away, letting the family enjoy their time undisturbed.

*****

Inside the family room, Ashley glanced at Primo as he yawned.

"Primo, you should rest now," she said, pulling him gently until his head rested on her lap.

His eyes widened slightly, his body stiffening. He looked at her in surprise, only to see her sweet smile.

"Don’t go to your room," she said softly. "Let’s sleep here tonight. Remember? Family night."

His cheeks flushed as he looked away, but he nodded.

"Hehe. Good boy," she chuckled, stroking his head as she leaned back. Then she glanced at Lucian and winked. "Family night. I never had a slumber party. Have you?"

Lucian didn’t answer, but the answer was obvious.

"Primo hasn’t had one either. So this is our first—the three of us!"

Her smile widened into a grin, leaving both Lucian and Primo momentarily dazed by its warmth.

Little did they know... Ashley simply didn’t want to be alone with Lucian while her body recovered.

And knowing Lucian, having Primo there was her safest choice.

Just for tonight, she told herself. I just really need to rest myself... and my little lady down there. I can’t let him wreck it tonight!