My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

"Do you want to see the person who birthed you?"

That question hung in the air as Lucian and Primo ended up staring at each other. The boy didn’t answer at all, though the surprise in his eyes was clear as day.

As for Lucian, he simply watched his son walk away from the driver’s seat through the window.

"Was it too early?" he whispered to himself.

Before he could regret or justify his decision, a loud honk came from behind him. Lucian glanced at the van behind him. This time, Lucian didn’t wait for the driver of the van to get out and confront him as he moved along.

Lucian’s day started like the day before.

Once he hit the road, multiple cars surrounded him, escorting him to the city. He didn’t change cars either, driving himself to his office. He didn’t want to think much about it because he had decided to raise the question to Primo for the boy to think about.

However, he couldn’t stop himself.

"Hm?" Lucian raised his brows as he caught sight of a bridge on the far side in the distance.

The route was on the opposite side of the road to the city, but he still took the turn and stopped by the side of the bridge.

The people in the vehicles escorting him furrowed their brows, confused. They exchanged looks, but none of them questioned it. If anything, they simply stopped when Lucian’s car stopped and stepped out of their vehicles when their boss did.

For several minutes, they could only watch the boss standing at the side of the bridge, looking out at the river with his hands in his pockets.

"Sir Gustav, what’s going on with the master?" one of the guards couldn’t help but ask Gustav. "He’s just standing there?"

"Is he meeting someone here?"

Gustav glanced at the curious men before shifting his eyes to their boss.

"I don’t know," he shook his head. "But we’d better make sure no one else is watching."

"Yes, sir."

With that, the men secured the area while Lucian stood out in the open. As for Gustav, he studied his boss from his spot, noticing that Lucian seemed to be deep in thought.

"I wonder," he whispered. "What is it this time?"

*****

Lucian stared at the river in the distance, the morning breeze hitting him with a mix of cold and warmth. The sun was already growing hotter, but the lingering chill of the night remained.

Out of habit, he reached for his suit pocket, only to realize it was empty.

"Right," he whispered, glancing down at where he usually kept his cigarettes. "I threw them all away."

His jaw tightened slightly as he exhaled deeply, snapping his gaze ahead.

Lucian thought about Primo’s question regarding calling Ashley his mom. After giving it some thought, it reminded him of the reason he had decided to keep Ashley out of Primo’s world. It wasn’t just about protecting Primo, but protecting both of them.

Knowing he didn’t have long to live, Lucian had already planned everything.

One part of that plan was for the two of them to be able to live normally, away from the violence and chaos Dominion was too deeply entrenched in to crawl out of. The legalization of Dominion was a step toward that, but Lucian knew that even if Dominion were legal, its history would still follow them like a cursed shadow.

In other words, Ashley and Primo wouldn’t be together for long.

He didn’t want Ashley to be responsible for another person, as she deserved to live a life free of all of this. And he didn’t want Primo to eventually feel like a burden. But she had changed, and Primo was beginning to question the existence of the role Lucian had tried to erase.

A mother.

It was the same reason Lucian would rather tell Ashley he would "pretend" to love her — because it would be easier for her to accept once he was gone. Hopefully, it would hurt less. Not to mention, once that woman squeezed herself into Primo’s life, it would become a problem Ashley would have to face, and Lucian didn’t want that.

At the end of the day, the saying that a child would always seek out their real parents someday rang true.

After a long while, Lucian pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.

There, at the very end, was a contact saved as — [xx]

His thumb hovered over it. He exhaled deeply, staring at the name with mixed emotions. Just as he was about to change his mind, a notification appeared at the top of the screen.

[My Boo:

I’m on my way to the city with the guys to check on a few buildings where I can set up the office~! Should I visit you?]

Lucian stared at the simple message, hearing her voice and picturing that warm, sweet smile on her face. Any hesitation began to fade, undone by something as small as this.

"I..." he whispered. "... will regret this."

Still, Lucian called the number and raised the phone to his ear. He listened to it ring endlessly until the line finally connected.

There was a moment of silence before a woman’s voice came through.

"Lu... Luka?" Her voice was soft, tinged with hope and surprise. "Luka, is this really you?"

Lucian glanced down, swallowing against the tension in his throat. Then, under his breath, he spoke.

"Emma."

*****

Meanwhile, Ashley, together with her five bodyguards and Nolan, stood in front of a building. They craned their necks back, mouths falling open at the towering structure.

"Whoa," she blurted out, eyes twinkling with awe.

"Madam, I think this is perfect," Nolan commented, equally in awe.

Red and the crew — who were already on the verge of launching an anti-Ashley campaign — couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

"Can you afford this?" Red blurted out casually. "It looks so fancy."

"If you rent this place, we’re not bums anymore, right, neighbor?" Rum added.

"Let’s get an office too," Gin demanded breathlessly, while Vodka and Tank nodded along.

Hearing this, Nolan turned to the five with conflicted eyes. The lifestyle shift these five had undergone over the past two days had clearly made them desperate. Above all, why were they speaking to her as though they were just neighbors?

"If I can afford it, you’d all better be useful enough to earn your offices," Ashley replied, her eyes still fixed on the building as though she could already see her bright future taking shape.

Deep lines creased Nolan’s face as he studied the six of them, all starry-eyed. In the end, a quiet chuckle escaped him — he didn’t dwell on Ashley’s dynamic with the group.

Soon, the realtor they were meeting finally arrived, and they headed inside to tour the building.

Little did Ashley know that even as she happily built her future, a complication was about to show up on her doorstep — one named Emma.