My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

It wasn’t that Lucian was naturally gifted at the games. The first booth hadn’t been a problem for him, but the others? He wasn’t exceptional at playing so much as he was exceptional at finding loopholes and exploiting them.

"We have so many prizes!" Ashley lifted both hands as the other guards came over to collect the winnings and carry them to the cars.

The trio settled onto a bench, having missed several shows they’d originally planned to see because of the games.

"But..." Ashley paused, rubbing her chin as she looked between Primo and Lucian. "Why do I feel like the booths started closing early?"

She tilted her head. "Is something going on?"

Primo shrugged, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

After all, every time the three of them were spotted approaching from a distance, the attendants were already putting up their Temporarily Closed signs. There were still a few games they hadn’t managed to try.

"Must be," Lucian muttered, leaning back on the bench and checking his watch.

He hadn’t noticed it, but they had burned through a considerable amount of time between the games and the back-and-forth over the flawed rules.

Just then, Primo, seated between them, hopped off the bench.

Ashley and Lucian both looked up as the boy turned to face them squarely.

[I want to buy something.]

"Oh? What do you want?" Ashley was already moving to stand and go with him when he shook his head.

[I’ll buy it myself.] He pointed at the snack stall nearby. [I can do it.]

For a moment, Ashley and Lucian simply looked at Primo, then at the stall. It wasn’t far — they could watch him from the bench.

"Go," Lucian said calmly, with a nod.

With that, Primo headed off, checking his little pocket as he went. The moment he turned away, Lucian quietly signaled one of the Dominion members nearby — still in disguise — to follow at a distance. Even with the boy in sight, it was better to have someone close.

"Look at him," Ashley murmured, watching Primo’s small figure with a soft smile. "He’s becoming more and more independent."

Primo had always been independent in a sense — he’d spent much of his life alone. But that had been a different kind of independence, born from solitude rather than confidence. This was different. He was starting to want things, to reach for them on his own terms. Small things, maybe, but they mattered.

He was Lucian’s only child, and everyone around him had always been overprotective — not just Lucian, but everyone. Primo had never truly gone anywhere alone before. School had been the first step, and already his confidence was beginning to show, even in something as simple as buying a snack by himself.

"So proud of him," she whispered, catching one of the Dominion members near the stall pretending to browse.

She let out a quiet laugh and glanced at Lucian. "I thought it would just be the three of us today."

Lucian looked back at her. "Does it bother you?"

"No," she said easily, winking. "You already did your best to make things as normal as possible."

Her eyes drifted back to Primo. "It would be foolish of me to think we could get rid of the things that keep us all alive."

No matter how normal the day felt, nothing could change the fact that they were part of Dominion. Or rather, Lucian was Dominion.

The moment he truly let his guard down would be the moment he’d be killed.

Ashley leaned back against the bench and stretched her legs out, the smile on her face unhurried and content. She tilted her head toward him.

"I’m just saying... I didn’t think they’d all go through the trouble of disguising themselves," she murmured, scanning the crowded park. "With this many people, I can’t even tell how much security we actually have here."

Lucian glanced around. "Enough."

"Very reassuring," she chuckled, waving at Primo as he looked back from the counter while waiting for his change. "Lucian."

"Hmm?"

She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you."

His brows rose slightly before he said, "Not yet."

"What?"

"Don’t thank me yet," he said. "It’s not enough —"

"Then I’ll thank you again later," she said, cutting him off with a light laugh. "Am I not allowed to thank you now and again later?"

"No."

"Ha. Then at least say you’re welcome," she teased. "That’s how it works when someone is grateful."

Lucian pressed his lips together, quietly committing that smile to memory. The problem was, every time he saw her smile like this, it also brought back the image of her tucked into the corner of the kitchen.

It was something he would never forget and would always be the source of his guilt. The reason why no matter what he did, it never felt like enough.

He reached out slowly, making her go still by instinct. Carefully, he stretched out one finger and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are welcome," he said, his gaze holding hers.

Again, her heart skipped a beat as she hiccuped.

"Ah, goodness!" She brushed her cheek and laughed it off nervously. "Anyway, uhh..."

She cleared her throat, trying to change the subject, her cheeks flushed and her eyes darting everywhere.

"Ah!" She perked up, looking back at him. "Now that I think about it, where’s Gustav?"

Lucian didn’t answer immediately, his brow furrowing. "I sent him somewhere."

"Huh?"

"To settle something important." He paused, then added — sensing it was too vague — "Someone revealed important information to a person outside of Dominion. He’s addressing it on my behalf."

"Someone leaked information to someone outside Dominion?" she repeated. "Who in the world has the guts that would..."

Ashley trailed off as she remembered Emma and how she had found the neighborhood. "By outside Dominion, you mean Emma?" she gasped, covering her mouth.

"Nikki and her family may have contributed greatly to Dominion, but I cannot tolerate what she has done. She has crossed a line she shouldn’t have."

Ashley kept her hand over her lips, staring at Lucian with wide eyes. "Re — really? Gustav’s not going to kill her, is he?"

"No, but he knows what will satisfy me." Lucian shrugged, then paused, studying her expression. "Did that bother you?"

"Bother me? Pfft —!" She laughed and waved him off. "No, it just... made this day even better."

Satisfaction flickered in Lucian’s eyes as he smiled back.

Little did they know, as they welcomed Primo back, someone had been watching them from the very beginning.