Stuck in a Mafia Romance

NO ONE’S POV

Across the glass balcony, the cool afternoon breeze ruffled the edge of Lily’s coat. She stood quietly, her posture straight, but her eyes kept drifting back to the private alcove where Lucian sat with his blind date.

"You’re standing in the draft," Dante’s calm, smooth voice broke through her thoughts.

Before Lily could react, Dante stepped closer and casually unbuttoned his tailored coat, draping it gently over her slender shoulders. The fabric was warm and carried a comforting, faint scent of pine and cedar.

Lily froze, her hand instinctively catching the lapel. She looked up at him with a flicker of genuine confusion in her dark eyes. "Lord Dante... what are you doing?"

"The air on the terrace is cold," Dante said softly, his usual icy expression completely melting as he looked at her. He reached out and carefully smoothed down the collar of his coat around her neck, making sure she was covered. "You’ve been through enough discomfort lately. Don’t push yourself."

Lily stared at him, dumbfounded. Why was the ruthless head of the Moretti empire acting like a protective older brother all of a sudden? It felt strange, foreign... yet surprisingly gentle.

Over in the alcove, Lucian’s eyes burned holes through Dante’s back. Seeing Dante so tenderly wrap his own coat around Lily made a furious pang of jealousy explode inside his chest. His hands gripped his silver fork so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Mr. Lucian? Are you even listening to me?" the girl in the shiny dress giggled, leaning in uncomfortably close. She plastered herself against his arm, her heavy perfume filling the air as she slid her hand over his wrist. "I was saying, my father says our families would make an absolute power couple!"

Lucian forced his eyes away from Lily and looked down at the girl. Right. I’m on a date, he reminded himself, trying desperately to focus on her face. Lily made it clear she doesn’t care about me. Why should I waste my time watching her with Dante?

"Ah, yes... your father’s company," Lucian forced a polite, handsome smile onto his face, leaning in slightly toward the girl to play along. "Tell me more about it."

The girl squealed in delight, wrapping both arms tightly around Lucian’s bicep and leaning her head against his shoulder.

From the balcony, Lily’s eyes snapped straight to Lucian’s table.

Seeing the flashy girl clinging onto Lucian’s bare arm and seeing Lucian actually leaning closer to smile at her made a sudden, hot coil of frustration twist deep in Lily’s stomach. Her jaw tightened, her fingers digging into the soft wool of Dante’s coat. Why was he letting that woman touch him so freely? Hadn’t he just been arguing about how much he hated blind dates five minutes ago?

Dante noticed the subtle shift in Lily’s posture. He looked over at Lucian, then down at his sister, a faint, knowing glint passing through his dark eyes. He reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Lily’s ear, making his gesture intentionally visible across the terrace. "If you’re tired, Lilia-I mean, Lily we can leave whenever you like."

The affectionate touch was the final straw for Lucian.

Seeing Dante touch her hair while Lily stayed silent and let him do it made Lucian’s blood boil over. He abruptly pulled his arm straight out of the girl’s tight grip, standing up so fast his marble table rattled.

"I think this date is over," Lucian declared coldly to the startled girl, not giving her a second glance as he marched out of the alcove straight toward the balcony.

Lily watched him stride over, her own chest burning with an unfamiliar, bitter sting as her eyes remained locked on his face.

Both of them stood just feet apart, their eyes clashing in the middle of the terrace- each utterly consumed by silent furious jealousy.

"What is going on over here? Where is Viella?" Lucian demanded, his voice cutting through the heavy tension on the terrace.

His fiery eyes shifted straight from Dante to Lily, narrowing as he took in her silent posture. "Why aren’t you with her? Isn’t it your job as her maid to keep an eye on her?"

Lily met his fiery gaze with a cold glare of her own, completely unbothered by his tone. She slowly glanced past his shoulder at the girl in the shiny dress, who was currently stomping across the outdoor dining area in her high heels, loudly calling out his name in frustration.

"My Lady said she would be back in a minute," Lily replied, her voice smooth and devoid of any warmth. "She told me to stay right here."

Lucian barely heard her explanation. His dark eyes were glued to the coat resting draped over Lily’s shoulders that belonged to Dante. A furious tightness gripped his throat.

"Take that off," Lucian said stepping closer.

Lily tilted her head slightly, her brows pulling together in a faint, irritated line. "What?"

"I said, take it off," Lucian repeated, his jaw clenching hard as a muscle twitched in his cheek. He gestured angrily toward the jacket. "Why are you wearing his coat? You have your own clothes."

Dante stepped forward smoothly, placing himself partially in front of Lily, his tall frame blocking Lucian’s path. "The air out here is freezing, Lucian. I gave it to her so she wouldn’t catch a cold. What business is it of yours?"

"It is my business when my sister’s maid is standing around wearing another man’s clothes in public!" Lucian said his voice rising as his self-control slipped entirely. He glared at Dante, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "She doesn’t need your coat."

"She isn’t complaining," Dante countered smoothly, his tone calm, though his dark eyes held a warning edge. "Unless Lily wants to take it off herself, it stays on her."

Both men stood chest-to-chest, the atmosphere turning suffocating that even the terrace waiters quietly backed away toward the kitchen doors.

Lily looked back and forth between the two of them, her stomach churning with mixture of confusion and annoyance. She looked at Lucian- at his flushed face, his breathing heavy with frustration and then remembered how comfortably he had let that shiny-dressed girl cling to his arm just seconds ago.

A bitter, petty spark flared up inside her chest.

Instead of taking the coat off, Lily reached up with both hands, tightly pulling the warm lapels of Dante’s coat closer around her chest, burying her chin slightly into the dark wool.

"Thank you, Lord Dante," she said softly, her eyes fixing straight on Lucian. "It is indeed very cold out here. I think I will keep it on."

Lucian’s breath hitched, his eyes widening in absolute disbelief as he watched her pull Dante’s jacket closer to her body. A wave of pure jealousy tore through him, leaving him completely speechless for a brief second.

"You..." Lucian choked out, pointing a trembling finger at her.

Before he could explode into another rant, a loud, cheerful laugh echoed from the lounge entrance behind them.

"Oh my gosh, you guys should have seen her face!" Viella giggled, walking out onto the balcony while dusting off her hands with a satisfied smirk. "Alina literally spilled her entire wine glass over her own expensive dress trying to dodge me! It was iconic!"

Viella paused mid-sentence, finally noticing the deadly silence on the terrace. She looked at Lucian’s beet-red face, Dante’s protective posture, and Lily wrapped tightly in Dante’s coat.

A slow, mischievous grin spread across Viella’s lips as she crossed her arms. "Well, well... did I miss the best part of the drama while I was gone?"

The girl came stomping up to the balcony, her high heels clicking loudly against the marble floor. "Lucian! You can’t just leave me standing there- " she whined, reaching out with her hands to grab his forearm once again.

Lily’s dark eyes instantly snapped toward the woman’s hands, her gaze turning cold. Underneath the long sleeves of Dante’s coat, Lily’s fingers reflexively twitched toward her waist. A dark impulse flared inside her- she wanted nothing more than to pull out her sharpest dagger and stab the girl’s hands right then and there.

Before the girl could even make full contact, Lucian aggressively yanked his arm back into the air, dodging her touch completely.

He turned toward Viella, his face dark with absolute annoyance. "I have work to do. I’m done here," he snapped.

Then, he turned his head and shot a deadly look straight at the girl in the shiny dress. "And as for you- I am not interested in you at all. Sorry."

Without waiting a single second for her reaction or giving anyone else a chance to speak, Lucian turned and stormed off toward the private elevator.

The moment those harsh, blunt words left Lucian’s mouth, the tight, bitter knot in Lily’s chest completely unravelled. Before she could catch herself or hide her expression, a soft, subtle smile unintentionally curved the corners of her lips.

She turned around toward Dante, unbuttoned the coat, and slid it off her shoulders. Holding the fabric out gently, she handed it back to him. "Thank you for the coat, Lord Dante," she said softly, her cold demeanor softening just a fraction.

Dante took the coat back with a subtle, knowing warmth in his dark eyes, watching her carefully.

Meanwhile, Viella stood near the balcony entrance, her eyes darting between Lucian’s retreating back, Lily’s rare smile, and Dante’s unusually gentle expression.

She tapped her chin with her finger, a sneaky grin slowly spreading across her face.

So... did my little matchmaking setup actually work after all? Viella thought to herself, giggling silently in her head.

---------------

Dante stepped inside the office behind Lucian and quietly pushed the door shut.

Lucian marched straight over to his desk, ripped his coat off, and hurled it onto the sofa. He reached up, furiously undoing his top shirt buttons as he huffed for air, his chest heaving with unvented rage. The moment his eyes landed on Dante standing calmly by the entrance, his temper completely snapped.

"Don’t you know you have a fiancée?!" Lucian yelled, pointing a finger at him. "Viella is my sister, Dante! I swear, I was letting things slide before because-"

"-because it was Alina?" Dante finished his sentence, his tone smoothly cutting him off.

Lucian froze for a fraction of a second, his jaw working as Dante stepped closer, a provoking smirk curling on his lips.

"And now that it’s Lily... you suddenly can’t stand it?" Dante asked softly, tilting his head.

"YES!" Lucian gritted his teeth, the confession bursting out of him in raw frustration. He didn’t care to hide it anymore. "I can’t stand it! So don’t you dare lay your eyes on her!"

Dante’s smirk widened into a faint, knowing smile. "So you finally admitted it, huh?"

"Stop playing games with me, Dante, I am dead serious!" Lucian growled, his fists balling tightly at his sides. "You can’t love her!"

Dante’s expression settled, his dark eyes locking onto Lucian’s with an intense seriousness. "I do love her..."

Hearing those words, something in Lucian’s brain snapped completely. Blinded by pure rage, he stormed forward, grabbing Dante by his collar, ready to throw a punch.

Before Lucian’s fist could land, Dante didn’t even flinch. He just looked him dead in the eye and finished his sentence:

"...but as a little sister."

Lucian’s fist stopped mere inches from Dante’s face. He blinked once. Then twice. His grip on Dante’s collar loosened as his mind completely short-circuited.

"Huh...?" Lucian stared at him, looking utterly lost, confused, and troubled. "A... a what?"

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TO BE CONTINUED