His Secret Sin

“Ugh, you make me sick.”

“Why? Because I love my wife?”

“No, because you’ve got that gooey look in your eye. It’s so gross.”

He was one of the few men who was able to marry for love. The Boss wasn’t going to call the wedding off, not after finding out Belle was expecting his child. Diego hoped the first of many.

There were capos who didn’t believe he should take a blind bride. They felt he was bringing the wrong impression, making them all look weaker. They could all go fuck themselves.

He wasn’t a weak capo, nor would he ever be. His wife was stunning. She was a beauty, and to those that didn’t see that, he really didn’t care. He hadn’t decided to marry her to impress others. He was marrying her because he was fucking in love with her, and not a moment went by where he didn’t think about her in some way or another.

“Your moment for leaving is gone,” Richard said.

The wedding music started up, and he looked toward the doorway where several bridesmaids appeared. None of them were close to Belle. They had been picked out by The Boss for the day. Belle only wanted Charlotte, but for an elaborate celebration like this, they needed more than one bridesmaid.

Charlotte was the last to arrive, and she sent him a smile as she took her place. She had already enrolled in college, and it was close to home. From what he’d been told Durante sent her to college with a bodyguard who wasn’t allowed out of her sight, not even for a moment. He wondered if she would stick it out at college or quit.

His gaze returned to the doorway where his wife, his bride, was walking toward him. This woman. She rocked his world in all the right ways, and now, seeing her walk toward him, her veil down, her father by her side, he knew he was the luckiest motherfucker in this room.

He didn’t care what others thought of him or of Belle.

She was everything to him. The love of his life in all things, and he was never going to let her go. He stepped toward her as James came to a stop. He held her hand, and James touched his arm.

“Seeing that look in your eye, I know now she’s doing the right thing. There’s no way I could let her walk away after seeing how much you love her.” James patted his shoulder.

“I promise I’ll love her forever,” Diego said.

He helped her up the few steps, taking both of her hands to stand before the priest. Her father had already lifted the veil. Her gaze was on his chest, not that she could see anything.

He didn’t mind.

The priest began his sermon, but Diego didn’t give a shit about the priest or their guests. He held Belle’s hands, stared at her, and simply basked in knowing he was the luckiest man in the world.

They didn’t have long, drawn-out vows. They made their promises to each other that would extend to their death. When the time came to slide the ring on her finger, Diego felt at one with her. This was what it meant to finally be with someone. To love them, to honor them, and to always know where they were.

Belle needed a little help sliding the ring on his finger, but when it came to being husband and wife, he needed no further encouragement to take her face in his hands and to slam his lips down on hers.

She finally, after all this time, belonged to him.

There was applause, but he tuned them out.

Belle gripped his arms, and as he pulled back, he stroked her cheek. “You did it,” he said.

“What?”

“I thought you’d leave,” he said. “I thought you’d find a reason to escape me.”

“Diego?”

“I love you more than anything else in this world, Belle. I’m not a good man. I’m a monster. I know I don’t deserve you.”

She placed her hand over his mouth. “You need to shut up. This is our wedding day. I love you, no matter what. We are different people, but that doesn’t stop my feelings for you. Every single day I’m with you, it’s the best day of all. There’s nowhere else I want to be but with you. I love you, Diego Leoni. I’ll never regret this.”

Diego glanced over at the crowd. They were all waiting for them to leave, but he returned his attention to his wife.

“I’m going to make sure you don’t regret this.” All of his life, he’d been sure of many things. He’d always be the best at everything. The strongest, and that he’d always be capo. He’d never allow Angelo to take his place. It was what made him train harder. He was more vicious, more determined, and more prepared than anyone else. He just didn’t anticipate Belle. She took him by surprise, but Richard pointing her out that day, he didn’t regret it.