Bride by Initiation: Secret Society Mafia Marriage Pact (The Underworld Book 1)
Bride by Initiation: Chapter 20

We get out of the shower and dry off. My phone rings when I step into the bedroom.

‘Welcome to my world,’ Sean mutters.

I glance at it and groan. A new text pops up.

A screenshot of Sean and me kissing after our vows, his wedding band prominently displayed, pops up on the screen.

My gut drops. I can only imagine the disappointment and hurt my parents must feel about what Sean and I did behind their backs.

I leave my phone near the bed and return to the bathroom. I dig through Sean’s cabinet and call out, ‘Do you have a hair dryer?’

‘No. But are you looking for this?’ He appears holding my hair tool with an arrogant expression.

‘Thank you!’ I rise on my tiptoes and peck him on the lips.

He pats my ass. ‘Get ready. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.’

I roll my eyes, but my stomach tightens. ‘Oh, the fun.’

‘Yep.’ He exits the bathroom.

I plug in my dryer and turn it on. I only get a few minutes before Fiona steps inside.

She glares at me with her green eyes glowing hot.

I wince and softly say, ‘Hey.’

‘Don’t you dare ‘hey’ me! How could you lie to me like that?’ she accuses.

I shake my head. ‘I didn’t. It’s not what you think.’

‘Not what I think?’ She holds her phone out in front of me, showing me the same photo my father sent.

‘Fiona, I didn’t mean to⁠—’

‘You didn’t mean to what? Screw around with my brother behind my back while lying to me multiple times? Get married in secret with neither of our families there?’ she hurls. Tears fill her eyes. She blinks hard.

I put my hand on her shoulder. ‘Fiona⁠—’

She jerks her shoulder backward. ‘Don’t touch me right now, Zara.’

Guilt eats me. ‘Look, it just⁠—’

She tilts her head, looking at me in confusion.

‘What?’ I nervously question.

She points at me. ‘Why do you have plastic around your neck?’

Oh shit.

She glances at the mirror, and her expression morphs to one of horror. ‘Is that blood?’

I step away from the mirror. ‘Listen⁠—‘

‘What is it?’ she shrieks, trying to spin me around, but I step backward.

‘Zara, what did you do to yourself?’ she frets, her horror turning to worry.

Sean walks into the room. ‘I told you to stop barging into my apartment, or I would revoke your access. You know you’re supposed to ring the bell and wait for me to answer.’

Anger takes over. She spins and jabs him in the chest. ‘You don’t get to say that to me right now.’

‘Don’t come in my home and act like you own it,’ he says.

She fumes. ‘Don’t you dare act like what you two have done is right.’

‘What have we done?’ he asks.

‘Sean, don’t,’ I warn, but I’ve never been able to get involved or stop their sibling fights.

They stare at each other with challenging expressions. Fiona shakes her head. ‘You’re disgusting.’

‘Why am I disgusting?’

‘You married Zara.’

‘Oh, so Zara is disgusting?’ he questions arrogantly, crossing his arms. Then he adds, ‘I beg to differ. In fact, I replace Zara rather appetizing.’

‘You’re disgusting,’ she seethes.

‘Stop it,’ I scold.

Fiona glances at his hand and then grabs it.

He winces. ‘Ow!’

Her voice rises again. ‘What the fuck is this, Sean? Why do you have plastic and blood on you just like Zara?‘

He pulls his hand away. ‘It’s not your business.’

‘No?’

‘No, it’s not,’ he says, clenching his jaw and staring her down.

I try again, softening my tone. ‘Fiona, let’s go in another room and sit down and talk.’

She turns to me, rage erupting from her. ‘Don’t you think that would have been good before you went off and married my brother? And lied to everyone over and over, including me?’

My insides quiver. I hate I lied to her, even though it wasn’t a full-blown lie like this one. But there’s always been something between Sean and me, and she knew it. No matter how much I tried to escape it and not let it happen, it finally has. So now we’re going to have to work through this.

‘Please, let’s sit down and talk,’ I offer.

Sean scoffs, ‘Yeah, get out of our bathroom.’

She spins back to face Sean. ‘You’re really pushing it.’

His cockiness grows. ‘What are you going to do about it, Fiona? What Zara and I have done, we’ve done. It’s not your business.’

‘Not my business?’

He smirks. ‘Yep. It’s not your business who’s in my bed or my house.’

‘She’s not just in your bed, Sean. She’s your wife now. Do you even understand what that means?’ Fiona cries out.

Sean shuts his mouth and stares at her.

She’s right. What we’ve done has consequences. They are deeper than what Sean and I have barely processed.

Sean leaves the room just as the doorbell rings. He turns back, accusing, ‘Thanks for sending that picture to Zara’s family, sis.‘

Surprise fills Fiona’s expression. ‘I didn’t send any pictures to Zara’s family. I wouldn’t be the messenger of pain for her parents.’

‘Really? You seem a little out of control right now. Are you sure you didn’t send one little text?’ he taunts.

‘No, I did not,’ she insists. ‘So whoever sent it to me must have sent it to them. Who did send it to me, anyway?’ she asks.

Sean doesn’t say anything.

She focuses back on me with fresh hurt in her voice. ‘Well, who was there? Who got an invite since I didn’t?’

‘Fiona, please. Let’s go talk about this calmly.’

A loud bang fills the air. My father’s voice booms, ‘Open this door now, Sean O’Malley!’ It’s followed by more banging.

‘Sean, go open the door,’ I urge.

My father warns, ‘Get out here, you piece of shit, before I knock your door down.’

‘Sean!’ I push on his chest.

He sighs, muttering, ‘Let the games begin.’

‘This isn’t a game!’ Fiona snaps.

He ignores her and hurries to the other room.

We follow.

Within seconds, Dad pushes through the foyer. His fist is full of Sean’s shirt, and Sean’s walking backward, even though I’m sure he could hurt Dad if they got physical. Maybe not when my father was in his prime, but he’s not a spring chicken anymore.

I shout, ‘Dad, don’t!’

‘Don’t?’ he spits, glancing at me. ‘Don’t kill the man who stole my daughter’s innocence?‘

I groan. ‘Dad, stop. You’re being extreme.’

‘Being extreme? He took my beautiful figlia and married her behind my back. Didn’t even ask me permission.’

‘Dad…’

‘Luca, let him go,’ Mom orders, but she’s not happy with me either. Her expression glows with hurt and anger. And I can’t say I blame either of them.

The anger in Dad’s eyes intensifies. He barks, ‘I’m not going to let him go, my stellina. I’ll do to him what every father does to boys who can’t be men and step up to the plate. How dare you not do the right thing before you asked my daughter to marry you!’

‘Dad, stop,’ I say as Dante and Bridget come through the door.

‘How could you do this, Sean?’ Bridget blurts out, as hurt as my mom.

‘Because he’s a fucking idiot,’ Fiona answers.

‘Who asked you?’ Sean bites out.

Dad grips Sean’s shirt tighter, lifting him to his toes, and I know Sean could fight back. I don’t know why he isn’t. I guess it’s out of respect for my father, which I appreciate, but I also want Dad to let go of him.

So I rush over and push between them. I demand, ‘Dad, stop it.’

He glances down at me, then slowly releases Sean. He blinks hard, and pain fills his voice. ‘My beautiful figlia. How could you have done this? Do your mother and I not deserve to be at your wedding? Am I so horrible I didn’t deserve to give you away?’ He turns and snarls at Sean, ‘Or give this bastard permission to even marry you?’

‘Dad, please,’ I beg.

‘Luca, calm down. No one needs to have a heart attack today,’ Mom frets.

He glances at her with the same disappointed expression. ‘This isn’t right, Chanel.’

Sadness flares in her eyes. She affirms, ‘No one is saying it is, especially not me.’

Dante interjects with a hollow voice. ‘You got the skull branded on you as well, Zara?’

The hairs on my arms rise.

Dad pales, his eyes widening. In a devastated voice, he shakes his head and gasps, ‘Zara. No.’

I glance at Sean, not knowing how to answer.

‘Why do you have plastic around your neck?’ Fiona questions again, then orders, ‘Take it off.’

‘No,’ I reply and step closer to Sean.

He puts his arm around my waist.

‘What did you do to yourself?’ Mom questions, then steps behind me, tugs at the plastic and cries out, ‘Oh my God, your beautiful skin!’

I wince from the shot of pain on my neck.

‘Zara’s fine,’ Sean insists, tugging me closer. ‘Everything’s fine. Everyone needs to calm down.’

‘What did you get my daughter involved in?’ Dad seethes, his eyes glowing hotter.

My heart races faster.

Sean claims, ‘We put my father’s design on us. Not a big deal.’

‘Not a big deal?’ Dante snarls.

Bridget grabs Sean’s hand, weeping. ‘Why did you do this? I told you not to do this!‘

‘You never told me not to put it on me,’ Sean argues.

Her face turns red with rage.

Fiona asks, ‘And why are you talking about my dad?’

Sean ignores her question and asks some of his own. ‘Why doesn’t everyone tell us why they’re freaking out? If the mark isn’t a big deal, why are you all making it one?’

‘Agreed,’ I add, wondering what my father and Dante know about the skull.

Do they know about The Underworld?

It’s just another one of my father’s secrets.

The room is quiet.

No one says anything.

Fiona finally breaks the silence, saying, ‘Mom? I need answers.’

Tears well in Bridget’s eyes, and she shakes her head.

Dante tugs her into him, asserting, ‘Your brother and Zara have done something stupid. That’s all.’

‘What does it have to do with Dad?’ she questions.

Sean speaks up. ‘Fiona, you remember the skull on Dad’s hand?’

She furrows her eyebrows. ‘Um, maybe. I don’t know. I…’ Shame fills her expression, and she looks down.

Sean quietly finishes for her. ‘There’s not a lot you remember anymore?’

Her eyes flow with tears. She swipes at them and then guiltily looks at Sean.

He gives her a compassionate look, offering, ‘I know.’

She sniffles. ‘Why does it matter?‘

Sean holds his hand up. ‘Dad had this skull branded on him. I got one, and so did Zara, but hers is on the back of her neck.’

Mom snaps, ‘You’ve burned yourself? What would possess you to do that?’

More guilt eats at me. I hate not being able to answer them. But I also don’t like how they seem to know something about whatever Sean’s dad was up to.

In a stern voice, Bridget repeats, ‘I told you not to do it.’

‘No, you didn’t. I never said I would put it on my hand,’ Sean claims.

‘You know damn well what I meant,’ Bridget adds.

Dante warns, ‘Stop playing games with your mother, Sean.’

Sean’s face hardens. He tugs me closer. ‘What’s done is done. Zara and I are married. We branded my father’s mark on us as a tribute to him. That’s it. It’s a private moment between Zara and me, and it’s not a big deal. Unless there’s something else all of you aren’t telling us?’

Fiona, Sean, and I stare at our parents.

My pulse skyrockets.

The longer they take to reply, the more I’m convinced they know something.

‘You’ve made a bad mistake,’ Dante states.

Sean arrogantly replies, ‘Yeah? Why is that? You know something about my father you want to tell me?’

Dante gives Sean his challenging stare, then adds, ‘If your mother didn’t want you to have that on you, then you should have respected her wishes.’

Sean spouts, ‘Easy for you to say. Your dad didn’t die when you were a kid. He’s still alive and in his nineties.‘

Dante clenches his jaw.

My father accuses, ‘What did you pull my daughter into?’

‘He hasn’t pulled me into anything, Dad. We chose this. Together.’

‘You chose to destroy your body? To get married without your mother and me present and exchange vows with a man who didn’t have the balls to ask for my permission?’ he seethes.

‘Okay, maybe we didn’t do it the right way. But Sean’s right, it’s done,’ I insist.

Dad snarls, ‘So that’s it? We’re all expected to act like this is normal? And you two…’ He points at us. ‘You broke your mothers’ hearts. Now we’re supposed to look the other way?’

I sigh.

Sean grips me tighter to him. He answers, ‘Unfortunately, that’s how it’s going to have to be, unless you want to have nothing to do with us again.’

I gasp. ‘Sean, don’t say that.’

‘You think you can take my daughter out of my life now?’ Dad growls.

‘No. But you’re acting like this is an unforgivable event. As if Zara and I marrying each other is the worst thing that could have happened. I mean, there are a lot worse guys out there than me, Luca.’

My father booms, ‘Don’t you dare talk to me about whether you’re worthy of my daughter’s hand!’

‘Dad! Sean! Please,’ I scold.

Fiona interjects, ‘Why did Sean put that skull on you, Zara? What’s the real reason? He was my father too. I want to know.’

‘Fiona, it’s nothing. It was a mark on your dad’s hand. He designed it and was obsessed with it. It’s just a gothic drawing,’ Bridget insists.

Fiona spins to face her mother. ‘If it’s nothing, then why did you tell Sean not to put it on him?’

Anger flares in Bridget’s eyes. She points at us. ‘Look how nasty their skin is now. Do you think I want my son branded? And Zara! Your beautiful neck. How did you even handle that kind of pain?’

Sean proudly states, ‘She took it like a champ! Way better than I did.’

I glance at him, and my lips twitch. I blurt out, ‘You were a bit of a baby.’

He winks at me.

Bridget roars, ‘You two think this is funny?’

My face falls. ‘No, but…’ I glance back at Sean. ‘Well, he was way more of a wimp than me.’ I bite on my smile.

‘This is not funny!’ Dad shouts, his face purple.

I jump.

Sean squeezes my waist. ‘No, it’s not funny. But here’s what’s going to happen. Zara and I are now married. You can choose to respect it or not. That’s your choice. We hope you’ll be happy for us. We’ve been friends for a long time.’

‘You chose the wrong daughter to do this with,’ Dad seethes.

‘Luca, you know there’s no one who will take better care of Zara than me. No man can protect her better from our enemies. And you can’t deny that.’

‘Spoken from a man—no, a boy—who forced her to get mutilated!’ Dad spouts.

Sean grunts. ‘I’m not a boy, and you know it.’

‘I’m not mutilated!’ I protest.

‘You intentionally burned your body! And for what?’ Mom cries out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

‘And he didn’t force me. I wanted it,’ I add, guilt piling higher inside me.

Sean takes a deep breath and says, ‘I’m Zara’s husband now. There’s no more surveillance on her except what I deem necessary. From this point forward, she’s my wife and my responsibility to take care of.’

‘Like hell, it is,’ Dad booms.

‘Sean,’ Dante quietly warns.

‘You don’t dictate what goes on with my daughter’s security,’ Dad fumes.

Sean puffs his chest out. ‘I do. I’m her husband, whether you like it or not.’

‘She’s my daughter,’ Dad snarls.

Determination laces Sean’s voice. ‘That’s right, and that’s why we want you to be part of our lives. But she’s my wife, and I will protect her from now on. Any questions?’

Luca takes two steps, but Dante steps between him and Sean, warning, ‘Luca, cool it.’

‘Don’t you tell me to cool it when it’s my daughter,’ Dad barks.

‘Things are too heated right now. We’ll work through this at another time,’ Dante asserts.

‘Mom, I want to know whatever you’re not telling me about this skull and Dad. I deserve to know,’ Fiona insists.

Bridget sighs, shaking her head. ‘There’s nothing to tell. I’m telling you the same thing I told Sean. It was just an image he obsessed over and then burned on his body.’

‘Are you lying again?’ Fiona accuses.

Bridget’s face falls, filling with fresh pain.

Dante points his finger between Sean and Fiona. ‘You two need to stop bringing up old ghosts. You know why your mother had to lie to you all those years, and she hasn’t lied to you since. She doesn’t deserve your disrespect.’

‘Then tell us the truth,’ Fiona pushes.

‘I am telling the truth,’ Bridget cries out.

Mom interjects, ‘I think Dante’s right. Things are too heated right now. We all need to cool down, take some time, and process all this. Luca, let’s go.’

Dad looks at her, not moving.

She softens her tone and puts her hand on his bicep. ‘Please, Luca, let’s go.’

He finally caves, giving Sean another angry look and me a sad one, full of disappointment. He mumbles, ‘My beautiful figlia,’ shaking his head, and they leave.

My heart aches. As mad as I was at him and my mother, I wouldn’t ever want to hurt or disappoint them on purpose. Now they’re in pain, and I caused it.

Dante asserts, ‘Bridget, time to go.’

She glances between Fiona and Sean, tears still falling. ‘Everything I did was for you two. I wish you’d believe me.’

Sean sighs. ‘We do believe you, Mom. We’ve always believed you after things came to light.’

‘Things that we still have questions about,’ Fiona adds.

Pain, fear, and horror wash over Bridget’s expression.

I don’t understand it. I only know what Fiona and Sean have told me, but it’s not much. Bridget claims she had to hide them. She wasn’t allowed to go back to Chicago and was only allowed to be in New York at her father’s. If she had come back to Chicago or seen the O’Malleys after Sean Sr. died, then they would’ve been killed. She insists she did everything she could to keep them safe.

The O’Malleys forgave her when they found out she was threatened, and they also convinced Sean and Fiona to do the same.

However, Sean and Fiona have always wanted more details about who the people threatening her were and what happened to their father. She’s never provided them with that information, nor has anyone else. So I can understand their frustration.

‘Bridget, let’s go. Come on,’ Dante orders as kisses her forehead, then he gives Sean another angry look. He glances at my neck, then shakes his head. He leads Bridget out of the house.

Fiona doesn’t move.

I step next to her. ‘Fiona.’

She whirls to face me. ‘What does my dad have to do with this?’

I shake my head and shrug my shoulders, lying once again. ‘It was just his drawing Sean remembered and suggested we put on us.’

She stares at me, as if she can see right through me. ‘You know what’s crazy, Zara?’

The hairs on my arms rise. ‘What’s that?’

‘I’ve trusted you my entire life. I never thought you were a liar, but now I clearly see I was wrong.’ She glances over at Sean. ‘And you?’ A tear falls down her cheek. She scoffs. ‘You two deserve each other. Congratulations.’

‘Fiona!’ Sean and I say at the same time.

She leaves the apartment, and I stand frozen, wondering how our actions could hurt so many people.