His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies by C. Tamika
Chapter 272

Chapter 272

Chapter 272

Marvin

Betrayed.

If I had to describe my feelings in one word, that would’ve been it. One day had passed since Elenahad bailed on me and left me at the restaurant, and for some strange reason, it had been bothering me.

Today was Tiago’s special day, and we were all gathered at the church to prepare for the weddingceremony, which was only a few hours away. I tried to be on my best behavior, but I was not reallyexcited for the ceremony, the reception, or the after-party.

All groomsmen were gathered in a room, including Tiago’s geeky friends from his school days.Although I couldn’t stand the sight of them, I had to admit that I envied my little brother for being able tomaintain such tight relationships.

I mean, I could barely maintain a relationship with my pen pal. Elena Torres made me out to be a fool,and I had to live with it.

Why would it even bother me?

I was Marvin Romero Castillo, and I could get any woman I want without a single issue. They were allat the bottom of my feet, and I never had to beg for anything, I guess that would be the reason why Iwas surprisingly shocked by her sudden decision to bail on me.

I didn’t know it was possible to fall for someone in less than a second, but she showed me it was. I feltthe need to take care of her from the very moment I laid my eyes on her, and I was ready to treasureher. Many said I wasn’t capable of loving, but I was prepared to open my heart to her, only for her tobetray

1.

Elena Torres wasn’t that different from the person I had met in the emails. She was funny, clumsy,innocent and the emojis made so much more sense. I liked her vibe, and I thought we were on thesame page about our feelings, so why?

Would she have googled me?

Was she upset because I paid more attention to Panther than her?

Perhaps I was in it too deep, and perhaps Panther and Santiago were right. Maybe she was too youngand immature. Who knew? We would never replace out.

Whatever the reason for her sudden exit, I had decided to let it rest. I was a respectful man who carrieda lot of honor and pride, so with that being said-if she didn’t want to get involved with me, I would notforce her. It was as simple as that.

“Marvin.” My mom stuck out her hands with a joyful smile on her face, “Could you please do you’reannoying mother a favor and take some pictures with Karina and Santi?”

I slightly rolled my eyes before I chuckled at the sight of Santiago, who had his arm wrapped aroundKarina’s waist. They were both staring at me with puppy eyes, almost forcing me to join them. “Ofcourse, I will.” I gave in.

I grabbed my mom’s hand as she led me towards my siblings and took the opportunity to get a betterlook at Tiago. For some reason, he seemed a whole lot more mature. At first, I was shocked to replace outthat my younger brother was getting married as I didn’t even know he had it in him to get down on oneknee, but

it worked out perfectly fine.

“You look like…you’re getting married.” I complimented him. Tiago grew a child-like smile on his faceand pulled me into a tight hug. He hadn’t been this good to me since I came out of prison.

“Our baby brother looks good, doesn’t he?” Karina slurred her words. I smiled as I patted her back andbrought my mouth closer to her car. “Behave and think about your son. You don’t want Cisco to seeyou like this.”

It was as clear as day that she had already emptied a bottle, but that was Karina. She did not knowhow to act, and she always had to ruin everything.

I stared at the uncomfortable look on Tiago’s face and shot them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, guys,I got her.”

“See Tiago?” My mom laughed. “What would we do without your big brother?”

I expected a backhanded compliment from Tiago, who had always been a bit jealous-but for the firsttime, I did not receive it. “I haven’t seen Anya since yesterday, so now I’ll have to do with the two ofyou.” He shrugged his shoulders with a soft smile on his face and pulled us closer. “Come on, let’s takea picture!”

He was in a good mood, and nothing could ruin it. Of course, he was. He was getting married to thelove of his life—Anya.

Anya was the perfect daughter-in-law, and other than Karina, who had an issue with the entire universe— we all liked her. Especially my mom was fond of the young girl who had just turned twenty-one yearsold. She came from a wealthy family and had a clean background. Her dad was a priest, and her momwas a loving wife who stood behind her husband. Despite the differences, the two families had a goodrelationship.

That was mainly the reason for the most important rule for today.

Absolutely no guns!”

Tiago was a lucky man, and I made sure to remind him of that. After telling my nosy brother everythingwhich went down yesterday, I had expected him to judge me or to tell me the infamous words, ‘I toldyou so, but it didn’t happen. He listened to my worries and told me to focus on my future as the heir tothe family business.

I can always introduce you to the beauty from the cocktail bar tonight.” My brother had suggestedseveral times, but I was not interested. Why would I?

Panther and Tiago were the only ones who knew as I was not prepared to share the embarrassmentwith anyone else, especially not my mom,

“Marvin, come on-smile!” My mom encouraged me. I let out an annoyed breath and followed herinstruction as I planted a sarcastic smile on my face. Worse than taking pictures would be the smallaudience who had joined my mom and pulled out their phones.

Everyone, especially the family, was looking forward to seeing little Santiago getting married, and it wasa big deal to everyone.

“Where’s dad?” Tiago whispered through the smile on his face. Even until now, he was still seekingMario Castillo’s acknowledgment. The man who didn’t give a crap about anyone other than himself orthe family name. Everyone had gathered, except for my dad and Victor-who was out doing god knowswhat.

“It’s not about dad. It’s about you.”

Those words were enough to keep him calm for now. Besides my mom, I was the only person to tellhim those encouraging words. Tiago’s friends didn’t know about what he went through, and as far as

they were concerned, the Castillo’s were a family who owned a fine spirit brand and once in a while got‘falsely’ accused of their cartel ties.

They didn’t know about the difficulties, the pressure, or the struggles we had to face, and it wasn’t as ifTiago was allowed to talk to them about it either.

All I knew was one thing, and that was that I would not let Mario Castillo ruin Tiago’s day. If Tiagowanted that monster at his side, then I would make sure of it.

“I’ll be back soon.” I excused myself before walking out of the room. I made my way outside and walkedaround the building in the hopes of replaceing my dad, but all I could see Panther, who was discussingsomething with some of the men.

Everything about him was chaotic, but that was what he was known for. Panther was someone whodidn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. He was an outgoing person who had a lot of stories to share.

The side of my lips curled at his exaggerated hand movements, and I was just about to walk overbefore I got stopped by a firm hand on my shoulder.

If there was something I disliked, it had to be people throwing me off guard. I reacted to my naturalinstinct and turned around to grab my attacker by its throat.

G