Becoming Mrs DeLuca novel Chapter 5

She let out a shaky breath. “We’ll be married in three months.”

Her voice trembled, and the words hung in the air between us.

I nodded. “Yes, once you turn twenty one.”

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Her brows pulled together. “Do you really think it makes a difference? A few more months won’t suddenly turn me into a wife.”

I studied her. She was saying things others wouldn’t dare say to my face, but her voice betrayed her. I could hear how scared she was.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “You’re too young now and you’ll still be too young then. But at least once you’re of age, I won’t feel like I’m marrying a child.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head slowly. It felt like she didn’t agree with me, but she didn’t dare argue further.

“I have two children,” I said in a clipped tone. “They’re very small, and they need me. Stefan will be almost five years old by the time we marry, and Sofia will be only six months old.”

Hearing me talk about my children terrified her. I could see it in the way her eyes widened when I said their names. I expected her to recoil in fear, but she didn’t.

Instead, she did the bravest thing she could’ve done at that moment. “Do you have pictures of them? Can I see them?”

I was a master at masking my emotions, but I couldn’t conceal my surprise at her request.

I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and held it out, showing her my lockscreen. The photo had been taken by Serena just a month before she died, though she wasn’t in it with them. The kids were in a garden. Stefan was holding his little sister, beaming with the kind of unfiltered joy only a toddler could manage. Sofia’s tiny face peeked out of her blanket. Her big eyes were staring at the world like it was brand new.

I didn’t look at the picture. I’d looked at it enough times to memorize every color and every outline.

Instead, I watched her reaction carefully. Her expression softened and the corners of her mouth curved into an unguarded smile. I was used to seeing so many fake smiles around me everyday. But this was different. It was real, and so pure.

“They’re precious,” she murmured. “And how sweet, the way he’s holding her.” She glanced up at me and her smile faded. “I’m so sorry… about your wife. I heard-”

“I do not want to talk about my dead wife.” The words came out harsher than I meant, but I didn’t take them

back.

She nodded quickly, biting down on her lip. That innocent gesture made something inside me tighten. Why

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Chapter 5

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did she have to look so untouched and so unpolished? Why was she so unlike the other girls her age who painted their faces to look older? Valentina was bare faced, and she looked exactly like she was twenty years old. She wasn’t going to magically transform into a woman in three months just because she turned twenty one. I’d probably have to order her mother to cover her face in makeup for the wedding.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and a small multicolored beaded earring caught the light.

“Do you always dress like this?” I asked, nodding at her clothes.

She looked down at her outfit, then back at me with a tiny frown. “I like these types of clothes.”

A deep red flush crept across her cheeks when she realized I was studying her.

“I’m sure you do,” I said, letting my voice cool. “But I find them too casual. These types of clothes are not refined or elegant. You’ll need to wear clothes that show you understand the image you’ll have to project as my wife. If you give me your sizes, I’ll have someone put together a proper wardrobe for you.”

She stared at me as though she hadn’t heard right.

“Do you understand?” I pressed when she stayed silent.

She blinked, then gave a stiff nod.

“Good.” I leaned back. “There won’t be an engagement party. I don’t have the time for that, and I won’t be seen in public with you until you’re a legal adult.”

Her voice was quieter when she asked, “Will I get to meet your children before the wedding? Or see your home?”

“No. We’ll stay apart until the wedding. You’ll meet Stefan and Sophia the day after we’re married.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly. “Wouldn’t it make sense for us to spend some time together before then? Don’t you think it would be good to at least get to know each other?”

“I don’t see the point,” I said sharply.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Is there anything else you expect from me? Other than… changing how I dress?”

For a moment, I considered telling her to start birth control. I definitely didn’t want more children. But the words stuck in my throat. She was barely twenty one. I couldn’t bring myself to voice it, even though I knew what would happen on the night we got married.

Instead, I stood up. “No. That’s enough for now. You should go before your parents realize we’ve been alone.”

She rose too, wrapping her arms around herself, as if she needed something to hold on to. For a moment, she lingered. Her gaze flicked to the door, then back to me. Something flickered in her eyes, like an unspoken question or a thought she didn’t dare voice.

But she didn’t speak. She pressed her lips together, turned sharply, and slipped out the door.

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Chapter 5

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For some reason, the silence that followed felt heavier than normal.

A few moments later, Damien stepped back inside.

He arched a brow. “What did you say to her? She looked like she was on the verge of tears.”

My jaw tightened. “Nothing.”

He gave me a disbelieving look. “I doubt that, but If you say so.”