Rejected By The Mafia Boss, Claimed By His Brother

I was the only one who went with Ezekiel when he got taken by a rival syndicate for two years.

Two years of breathing wrong air, eating worse food, and pretending every single day wasn’t a setup waiting to happen. And I stayed. I always stayed.

I checked everything before he touched it. Food, drinks, rooms, people. I stood between him and men who smiled too much, men whose hands never stayed still. I learned how to read silence because that place was full of it, heavy and dangerous. When deals went bad, I stood there while guns were drawn, forcing myself not to flinch because if I moved, even a little, it could set everything off.

At night, when things got quiet, that was when it got worse.

He couldn’t sleep. He’d sit there, tense, like he was waiting for someone to kick the door in. So I stayed awake too. I sat across from him, or beside him, talking when he needed it, staying quiet when he didn’t. Sometimes he’d snap at me. Sometimes he’d just stare.

I never left.

Winter hit hard there too.

The heating barely worked, and the place felt like concrete and ghosts. His hands were always cold, so I’d warm them between mine without thinking. One night, he caught me doing it. His fingers tightened around mine, stopping me.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice rough, like he hadn’t used it in hours. “You don’t have to stay. You don’t have to go through this with me.”

I swallowed because my throat felt tight, but I still answered him.

“Because you’re here,” I said quietly. “And if you’re here… then that’s where I belong too.”

He looked at me like he didn’t understand, like I was speaking a language he’d never learned.

Then he let go of my hands, slowly.

“When we get out of this... I’ll make sure no one can touch you. You’ll be right under me. No one will dare look down on you again.”

I nodded like that was enough.

We got out. He took everything back and more. He didn’t just survive, he rose higher than anyone expected. He became the one people feared.

A mafia boss.

And me?

He kept me close. Still his assistant and bodyguard. Still at his side. He gave me money, clothes, a life that looked like something out of a dream if you didn’t look too closely.

People started whispering. Saying I was different. Saying I was next to something bigger.

I didn’t ask. I didn’t question.

I just stayed.

Until Cassandra came. His first love.

It was raining that day.

The kind that made the sky look like it was breaking apart. Thunder rolled so loud it felt like it was inside my chest.

She stood next to him, her hand resting lightly on his arm, her voice soft but sharp underneath.

“If you really love me, then make that assistant of yours kneel outside. Let her stay in the rain. Just one day and one night.”

I felt my chest tighten.

It sounded like a joke but he didn’t even hesitate.

“Fine,” he said.

Just that.

The guards didn’t wait. They dragged me out before I could even think, forcing me down onto the ground outside. The rain hit hard, soaking through everything in seconds. My knees slammed into wet concrete, and the cold seeped in fast, heavy, unforgiving.

Thunder cracked above me, loud enough to make me flinch.

And from inside, through the glass, I could still see their mouths forming words. Yes, I can read lips without hearing a sound.

Cassadra laughed softly, tilting her head toward him. “You actually did it? Just because I asked? Aren’t you spoiling me too much?”

“I can afford to,” he said. “If I want to give you something, I will.”

Rain ran down my face, mixing with something warmer, but I didn’t wipe it away.

I just stayed there.

Hours passed. Maybe more. I lost track.

My legs went numb, then started hurting again, like pins and needles turning into something deeper. My clothes clung to me, heavy and cold. Every time thunder hit, my body jerked, but I forced myself to stay still.

Then her voice came again, softer this time.

“Why do you even like me this much?” she asked. “I don’t think I’ve done anything for you.”

“I wasn’t always like this,” he said quietly. “Back then, I had nothing. No power, no backing. People walked over me like I didn’t exist. And you… you were the one who helped me. You gave me something, a bottle of medicine, when no one else did. I remember thinking… if I ever made it out, I’d give you everything. I’d make it up to you a hundred times over.”

I felt something in my chest twist.

Bottle of medicine?

That’s all it took?

I lowered my head, staring at the ground, watching the rain hit the pavement and splash back up. Then what about me? What about everything I did?

I stood in front of him when things went bad. I stayed when anyone else would’ve run. I gave up sleep, comfort, safety… everything. I built my whole life around making sure he stayed alive.

And this… this is what mattered?

The conversation inside the glass-walled lounge didn’t stop.

Even with the storm turning violent, thunder shaking the reinforced walls and rain hammering the steel frames, they kept talking like nothing outside existed. I was still on my knees in the yard, rain pouring over me in sheets, clothes soaked and dragging against my skin, my legs numb but still aching deep inside, like the pain had settled into the bone. And I could hear her, soft, careless, certain.

“So… are you really going to put me beside you like that?” Cassandra asked, almost amused. “Make it official? Let everyone know I’m the only woman tied to you?”

A short pause.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said. “In seven days, I’m calling everyone in. Inner circle, captains, all of them. I’ll settle accounts, reward loyalty. When that happens, just say what you want. I’ll back you in front of everyone. I’ll make it clear… you’re the only one who stands with me.”

My fingers twitched against the flooded ground. Seven days. So it was already decided.

“But what if Elowyn asks for that place too?” she continued, softer now. “She’s been with you for years. What if she uses that? Everything she’s done?”

My breath caught.

“That place is for the woman I love,” he said without hesitation. “Why would I give it to someone I don’t?”