Lisa's POV
I woke up to soft sunlight falling on my face and warmth radiating from the arms wrapped protectively around me.
His arms.
Noha.
For the first time, he'd stayed.
No drinking. No disappearing into the dark. Just him, wrapped around me, breathing slow and deep. And the best part?
That tiny smile still lingered on his lips.
I ran my fingers along his jaw, careful not to wake him, memorizing every shadow and scar on his skin. He looked so different in sleep. Peaceful. Younger.
Human.
Not the mafia boss everyone feared.
Just Noha.
My Noha.
I didn't know what today would bring, but last night had changed something between us. We weren't pretending anymore. He loved me. And I loved him, no matter how terrifying that was.
But the world we lived in… it wasn't made for love stories.
And I was about to find that out the hard way.
Noha's POV
I didn't want to open my eyes.
Because when I did, the real world would rush in.
Threats. Enemies. The weight of being a mafia boss.
But then I felt her breath on my skin. Her heartbeat against my chest.
Lisa.
She had heard my ugliest truths… and didn't run.
I opened my eyes and found her watching me.
"You stayed," she whispered.
"You make it hard to leave," I muttered, brushing her hair off her face.
She smiled—so soft, so full of hope. And I felt that unfamiliar ache in my chest again.
Love.
Real. Tangible. Dangerous.
Because now… I had something to lose again.
Later that morning
The moment we walked downstairs hand in hand, the mansion stilled.
Mafia men—some loyal, some questioning—froze mid-step, mid-conversation, staring at the two of us like we were ghosts.
Whispers began instantly.
"That's her?"
"He brought her down in front of all of us…"
"Noha's woman?"
"What's so special about her?"
I felt Lisa's hand tighten in mine.
She heard them too.
But she didn't flinch.
She stood beside me with her head high, in one of my oversized black shirts, her eyes proud despite the storm around her.
Then came Matteo—my second-in-command. My brother in blood, not by birth. He looked from Lisa to me, expression unreadable.
"You're really doing this," he said lowly. "Letting the world know she's yours?"
"I'm not hiding her," I answered simply.
Lisa looked surprised. I hadn't told her what this meant. Declaring a woman publicly as mine… meant she was untouchable. But it also made her a target.
Matteo frowned. "You sure, Noha? This makes her a mark."
"I'm sure."
Lisa stayed silent, but I could feel her trembling.
Lisa's POV
Every step through that house felt like walking across landmines.
Eyes.
Stares.
Judgments.
They didn't see me as a person. They saw me as his.
And they didn't like it.
When we reached the main dining hall, the room full of mafia heads and underbosses went dead quiet.
All of them.
Dozens of powerful men.
Some older, some younger.
Some I recognized from whispers.
Others… I knew were killers.
And they were all looking at me like I didn't belong.
Noha stood tall beside me, his presence ice-cold now. "I need your attention," he said, voice slicing through the air like a blade.
"This is Lisa," he continued. "She is not just a guest. She's mine. Anyone who disrespects her disrespects me."
A ripple of murmurs.
But one voice cut through.
"She's not mafia," a sharp voice spat. I turned to see a woman—tall, fierce, dressed in designer clothes and armed with judgmental eyes. "She doesn't understand our code. She's just a girl playing house."
Noha's jaw clenched. "Careful."
"I'm just saying what they're thinking," she shot back. "Your father would never have allowed this. He knew the danger of mixing softness with power."
My heart pounded. My cheeks flushed.
But I didn't speak.
Not yet.
Noha stepped forward. "My father's dead. I lead now. And if anyone lays a hand—or even a whisper of disrespect—on her… they'll answer to me personally."
Dead silence.
No one argued.
But I knew the truth—just because they didn't speak… didn't mean they accepted me.
Later that day
Noha was pulled into meetings.
And I wandered through the garden outside the mansion, needing to breathe. My chest still ached from the confrontation earlier.
I sat on a stone bench near the fountain, trying to calm down.
But I wasn't alone.
A voice hissed from the shadows.
"You're going to get him killed."
I turned sharply.
The same woman from before.
Closer now.
Deadly.
She walked toward me like a lioness eyeing her prey. "He's weaker with you around," she said coldly. "He's making mistakes. Letting emotions lead. You don't belong here, girl. You'll ruin him."
I swallowed hard. "Then why are you here?"
Her lips curled. "Because I earned my place in this world. I didn't stumble in because of a pretty face and a broken man."
I stood up.
Shaking.
But tall.
"I may not be mafia," I said, voice trembling but real. "But I love him. I'd bleed for him. And I'm not going anywhere."
She smirked, then leaned in close.
"Then pray you survive it."
Noha's POV
I knew she'd been cornered before I even found her.
The tension in her body. The flicker of fear she tried to hide. The way she smiled at me like nothing happened.
But I saw through her.
"Who was it?" I asked gently that night as we sat by the fireplace in the library.
"No one important," she replied.
Wrong answer.
"Lisa."
She sighed. "A woman. Said I'd get you killed."
I clenched my fists.
She placed her hand over mine. "I don't need you to protect me from words."
"You're not safe here," I whispered. "Not really."
"But I'm not leaving you," she whispered back. "Even if they hate me. Even if they want me gone. I'm yours, Noha."
I turned to her.
Held her face in my hands.
And kissed her.
Desperately.
Gratefully.
Because for once in my life… I had someone who chose to stay even when the world wanted her gone.