Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 425: Eventual Declaration

"I love you, Dahlia. I really mean it," Anthony whispered to me passionately.

"No..." I managed to say in a breathless whisper.

I knew that I needed help because there was no way that I could overpower Anthony. His lips were already so close to mine that we were on the verge of kissing. My entire body froze, and for once in a very long while, I was at a loss about what to do. I felt bad for Anthony, and I didn’t want to hurt him. However, I also did not want to betray Bradon and my own feelings.

I felt the urge to cry my eyes out and wail like a baby, yet I had to hold it in. Once again, I found myself thinking of Bradon and wishing for him to be by my side. If we were together, I believe that there is nothing that we cannot fix and solve.

Bradon... 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Just like my call was answered straight from heaven, suddenly the door to Anthony’s hospital room opened. The loud noise drew both of our attention to the man that had hurriedly entered the room. Bradon stormed into the room with an aggressive look on his face that felt so unforgiving. It certainly didn’t require anyone much imagination to figure out what was going on between Anthony and me.

"Get off of her!" Bradon yelled loudly as his hand reached for Anthony.

"Bradon!" I yelled in an attempt to stop him, but it was already too late.

Rage had taken over him and I could not stop him in time. Bradon had grabbed Anthony and pulled him away from me before pushing him away with enough force that sent Anthony falling to the ground. His groans of pain filled my ears as Bradon pulled me into his safe embrace. Anthony looked bewildered as he looked at me and then at his brother.

"What do you think you were doing?" Bradon asked in a low growl that expressed his anger.

I could feel his body shaking with intense emotion as he held me close. He turned to face me as his large hand cupped the side of my face. His eyes held mine before searching my face as if he was inspecting me for damages.

"Are you alright?" Bradon asked with clear concern.

"Yes, but please don’t hurt him," I replied before turning my attention to Anthony.

"If he isn’t my brother..." Bradon said without finishing off his sentence.

I had a pretty good idea of what Bradon was about to say. Slowly, his breathing slowed as he seemed to have calmed down. Bradon was in control of the situation now, and I was so relieved that he showed up before Anthony could have caused more damage.

"I should be the one asking you that. Why did you just do that to me?" Anthony asked Bradon with widened eyes.

His shock was apparent as he struggled to get to his feet after losing his balance and falling to the floor. Anthony’s face was flushed red with a mix of confusion and anger. He definitely did not see that coming and couldn’t understand why Bradon was acting the way that he did, and that was all because he didn’t know the full truth.

"Listen, Anthony, your brother has a very good reason for..." I began explaining as I prayed internally that I can smooth things over.

"Dahlia and I are married..." Bradon declared without waiting for me to finish.

Just like that the cat was out of the bag. Although I knew that sooner or later, we had to tell Anthony, I didn’t bet my life on this being the way that the truth would be revealed.

"What?" Anthony asked, clearly struggling to comprehend his brother’s words.

"The answer to what you asked before. Dahlia and I are married. We are husband are wife," Bradon announced slowly and clearly.

"Is that true, Dahlia?" Anthony quickly turned to ask me.

His eyes seemed to be begging me to tell him that it wasn’t true, but that was the truth. Even if everything was a sham at first, it was true that our relationship somehow developed into that of a real couple.

"We got married in your and Diana’s place and then..." I said before trailing off.

"Tell me that it isn’t true, Dahlia. How can you be married to my brother? It doesn’t make any sense. It simply can’t be true..." Anthony said as he stared from me to Bradon and then back again.

"Dahlia and I are man and wife. We are married," Bradon repeated again, his voice firm.

"That is not possible. When did you two get married? Is this even real?" Anthony asked, clearly still in denial.

I couldn’t place the blame on him because even to me it was truly hard to believe that Bradon and I became a real couple. Saying that we were married wasn’t exactly wrong; however, it wasn’t exactly right either. However, the way that Bradon was saying it with so much certainty also brought a wave of warmth to my heart.

"I guess we didn’t exactly get married as ourselves but we are in a relationship. That much is true..." I said gently.

"You’re dating him? Is that what you’re saying?" Anthony asked.

"Yes. We are in a relationship. That’s the truth," I replied with a nod of my head.

The look that crossed Anthony’s face seemed to be a wild mix of negative emotions to the point that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to understand what exactly he was feeling at that moment. Something clearly changed in that moment, and I believed that if there was a loud shattering sound every time that a bond between people was broken, then I would have heard it right at that moment. Something irreparable had shaken the bond between the brothers as they stared each other down without saying a word.

My core felt as cold as ice as I looked at the two brothers. Although no words were spoken between them, I could tell that things would never be the same ever again between them and I was the one to blame.