Page 3 of A Wife’s Duty

A nother new apartment . Lucia glanced around the apartment she had been placed in just last night. This was similar to all of the others, including the soldier at the door, waiting, watching.

It had been three days since he last took her out. Other than late at night, feeling the bed dip, she hadn’t seen him. Even then, she hadn’t really seen him, just felt him as she slept with her back toward him.

Married life wasn’t quite what she thought it would be.

At least, not right now. She still didn’t know a great deal about her husband, other than the fact he was an outstanding dancer.

Three days ago, she had gone to one of his many nightclubs, and they danced.

Not for long, maybe an hour, but it had been the most fun she ever had.

She didn’t know for certain if that was sad or not.

Even when she lived back home, she tended to be constantly on guard.

Moving from room to room, but avoiding the office, she had come to realize that Boone didn’t have a single personal effect. Not a single item to his name.

Well, that wasn’t true. He had a lot of items to his name, just none of them personalized.

No pictures. Nothing to show who the man was.

Sure, there were random books, from murder mysteries to romance, to horror, to mechanics.

There were not a lot of books, but enough to keep someone entertained for a long time.

There was nothing of his history. She didn’t even know where he went to school or what he did for a living. She knew he must have some kind of association with what her own family did. Her father was one of many capos within the Bonaldi family.

Bonaldi was in charge, and told everyone else what to do. Boone was not part of their world, but was he like Bonaldi? He must have been, to instill that kind of fear into the men she had known, who once seemed to have none.

“What are you looking at?”

She spun around to find the man himself looking at her. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard him enter.

“Boone? I mean, Mister Grinder.” She felt her cheeks start to heat.

He didn’t dispute her.

“Is that how you greet everyone?”

“Uh, no, you are my husband.” Lucia hated this. She was so out of her depth. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing. Her hands felt a little clammy.

He’d not been home during the day before. Usually, he came in, as he did three days ago, barking orders about what he wanted to have done.

There was no dress in his hands this time. Nothing. He stood, one hand slid into his pocket, the other by his side.

“And my husband deserves to have a special title.” She was clutching at straws right now.

Normally, she wasn’t around when her mother greeted her father.

She often heard a slap, and seeing as he was usually in a bad mood, it was safer for her to be elsewhere.

That was where she often was—elsewhere. Her brothers and sister were usually there to greet him.

He never wanted to see the disappointment, and that was exactly what she was to him.

Boone continued to stare at her.

“You can call me Boone,” he said.

She nodded and then pressed her lips together, as if it was going to be the most impossible task for her to complete. What the hell was going on with her? He was going to start hating the woman he married if she didn’t get her own head out of her ass.

“Good afternoon, Boone,” she said. There, it finally came out of her mouth, and she must have sounded like a stupid fucking child. She didn’t like this.

He smirked.

Why did he get to find this so funny? Nothing about this was funny.

“Is there anything I can get you?”

“What are you looking at?” He’d caught her staring at—surprise—blank walls.

She turned to look at the blank wall and then back at him.

“You don’t have any pictures, or much in the way of artwork.

Back home, it is odd to see a blank wall.

” Her father was always replacing artwork with newer, more expensive pieces.

When they had parties where more families under Bonaldi’s power came together, it was her father’s bragging rights.

The artwork, the expense of it all. Every single capo did it.

There was always some elaborate piece of furniture on display, or an expensive trinket.

Parties were exhausting with men and women talking about their possessions.

It was each capo’s way of showing the favor Bonaldi had given them.

She didn’t know if any of them noticed, but in most cases, it was all the same.

No one got better than the other, but all of it was earned.

She was under no illusion that someone had been hurt in acquiring certain artifacts or trinkets. Death within the Bonaldi meant more power.

She hated it, but there was nothing she could do about it.

After all, she was just a woman, and no woman in that world had any power, other than her virginity.

Their only selling point was their innocence and beauty.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have beauty, much to her father’s irritation.

At eighteen, he had tried to remove her from his family.

Not by killing her, that would have been a shame on him.

He tried to get her married to someone, anyone, but no one would have her.

She pulled out of her thoughts and instead focused on Boone.

“That was what I was looking at.”

He nodded. “I want to take you out to dinner. Come on.” Boone reached for her hand, and she froze.

“But I’m not dressed.”

At first, Lucia couldn’t believe she had even defied him enough to not move. He had reached for her, Boone was her husband, he was the one in charge. She should never try to stop him in his tracks.

He stopped and glanced down at her, and there was a frown between his brow. “You’re not in pajamas.”

“But I am not dressed to go out.”

She wore a plain blue dress, plain but nice, and comfortable for the hot weather. She didn’t have any makeup on, nor was her hair perfectly styled. She had pulled the locks back into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

Also, her mother would be upset as she wore socks with the dress, and she had on a pair of sneakers, when all women in a dress should wear heels. Again, her mother’s assessment, not her own.

“You look fine,” Boone said.

She wanted to argue with him, but again, that was another big fat no.

If she argued with her husband, that would make him angry, and then he was entitled to slap her.

She knew that wasn’t normal, but once again, within her own world, that was very normal.

Hitting or beating the wife happened. Her own mother had put up with it.

All too soon, it didn’t seem to matter as they were out of his apartment building, and once again Boone was full of surprises as he didn’t go straight to a car. He held her hand, and they walked outside into the glaring sunshine, and it was beautiful.

They stopped and she stood, waiting. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slid them on, then held a pair out to her. This was a surprise. She took them, opening them up and sliding them on her nose.

Also, he pulled out a cap, and again, she didn’t know where he was getting these things, but this time he didn’t hand it to her. No, he slid that on her head, to protect her from the sun.

Who was this man? This was ... shocking.

Then, he took her hand. Right there, in the middle of the street. His men surrounded them, but still gave them space. They were close enough that if anyone decided to attack, they would be able to protect them.

But Boone held her hand, and that was what was actually blowing her mind in that very moment. Boone was holding her freaking hand, in public, for others to see.

They walked down the street. Again, something so very normal, and yet, in her twenty-two years of age, she had never done anything this crazy before. It was insane. And it felt so amazing.

She must seem like such a weird person to be so happy to be walking out in the sunshine, but she couldn’t help the smile that filled her face. She was so unimaginably happy.

Lucia breathed in the fresh air, or as much of it as she could, being in the city, filled with the fumes of business, cars, and trucks, but she didn’t care.

Back home, she would have no choice but to keep her head down, to not make waves, and not talk to anyone.

That was what she was constantly told to do. She hated it.

Now, this was a new taste of freedom, and she loved it. It felt incredible to her. And she didn’t want it to end.

Did he think she was a child? She suddenly realized how happy she felt. It was so quick, and it made her nervous, and then she tried to reel it in. She had to. If he knew how much she enjoyed this, he might take it away from her.

She had no idea where they were going. Glancing from shop window to shop window, she tried to figure out his plan. She watched as he moved in close, and then she felt his lips against her ear.

“You can enjoy yourself. I have no rules against that.” And just like that, he pulled away.

He’d seen. And he wasn’t angry? Lucia didn’t know if she should relax or still be on guard. She didn’t know anything. Her mother hadn’t exactly been very forthcoming.

“You should consider this marriage a blessing, Lucia. No other man has wanted you, and what he wants, he gets. Remember that. If he wants to hit you, stand and get hit. You don’t fight back.”

That was the speech her mother had given her on her wedding day, just before she had gotten married. That she should accept anything from this man, because he had decided to marry her. It was embarrassing, but not entirely surprising.

Her brothers and sister had often used her as the butt of their jokes, literally telling her to her face that she was too ugly to be married. It was like a bucket of cold water on the whole experience.