Chapter 35: Become my secretary

"You can go home," Soraya said through gritted teeth, keeping her voice low so Claire wouldn’t hear her frustration. "I haven’t even been here for twenty minutes."

"I can’t leave you here alone," Santino clarified, showing no intention of changing his mind.

Claire glanced between them before moving closer to Soraya. She seemed to understand that arguing with Santino would only prolong the situation.

"I think you should go, Soraya. It’ll be dark soon, and we’ll be seeing each other every day starting tomorrow, except on weekends," she reminded her gently.

Soraya hummed in reluctant agreement. Turning towards Claire, she wrapped her arms around her in a warm hug.

"Let’s talk properly later. It’s really wonderful to meet you," Soraya whispered.

After pulling away, she waved goodbye to Claire and walked ahead towards the car, leaving Santino to follow her.

They were just about to get inside when Claire came hurrying towards them. She tapped on the car window, and Soraya immediately lowered it to see what she wanted.

Claire pushed a box into her hands with a cheerful smile. "Take these home and eat them. I know how much you love chocolate croissants," she said. Then, with a playful look, she added, "And don’t forget to share them with your husband."

Soraya stared at Claire for a moment before thanking her for the box. Claire stepped back from the car and waved goodbye with a cheerful smile. Soraya turned in her seat to wave back, continuing to do so until Claire was no longer visible.

Once the car pulled away, Soraya settled comfortably against the seat and turned towards Santino, her expression revealing her frustration.

"This is exactly why I didn’t want you to come with me," she complained. "Whatever business you had, you could have taken care of it and let me stay there. I met Claire after so many months, and you barely gave us any time together."

"It’s strange that you met your best friend after such a long time," Santino retorted. After a moment, he seemed to remember something and added, "Come to think of it, you didn’t even invite her to our wedding."

"Did you even give me time to think about any of that?" Soraya shot back, raising her voice in disbelief.

In the front seat, the driver kept his eyes firmly on the road, pretending not to hear their conversation.

He had worked for Santino long enough to know that his boss rarely backed down from an argument. However, when it came to Soraya, Santino often found himself holding his tongue, even when she was the one raising her voice at him.

"If I had left you there, I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on the work we’re going to handle. Besides, you’re free to visit Claire starting tomorrow. If I can make compromises for you, you should be willing to do the same for me. That’s what being husband and wife is about," Santino explained.

Soraya lowered her gaze but remained silent. She knew there was some truth in his words. She had once imagined that marriage meant understanding each other, making compromises, and considering each other’s needs.

However, ever since Santino had forced her into this marriage, she had found it difficult to do any of those things for him. Even when he tried to accommodate her wishes, she struggled to respond in the way he expected.

’Angelo told me to stay calm around Santino and try to see things from his perspective,’ she recalled, thinking about her brother’s advice.

"What’s this important work you mentioned?" she asked after a moment.

"It’s related to my business," Santino replied casually. "If you’re interested in finding out more, you’ll have to become my secretary."

Soraya turned to look at him, only to find him smirking as though he had deliberately offered her a tempting opportunity just to see how she would react.

"No. I don’t want to know," she huffed, pressing the button to close the car window.

Santino’s smirk gradually disappeared, and his expression returned to normal. He felt relieved that Soraya hadn’t questioned him further. For now, he preferred to keep his dealings separate from her, especially when they involved matters he had no intention of letting her become entangled in.

They finally arrived home, and Soraya handed the box of chocolate croissants to a maid before heading upstairs. She wanted to change into something comfortable and rest.

"Boss, did you two fight again?" Marco asked when Santino entered the house.

"No. Why?" Santino replied, giving him a questioning look.

"Come to my study," he said, deciding not to waste any more time on the matter.

Before leaving, Santino glanced at the maid and instructed her, "Make sure Soraya eats her dinner. I might be late, so don’t make her wait for me."

With that, he headed towards his study with Marco and Leo following him. Once inside, Santino closed the door, took out a cigarette, and lit it with his lighter. He took a drag while waiting for his men to report what they had discovered.

"Boss, I looked into the activities of the port managers over the past three months. As Franco mentioned, the mole is likely to be one of them," Leo explained. He placed a set of documents on the desk and continued, "I discovered that Enzo Furtado has been in contact with a suspicious individual."

He handed Santino the documents containing the records of their phone conversations.

Santino took the papers and began examining them, holding the cigarette between his fingers as he read through the information.

"The number is from Spain as you can see in the code," Leo added.

"Hmm. Then, did you find who this man is?" asked Santino.

"No," Marco replied. "I talked to a friend in Spain and, through him, searched for this number. Turns out this number went out of use three days ago," he affirmed. "Also, whoever had it wiped out his existence. It’s an unnamed number."

Santino let the cigarette into the ashtray. "Let’s keep a close watch on Enzo instead of attacking him. If we question him, the Spanish Mafia may get alerted. I don’t want that to happen."