Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance’s Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden) novel - Chapter 78

Chapter 78 Brooklyn Instead, I move to the opposite side of the room, to where the photo albums are. Some of them are very old-a hundred years or more, even. The academic in me wants to explore those early photographs, but instead I reach for the newer bindings farther down, hoping for some information about Hudson and his upbringing. I take a few volumes over to the little chair, flipping through.

I smile, recognizing Hudson's face in a few of the first photos, but then frown when I realize that they're too old-grainy old photos, with fashion from the 1980s… I blink, shocked, realizing that these must be pictures of Aden when he was a child. Fascinated, I flip through, looking at the people who must have been his mother and father, his family. His original pack.

I quickly flip to the front of the book where I find a picture of a beautiful, dark-haired woman, who is happily caressing her pregnant belly. This, I'm sure, must be Aden's mother. I study her face for a resemblance to her but frown when I can't find it. Aden's looks, like Hudson's, must likewise come from his father. Hoping for pictures of Hudson as a child, I put this album down and pick up the next one. I'm shocked, when I flip it open, to see that it's actually Aden's wedding album.

Slowly, I flip through the photos and take in all the details of their beautiful Italian wedding. It looks terribly romantic, situated at a beautiful vineyard, the couple's private table set up under a wide-branching olive tree. There is a photograph, right at the beginning, of the beautiful bride, her stunning face quite serious as she looks directly into the camera. Her dress is long, lace, and clinging-the opposite of the one that I had chosen for my own wedding.

Well…the one Aden had chosen for me. I wonder, passingly, if it was an intentional choice, remembering that none of the dresses selected for me looked anything like this. I return my eyes to her face again, her hair tightly pulled back so as not to distract from her severe expression as she raises her chin and looks proudly at the camera. I find myself quite moved by her, curious about this noble-and am I imagining it? A bit melancholy?-mafia bride.