Chapter: EpilogueI heard things from the darkness when the pain in my chest stopped. I didn't understand it. The words time and death were the only ones that registered. After that there was a commotion. That familiar voice was screaming, and another voice answered. Everything was in distress and I just wanted to yell for them to be quiet. I needed to think. I needed to know where I was. Why was I in darkness?Suddenly, the pain returned. The one in my throat. With cold hands, I grabbed my neck, hoping that whatever was causing the pain would go away. But it didn't. I started coughing. Then the light slowly returned. Not the blinding one, but the right one. Warm, vivid—real.~*~The fluorescent light on the ceiling was the first real thing I saw before I felt the pain in my throat. My eyes stung from the tear
Last Updated: 2021-06-30
Chapter: Capitolo XLILucas~*~It has been four slow, cruel and torturous days and I stayed beside Mari every second of it, only leaving when I needed to go change or wash. The rest, I was a guard dog watching over its food.On the second day after Mari was settled in her room, Chase arrived, bloodshot eyes, and a little skinnier than the last time I've seen him. The fact that I was a little bit relieved that he was here for Mari dissolved when I learned that Gian still wasn't getting any better.On the third day, Mari jolted off her bed and the machines went overdrive with beeps. I fucking shit myself when I heard her gag over the tube that was in her throat to help her breathe. The nurses and the doctors that rushed in were frantic and also relieved at the same time. I almost choked the nu
Last Updated: 2021-06-29
Chapter: Capitolo XLI see nothing.I feel nothing.I can move nothing.But I can hear everything."You have to wake up, Mari," the voice pleads. It was...eerie and familiar, but I can't seem to remember who.The darkness was everywhere. And I was in a never-ending fall towards it. The first thing that crossed my mind was sleep paralysis. I was having an episode of sleep paralysis but this one I can't fight. I remain still, unmoving, dead. With all the energy that's left of me, I tried to reach and follow the voice. But it was no use. Instead, I let the darkness eat me up.~*~
Last Updated: 2021-06-28
Chapter: Capitolo XXXIXLucas~*~14 hours.Mother and father left for a quick purchase of food as Harriet lay asleep on her bed. Her even breathes, her pulsing heart and the slight movement of her eyelids; I take them in for a moment, thankful that she's alive. I don't know what I'd do if I got there too late—if Mari got there too late. Jack had arrived a few hours earlier and brought me my clothes. Washing my face from the sink in the bathroom, I momentarily stare at the fucked up in the mirror. Tight jaw, dark bags and five o'clock shadow. Anger filled me as I stared at my reflection. The superficial flaw of my face is nothing compared to what Mari and Harriet have. They had bruises and wounds and stitches while I got fucking eye bags. I should'
Last Updated: 2021-06-28
Chapter: Capitolo XXXVIIILucas~*~8 hours.Mari has been in the surgery room for 8 motherfucking hours. Felix was done with my bullet wound, I washed my face, paced the floor exactly 16...17 times and there's still no word of what the damn shit is going on.I'd called my parents and told them that Harriet was in the hospital. I called Chase to tell him about Mari. I called Jack and told him to bring me a change of clothes. They were on their way. But that was 4 hours ago. Now I'm just a fucking mess pacing the floor praying for...a fucking miracle. God! What's wrong with me?I sank to the floor, frustratingly gripping my hair with my fingers. Betting my luck, I dialed Sigmund's number again."Wh
Last Updated: 2021-06-27
Chapter: Capitolo XXXVIILucas~*~All I see is red. Red from anger, red from panic and red of my Mari's blood, pooling under her body as she lay weak on the floor. I heard every gunshot behind the damn door, all eight of them now in Mari's body. Handing over my sister to the big man, who I learned is Thomas, I told him to call for the choppers. I then ran towards Mari. She was a paper coated in red, limp and pale. Her eyes heavy and tired, her focus in space."Mari," I said, slumping to the ground beside her, out of breath as blood drools down her chin. I grabbed her head, carefully bringing it on my lap for comfort. She grunts in pain. From there I saw a few bullet holes on her body. Heart thumping and face steaming, I calm myself. "You're going to be fine."Her face is wet with sweat and tear
Last Updated: 2021-06-26
Love and Lust (Hamartia Trilogy Book 2)
Everything was going downhill.
Caterina Mari Santelli is having trouble. At first she struggled to remember who the man in her hospital room was. Now, she doesn't exactly know if she loves him or hates him even more (the thought of planning a wedding to a man you hate isn't exactly inviting). She's also in distress knowing that her plans aren't going the way she planned. To add to her list of dilemmas, she's having PTSD and is afraid to even hold a gun, much more shoot one.
Lucas De Marchi is just a dazed man walking. Something warm towards Caterina was building inside of him. He knows exactly what that feeling is and knows exactly how dangerous it is. But despite his efforts to stop his feelings, he always finds himself doing dirty business with her or for her. He's confused about Mari, and he's worried about his family and his sanity.
To finally put that luscious cherry on top, Matteo Santelli, Caterina's uncle, has heard of her and Lucas' soon-to- be-wedding and is mad for being uninvited.
Now the church doors are open. Only problem is, no one knows exactly if it's for a wedding or a funeral.
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Chapter: Santelli - De Marchi: The Union (Part 2)We had two more quickies before his dick calmed down. Shower sex was never my strong suit because it required so much leg work. My own pair has a mind of their own when there's a dick nearby. But I enjoyed it with Lucas, nonetheless. After our session, we both showered together, made out a little longer like teenagers. It was different, of course. No, I didn't let Lucas wash my hair, and no, I didn't wash his body. We were fucking grown ups in a hurry for our wedding. It was a little too intimate for me, and I don’t think Lucas and I are at that level in our relationship. In fact, I don’t know if we’ll ever be.We were quick to fuck and even quicker to shower. Time was running, and I was starving. Sex always makes me hungry."You know I'm thinking about your offer on eloping," Lucas says.We
Last Updated: 2023-07-01
Chapter: Santelli - De Marchi: The Union (Part 1)Coconuts will forever be my comfort scent, I thought as I close my eyes and inhale the coconut-scented candles and essential oil.I woke up this morning feeling like a nervous wreck. But my nerves are now calm thanks to the three sticks of cigarettes, and a glass of wine I had for breakfast. Now I'm in the bath, my safe place, the only room in the house I know nobody could barge in. Not even Chase. Savor the moment, Caterina, my inner voice soothes. The last bath I'll have as a single woman. Just like the sleep I had last night was my last slumber as a Santelli. If you can call it sleep. I was tossing and turning the entire night, restless and frustrated that I cannot seem to find the right spot. I felt like I just closed my eyes when the alarm went off.Today's the day. The day I officially started my mission to kill the people who had the audacity to exile my
Last Updated: 2023-07-01
Chapter: Capitolo XXXIIt was the last fucking supper.The last dinner that I'll have before I officially become a De Marchi and I am sitting on the table filled with mouthwatering Italian dishes alone.Fucking house! Where the goddamn hell is Lucas?The entire day, my stomach was turning. I was in a shitty mood because of the nerves. All I wanted was to have a breakdown for a few hours, and remind myself how much of a bad bitch I am after. But no time for that. Instead, I poured the feeling of uneasiness to Theresa Wills who arrived before I woke up and decided to have alterations of her own. Tough luck, sister. This is my wedding. I gave her the bitch stare all day
Last Updated: 2023-06-30
Chapter: Capitolo XXXYou really need to fake it until you make it. I've never understood that shit before I favored that pink dress from my usual black jumpsuits. The dress was a gift from Chase. He gave it to me for Christmas. He knows I don't like flowy dresses. It was a nuisance to move around and try to cover your privates in case you needed to run. It was the bow around the waist that ruined it for me. Yet I was still a good friend and kept the dress. I knew it would be put to good use. I just reminded myself to burn it before the day ends.I needed to blend in. It was my plan of distracting Lucas' mother. From what? From my dying—probably dead—father. I needed to make her think that I was busying myself with this wedding and not with other things. She needs to see my domesticated side. A side that I clearly do not have but had the chance to develop in under an hour. It's amazing what pressure can do to a pers
Last Updated: 2023-06-29
Chapter: Capitolo XXIXLucas~*~ I couldn't help but gape at Mari. It took every drop of self control for me not to order her to get on the table and ask her politely to strip off her robe. I wondered what she was wearing underneath the silk fabric. Or if she's wearing any. I mentally ordered my dick to knock it off before I embarrass myself with a fucking hard on while we eat. It was oddly satisfying seeing Mari like this; hair damp, barefooted, on the head of the fucking table like she's the goddamn queen. If my father waltz in the dining area and sees Mari on the head of the table and not me, he'd flip. But I let it because my girl is powerful, she deserved to be on that spot, deserved to be treated like queen despite her pettiness last night. She was sexy as hell, with her smirk and her pale legs c
Last Updated: 2023-06-28
Chapter: Capitolo XXVIIII woke up and my eyes immediately focused on the bottle of aspirin and the glass of water on my bedside table. Thank God! Groaning, I reach for them, fighting off the growing headache from the night before. I reminded myself to take it easy with the help today.Three realizations hit me as I pop two tablets in my mouth, finishing the water in three big gulps. One, I realized how petty I reacted to the situation with Lucas. The one where I put a bullet on his thigh, and the one where I let him sleep without a blanket. He deserved it, but I know that I wouldn't hear the end of it once we actually get married. Which is why I decided to shrug it off, and finally be the big girl that I am. Two, I remembered that today was my fitting day with that gown that has been sitting in my closet for months. I'd finally get to try the laced veil that was hand sewn and shipped from Russia, courtesy of Cassandra, Lucas' friend and his family's personal seamstress. I noticed how people like Sigmund, and
Last Updated: 2023-06-27