“I guess I’ll be able to make the performance after all” I said into my phone as I stared at my reflection at the mirror. It was my ballet instructor Margaux, firm as a rod but was the sweetest woman when she let down her tight bun and slipped into some comfortable converse instead of her ballet flats.“I thought you wouldn’t be back until after a week, is the wedding done already?” I was already unconsciously stretching my taut muscles just at the sound of her voice, and I could imagine her rallying around me, nagging until I got my postures correct.“Slight change of plans Margaux, I need to be back, I almost forgot why I left in the place” I said, I could imagine the slight nod of her head as she said “Alright then, see you when you get back, I’ll place you in the line up”“Just one hour Helena, and it’s done, you’re far away from here, away from him and away from where the truth matters”Just one hour.I sang it like a mantra.Mama and Papa weren’t too pleased with my decision to
I never made it to the airport, just one hour had turned into several hours later and that moment I was stuck in the hospital with my brother’s blood smeared on my face and the creamy dress I wore stained with his blood.“It was the Anotti clan” I heard Paulo say to my distraught sister and mama. Mama was hysterical, papa had been shot same with Luca, but Luca had died on the spot and Papa was in critical condition and from the looks of it, he wasn’t going to make it.I couldn’t listen anymore to mama’s hysterical sobbing after the doctor announced that Papa indeed didn’t make it, I needed to leave, go somewhere the smell of antiseptic and bad news wasn’t clinging to me like a second skin. My legs were shaking, but somehow they carry me forward into the hot afternoon air.I stumble out into hospital courtyard, gasping for air, feeling like I’m in a nightmare but just as I step out, I see Dante approaching.I don’t have strength for thisImmediately, I turn back around willing myself to
DANTE’S POV“The Anotti’s are going to pay for ruining my wedding brunch”I tapped my cigarette on the coffee table, a glass of whiskey in my hand while I listened to my cousin Paulo drone about how he was going to get back at the Anotti’s for what they did to the De Luca’s. It was all mouth of course, it wasn’t his fight and the only reason he seemed so upset about it was they were ruining his whole wedding experience with Vivianna, she seemed like a sweet girl but I doubted Paulo was doing it for love. No man in Algreen Cove got married based on just love, marriage was business for us, I’m offering your something and I want your sweet virgin daughter in return.Now this trailed my mind back to Helena, our marriage had been an alliance deal, strictly business, she would play the sweet doting and faithful wife and I helped her Papa move his goods across state and that was it. I didn’t have to be faithful, the D’angelo men were never faithful but as her luck would have it, I didn’t tou
HELENA’S POVI hear the gun shot, thick and loud, slicing through the suffocating air while my arm was held captive by Tony Anotti, the heard of the Anotti gang and apparently the one my father owes a large sum of money. My body reacts before my mind can catch up, a visceral jolt of fear rippling through me as I try to duck under the nearest seat but Tony holds me in place, his eyes widening from the suddenness of the sound. For a moment, I’m back at the brunch – my brother’s weight pinning me down and his blood dripping on my face. Panic claws at my throat, threatening to consume me.“Stay still woman” Tony swipes at me as I struggle in his arms, I see my sister and my mother holding each other in fear as the rest of the congregation scrabble out of the church from the sound of the gun.“Run” I tell them “Go – now!”They were hesitant to leave me behind but my sister pulls my mother out and a subtle relief ripples through me except it didn’t last, because just as they run out another
“So you want a marriage of convenience?” I watch him light another cigarette and takes a slow drag, exhaling the smoke in a lazy, deliberate motion “And let me guess, with no strings attached?”“I’m not going to be some puppet for you to control and do as you please. We get married for show, you pay off my father’s debt and we keep up the charade for a year at least and I go back to Paris, back to my life”He let out a soft chuckle, the sound low and dark, sending a shiver down my spine but I wasn’t done yet “I have rules, rules that we have to abide to if we want this to work”He doesn’t take his eyes off me “Speak Helena” why did he always have to call my name like that? causing the hairs at the back of my neck to stand at an awkward angle. I couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, whatever courage I had managed to summon in the last minutes was slowing dying with each second he fixated his dark eyes on me.I took a deep breath, steadying myself before I spoke “Rule no. 1, sex is off the tab
I shivered slightly when he gripped my neck, his hands sliding upwards into my hair, then he pulled my face to his and it was so close his breath fanned my lips, hot with a hint of cigarette smoke.“Spread your legs” his command was cold in my ears and with a shaky inhale, I did as I was told.His hands ran up my legs, pressing him thumb into my inner thigh with a harshness that made my insides tighten in a way that I did not expect. My legs were spread and I felt the cool air brush my panties and I became suddenly aware of how wet I was. He pulled me closer until my bare breast grazed his chest. My breathing was erratic as he growled in my ears“God – Helena. I want you so bad it pisses me off” and then he bit my neck – hard.I whimpered at the impact, feeling the zing on my neck but the pain slowly morphed into pleasure when he pressed down on my clit through the fabric of my thong. He forced my head back and then he sucked a nipple into his mouth.I quivered, a soft moan escaping m
DANTE’S POV“What the fuck happened Helena?”She drew a deep breath, and rested her head against the seat “I really just want to go home Dante?”I grabbed her face, forcing her to look at me where my eyes could drill into hers “We’re not leaving until you tell me what got you so tensed up?”“I really don’t want to make a fuss about anything, you’re quite reckless D’angelo”“I won’t” well, it depends.“Then promise me you won’t do anything rash”“I promise” it was a bold faced lie.Then she sighed, her fingers intertwining together as she prepared herself to speak, her soft green eyes working their way into my chest “The worker – or cashier, I don’t know – ” her voice trailed off “Well, I bought a couple of things and he said he didn’t have any change so I turned around – ” she hesitated.“Jesus Christ, Helena – speak” I was growing impatient. Anger crept underneath my skin, it was slow but burning “Did he touch you?”“No” she said back a little too quickly “It wasn’t that big of a dea
HELENA’S POV“You didn’t” I whispered, more to myself than to him “You said you wouldn’t do anything”The air in the car was thick with tension, a suffocating silence filling the space between us. I stared out the window, watching the city lights blur as we sped down the road, trying to process what had just happened. My mind kept replaying the image of the flames licking up the side of the convenience store, the sharp crackle of fire as it devoured everything in its path. I hadn’t seen Dante light the match—only the aftermath. But I knew. God, I knew.“He touched you, Helena,” Dante said finally, his voice cold, measured. "He deserved worse.""That’s not how you handle things," I murmured, still staring out the window, refusing to meet his gaze. "You can’t just burn everything down."His response was immediate, sharp. "I can, and I did, and I’ll do it again if I have to. You might as well get used to it principessa"I forgot how ruthless he could be, how arrogant and how daunting his