~Roman~
Betrayal. It’s worse than watching your loved one’s casket rolled down six feet under; crueler than taking a bullet for someone you care about; brutal than accepting torture for not singing your enemy’s song. It left a vile taste in my mouth, my insides pleating as I stared into Viviana’s trusting gaze.
Her hold on my hand anchored me on earth, preventing me from drifting to hell. I am one fucking second from unleashing my anger into this cruel world.
Why can’t my life be fucking simple? She’s everything I desire, the one thing in this world that I wanted to have… and now, I’m presented with this choice. The woman I love or the one I promised to protect with my life… who betrayed me.
What a fucking cruel gam
~Roman~“What?” Rio asked, turning towards the fridge once again to grab another beer. “Cat got your tongue, or your tongue is still buried in Viviana’s pussy?”“Leave her out of this,” my molars grind.Rio huffed, shaking his head. For the first time, he averted his gaze from me and looked into the open window, pain washing over his face. “I trusted you,” he said. “I thought you were my saving grace when you saved me from Duarte’s cartel. Turns out, you were just like everyone, ready to use me for what I can do, for what I am.”“You know better than that, Rio. I might have withheld the truth from you, but I treated you as my brother from the beginning, protected you with my life.”
~Viviana~Throughout the entire week, I’ve looked forward to this day because I’ll see Roman again for another weekend getaway. I’ve been on edge since we parted on Sunday night. We exchanged messages and talked each night before we went to bed, but I could feel it in my bones; something was up with him.It’s Friday, and he was meant to pick me up from school after class. However, the moment I got a message from him saying he won’t be able to make it tonight, that unwanted gut feeling bloomed to a full-blown worry.I’ve been anxious all day. He hasn’t responded to any of my messages like he used to. This is so unlike him.After class, Alana and Kobe invited me to come to a party outside the campus. I didn’t really grasp the
~Viviana~I want to be rude and tell her I’ve got nothing to say to her. My mind was already counting all the reasons Roman would lie to me about his whereabouts, and dealing with Lena’s tantrums was the last thing I needed.“Please,” she pressed, setting down the beer bottle on the Spanish Cedar countertop. Then I noticed the slight shaking of her hand, which compelled me to nod and agree with her request.I followed her out to the jam-packed pub, weaving through the lines of tables out to the chills of the autumn evening.We didn’t walk far from the building. Lena took me to the end of the parking lot, right where I parked my car. Taking notice of the parking lot for the first time, I realized how obvious that the car belonged to me. It st
~Viviana~Our gaze locked. Recognition immediately prevailed in those gray eyes. Those subtly full lips that once gave a reassuring smile for saving my life pressed on a hard line. His almost perfect cruise of pointy nose crooked in the middle from a punch or two crinkled a bit as he inhaled deeply, closing his eyelids. As I stared at his right arm and backed up to his face like an idiot, I realized I was the only one astonished by this discovery.Guilt, remorse, these emotions were written in his face as he heaved, sweat dripping from his forehead to his thick brows, falling directly down to the matting under his bare feet. Swiftly, he wiped his forehead with the back of his bandage-wrapped hands.It’s clear. He knew who I was, not as the woman he saved, but as the girl he tried to kill.
~Viviana~“I get it your brotherhood in the Outlaws comes first, but that doesn’t mean a thing to me,” I stated as calmly as I could, considering his situation.He shook his head. “He’s my brother, by blood, Viviana.”If seeing Rio’s tattoo wasn’t enough of a surprise for one night, this definitely crawled up the list of trump cards life has to slap in my face.“You’re joking, right?” I murmured, convincing myself this was just some shitty prank. “Saying he’s your brother won’t stop me from killing him.”Roman pressed his eyes shut, and I got a view of the dark circles adorning his face. He’s tried. From the way his shoulder slumpe
~Roman~Words will never be enough to pronounce the emotions flouncing inside me.“I love you, Viviana…” I repeated, pressing our forehead together as I wiped her tears, well aware of how drenched my cheeks had been.She didn’t deserve this pain of knowing what my true relationship with Rio was. I foresaw this happening, but I never thought she’d choose to forgive Rio for me. I never thought she’d look past his sins because she loves me. She’s too good for me, too fucking good.“Fuck. I love you, amor.” I gave everything I have into the kiss she allowed me to have.“I love you,” she said, holding on to me as if her life depended on it, flinging her arms around
Palermo, Sicily, five years later.~Viviana~Happiness, the state of being happy. But how do we set the bar to signify we are truly happy? I’ve been asking myself this question for a while now.I’ve reached a few of my goals. Only a few since they’re never-ending. I wanted to finish college, and I did. I wanted to dance for a living, and I did. But after owning a studio, it faded into the background of my desires. A status quo. Something I do on a daily basis, like on manual function.To constantly move has always been my motivation since I resided here in Palermo after I lost everything. Even that lost its allure in the list of the things that make me feel alive.Travel the world? A lifetime is not enough t
~Roman~ Like the criminal that I am, I stood under the shadow of the tree, far enough from the parking yard in Luciano’s mansion, but close enough to see her. As her car rounded the corner, the languid roll of her Ford’s wheels mirrored the slow beating of my heart. It was slow since it’s been lifeless for a fucking long time. Four years, eight months, and thirteen days. She’s so close. So close that my nose tipped to check the wind propagation at the thought of breathing the same air she does. So close that my mouth salivates at the possibility of tasting those lips again. So close that my nails carved half-moons on my palms at the thought of holding her again. It made my blood flow rapidly through my veins—warmth seeping into my busted heart, pumping it to life. It
~Viviana~ Our wedding passed by like bliss. I hardly paid attention to everything that we rehearsed, the vow I’ve written, the food we’ve taken time to choose, and the toast by Nico and Tina for Roman and me. Everything was perfect, I’m sure, because now I’m wearing my wedding ring and have Roman’s name. All I wanted to do was get Roman alone. If it was up to me, I would invite him to miss out on our own reception and act as though we’re eloping teenagers, get away with him. But I can’t do that. Nana Teresa was here, and she’d kill us if we did - literally. My mom, who walked me down the aisle and handed my hand to Roman with teary eyes, might understand our eagerness to be alone, but that won’t stop her from chastising us. We cannot just abandon our friends who witn
~Roman~ It’s funny how time flies by when it felt like yesterday; I was naked, kneeling down on one knee, pleading for Viviana to accept me and be my wife. Three months have gone by since then. In our villa’s guest room in Las Mencía, I studied the reflection of the man staring back at me in the full-body mirror. A perfectly pressed Prussian-blue suit clung to his body with crisp white dress shirt underneath and a tie with light blue and silver patterns clinging to the collar. A boutonniere of white orchids and lavenders attached to his lapel, a miniature version of his wife’s bridal bouquet. What he wore looks expensive, a magazine-worthy attire, but that isn’t what he wanted to freeze at this moment. It’s the happiness
~Viviana~ It was no surprise that everyone was already out of the villa when Roman and I stepped out of our room. No wonder they put me far from everyone’s room. I don’t know if I should be thankful to my friends for torturing me. They knew how much I missed Roman and still kept this a secret from me. Anyway, what matters is Roman is here. I won’t feel rueful to have fun while he’s still working. “You should’ve told me.” I nudged his shoulder as we walked down the stone path leading to the beach. We were both sporting casual beachwear. Topping our swimwear with white tanks, khaki shorts, and flip-flops. Sunglasses protect our eyes, but our smiles mirror one another. Roman had his hair tied in a low ponytail while mine was in a high ponytail.
~Viviana~Saturday morning, Penny practically knocked down my door and strutted into my room. I lay on my front, covering my head with a pillow, when she tried to wake me up. When I kept on refusing to get out of bed, Penny dropped her voluptuous blond ass on my back.“Get off!” I groaned, wiggling from under her, but she shifted and draped her entire frame over me like there was no human being under her.“It smells like shit in here,” she murmured, lying eagle spread above me, her front pressed on my back. “No wonder Roman isn’t eager to go home to you.”“Shut up,” I groaned, voice muffled by the mattress as Penny made herself comfortable.It has been six agonizing days s
~Roman~Three days. That’s how long I’ve been away from Viviana, and I was already losing my cool. Turns out, Rio didn’t only make a mess at the Phantom’s pub, but he also messed up a business deal Red was trying to close that night.No wonder Red was damned pissed he didn’t even want to answer my calls. I had to get to the bottom of the situation before seeing him personally. We might be friends, but just like me, he also answers to the people he’s working with.“What do you want?” Was Red’s warm welcome to me, a scowl etched on his face.He kept the door of his Malibu mansion wide open. I took it as an offer to come in. If this was any other guy, I wouldn’t walk through the angry lion’s den. But Red and
~Viviana~Sometimes, knowing the truth doesn’t truly set us free. Sometimes, knowing pulls us back into a limbo of twisted emotions from which we are trying to run away.Mathew told me another piece of the past dad hadn’t written in his journal.Did dad know I would cross paths with Rio? Did he anticipate I would try to kill him? Maybe he expected me to seek justice for his death and find Rio, kill him. Did he purposely withhold the truth to save me from the pain brought by the knowing?Rio didn’t choose his mother over my father. He tried to save them both, but dad knew Summit would find a way for Rio to suffer. He knew his end was about to come in the hands of his student, no less.Did he also tell Rio not
~Viviana~One could hardly tell Rio and Roman’s relationship based on their looks. Roman had electric blue eyes while Rio had smoke-gray hues. Roman had sharp jaws, high cheekbones, while Rio had soft-edged jaws and delicate-looking cheeks.Last I saw him, his figure was lean, not too muscular but taut enough that you’ll know he’s taking good care of his body. Now, he’s almost flesh and bones. His hollow cheeks forced his cheekbones to look edgy, the kind that tells a story on its own. He’s deprived of nutrients - by choice or not, I couldn’t tell. His skin was dry as if one scratch and he’ll bleed. The white shirt he had on and jeans were hanging loose on his body as if they were two sizes too big on him.Even in this state, my heart is void of sympathy for him. All I have
~Viviana~After making sure that Roman had already boarded his flight to California, I also boarded my flight to Colorado.I never thought I would exploit having Zia as a friend, but she and Xavier were more than happy to help me, tossing in Bo as my company. As the miles between me and my hometown grew thinner, my heart kept pulsing against my temple, turning my vision hazy and the knots in my stomach twisted painfully.It had been seven years since the last time I set foot in the states. Even when Lu told me it was already safe for me to go back, I refused to do so. His warning to stay away from US grounds gave me a reason not to visit the painful memory this place had given me, and I kept holding onto it up to this day.Tot steps, I told myself. I have to face my fear
~Viviana~ After giving me a chance to catch my breath, Roman slipped out of bed and headed to the ensuite just in time for the dawn to break. The explosion of orange, yellow, and delicate pink slivers passing through the ajar balcony door bounced on my face, making my eyes squint. Groaning, I groped for a pillow and shielded my face from the soft morning light. The soft tap of Roman’s feet on the carpet mingled with his hearty chuckle. “Come on now,” he scooped my tender frame in his arms, taking me into the bathroom. I sighed as soon as my body submerged into the warm water he filled the tub with. He set me in the middle, sliding in behind me, his masculine scent mixed with the evidence of our coupling, and violet mist demanded me to keep my eyes closed.