His dark eyes slowly filled with lust as he gave me a slow once over. "But I'm not at all. I have been watching you all evening. But when you ignored me outside, I thought it wouldn't be easy to woo you. But seeing your state, I guess I was wrong."Anger flared up in my veins. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes from him made me cringe. I hated the stench of cigarettes."What the fuck are you doing? Are you out of your mind! Let go!" I pushed at his chest, but his tall form didn't budge much. And when I tried to move away from the wall, grabbing my hands, he pinned them on both sides of my head."I'm out of my mind. Those sexy legs just aren't leaving my head. Now don't play so hard to get, beautiful. Someone had their chance, now I want mine."When he pressed himself against mine and started palming my inner thigh, something snapped inside me. Panic burst through my veins. A familiar dread filled my mind.I tried my best to push him away, but he was too powerful for me. "I said let g
Duncan's POV "Harder!" Trying his best, he landed a punch on my jaw. It hurt, but not enough to make me even flinch. My lips curled up into a sneer. "I said harder!" Grabbing his neck, I aimed for his nose. A faint crack was heard. With a curse, he stumbled back, holding his nose. A fear flashed across his brown orbs as he glanced up at me. Drops of blood rolled down his nose that joined the sweat of his well built body. But not strong enough. Not enough to dissipate the volcano inside me. "Fight!" With my jaw clenched, nostrils flaring, I spit out. But he only took a step back. Fucking coward! Advancing him, I grabbed his arm before kicking in his gut. He tried to move away, but my blow was faster. One after another, my fist kept meeting his bloodied face. His grunts of pain and pleadings were music to my ears. His blood reminded me of that bastard back at the party. The bastard who dared to touch my Sandra. MY Sandra! My form shook with rage as I continued to make h
Cassandra's POV The girl struggled in his grip, letting out choked coughs. Leaning in, he hissed out, "Next time, my hand won't be just around your throat. It will tear it off!" With that, he threw the girl on the ground, snatching a whimper out of her. "Uscire!" His deep voice boomed across the room. I flinched. That bulky man rushed to the girl who was in a coughing fit before he dragged her out of the door. I was frozen in my place. Due to the distance and darkness, I couldn't see the girl's face properly. Who was she? "You're snooping again, cuore mio?" My heart lurched in my chest. Turning around, he took slow steps towards me. Slow and predatory. Gulping, I took one back. Once the amber glow of the fireplace fell on his sinful features, a tiny fear flickered in me. Those dark icy blue eyes were aflame. The rage swirling in them demanded death. This man was dangerous. I licked my lips, snatching his attention to my mouth. Blue eyes darkened more. "I wasn
A freaking prince?!I gaped at her."But how come no one knows about it? I didn't hear anyone else calling him with his title."She placed a glass of orange juice before me. "His Highness likes to keep his past private. He doesn't even like it when I call him by his title. But I do it out of habit."I frowned. "Why?"Who wouldn't want to flaunt it to the world? Being a royal wasn't a small deal.At my question, something crossed over her features as she flashed me an apologetic smile. "It's not my place to say it, sweetie. I already said enough."I nodded, munching on the fluffy pancakes. It tasted heavenly in my mouth. She was indeed a great cook."I understand." My gaze glanced around. "I haven't seen anyone in this mansion since last night, other than Duncan and you. Does he live here alone?""Yes. He prefers privacy. I only come here to cook for him as he doesn't eat outside. And a cleaner comes once a day to clean the mansion. We can't even enter his bedroom if not allowed." She
"Are you sure you saw that painting in his bedroom? The same one from the exhibition?" Beth asked, her eyes were wide.Sipping on my steaming mocha, I nodded. With a thin blanket wrapped around me, I leaned into the gray leather couch of Beth. While Em gaped at me, excitement dripped from her teasing smile. "I still can't believe you spent a night in Duncan De Sylvano's castle, in his bedroom!"After nagging me non-stop, they got some information out of me about what happened at the party. Of course, I didn't include the kiss and that incident. But I did share about Arianna and how dangerous Duncan De Sylvano could be. "Don't assume anything. Nothing happened. I was tired and he took me to his house, that's it. I didn't even let him enter the room," I said, glaring at her. The little conversation we had with the door between us flashed across my mind, sending butterflies to my stomach."I can't believe you kicked him out of his own bedroom. You have some guts," Beth said. "Did you a
Turning to the right, escaping a growing traffic, I let out a sigh. Thank God I borrowed Beth's car as mine was back at my building. It felt so good driving a perfectly fine car after struggling months with that clunker of mine. I glanced at my phone. No calls or messages from him for almost half an hour. He was oddly silent considering the uncountable amounts of calls and warning filled messages I got from him after Aaron left. He was furious. As much as I enjoyed getting on his nerves, I hated it when he tried to control my life. I was used to living life on my own terms. And his sudden dominance in my decisions didn't sit well with me. But even when I was mad at him, there was an excitement running deep in my veins. I was thrilled at the thought of what he would do when he would get his hands on me.I had provoked Mr. De Sylvano many times since last night. And he wasn't the one to tolerate it.Checking the location again, I drove through an alley. It was past ten, and those all
Once we reached outside his enormous mansion, the horror crawled back into my mind remembering the reason he brought me there. And my struggle to break free started again when he carried me inside the house with long powerful strides.In the whole ride, he kept me in his chest with his arms tightly wrapped around me. His sweet kisses made me forget about the mayor and about the promise he made to punish me.As he walked through the door, Maria rushed to us. Pink coated her cheeks, noticing my very uncomfortable situation."You can leave now, Maria. Good night," Syl said, in a very deep and authoritative voice. It vibrated through my body."No! She won't go anywhere!" I couldn't stay with this brute alone in his mansion. God knew what he had in store for me."Your every order will be her command, but not tonight, cuore mio" he said, making my heart skip a beat. Her command? Why? I wasn't her employer. Flashing an apologetic smile, Maria nodded in respect. "I will see you tomorrow. Ha
"So perfect…" he groaned, licking his lips as he squeezed my ass. I gasped. My cheeks burned from embarrassment and the heat that awakened every nerve of mine. My heart pounded down my chest."S-syl…What are you doing?" I whispered, suddenly feeling shy and…naked before his eyes. A shyness I never thought I had in me. "Let me go.""Never." Those intense dark icy blue eyes met my gaze as I looked at him over my shoulder. "This is the one thing in this entire world that I can't give you, cuore mio. You're stuck with me forever."My eyes widened, heart skipped a beat. F-forever?Before I could think of anything, he positioned my ass higher. "Now count!""Ah!" A sharp slap on my right cheek snuck a squeak from my mouth.It burned my soft skin. All the desire suddenly evaporated as I wiggled on his lap to break free. "That hurt you fucking…"Another slap landed, much harder than before. "I said count!"His voice was deep with his sinful Italian accent."I won't…"Another stinging slap o
I took a deep breath before opening my eyes. Butterflies stormed in my stomach furiously while my heart raced down my chest. The music from the church and the chatters of people flowing to my ears made my palms clammy. "Are you nervous, Cassie?" Em asked. While my other best friend smirked at me. "I thought you were the most excited bride of the century. But it seems like, you're just like an ordinary girl like us too, soft and emotional." "Shut up, Beth!" I shot her a glare. "I'm not nervous!" I denied. Liar! Syl suggested we hold our wedding after the delivery, but I couldn't wait. I already waited for months before finally convincing Syl that I was healthy enough to go through all the arrangements. Growing up, I never believed in love and marriages. But now, after having him in my life, I didn't want anything else more than I wanted to marry that brute of mine. Somehow…it became my dream. To have him as my husband and tie us together for the rest of our lives. But now that t
My intense glare didn't bring any changes to the man's stoic features at all. I tried with my puppy eyes earlier, but I failed. Now my glare was in vain too. The loud music blasted across the nightclub, colorful lights moved around. The beat compelled into moving the body. But there was no smell of sweat, perfume and alcohol like a typical nightclub should.Why? Because there was not a single person in this whole place other than the bartenders, the bodyguards outside and my freaking Italian royal prince, who stood before me! After being away from parties and drinks, being seven months pregnant, I had an intense craving to go and enjoy the night in a nightclub. But this brute wouldn't allow it! I knew alcohol wasn't good for pregnancy, but a few sips wouldn't hurt! My hormones wanted it. I knew how to avoid being careless. And he complied to my eager request, only to vacant an entire nightclub and remove all the alcohol from the place. Only music and juices were available. "How da
His grip on my waist tightened. I felt him taking a deep breath against my neck, his entire form was tense. "Those guards you saw weren't our men, they were his. As we shifted to the villa, De Sylvano Mansion wasn't guarded by many guards. So it was easy for him to take them down and replace his men. And he did all of that the moment you sent me the message." The message? I remembered Vincenzo mentioning it. He had hacked my mobile and somehow stopped my communication with everyone. If not for Ron and the guards following me, they wouldn't have known where I was heading to. A chill ran down my spine thinking what could have happened if Syl hadn't arrived there on time. "That bastard had his men set among the guests in the wedding," Syl continued. "He was planning to attack while distracting us with his fake location. He knew I would send Ron and some of my men there to grab him and it would make it easier for him to attack. But when…" Dark icy blue eyes met mine. "When I left
Blinding flashes sparked from down the stage from the darkness. Cheers and whistles made the night awake while the slow music urged me to move further. The spotlight moved with me as I walked down the ramp with the red princess gown flowing around me, my hair swayed gently with the whoosh of air. I walked with utmost confidence and a bright smile, while my heart palpitated at the dark gaze that devoured me from somewhere in the audience. Goosebumps spread across my skin with a pair of flaming eyes set on me like a predator. And then I found myself falling from the stage and wrapped into a pair of strong arms. Intoxicating masculine crisp cologne surrounded my senses. Dark icy blue eyes stared down at my amber ones with a look that made my heart skip. Suddenly I found myself in a nightclub, pressed against the wall by a furious Italian billionaire. His lips were inches away from me. "A kiss?" I heard myself whispering. The location again changed and I stood in the middle of a hall
Blood ran cold in my veins. With a drop of tear rolling down my cheek, I stood there frozen. My heart slowed down for a moment before it started pounding against my ribcage. My hands shook at my sides realizing who was standing before me. Vincenzo Zolvesky.The man I was running from was waiting in my own house. My legs stumbled back, the cold doors hit my back, leaving me no escape. "You…" Words stuck in my throat. "W-what are you doing here? How dare you come to our house!" The side of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk. "Is that how you greet your guests, Miss. Brooks? Or should I say…Mrs. De Sylvano? That's the title Duncan De Sylvano used in that hospital after all." Something dropped inside me. H-how did he know what happened in the hospital? Did he…have someone to keep an eye on us? They were following us from the hospital? That's how they knew we went to the wedding. It explained why his men roamed among the guests hiding their identities. They were waiting for the ri
Turning around swiftly, we found the two men who passed us earlier standing behind us, along with the tall man in the middle. Their guns were pointed at us. And the eyes of the tall man were set on me. A cold smirk tugged at his lips. My heart stopped. They were here for…me?Vincenzo's men. A panic started to rise inside me. My heart started racing. I thought they were guests…That meant…they were waiting for the right moment to attack, hiding themselves among the guests. How did they know we were going to attend the wedding? "Give her to us and we will let you go. Don't make it hard," said the tall man in a calm tone. "Step away or the consequences will be bloody," Ron hissed, one of his arms shielding me. "Carter! Call for backup!" he shouted to one of the guards. But before Carter could take his phone out, one of the men beside the tall one tackled him on the ground. And instantly, Ron shot him on the shoulder. A muffled scream left me as they advanced Ron. Gunshots star
Now? What happened all of a sudden?Ron suddenly rushed inside the church, nodding at Syl. His stance was tense, the guards behind him stood stiff. My heart started to race. Gripping my hand in his firmly, Syl took me away from the bride and groom. They gave us concerned looks but couldn't ask anything as guests surrounded them to congratulate the newly wedded couple. The stormy rage across Syl's features scared me more. "Syl, what happened? Why are we leaving so soon?" Before I could get an answer, Ron interrupted us. With his face hardened with determination and urgency, he had a grip on his gun. "Boss, my men just confirmed it. Vincenzo is there. They got together in that old motel for some meeting." My eyes widened. Vincenzo? They found his location? Syl's lips curled into a sneer. "It shall be the last meeting of his life. Did you instruct our men to take their positions?" Ron nodded. "Yes. As soon as they confirmed Vincenzo's presence there, they took action. They spr
My heart stopped. I was…pregnant?A slight panic rolled in my stomach. I knew these pills weren't safe enough! My fear turned out to be true!W-what should I do now? I wasn't ready to be a mother. I didn't know if I could take the responsibility. What if I couldn't be a good mother…"Hey! It's fine!" Em grasped my hand. "Don't be nervous. Calm down and think about it. It's not as horrifying as you think it is. Plus, you will have to tell Duncan about it too." I licked my dry lips. "I…I don't know, Em. I…" "It's alright. I know it's overwhelming, but trust me, being a mother is the most beautiful feeling in this world," she said softly. "We're here for you, especially Duncan. You don't need to worry as long as he is with you." She hesitated before continuing. "But if you have other plans, then he will understand, I'm sure." A shaky sigh left me. Syl's words from the morning echoed in my mind. I knew he would be there with me no matter what. But I didn't know what decision I needed
Morning arrived and I couldn't be more anxious and excited at the same time. I had stayed in our room the entire night talking to Beth and Em on video call, planning things for the wedding. Only at two in the morning did they say goodbye and left to rest. And my Italian stayed out of the room the whole night. Though I felt him wandering before the door a few times to check if I was alright until I fell asleep. My cold shoulder was taking a toll on him. A knock on the door resounded softly in the room. "Sandra? Baby? Are you awake? I've brought breakfast for you." I huffed. I wouldn't have opened the door if not for carrying on with our plan. Rising to my feet, as I walked to the door, a sudden dizziness hit me. Clutching the knob of the door, I held myself still and took a deep breath. Once the door opened, tired yet soft icy blue eyes greeted me. And my treacherous heart skipped a beat. "Good morning, mia regina." Placing the tray of breakfast on the small table beside t