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Chapter Thirteen
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2024-12-20 17:36:21
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A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter fourteen
SCARED OF FEELING ~LAUREN’S POV~I could practically hear my heartbeat as I forced my gaze to stay fixed on the plate of food sitting in front of me. The mashed potatoes sat untouched, a smudge of gravy trailing down the side, but the rest of the dish looked foreign. Some kind of meat—roast, maybe?—and vegetables I couldn’t quite place. Was this even what I ordered?My brow furrowed as I poked at the food with my fork, lifting my eyes just slightly to catch Alexandro staring at me. He didn’t bother looking away when I met his gaze. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, suddenly too aware of the low murmurs floating around the restaurant. The hushed whispers, the stolen glances—especially from the women seated nearby. I cleared my throat and lifted my glass of wine, pretending not to notice. “Seems like you’re pretty well-known around here,” I said, letting the words roll off casually. Alexandro leaned back in his chair, that ever-present smirk tugging at the corner of his li
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-21A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter fifteen
FLICK OF PAIN.~LAUREN’S POV~The night began with warm moments but soon turned into confusion and frustration. As we left the restaurant, Alexandro lightly placed his hand on my back.I could feel the heat of it through the thin fabric of my dress, and it was unnervingly distracting. When he leaned closer to whisper in my ear, his breath brushing against my skin, it sent shivers down my spine. “You’ll have to get used to my touch,” he murmured, his voice low and edged with amusement. “I can’t have you flinching every time I lay a hand on you.” “It’s cold,” I lied, hoping to cover up the growing embarrassment from how acutely aware I was of his presence. Alexandro only smirked, pulling off his blazer without a word and draping it over my shoulders. The unexpected gesture left me stunned, my protest caught in my throat. “You… you didn’t have to,” I finally managed, my fingers clutching the lapels of the blazer. He didn’t listen to me. Instead, he looked at the street, as if
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-23A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter sixteen
UNEXPECTED WARM.~ALEXANDRO’S POV~ Lauren pulled away from me the moment we boarded the boat. She didn’t say a word, just wrapped her arms around herself and found a seat near the edge. Her gaze fixed on the dark waters, avoiding me entirely. She was angry. “You’re angry,” I said, keeping my voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “Well, congratulations for noticing that,” she shot back, her tone sharp, her eyes still refusing to meet mine. A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. Her frustration amused me more than I cared to admit. She reminded me of a child whose candy had been taken away—adorable, despite her clear annoyance. Before I could say more, my phone buzzed in my pocket, dragging my attention away. I pulled it out and glanced at the name flashing on the screen. Antonio. This late? It had better be important. I walked to the other side of the boat, away from the others, and answered. “This better be important for you to call me at this hour.” My tone was cal
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-24A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter seventeen
A PUZZLE OF FEELINGS.~LAUREN’S POV~ The days at the resort passed in a blur, each one feeling more exhausting than the last. Alexandro made it his mission to drag me to every event and occasion requiring his presence, while all I wanted was to stay indoors and avoid everyone—especially him. After my last encounter with Rosette, her venomous words still stayed in my mind. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she might be right about some things. I was beginning to have expectations about this fake relationship, and I hated myself for it. The idea of Alexandro using me just to pass the time filled me with anger I couldn’t quite understand. And now, here I sat at yet another social gathering, glaring at the women surrounding Alexandro. “Get a grip, Lauren,” I muttered to myself, gripping the stem of my champagne glass tightly. “Remember, this isn’t real.” But no matter how much I told myself that, it felt like a lie. If I truly believed it, why couldn’t I look away from
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-26A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter eighteen
A LONG RIDE.~LAUREN’S POV~I stood in the resort lobby, gripping my luggage tightly. Finally, this nightmare of a vacation was over. I was going home. Home to my cozy bed and, most importantly, away from people. No offense, but this trip had been far from enjoyable. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t been forced to watch my ex and his fiancée flaunting their so-called love every chance they got. And Alexandro... well, he almost had me fooled. For a second, I thought love might be possible again, but clearly, I was wrong. My heart had been broken too many times to believe in such things anymore. “Too bad we’re leaving,” Lilac sighed, her eyes lingering on one of the resort staff. The guy grinned sheepishly at her, clearly charmed. We all knew why he was smiling, and it wasn’t because he was just doing his job. “Christmas is coming,” one of my coworkers added. “Time to spend with friends and family.” Christmas. The holiday I was supposed to spend with someone specia
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-12-30A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Nineteen
CASTELLO LEGACY.~ALEXANDRO’S POV.~The ball I tossed across the room bounced back to me, and I caught it with ease. My mind, however, was far from whatever Mario was ranting about on the other end of the line. “Lex, are you even listening?” Mario asked, his tone laced with suspicion. “Yeah, yeah. Go on,” I replied distractedly, my attention still on the ball as I continued tossing it in rhythm. The merger had been a success. Despite the opposition, I, Alexandro "Lex" Castello, always got what I wanted. It wasn’t about negotiations; it was about leverage. They could either accept my offer or lose it all. No middle ground. “You’re ‘not’ listening,” Mario said, exhaling audibly into the phone. A grin tugged at the corners of my lips. Even without seeing him, I could picture the frustration etched on his face. Mario and I had been through everything together. He was my best friend, my brother in all but blood. Whenever I got too deep into something, he was always the one to pu
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-03A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter twenty
A CLEAN START. ~LAUREN’S POV~The cab pulled up in front of my apartment building. A genuine smile spread across my face as I stepped out, paid the fare and offloaded my luggage. “Home sweet home,” I whispered, a wave of relief washing over me. Dragging my suitcase behind me, I made my way toward the lobby. Isaac, the apartment’s friendly security guard, greeted me with his signature warm smile as I stepped inside. “I thought you’d be gone for a while,” Isaac said, holding a steaming cup of coffee. “Well, not with all this luggage, Isaac. Trust me, I missed my bed too much,” I replied with a grin. Isaac was easily my favorite person in the building—funny, kind, and always hardworking. Don’t get me wrong, the other tenants weren’t bad, but I didn’t socialize much with them. Some of them thought I was stuck-up, a sentiment Maddison from the third floor was only too happy to fuel during her little gatherings. “So, how was it?” Isaac asked, leaning casually on the counter.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-06A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter twenty one
THE UNINVITED GUEST.~LAUREN’S POV~Padding my way to the kitchen, I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine. I poured a helpful glass took a long sip, and allowed the warmth to seep through me.Standing there in the dim light, I finally started to relax. But the peace didn't last.A sharp knock at the door made me freeze.I peek at the clock on the wall. It was well past ten. Who would be visiting me this late?Setting my glass down, I hesitated for a moment before heading towards the door. Peering through the peephole, my breath caught in my throat.Patrick.“What the hell?” I whispered to myself, my hand gripping the doorknob.For a moment, I considered not opening it. Pretending I wasn't home. Letting him stand out there until he got tired and left.But then he knocked again, louder this time, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.“Lauren, I know you’re in there,” his voice called through the door, calm but insistent. “I'm not leaving until you let me in.” My pulse quick
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-10
Bab terbaru
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty Seven
CRACKED. ~LAUREN’S POV~He was giving me a choice. Stay. Or walk out and pretend this never happened. I could do it. I could stand up, turn around, and leave this all behind—this world, this man, this moment.But my body betrays me. My legs refuse to move. My heart slams against my ribcage like it already knows what my mind won’t admit.Alexandro watches me, his green eyes steady, waiting.I reach for my glass, wrapping my fingers around the stem like it’s some kind of lifeline. I take a sip—too fast, too deep. The champagne bubbles burn my throat.Alexandro chuckles.And just like that, my annoyance flares.“What’s so funny?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.“You, Princessa.” His voice is smooth, teasing. He drags a thumb across his bottom lip, slow and deliberate, and my stomach tightens. “You’re overthinking again.”I shift in my seat, forcing my gaze away from him, trying to focus on anything else. The soft music is in the background. The suffocating silence between us.“Well,” I mutter
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty six
DINNER AT EIGHT~LAUREN’S POV~I stared at my reflection in the mirror like I was waiting to recognize myself again. Same girl. Same long, wavy black hair. Same hazel eyes that never quite gave away enough. Same cherry lips that trembled more than they smiled lately. I was still me. That’s what I kept telling myself. But no one tells you that sometimes you can look the same and still feel like a stranger inside your skin.I let out a shaky breath, grabbing the towel from the rack. I wrapped it tightly around myself as if the pressure could somehow hold me together.Dinner.I laughed under my breath. The kind of laugh that doesn’t mean anything at all. It wasn’t just dinner, and we both knew it.I unlocked the door and stepped out, stopping dead when I saw him. Leaning there, casually filling the doorway like he belonged in every space I entered. His arms crossed, ankles relaxed, but his eyes… His eyes were anything but casual. They were steady. Focused. On me.“I thought you
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty Five
POWER SPEAKS~ALEXANDRO POV~My fingers tapped against the oak table in a slow, planned rhythm. It was the only thing keeping me grounded as my gaze swept over the polished, greedy faces of the Castello partners. Wolves in tailored suits, each one waiting for an opportunity to tear into flesh that didn’t belong to them. They pretended to be civilized. Men of honor. Businessmen.But I knew better.I could smell their desperation, their hunger, the festering need to take more than what was offered. It bled from their pores, thick and cloying, and I welcomed it.Let them feed on scraps while I carved out my empire, piece by ruthless piece.Mario sat beside me, comfortably stretched out in his chair like he had no care in the world, watching them devour each other with amusement dancing in his eyes. His fingers toyed with the unlit cigar between them, his smile sharp and cutting. The bastard was enjoying this.“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I muttered, low enough that no one but hi
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty four
THE POINT OF NO RETURN ~LAUREN’S POV~I sat there, completely still, my legs curled underneath me as if they might give out if I tried to stand. The TV in front of me kept playing, but I wasn’t watching it anymore. I was watching him. Alexandro. His voice echoed in my head. Not the deep, smooth one he uses when he whispers things that make my cheeks flush, but the one he used on that stage. Calm. Commanding. Ruthless. “She is my future. And she’s off-limits.” My heart stuttered against my ribcage like it was fighting for space. Off-limits. Future. Me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh, cry, or crawl inside myself and hide. Because it’s a nice thing to say, isn’t it? It’s every girl’s dream to have a man like him claim her in front of the world like that. But when did we go from pretending to…whatever this was? When did I become his future? I don’t remember signing up for that part. My hand covered my mouth before I could make any more embarrassing sounds. “God,”
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty three
BURN WITH HER ~ALEXANDRO’S POV~Mario’s pacing was a steady rhythm against the ticking clock mounted on the wall. It grated on my already-thin patience, but I didn’t look up from the documents spread out in front of me. The ledgers were clean now—on paper, at least. The cargo had been accounted for. The Russians thought they were clever. Thought they could steal from me and walk away unscathed.Idiots.I had already made an example of the ones stupid enough to stay behind. Their blood was still fresh on my knuckles this morning. I’d washed it off, but I could still feel it. Still smell it.They keep trying to paint me as the devil.Maybe I am. But the devil doesn’t touch what’s his without consequence. And Lauren? She’s mine. Even if she doesn’t know what that means yet.I loosened the tie at my throat, my jaw clenching as my thoughts drifted back to last night. Her lips parted under mine. Her body was soft, and pliant, offering everything and asking for nothing in return. I should
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty Two
SCARED OF LOVE ~LAUREN’S POV~I was drowning in his kiss. The way his tongue claimed mine, slow at first, then deeper—demanding, consuming—like he had all the time in the world to ruin me. And God, I was letting him.My hands fisted his shirt, clutching the soft material like it was the only thing tethering me to this moment. To him. But I wasn’t tethered. I was free-falling.His mouth moved with a kind of hunger that made my knees weak, and when I swayed into him, he caught me without breaking the kiss. Strong hands slid down my sides, curving around my hips like he already knew every inch of me. Maybe he did. Maybe I was always meant for him to hold this way.I gasped into his mouth when his hands gripped my thighs and lifted me—effortlessly like I weighed nothing. It wasn’t even a question that I’d wrap my legs around him. But it wasn’t a question. I did. Without thinking. Without breathing. I felt his low groan vibrate through me as he turned, carrying me across the roo
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty One
RUINING LAUREN~ALEXANDRO’S POV~She’s quiet. Too quiet.Lauren sits beside me like she’s a stranger in my car, her body angled away, her gaze glued to the window as if the glass can shield her from the truth. From me. As if distance, even imagined, could protect her.It won’t.I grip the steering wheel tighter, the leather biting into my palm. The need to reach over, to pull her back into my space, is a sickness I’m fighting with every breath. But if I touch her now, I won’t stop. And if I don’t stop, I’ll ruin her in ways she’ll never come back from.My jaw ticks. I’m already ruining her.The silence between us is a battlefield. A war neither of us is willing to start because we both know it’ll end in blood. Maybe hers. Mine.I exhale through my nose. Controlled. Restrained. I’ve made an art out of restraint. But not with her.Never with her.She’s taking apart me in ways I never wanted. And now I’m sitting here in the wreckage, wondering when I stopped being the one in contro
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Fifty
Unanswered Questions~LAUREN~He exhaled. A sharp, heavy breath that somehow felt like it sucked the air out of the entire room. His eyes locked with mine, but I wasn’t sure what I saw in them. Anger? Regret? Maybe both. Maybe neither. Maybe something I couldn’t even name.“Get ready,” he said. Just that. Two little words, like they weren’t going to tear me apart.And then he was gone.His door shut behind him with a dull thud, and the sound lingered in my chest. I stood there, still, staring at nothing. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to move or breathe or scream, so I did none of those things. I just stood there, letting the silence crawl over me.What just happened?My hand found its way to my chest, pressing against my heartbeat. It was frantic. Messy. A sharp contrast to the man who had just walked away as none of it mattered.But it did. It mattered. I knew it. I felt it in the way his lips had moved against mine. I saw it in the way his hands had trembled when he touched me
A Mafia’s Trillionaire for Christmas Chapter Forty Nine
TOO LATE FOR WHAT?~LAUREN'S POV~Sleep wasn't an option. It hadn't been for hours. I lay there in the dark, still as a corpse, staring at the ceiling with my heart beating out a frantic rhythm in my chest. The photographs were burned behind my eyelids. Every time I blinked, they were there. Patrick's hands on me. His face was too close. The twisted narrative of it all. The lies threaded so neatly between each image, so carefully crafted it made me sick. Someone was watching. Someone who wanted me afraid. And I was. But not frozen. Not helpless. I was angry. Anger was something I understood how to use. I pushed back the covers and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, grabbing the robe I'd tossed over the chair hours ago. My skin prickled with a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion. I was brittle, too sharp, and stretched thin. No matter how many explanations I tried to piece together, everything led to the same dead end. Alexandro. It was always him. Maybe thi
