CORNELIUSThriving in the asshole department was what I did these days.I was beyond mad. Mad at myself. At her. At my fucking life. When I sent her away to Santa Monica, I did so because I loved her, because I was protecting her from me, from Mafioso, from this sort of life but remembering her face back then.Remembering my actions, forcing myself on her, forcing her to accept me, that right there clawed my insides like Lucifer’s hell hounds nipping at my soul.The nastro azzuro swirling in my tongue did nothing to numb my thoughts or the gut-wrenching feeling weighing me down like bricks.I preferred a bottle of Sam Adams any day to whatever shit I was drinking at the moment. The bartender, a pale gringo who’d eyed me cautiously since my ass settled on the damn stool looked a tad bit apprehensive when I asked for another bottle.Was I drinking way too much for one night? Maybe, but I’d prefer knocking myself cold with hard liquor than going back to the mansion. An hour drive back an
LYDIAKids in high school were mean, I remember the first time I got humiliated. I had been invited to some party Robert was attending and since I was head over heels in love with him, I’d practically jumped at the thought of me spending some quality time with him.I remember I had gone to the extreme of riding a mechanical bull for him just to get him to notice me. Only the ride had been dreadful because the queen bee of my high school had altered the speed of the contraption, I was seating on.I remember the bull moving so fast my dinner threatened to make an appearance from my stomach, I remember all the kids watching me and laughing at me.And most of all I remember being flung from the said bull and hitting the nearby juke box with my head.The pain had been unbearable almost like the pain that was flogging my head right now. I could bravely relate that incident with my current predicament.The smell that came along with my surroundings at least calmed me down. My ears peaked up
CORNELIUSSomething wasn’t right.I had almost gone nuts searching for her. Ready to fucking go back to La and confront Mafioso and yet here she was.Apparently rescued by one of my workers in the estate. I had looked into the man the minute he called saying he had rescued Lydia.A little digging and the slate came back clean. Not a single thing that could have connected said man to Mafioso. Still, there was something wrong with…her.It was in the way she looked at me. The way she’d avoided me for days.I mean sure telling her I loved her in my not so graceful way might have spooked her but I wanted her to at least say something to me.To talk to me damn it.To tell me she hated me and this agony of watching her from afar would end.Jesus Christ even Dog had gotten more words out of her than I had these past few weeks.The mutt went with her everywhere and I was stuck in my office making calls, watching her from my window, lusting over her, getting choked in her presence and God knew,
LYDIADoing this didn’t mean I was accepting him.I could have solaced myself with the fact that he was hurting and that the shock had somehow hit him hard and I was merely trying to ease him of the pain.I could have also have comforted myself with the fact that I was kissing him out of pity. To help him but in all honesty, I wasn’t.I had tried ignoring him for days, tried to keep this big of a secret from him and I failed.He had confessed his love and, my heart burst with the urge of telling him that yes, I somehow had feelings for him. That Jamie was a mistake. And he was, a big fucking one at that.With the said days I pondered over his words, everything becoming crystal clear but at the same time so difficult to swallow.Great he didn’t kill a man but he still pushed me away and yet…I went willingly because I saw him a monster.Because I wanted him to be a swooning billionaire with a good heart and clean untainted hands only life wasn’t unicorns and rainbows, he did what he did
CORNELIUSI-I shit it was her.I might have forgotten her face but I still could remember those eyes staring down at me encouraging me to take a swing on the ride in the old park in LA that was demolished years ago.“Put your guns down”She bellowed and my finger didn’t stray from the trigger as Lydia held onto my arm urging me to put my Glock back to where I had whipped it from.But I could see it, I could see the fear and surprise in Lydia’s face as we both glared at the man in front of us.My mother.Christ, Sussanne Powers stood between us caught between the spit fire…“What’s he doing here?” I hollered as Joaquin’s eyes strayed to Lydia and the need to blow his brains out screamed in my head with an uproar.Joaquin hand on his damn gun didn’t falter as he looked at the woman who birthed me with the same same questioning eyes.“Please”, Sussanne placed her gun on Joaquin’s lowering it, till the said thing rested on his side.Lydia’s hands hugged my shoulder encouraging me to do th
LYDIA“Lydia so sorry to call unannounced but can I say Metro Chronicles hasn’t been the same without you. We all miss you and I was wondering-““I’m not coming back, Jack. We both know what fired means. That I’m to never step foot in your building?”Jack’s breaths sounded uneasy from the end of the line.“Had to be done unfortunately, you know how business is. People talk, if you continued working here it would only end badly for you”So basically, gaslighting me into thinking me getting fired was my fault and necessary. How had I never seen my ex-boss like this, he was an—asshole.“And why do you want me back now? Isn’t that for business?”The old fart chuckled trying to lure me with that sales man voice that once had me eating at the palm of his hands“Come on, Lydia. I’m offering you a nice deal here. Deals like these never come twice you know”Right, deals that were induced with the fact that my name was now respectable in LA after Connor cleared everything up and threatened to s
CORNELIUSCarlos, the love sick pup had tortured the truth out of me and if it wasn’t for me confessing about his woman, he wouldn’t be as mellow as he was now.I dunked another glass of scotch mentally groaning that if they kissed one more fucking time I would barf.“Are you planning on getting drunk?”Lydia asked a furious brow daunting her olive skin. This double date was bad fucking idea.While Carlos and Henley were busy playing lovebirds, Dia and I were…what was the right term for it, fighting? No, in disagreement, that’s right.She was mad at me for telling Carlos about the whole Henley staying at her place situation and well I was mad because…I could still remember her eyes when I said the word baby. What? After all that shit that had escalated between us was trying to start a family with her that bad?Was trying to finally settle down that bad? Or was she just not ready? For us? For me?“I’m trying to survive”, I said with an obvious smirk pointing my glass towards the coupl
LYDIAAs a couple we were doing great so far. Connor had at least tried to be supportive and if we were going to be serious about this, the first step to take was meeting his family.Even though he viewed me meeting his family as some sort of way courting me, I still appreciated the sentiment. He wanted us to be together for real. Forever and no matter how patient I wanted us to be the truth still lurked and the truth was we loved each other and deserved to be happy.I smiled nervousness eating at my palms as Connor’s aunt walked with me to the kitchen.“I’m glad you settled things. It’s my first time seeing him happy since he lost his mother”I didn’t want to poke my nose into the whole Sussanne issue. Connor was still sour about it and if anything, he hadn’t exactly told his family about the whole Mafioso thing or his other side hustling drug trafficking gig.Victoria Powers must have noted this because she placed her ladle on the kitchen counter eyeing me with curiosity. Fifty or m
ZADE"Wait, wait, wait. The woman you've been seeing has amnesia, a kid, a boyfriend and now she has miraculously gotten her memories back? Forgive me for laughing but you were never cut out for love. Wait and dad disowned you? Seems like you have yourself caught up in a jam bro", Sawyer's voice came from the other end of the line as I carried my duffle bag into my truck looking at the mansion one more time.I sure as hell wasn't going to miss this place in the least bit.I hit the road and with Sawyer at the end of the line maybe the way to the airport wouldn't be that bad.I needed someone asshole talking to me about my mistakes so that they could dim out everything I felt at the moment.The fire station was going to be constructed under the supervision of Falcon, a man I had no doubts was more than capable especially after I had ensured everything was in order before I left.While I was going back to San Francisco a couple million dollars poorer well I had done what needed to be do
CLAIREZade was back and he was standing in my living room gazing at me as well as the other pairs of eyes that did.A ginger haired woman with two kids stood by the corner with her husband who still couldn't drop that look of I think I've seen a ghost.There was another blonde woman with the same same look...then another woman...then Zade, my parents and then him and everything didn't make sense.I opened my mouth to say something but the words wouldn't force themselves out as I looked at the man who stared at me the way Zade did.Like I was his entire world.Like I meant a lot more than I knew. And I especially couldn't breathe when I realized he looked exactly like Axel.Axel's father.But why was he staring at me like this was his first time doing so? Like he couldn't believe I was standing in front of him and Axel either.I didn't want to cry.Axel was in his room if he had heard any noise he would start making a ruckus and God knew I wasn't in the right mind to calm him down be
CORNELIUSFreedom.I never yearned for it. I never even wanted in the first place and here I was a two week free man.My family had really done it pulled all their connections enough to make sure I would only spend two years and some months in prison and not more.And when I had left prison with quite a nickname, my operations didn't stop.My life was rotting away anyway the least I could have done was taking a job that befit me as who I truly was.And I must admit taking down gangs while in prison was no easy feat. It had started as some sort of thing between me and Javi.I had saved him. Against my butter judgement I had saved him from the Gatos earning a week in solitary. A cold place that I rightfully earned and from then on I was fighting criminal gangs in prison killing a few just so I could end up in solitary alone like the monster I was.One year past and suddenly I was some hero to the inmates only they didn't know I did what I did because I wanted to punish myself because I
ZADEWhen I saw her the only thing i had thought about was how much fun I would have taking off that dress of her body and kissing every inch of her skin till I had enough of her.And when I had gifted the kid a saber plastic sword and he had hugged me I had wanted him to be part of my life too.I wanted both of them to be in my life and yet funny how life was a bitch waiting for the right moment to strike.The Smith sisters and other women getting too clingy for me to bear, I had gone upstairs.I loved attention. Attention from women but the only attention I needed at the moment was from the woman who's heart had swelled the minute her son cut the cake and took a fist of the cake before anyone could get a slice.On my way to Claire's room, I had almost stumbled to Vienna Smith which prompted me to hide in the next room.The next room didn't get any better when I heard the footsteps coming my way with so much urgency I had to hide.An unfortunately for me the only hide-able place arou
CLAIRE "Your skin is glowing", Riley commented, I hid behind the comment by trying to seem busy with the ingredients laid in front of me."Must be the new serum you got from the market the other day", Vienna Smith added taking another balloon in her hand.I preferred to remain silent for lack of a better lie to come up with. I couldn't just tell them that he you guys know what? I've been sleeping with Zade Cutler since last week and I've been fucking enjoy it.We've fucked in my own shop at the old observatory that's near completion, in his car and ooh did I mention he has a cabin just for us?If the that didn't shock them, then definitely telling them that I had been reckless enough with Zade not to use protection definitely would.Plus I wanted Zade and I to be a secret. If anyone got news of our relationship then people would talk and even if I wasn't majorly dependent on what people said for me to exist, I still didn't want the town to pressure me into something I didn't want.I
ZADEShe regretted it. If the empty space next to me didn't say so then I didn't know what did.Part of me still mad that she had gone without as much as leaving a note, the other part of me was still reliving what happened last night over and over again like it was all a dream I had woken up from.I fucked women ofcourse I had fucked them but what Claire and I had was way beyond fucking.Her moans, me grunting, her pussy against my dick and the feel of it. Damn it was like a vise grip holding me tight rendering me weak until using protection flew out my mind the minute I kissed her.Some part of me know she might have regretted it, the part that had decided to call it to a halt when I realized we might have gone too far but leave it to my dick, the one thing that had led me where I was at that moment to make a rash decision.But I didn't regret it. I would never regret it because it might have been the best might of my life and I was not joking when I said that.Come to think of it,
CLAIRESober or not, I enjoyed this.I could feel him everywhere, I could feel each and every thrust hut my hilt till the only coherent thing that came out of my mouth was his name.We could have gotten caught but I was too high on my orgasm and a little too drunk to care.His hand in my hair pulling at it till my scalp stung, I bucked my hips against his dick feeling it fill me to the absolute brim and his lips?He was kissing me, he sucking me, he was doing something with his fingers that had me on chokehold that had me squirming and dancing in delirium.When he finally came inside of me and I felt ropes and ropes of his seed inside me, I only took one large gulp of breathe before my whole body folded into his.And for a few minutes all I could do was feel his breath on my shoulder, feel his cock warm my insides and at the same time listen to the sound of his heart beat as it did with mine.I made an attempt to stand up not really sure what had happened but very sure I wanted more a
ZADE CUTLER"Okay, if the mayor loses and that's a good if, we'll go to Falcon's after this, you'll pick a guy any guy and go with him at his place with no protests"I had spotted them the minute they stepped foot on this God forsaken contest. On my way to atleast pass them a greeting or two, the brunette carrying Axel had uttered those words and I had slowly retreated to the back of the crown bumping into the one woman I didn't want to talk to in the first place.Courtney Neal. An ex who had suffocated me since Sunday.I was a piece of scum for dumping her the way I did but that was decades ago. While I'm not going to lie that she had matured into one gorgeous woman I was about as uninterested in her as I was with a soap dish.And all night she'd done one thing and one thing only.She had hovered over me like a pesky mosquito and while I tried my best to keep my pretences, laugh at her jokes once in a while, compliment her on her looks, my eyes still found someway into the crowd and
CLAIRE"Should we perhaps add sesame seeds?""Good God, Frida the pie is already baked", my father grunted taking his coat from the rack."Pie! Pie!" Axel clapped, I laughed.Running five minutes late, my mother was jittery. Last minute jitters my father called it.And my dearest father had stood watch over the pie like a sentinel. He was trying to ensure an incident like last time didn't happen.An incident where mom got nervous added a whole lot of cinnamon to the pie last minute that had made my dad hundred percent sure they would have won had she not done that.Not trying to raise their hopes up but this year's pie was a sure win. You could taste the pumpkin right in there, the texture of the pie itself was crusty and smooth but not like the monstrosity of last year.I would be cheering on if I didn't know for a fact that the Cutlers had this in the bag.Genevieve to this day was still the best pie maker, something I was suspicious about but decided to let it roll down my back.If