Judah's POVI glanced over my shoulder, " Oh I'm not done with you. I just realized I haven't seen mother yet. I should say hi before I deal with you. I plan to be here with you for a long time." I give her my best imitation of Joker's smile and exited the room.Mom's room was unlocked, and knocked, " Mom, it's Judah. Can I come in?" There was some rustling on the other side of the door for some seconds, " Yeah, come in baby." I slid the door ajar and entered, Mom lay on the bed, a wet towel on her forehead."Mom, you okay?" I moved swiftly to sit on the armchair. " Come sit on the bed with me." She lifted her body and sat up. I sighed and did as she said."What's the towel for?" I reached over and touched it, it was cool."I'm having a bit of a headache, I don't want to take any drugs so I decided to do it the old-fashioned way, I can already feel it working. Enough talk about me, how's Aurelia? Is she still in pain? Does she need to see a doctor? You should call a doctor to check
Judah's POV Father's eyes flickered from me to Camilla, I leaned against the wall, prepared for his outburst."What the fuck? Camilla, why are you on the ground? Someone better start talking before I lose my shit." He banged his hand on the door.Camilla's eyes widened, and a little smile formed on her lips, she must have realized that Father wasn't aware of what she had done. Her eyes filled with tears and she sniffled, " Daddy, I don't know what I did wrong. I just had a little misunderstanding with Judah's wife and he ordered that they should lock me in this room.Father's head rotated and his glare almost stung," Judah, what the hell? Realize your sister right now. I knew that wife of yours did something to you. You're turning against your family because of her." I crossed my arms over my chest and stood straight, " I will do no such thing, Camilla, oh please stop with the lies, it's becoming pathetic. You fought with Aurelia, you assaulted her when she came here. She has bruis
Aurelia's POVMy face ached twice as hard as it had before I slept. I groaned as I tried to adjust myself, I had slept on the sore part of my face. I tried to raise myself but I was too weak, maybe I would just stay in that position for another hour, my stomach growled in disagreement. My fingers brushed my phone, I checked the time and it was already time for dinner, the painkillers must have knocked me out for a long time. I gathered all the strength I had and went downstairs.Judah sat at the head of the dining table, he was bent over, focused on his phone. I pulled out my chair quietly and sat down."Aurelia, how are you feeling? Are you still sore?" He asked, he flipped his phone over on the table and watched me with keen eyes. How the hell had he known I had entered d, I had tried to be as mute as possible."A little although I'm feeling much better. I'm still sleepy though, I think it's the drugs." Lisa and Opal served our food, as they worked, their eyes were fixed on my fac
Aurelia's POV" No way, absolutely not. We're going somewhere else. I refuse to go in there." Judah gripped the steering wheel, veins popping out of his neck."Oh come on, you can't refuse, it's my choice, I've never been to an amusement park before, "" I'm not going in, it's too risky, this is a public place, and I have a lot of enemies, if anyone finds out that I'm here, it's going to be a disaster." I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes, " Don't you think I thought about that? I called ahead and rented the park." He whipped his head and stared at me, " You rented the entire park, hold on, I don't think I'm hearing this properly. You paid money for only two of us to be in the park."" Yeah, duh, do you think I'm going to come to a public place with a walking death trap on my hand, no offense. I care about innocent people and besides, you gave me a black card for a reason, what's the use of having all that money if I don't spend it on something that we'll both enjoy? Now c
Aurelia's POV" Oh come on, it will be fun, this is the last ride we're going on. Come.on, do this for me." I clutched his hand, and he pulled away and put distance between us."No way, I said no. I'm not getting on that death contraption. If I wanted to die, I know better ways to go." His shoulders shook as he spoke. He couldn't meet my eyes and it looked like he was swaying.I watched him closely, his attitude was strange, he wasn't just refusing because he didn't want to, he almost looked… scared. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand, oh my gosh, he was scared of the rollercoaster. I couldn't believe it, I never would have expected that a terrifying cruel man like Judah was scared of a ride. "It's okay, I understand. I won't force you to go on it. It's okay, you're okay." I wrapped my arms around him, the crocodile squished between our bodies. His heart was racing fast and his breathing was erratic. We stayed like that for a few minutes until he calmed down, warmth returne
Aurelia's POVI woke up the next morning, sore but this time in all the right places. I tried to move but arms wrapped tightly around me, pressing me again a taut body. I attempted to get away again but he still won't budge, in fact, his hands tightened. Well, well, well, someone was clingy. "Where are you going?" He grumbled in my ear. His fingers rubbed my naked belly. I sucked in a deep breath as his hands moved higher and stopped under the swell of my breasts."Erm… er… I need to use the b…bathroom badly. I'm going to pee on myself soon." I wiggled against him, Judah growled and pinched my nipple."Stop that, you're playing a very dangerous game right now." He whispered and pressed himself against me. I felt how hard he was and gasped."I'm sorry, it was a mistake. Please let me go, I'm going to pee on myself if you don't." I begged. Judah sighed, let go, and moved back, " Be quick about it. Go do your business and then get your ass back in bed." I didn't dare to argue or disob
Aurelia's POVHis defeated and deflated voice pierced my heart and I saw red, I jumped off the bed and hurried to my closet, pulling out clothes."Wow, what are you doing? Aurelia, what's going on?" Judah followed me and watched me with an almost scared look on his face. I quickly pulled on a bra and grabbed a big shirt."I'm going to hurt him. I'm going to fucking kill him, I don't care if he's Hannah's husband, I don't care if he's the most powerful man in America and Italy, he's going to pay for hurting you." I moved with the speed of light, as I was ranting, I put on my shorts and bent down to pull out my sneakers."And how, pray tell, are you going to kill the most powerful man in America and Italy? Walk me through your process, great Sensei." Judah quipped. I raised my head and saw he was smiling. My anger doubled, " What is wrong with you? Are you fucking amused right now? I just said I was going to defend you and you're amused. I can't believe this." I stood straight and pla
Aurelia's POVThe ground under my feet suddenly turned slippery and wobbly and I could barely keep myself standing. Diane and Sabrina had heard what he had said as well, they rushed towards me, Diane wrapped her arms around me, while Sabrina took over the intercom."Get her over to a chair, she might faint anytime soon. Prop her up with some pillows, she looks so pale." Sabrina told Diane. Diane led me back to the couch slowly and sat me down, she planted pillows around me to help support me."Mrs Bianco? Are you still there, what do we do? Should we send them in?" Glenn inquired." Hello, this is Sabrina, Mr Bianco's cousin, you can send them in but with a guard, we can't be too sure of anyone. " " Yes ma'am, I'll do so right now." The intercom went off and Sabrina scurried back to sit with us."Oh my God, Aurelia, are you okay? Don't worry, I doubt Judah will have a child out of wedlock, he's too meticulous for that to happen." Sabrina covered my hand with hers. Oh God, why did th
Aurelia's POV"Beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the life of the deceased, On behalf of all family and friends, I would like to welcome everyone as we have gathered today to remember the deceased. Your presence here today is an affirmation of your love and support to the family. Thank you for being here. Although the family may not remember every word we share here today, they will remember your presence for the rest of their lives." I blocked out the pastor as he spoke focusing on the casket in front of me, I still couldn't believe that I was at this funeral. It seemed so surreal, I kept waiting for someone to say bring out the cameras, and yell ' surprise' because it was all a prank.Judah pulled me close and wrapped his arm around my shoulder gently, trying as much as possible not to touch my cast, I rested my head on his chest and wept. I felt someone's hand on my back, giving me a soothing rub, I raised my head and looked behind, and Diane gave me a small sad smile. She
Aurelia's POVLucia's eyes widened and she hurried to the door, as she was about to open it, the door slammed open with great force, hitting Lucia and sending her flying across the room."Aurelia, you bitch, what did you tell Judah when he called you? What clue did you fucking give him?" He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me towards the door.The sounds of gunshots echoed within the building, giving it a dramatic flair that I quite liked."I didn't say anything, you were there, weren't you? All I did was ask him to save me. Do you really think my husband is that dumb and he just lets me walk around without knowing where I am twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? I have an inbuilt tracker, you can take me anywhere and he will find me." I was lying through my teeth, I had no idea where the tracker Judah put on me was but I hoped it wasn't built.Giovanni's nose flared and his skin reddened." He might have found you but that doesn't mean he's going to save you, I'm going to kill
Aurelia's POV" AURELIA!" Giovanni's deep tenor voice boomed, I heard him before he opened the door and charged at me. I scurried back and hit my back on the wall. Fuck, there was nowhere to run to."You bitch, you think you can deceive me?" He grabbed me by my neck, raising me and choking me. My hands were still bound so I couldn't claw his fingers away.Luckily, my legs were free, I kneeled him in the balls, he growled and dropped me. I landed on my arm with a loud thud and a crack. Pain surged through me from my arm to my brain."OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO TO YOU? YOU BROKE MY ARM." I cried, I couldn't even move my arm. "Good, I'll break something else. The necklace you gave me is fake, it wasn't a true emerald. Where is Trista's necklace, Aurelia?" I managed to act surprised, " it isn't the real one. Oh no, I don't know what happened to it. I've been wearing that necklace all my life, I can't believe it's fake. Maybe someone stole it from me."Giovanni growled, picked up a wooden
Aurelia's POVPanic clawed at my throat but I refused to give in to my fear, yes my father may have kidnapped his daughters, one who was heavily pregnant and was in labor but I wasn't going to let him see that I was scared.I looked around and couldn't see Lucia, that gave me a little relief, maybe they were finally going to allow her to give birth. I tipped my chin up and put on an expressionless face, " Father, this is a surprise. If you wanted a reunion you could have just come to my house, I wouldn't have kicked you out." Father grinned, pulling apart his lips to reveal his brown teeth from years of chewing tobacco. "Aurelia, you've really grown up, I see you now have a mouth on you, just like Lucia said." I stilled, ice flowed through my veins. What had Lucia had to do with this? When did Lucia tell him that? What the hell was going on?"Ah, I can see the confusion on your face. Don't worry too much, it will all be clear in a minute." He clapped his hands once, a door opened
Aurelia's POVMy fake necklace had arrived and it was beautiful, I could hardly differentiate it from the original. I had to send the original necklace to Sabrina's house so I wouldn't mix them up. I kept the fake necklace in the spot I kept the original in case Lucia tried to steal it again."So how's it going with Lucia?" Judah climbed into bed, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me close to him, he wasn't aware of what had been going on with Lucia and I quickly brought him up to speed but kept the fake necklace part out."What! She's trying to steal from you? No way, she's got to go." His hand dropped from my waist, he jerked up and crossed his arms over his chest."Jude, baby, calm down, I'm taking care of it. I'm not kicking her out, she's pregnant, I won't do that to my niece or nephew."" No way, I don't give two fucks if she's pregnant, I don't want her in this house. This is my fucking house, I don't trust her and my gut tells me she's going to pull some stupid stun
Aurelia's POV"Erm, Aurelia, I don't know how to say this and I don't want you to take it the wrong way but I caught your sister trying to go into your room, two days ago when you and Mr. Bianco went out to have dinner with his mother." My glass of water froze halfway to my lips. For a minute, it was almost like I had shut down and needed a minute to reboot.Slowly I put the glass on the table and took in deep breaths then looked at Opal and Gina through my heavy eyelids.Opal was in front, Gina stood behind her, holding her hand tight and the other hand on her shoulder."I'm sorry, what did you say, Opal?" I pushed my laptop to the side and clasped my hands on the table."Well, two days ago when you guys were out having dinner, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't made Miss Aria's bed, and I forgot to take her dirty clothes to be washed so I went upstairs and I saw Lucia going to your room, at first I thought she had forgotten where her room was but that was impossible because it was
Aurelia's POVJust when I thought I had escaped my family and my life was finally in a good place, Bam, life hit me hard and reminded me that I couldn't have it all.Lucia sat opposite me, wide as a whale, tears flowing down her cheeks, I couldn't bring myself to stand up and sympathize with her. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? It's not too late to kick her out." Judah whispered, he held my hand and squeezed."I'm good, I want to hear her out and see what's wrong. She looks like she needs help right now." I whispered back, he pressed his lips together and glared at Lucia who was still bawling her eyes out."Lucia, that's enough. Why are you here?" I knew my tone was harsh but who could blame me, this was the person who drugged me, forced me to take her place as Judah's wife, and slept with my boyfriend.She reduced her loud wails to quiet sobs, " Aurelia, I'm so sorry but I had nowhere else to go. As you can already see, I'm pregnant for Owen, he broke up with me and said
Aurelia's POVI had barely slept in a week, everything I closed my eyes, I kept seeing myself holding my pen knife and driving it into the bodies of my kidnappers.Insomnia was my best friend now, fatigue was a familiar friend, and unproductivity was now my roommate. I couldn't do anything except to put on a bright smile for everyone. I didn't anyone to worry about me, I wanted to prove that I was strong and fearless but I wasn't. I was a big fraud and I needed help immediately but I was too much of a wuss to ask for it.It was 3 a.m. and I hadn't slept a wink, I tried to, I really did but immediately my eyes shut, Max's lifeless eyes stared into mine and I just jumped up instantly.Judah wasn't home, he had been gone for about 4 days so it was easier for me to fake it. I got out of bed, went downstairs, unlocked Judah's alcohol cabinet, and brought out a bottle of vodka. Not bothering to take a shot glass, I popped it open, sat on the couch, and started chugging it down my throat. T
Judah's POV"Where the hell could she be?" I slammed my hands on the steering wheel."Don't worry, we'll find her soon. She couldn't have gone too far. If she's not on the highway, she's probably still in the woods and we have men combing every corner of it. We will find her." Gavin's reassuring words did nothing for me because then it started to rain."Oh for fuck sake, I don't fucking need this right now!" I screamed to no one in particular." Reverse and let's go another lap, she can't have walked this far by now. She'll probably be at the back now." Dario looked at the window, " It's too far from the warehouse." He was right, I put the car in reverse, turned, and started driving back to where I started from, driving at a snail's pace."Hey! Hey! Someone's there! Look someone's beside the road!" Gavin slapped my arm and pointed at a crumpled body at the side of the road. I recognized the grey cargo parts immediately."Shit, that's Aurelia." I drove closer, hurriedly parked, and ru