LOGINShare
Chapter XII: Human
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Marco’s eyes snapped open in the darkness, his chest heavy as his senses were muddled, unable to comprehend where he was. The hospital is never this dark, he thought to himself as he rolled onto his back, registering the soft sheets beneath his back. Blinking away dizziness, he struggled to breathe before his gaze was redirected to the movement beside him. Holding his breath to think that he had indulged in old habits.
Turning to look at the other person, he heaved a breath to notice it being Sofia, all the memories resurfacing. And along with that, came the burning of his chest.
With trembling fingers, he played with the beads on his wrist, trying to give himself the strength to keep it together.
Picking up his phone from the side table, he told himself it was time to get back to the hospital. Pushing the sheets off him, he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the hem of the curtain
Related chapters
Assigned to Her Chapter XIII: Losing hope
“I’ve lost all hope, Sofia,” Marco murmured dejectedly, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he drooped over the counter. Sofia’s throat tightening to see his stare on the glass of bourbon and ice. “It’s a failed battle,”Hearing him of all people say that forced an acidic taste to infiltrate her mouth, her fingers tightening around the glass before she put it down beside her. Steeling herself to grab his face and maybe slap some sense into him. But before she could even indulge in such insolence, he continued speaking.“It’s funny,” He chuckled humorlessly. “Salvatore helped me through hell, through Haruhi’s deception, and every shit storm that hit me when I tried to build myself from the ground up. Without fail. And I promised him, I promised to help him through his troubles, and I can’t even
Assigned to Her Chapter XIV: Breathless
Marco sat motionless in one of the waiting chairs, his arms crossed over his chest and his trembling fingers bunched into fists as he reminded himself to inhale and then exhale. Knowing that with the current predicament heavy in the air, he had the tendency to forget breathing.He couldn’t believe his own eyes, staring back at the red inflamed word: Operation.Just three days ago – maybe more, maybe less – he had broken down and poured out to Sofia how everything was affecting him, how he had lost hope and believed that he would lose his brother. Now today, he sat outside the operation theater, with Salvatore inside on the slab and a team of the best physicians transplanting a heart into his chest.At the realization of is brother getting a heart, he forced down the laugh that bubbled inside him and instead focused his attention on those around him.
Assigned to Her Chapter XV: Alcuri
It had been a little over a week since Marco had come back to the apartment.Up until Salvatore got discharged he was in the estate, but Sofia couldn't wait for him to be back in the apartment. Finding his constant visits and the discovery of his belongings rather endearing; he even asked her to come and help him pack up from his room in the estate. Sofia would never admit it, but she couldn't stop the relief from flooding her to know that he was back in the same vicinity as her, and now she could actually keep an eye on his recovery process.It came as no surprise to her that the Regnante family would be attending psychiatric therapy, the two years had been hell on all of them and left them traumatized for various reasons.But they wouldn't be starting until February, all of them needing some time on their own to recover.Even now, Sofia lay with her head prop
Assigned to Her Chapter XVI: "Forgive me,"
“I’m off to work,” Sofia hoisted her laptop bag onto her shoulder, biting back the smile to see Marco dropping over the counter, his hair on edge and his eyes closed while he munched on the pastry in hand. “I’ll be back by five-thirty and I’ll let you know if I’m going out with friends,” She kissed the top of his head as he hummed in acknowledgment with half-lidded eyes.Marco had had no plans of being up at this ungodly hour, he didn’t have any plans of being up before midday, but when the blonde had shifted out of his sleeping hold, his body had instantly felt the lack of warmth and jolted awake. His mind still lagging behind from his person’s conscious state. As compensation for the wake-up call, Sofia made him breakfast, which is why he was grazing at the speed of a snail with his eyes closed.“Bye,” She waved to his figure and stepped out w
Assigned to Her Chapter XVII: Rebound
Sofia’s legs were draped over Marco’s, the man lying on his back with his face turned to her while she was curled to her side, softly rubbing small circles on his chest with her fingertips. Marco’s eyes were closed, his breathing soft with a hand on his stomach, the other resting lazily on her thigh. The back and forth motion of his thumb over the silk material being the only indicator of him being awake.Humming to herself, Sofia shuffled closer and cupped the side of his face into her hand, rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone as Marco opened his eyes to look at her from between his lashes. Giving her a soft smile at the gesture, he placed a kiss on the inside of her palm before nuzzling into her warmth, a chuckle rumbling through his chest.“How’d it go?” Sofia murmured hardly above a whisper, shifting closer when Marco moved to be on his side, draping an arm across her side an
Assigned to Her Chapter XVIII: "Marry me,"
6 years laterThe moon rose high in the sky, bathing the dark backdrop in an ethereal glow as the white stars sparkled across the black canvas. The light pooled in through the window, illuminating Marco’s figure standing over a cot and patting the chest of the little boy before him. The three-year-old squirming under the covers and trying to kick them off, completely ignorant to the cold outside.“Demetrio,” Marco sighed and tucked covers around him. “Come on, buddy. Don’t be like this,”The boy only squirmed in response, the older man rubbing a hand over his fo
Assigned to Her Chapter XIX: St. Petersburg
The winter sunlight filtered in through the open curtains, bathing the lounge in a warmth that had both inhabitants enjoying it on the lounge. Marco sat on the sofa, a file in hand with Sofia’s head in his lap and her focus on the booklet of questions on her thighs and scribbling on the pages.Soft music swimming through the apartment as the couple enjoyed the soothing Saturday morning.Marco combed his fingers through her golden tresses as he read the words before him, stopping his gesture of affection when Sofia’s fingers bumped against his when she scratched at her head. Redirecting his gaze at the touch, he watched his wife rest the pages on her thighs and pick up the calculator on her chest, muttering under her breath as she typed on the keys, picking up the booklet again before scribbling at the page. Chuckling under his breath, Marco returned his gaze to the file in his hand and resumed combing hi
Assigned to Her Chapter XX: Turmoil
Marco stood with tar like blood swimming through his system, ears ringing, and body numb. The words spoken repeating themselves like a broken tape recorder in his head. Salvatore blocking his way to Nikolai.“Your name is Aleksander Romanov, and you are my son,”If he were to believe what this man was saying, then that meant that he was a Romanov. Heir to a disgraced Mafia. His name was Aleksander, and not Marco, and he was Russian-born. Ironic how his heritage came from the place whose history Marco had been obsessed with. Not only that, but he didn’t speak a lick of the language. And if he had just heard was true then that man – that murderer – was his father.“Come with me,” Nikolai urged, beckoning him forward and ignoring all the guns aimed at him. &ldquo
Latest chapter
Assigned to Her Chapter XL: Cosa Nostra
Aleksander cracked his knuckles while his eyes wracked over the three suits laud out before him. His eyes taking in every seam of each one, pairing each with possible shirts and ties. Making nine possible combinations for wear then groaning at the fact that he wouldn’t decide which was best suited.Should he go for a traditional white button down or opt for a different color? Tie? No tie? Two piece? Or maybe three piece? Monochrome or should he mix and match?Grunting at his own indecisiveness he grabbed all three of them and tried on every possible combination, deciding that seeing them would allow him to choose better.When he stepped out dressed in the fourth combination, his wife turned around in the middle of getting dressed and giggled at her husband, shaking her head at his antics.“We’re invited for coffee, babe, I doubt a suit is the decoru
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXIX: Pakhan
The snow scrunched under foot, the white blanket a glaring contrast to the black of the shoes worn by the person. A person made their way across the path with a fur ushanka covering their head and their body hidden by the thick fur coat that was draped over their shoulder, fluttering behind him.Their destination was an obvious one: the bench a top the hill.Making his way up the path, they halted to find a feeble old man huddled in the corner of the bench, their coat weighing heavy on his weak shoulders as tremors passed through his already thin figure. A walking cane grasped between his legs.“Thought I’d find you here,” Aleksander spoke with his hands in his coats pockets, and settled on the other side of the bench. “Papa,”Nikolai’s skin was ashen with his thick mop of hair reduced
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXVIII: Romanov Dynasty
Rebuilding the Russian Mafia from square one allowed Aleksander to occupy himself. Create elaborate plans and take care of negotiations, and unofficially become the Pakhan, given how Nikolai was in no state to be taking care of matters. His mind numbed with medication and painkillers and his body deteriorating. The stroke he had from Salvatore’s carnage had left him completely bedridden, and Aleksander could not bring himself to feel sympathy for the man. Instead, the heir set out on making Nikolai’s Bratva completely his.
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXVII: Dawn of a New Era
Aleksander stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He knew every last-minute crack by heart. He made minute cracks on its clean surface. He even made maps out of the ceiling, gone exploring their terrains and mountains and rivers, having staggered across a wild lion here and a boar there. He even found faces in it, faces, and animals, and mathematical equations. He had exhausted every possibility of keeping his mind occupied without the need to move from his current position.Winter had hit harder in Russia. One of the worst times to be outside – or so he was told – not that he had any plans of venturing into that blizzard. He couldn’t bring himself to move. Couldn’t bring himself to feel anything other than that nauseating guilt for having killed his nephew and niece.The thought of them sending a sharp pain shooting through his side where Salvator
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXVI: Foundation
The room was stifled by the tension in the air, the men seated on both sides of the table with the head of the table occupied by the Regnante Mafia Boss. The Don sat with his elbows on the mahogany table, his finger stapled before him and his gaze fixated on the wall opposite, completely deaf to the ruckus surrounding him. All of his allies had gathered together and organized this meeting in an effort to understand what to do next. The Romanov’s confirmation for war followed by the retraction of the statement gave them no sense of ease, made them all on edge instead; they had no idea if it were a ploy to get them to lower their guard, or if it was all just some sort of mistake. Then there was the fact that the underworld was now aware of the existence of Salvatore Regnante’s children, both of them hav
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXV: Manipulation
The usually opened rich cream curtains were drawn shut, bathing the room in a blinding darkness and a chill with all other sources of light turned off. In the midst of the darkness sat the Regnante Mafia Boss, his suit jacket and waistcoat discarded, his tie hanging loosely from his neck and the first two buttons popped open.A decanter stood on the table before him with a glass housing its contents grasped loosely in his hands, the man reclined in his large office chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.Salvatore opened his eyes to hear the office door creak open, watching a silhouette step inside and fumble against the wall before the lights overhead turned on. The sudden sharpness had him hiss and clamp his eyes shut.“There you are,” His wife exclaimed in exasperation. “I’ve been searching all over for you,”“Nicole…&
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXIV: Decisions
Aleksander could not bring himself to notice anything around him. Kneeling on the floor of the Pakhan’s office, sweat beading his forehead, face ashen, and nausea rolling in his stomach to be surrounded by various photos depicting his wife over the course of the past few months.Letting out a shaky breath, his chest ached to see the images in front of him. Sofia sitting at a café, her head thrown back and laughing with Nicole. Her stepping out of the Maserati, dressed in a black pencil skirt dress under a grey blazer. Then another of her sitting at a bench, hugging herself with her hair hanging out of its up do, tears streaming down her face and staring at the ground.It broke his heart to see his wife so torn up, hunched into herself and sobbing. He didn’t know what she was crying. He wanted to know why. What had happened to leave her so vulnerable and distraught? His mind conjured the worst of w
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXIII: Repercussions
Cars whizzed by on the roads, pedestrians going about their day with high rise infrastructures leering down at their rushing figures. There was one such infrastructure, one of the tallest in the area, whose top floor encased in glass. The sunlight pouring in through the glass illuminated a large and spacious office where two men stood on either side of a mahogany table, peering over a blueprint laid out between them, discussing and making notes about the plans.One of them stood with his back to the window, sunlight streaming in and casting his figure in a shadow with another standing across from him, scribbling onto a notebook in his hand.Both of them had been so engrossed in their discussion that they gave a jump when the office doors suddenly burst open, a third man staggering inside. Both men reached for their guns on instinct but relaxed to recognize Tazio’s figure hunched in the doorway, breathless and
Assigned to Her Chapter XXXII: Sacrifice
Aleksander swiped his hand at the fogged up mirror, staring back at his reflection as he pushed back his wet tresses and scratched at his jaw, realizing he needed to shave at the prickly feel against his palm. A knock sounding on the door outside had him look over his shoulder before stepping out of the washroom, pulling open the door to find Fio in front of him. The guard turned and pulled out a khaki envelope from the fold of his coat, handing it to the man before him once the door closed behind him. Taking it, Aleksander pulled open the flap, pulling out the pages and skimming through the contents while Fio busied himself in dressing the wound on the heir’s shoulder. Quickly getting dressed, Aleksander stepped o
