LEIGH-ARI POVI have led a life of misery and pain for as long as I could remember. I had my most precious things stolen from me and was never given a chance to live for myself from the get-go. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night screaming because life has been such a son of a bitch to me, abusing me and mistreating me so badly that at times, I believed I had a deadly curse following me around wherever I went to.But I still had things to be grateful for. Amidst the pain of loss and heavy grief, heady self-pity, and hatred, I had found love among the small circle I was blessed with. People who accepted me despite my obvious flaws, knowing damn well that they may not come out alive as long as they stayed close to me, but they stuck around nonetheless. Their presence made the pain all worth it, and with them, I knew I could recover from any kind of pain! BUT THIS…When I woke up, I was no longer in Glendale, but in Beverly Hills inside my bedroom. ALONE! I sat in utter silen
XANDER POVI have experienced loss before.I have seen what it does to someone, to the heart, and to the soul. I have seen people losing themselves inside the deep abyss of grief and pain, wondering if they will ever get back to their old selves without the missing piece of their lives. I have seen how grief tears them to shreds and leaves their souls to bleed.But in a history of grief, I have never seen pain so raw and cruel.I was watching from the front row when Leigh-Ari recovered from losing her unborn baby. She spiraled down the abyss of control where she tried, by all means, to keep her head above water because she was afraid that if she let it slip, for a split second, if she let go of that control she had in her grasp, she was going to break. I watched as she clung to the only things in front of her, then built herself until she was this giant badass bitch on top of the world. A phoenix rising from the deep black and cold ashes. I saw how she handled the pain that was infli
LEIGH-ARI POVThe day I rued the most arrived eventually. I woke up with a splitting headache and I was so sore and nauseous that I hated everyone and everything. I couldn't eat anything because whatever went into my mouth tasted so damn bitter that it made my stomach churn painfully. In a matter of days, I had lost a great deal of weight, and I am sure as hell I was no different from Morticia from Addams family. The cartoon version of course!Without further ado, I jumped into the shower and tried to keep myself on my feet the entire time while I cleaned up. It was nearly impossible,I was weak, my body was trembling violently because I haven't had a proper meal since 2000-and never. All I ever did was drink my own tears time and again. And the headache, it made me feel like I had died and sprung back to life.I was not feeling well at all.After washing up, I walked into the closet and pulled on my white slim-fitting jumpsuit and a white coat. I pulled on the white knee-length boot
SCAR POVWith a bitter taste in my mouth and a heavy heart, I stood on the terrace by the second floor and watched as the black G-wagon stretched out of the estate, taking off with a speed of light. I swallowed down the bile that was dancing on the surface of my mouth threatening to spill.The past few days have been nothing but a nauseating roller coaster of emotions, I have felt things I haven’t felt in all my life and it was fuckin' enough. I couldn't take up any more shit than I already have. Because within a mega pint of them all, there was this strong force that made me feel like I was sinking. My whole body was stiff and so were my insides. I don’t even know what it was, but it sucked elephant balls.I tried to accept with everything inside of me, to come to terms that Laura was gone and that there would never be one like her. But the more I thought of her, the more the hatred I had for Ava piled up inside of me. She was blood, we shared the same rotten womb and I watched her t
AVA POVThe phone dropped from my ear onto the table in front of me and all of a sudden, there wasn’t enough space in the vast roadside restaurant where I was. I shrunk into the corner booth where I was sitting and gently pulled over my scarf and slipped on my sunglasses.I managed to steer clear of the crowded places for 5 days, and in those 5 days, I was successful. I didn’t want to be found right now when I still hadn’t made a plan about my next move. Only God knows what was going to happen when they find where I am. So without further ado, I slipped the note into the bill and took off.I was the master of disguise, even if they had located me, they were going to have a hard time pinpointing me because I blended so damn well within the crowd. Walking to the small parking bay in front of the restaurant, I fished out the keys to the stolen Toyota Camry before hurriedly pulling out of the parking bay.My heart was pounding crazy, and it was as if it was inside of my mouth from how awf
LEIGH-ARI POVI was in awe. I never knew that there were some people in this cruel world, who were very capable of living a lie and under a certain delusion for their entire life, believing that little voice in their heads while it continued spewing nonsense right into their brains for all days of their lives.But our dear Ava was living proof that some people, were just a pile of nutcases with nothing but crap running in their minds all day long. I seriously couldn’t bring myself to believe that she had fallen for that crap we said with Xander back at her hiding spot. Even an idiot would have figured out that the situation wasn't as it seems.She was a fuckin' traitor, who was on a run. Our sudden appearance had to say something to her. But nope. It didn't. For someone who had spent years in this kind of life, she was sure as hell as easy as it gets. Imagine if it had been Oleg who got to her... I went there expecting resistance, a bit of a fight; bloodied lips and aching muscles as
LEIGH-ARI POV Ava’s name faded with the wind, and nobody ever spoke of her ever again. I was afraid of what her death may do to Scar and what that may mean to his loyalty to us, but time proved that Scar was in this for life and there was nothing that could possibly happen in this life that would make him walk away from Alexander.“I owe him my life, he became the family I never had and gave me everything I have ever wished for.” Those are his words, and he lived the rest of his life trying to prove them. I felt stupid for even questioning his loyalty in the first place, but I couldn’t be sure, more because I had his sister’s blood on my hands. As much as we ignored it and never brought it up, Ava was his sister, they were blood. And blood is thicker than water.A few days went by with us watching over Oleg and his operations. We didn’t want to go head-on like headless chickens with no plan. Oleg was as cunning as it gets and I was not going to let him sidestep us and have us f
XANDER POVBack at the mansion, the tension between Ari and Verzi was so thick you could cut it with a night. For a successful mission like that one, you would have expected champaigns and a night of hot drunk sex till we couldn’t walk. Not only did we sabotage Oleg’s shipment that cost him millions, but we also managed to rescue some of the shit stashed in there and claimed it ourselves. And Enzo did as instructed by donating a million as soon as the word got out. I mean we were all righteous people who took care of their own, and nothing was even tracked back to us. Not that it would anyway, since we owned half of America as well as every inch of the public department that dealt with a lot of shit.Police, some media outlets, you name them.But all of that sense of triumph didn’t even make up for what had happened. And I hated every passing second of it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, this wasn’t how we were supposed to love. A day without talking to each other meant a dead
EPILOGUE*ONE YEAR LATER*LEIGH-ARI POV“The transplant was a great success and there were no signs of tissue rejection. We will be transferring her to the ward for further monitoring until she is good to leave the hospital.” The words rolled on my tongue smoothly as I kept my eyes on the folks in front of me. The small crowd broke into cries of happiness and expressed their heartfelt thanks to me, for saving the life of their loved one. The smiles on their faces were enough to light up the dark world. I left Stephanie with them and walked back to my office where I plopped myself on the small couch before letting my body relax after six whooping hours of surgery.My eyes flew across the office and landed on a big portrait on the wall, a picture of me and Laura that was taken when we were in Dubai, right before the twins found us, and turned my ass pink. A pang of dull ache hit me inside, prompting me to shut my eyes and focus on the small voice in my head that never died. It has been
LORENZO POVThug life.It was a different kind of fairytale they never showed you in movies. Or better yet, the ‘other’ side of fairytales they never delved deeper to portray. And now that I think of it, this world was indeed filled with more dipshits than I can possibly comprehend. For starters, in those little movies they all crowd together to watch, they never really tell the history of the villains. I get it, they are villains, they are the bad guys, the hated guys, and honestly; the reason behind so much hatred is understandable. But then again, it’s a little unfair that we never get to see their whole stories. So they go rogue, wanting to tell their own story, leaving behind them a trail of blood and open graves in the process.I was a villain myself, one of the bad guys. I was so used to this life that I was no longer phased by the idea of being normal. Like waking up and taking a train to work in the morning, and coming back at night to find a hearty dinner prepared by my wif
LEIGH-ARI POVThe rest of the day was spent with us slithering in the comfort of our bed, in a giant tangled mess of limbs. I was plowed to a point where I felt like my hoochie was on fire, scorching every little soft flesh to the inside. But luckily, the boys were lenient with me and didn’t try to overuse me. So we stayed there, just enjoying each other. The atmosphere created its own language, and they translated it. Everything was just so serene, so calm.And I finally like myself again. And damn, life has been like hell. I forgot how good it felt to just give up control and hand it over to somebody else. To be able to submit and be down to my knees, while being dominated in every possible way. It is true that even a superwoman sometimes needs a superman. And why wouldn’t I use them when I have three of them?“If this is how we make up, can we at least fight every time?” Xander purred hiding his face in the cradle between my boobs. A very unladylike snort came from me as I shook m
XANDER POVBack at the mansion, the tension between Ari and Verzi was so thick you could cut it with a night. For a successful mission like that one, you would have expected champaigns and a night of hot drunk sex till we couldn’t walk. Not only did we sabotage Oleg’s shipment that cost him millions, but we also managed to rescue some of the shit stashed in there and claimed it ourselves. And Enzo did as instructed by donating a million as soon as the word got out. I mean we were all righteous people who took care of their own, and nothing was even tracked back to us. Not that it would anyway, since we owned half of America as well as every inch of the public department that dealt with a lot of shit.Police, some media outlets, you name them.But all of that sense of triumph didn’t even make up for what had happened. And I hated every passing second of it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, this wasn’t how we were supposed to love. A day without talking to each other meant a dead
LEIGH-ARI POV Ava’s name faded with the wind, and nobody ever spoke of her ever again. I was afraid of what her death may do to Scar and what that may mean to his loyalty to us, but time proved that Scar was in this for life and there was nothing that could possibly happen in this life that would make him walk away from Alexander.“I owe him my life, he became the family I never had and gave me everything I have ever wished for.” Those are his words, and he lived the rest of his life trying to prove them. I felt stupid for even questioning his loyalty in the first place, but I couldn’t be sure, more because I had his sister’s blood on my hands. As much as we ignored it and never brought it up, Ava was his sister, they were blood. And blood is thicker than water.A few days went by with us watching over Oleg and his operations. We didn’t want to go head-on like headless chickens with no plan. Oleg was as cunning as it gets and I was not going to let him sidestep us and have us f
LEIGH-ARI POVI was in awe. I never knew that there were some people in this cruel world, who were very capable of living a lie and under a certain delusion for their entire life, believing that little voice in their heads while it continued spewing nonsense right into their brains for all days of their lives.But our dear Ava was living proof that some people, were just a pile of nutcases with nothing but crap running in their minds all day long. I seriously couldn’t bring myself to believe that she had fallen for that crap we said with Xander back at her hiding spot. Even an idiot would have figured out that the situation wasn't as it seems.She was a fuckin' traitor, who was on a run. Our sudden appearance had to say something to her. But nope. It didn't. For someone who had spent years in this kind of life, she was sure as hell as easy as it gets. Imagine if it had been Oleg who got to her... I went there expecting resistance, a bit of a fight; bloodied lips and aching muscles as
AVA POVThe phone dropped from my ear onto the table in front of me and all of a sudden, there wasn’t enough space in the vast roadside restaurant where I was. I shrunk into the corner booth where I was sitting and gently pulled over my scarf and slipped on my sunglasses.I managed to steer clear of the crowded places for 5 days, and in those 5 days, I was successful. I didn’t want to be found right now when I still hadn’t made a plan about my next move. Only God knows what was going to happen when they find where I am. So without further ado, I slipped the note into the bill and took off.I was the master of disguise, even if they had located me, they were going to have a hard time pinpointing me because I blended so damn well within the crowd. Walking to the small parking bay in front of the restaurant, I fished out the keys to the stolen Toyota Camry before hurriedly pulling out of the parking bay.My heart was pounding crazy, and it was as if it was inside of my mouth from how awf
SCAR POVWith a bitter taste in my mouth and a heavy heart, I stood on the terrace by the second floor and watched as the black G-wagon stretched out of the estate, taking off with a speed of light. I swallowed down the bile that was dancing on the surface of my mouth threatening to spill.The past few days have been nothing but a nauseating roller coaster of emotions, I have felt things I haven’t felt in all my life and it was fuckin' enough. I couldn't take up any more shit than I already have. Because within a mega pint of them all, there was this strong force that made me feel like I was sinking. My whole body was stiff and so were my insides. I don’t even know what it was, but it sucked elephant balls.I tried to accept with everything inside of me, to come to terms that Laura was gone and that there would never be one like her. But the more I thought of her, the more the hatred I had for Ava piled up inside of me. She was blood, we shared the same rotten womb and I watched her t
LEIGH-ARI POVThe day I rued the most arrived eventually. I woke up with a splitting headache and I was so sore and nauseous that I hated everyone and everything. I couldn't eat anything because whatever went into my mouth tasted so damn bitter that it made my stomach churn painfully. In a matter of days, I had lost a great deal of weight, and I am sure as hell I was no different from Morticia from Addams family. The cartoon version of course!Without further ado, I jumped into the shower and tried to keep myself on my feet the entire time while I cleaned up. It was nearly impossible,I was weak, my body was trembling violently because I haven't had a proper meal since 2000-and never. All I ever did was drink my own tears time and again. And the headache, it made me feel like I had died and sprung back to life.I was not feeling well at all.After washing up, I walked into the closet and pulled on my white slim-fitting jumpsuit and a white coat. I pulled on the white knee-length boot