Luca’s POV When Sofia had informed me about her having a brother, it had honestly taken me by surprise, and when she had went ahead to tell me about him, I realized just how much she loved it. The bond she shared with him before they had been separated by marriage had sounded so damn intense that I felt a quite bad for her and this brother of hers.“Why didn’t you ever talk about him?” I had asked some minutes after she had finished speaking.“That’s because I thought you were not going to be alright with it, I thought –”I shushed her by pressing a kiss against her lips. “Why would you ever think that?”She shook her head a little. “I didn’t exactly think about it, it was just something that had been in my mind before I had gotten married, so it had just been there since.”She had finally responded.And because of how much I saw how she genuinely loved her brother, me being the biggest simp of Sofia right now, went ahead to ask my men to run a tab on her and to try finding ou
James’ pov I hated to admit it to myself that after I had dropped Blair off at her apartment after she had gotten discharged from the hospital, I had been unable to get her out of my head, which I wasn’t happy about.When I had informed Luca and Luca that I was going to be unable to make it to Travis’ apartment because I already had plans, of course they had both automatically assumed I did that because of some random chick which I wanted to fuck. And of course I had let them believe hat on purpose, because there was no way in hell that I’d be telling them the actual truth which was that I wasn’t going to a club that night, but was going to go pick up Blair from her apartment and take her out to dinner, like we had both agree on the day I had dropped her off at her apartment.There was just no way I could tell them that, because I wasn’t sure I understood why I was actually doing all these yet. It was most definitely not because of the money of my ruined suit and the money I h
James’ POV “Why the hell are you ordering just water?” I demanded with pursed lips.“Because that’s what I want, obviously.” She responded calmly.“That’s bullshit, I heard your stomach growl back in the car, you’re definitely hungry.” I pointed out and watched as a little color pinked up her cheeks. The freckles on her cheeks seems to come to life more here in the insides of the restaurant, giving her a radiant look, coupled with the way her green eyes gleamed brightly like two jewels.“You’re telling a lie,” She argued but the bite in her voice wasn’t as intense as usual this time and I knew that I had been right, she really was hungry, proving me right that I had been right to keep worrying about her.I ignored her and ordered for the waiter to bring different varieties of dishes, and when he had left, I had been greeted with her glare.“I’m not eating any of those.” She pointed out and I lifted an inquiring brow. “And why is that?”“Because I don’t have money
Luca’s POV It was finally a Monday morning, and as usual, it was hard to get out of the bed because of Sofia who was in it, but I ended up leaving it after kissing her head and tucking the bedsheets around her. I worked out a little that morning and was ready to leave the house in no time. Sofia had come awake at a certain point when I had been dressing up, and that was when I remembered what I had been about to tell her.When I lifted her in my arms because she always felt like it was where she belonged, with her hands around my shoulders and her legs around my waist. I was nuzzling into her throat and breathing in her sweet scent before starting to speak.“Bunny?” I mused and she let out a small sound to indicate that she was listening.“Remember when we talked about your brother?” I asked and she was pulling back to stare into my face almost immediately as she nodded her head.“Yeah, I do.” Her eyes were widened a little and it was obvious that she hadn’t expected the con
Sofia’s pov I had been brimming with excitement after Luca had informed me that Angelo was going to come see me today, and now that he was outside, it was as if I had been about to burst out of my skin from the amount of excitement that was rushing through my body.Ryan left to go get Angelo, and I stayed behind because I had started to feel a little bit emotional and wanted to get myself under control. I head towards the sitting room as the sound of the door closing shut echoed around a little, just as Ryan appeared in the entrance of the sitting room, and a fleeting moment later, Angelo arrived at his side.I had a feeling that because I had talked to Ryan about Angelo a few times which made him know just how much I loved him, was probably what made me turn on his heels and leabe, leaving Angelo and I to ourselves.My mouth parted and close a couple of times but nothing seem to be coming out, it was as if the ability to form words had now decided to desert me in this moment.
Sofia’s pov “It had been so hard for me as well, it hurt me so much thzt I couldn’t be with you anymore.” I said to him in a small voice almost immediately.“I know, Sofia… I know. If you could, you wouldn’t have left me behind.” He puffed out a harsh breath. “It was still pretty hard for me, after you left, I sank into a really depressed state, but father didn’t understand, and mother was literally of no use, as usual. I was lost in my head, and the only outlet was getting better at what I was already practicing at hand.” He shot me a glance after that, and I watched his face crumble.“Don’t cry, Sofia. It wasn’t your fault.” He urged and that was when I realized that I had been silently crying. I hastily wiped my face. “I’m sorry, I just can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.”“It isn’t so bad anymore, I spend a lot of times with my friends and they keep me sane, i get to leave the house whenever I want because you know, I’m not a girl and can take care of myself just fine,”
James’ pov After that dinner with Blair, it wasn’t a shock that I was unable to get her out big my head. After the little things we had been able to talk about, I had noted a few things about.One; there was definitely something about her that she wasn’t letting on.Two; she was definitely living a hard as hell life.Three; the way she had almost wanted to drawn in alcohol, and the response she had given, indicated that there was definitely more to her than she was letting on.And finally, I wasn’t even sure Blair was her real name.Of course, I had tried to make some researches, giving my men the assignment to look up anything they could about her. Her name brought no results that was related to her, which indicates that indeed, she had given me s fake name.I made some one on one research around where she reside at, and the people I had questioned said she never brings anyone home and had always kept to herself, but altogether she doesn’t return home every night. After that
James’ pov It was finally Saturday again, and I was already tired of trying to lie myself that I hadn’t been looking forward to today since the start of the week. When Luca had asked me to accompany him to a particular meeting, I had declined because there was no way I’d miss spending time with Blair today, and also because Luca could do well without me.As I got dressed up that evening, I briefly considered dressing casually this time, but then did I want her to stop her jabs at my suits? Absolutely not, and so I dressed in one of my numerous suits and a air of suits to match. It wasn’t long before I was leaving the house and driving towards her apartment. As I drove past a floral shop, her face came to mind and the thought of getting her a flower, but I was quick to discard the thought instantly because there was just no way I was going to do that without appearing like I was starting to be into her, and I had a feeling she was going to throw the flowers in my face without hes
Sofia’s pov The kids had been bursting with excitement, which only meant one thing. It meant more headaches for Luca and I.“Baby, we talked about this, didn’t we? You can’t check the presents until it’s Christmas.” I murmured to Aria while holding her against my chest. She was clearly unhappy about this tiny rule because her frown deepened at once.“But it’s so far awayyyyy! No one is gonna know if I take a peek.”I chuckled as I let her slid down. “Daddy is gonna know.” I reminded her and that seemed to make her have a change of heart.“Oh.” She hesitated a little. “I guess I can wait a bit more.”“More like one more day, honey cause it’s tomorrow!” I gushed out and a grin split out on her face.“Really?!” She demanded and after getting another confirmation, she went off to find her brother, leaving me to myself. I sighed as I watched her leave with a fond smile on my face while massaging my forehead. I called out to her to be careful before I got back to what I was doing before.
FOUR YEARS LATER Sofia’s pov “Be careful, honey!” I called out at once, but I doubt she heard me as she hurriedly raced forward till she was standing before James, a glass of milk carefully clutched in her hand.“Here it is, Uncle James!” She called out enthusiastically and a familiar feeling of fondness swelled in my heart as I watched as an exaggerated look of awe got plastered on James’ face as he accepted the glass of milk.“Thank you, Aria! You’re so hardworking.” He complimented as he took a few gulps of the milk because a tiny sip wasn’t gonna be accepted by Aria who’s clearly still waiting for more compliments.“It tastes so nice and fresh, wow.” James gushed and I listened as Aria’s pleased giggles filled up the room. She began to bounce on her toes when she began to speak. “If you noticed, uncle James, the glass wasn’t totally filled up this time because mommy said that’s how it’s supposed to be to avoid it spilling from the top, and I listened to mommy because she’s alwa
Luca’s POV The bouquet of flowers I had gotten on the way home was a mixture of lilies and tulips, and I paired it with a bunch of balloons and a wrapped gift on the side. It’s a little past six and I couldn’t wait to be home already. I couldn’t wait to get home to my wife and our babies.Work has been quite stressful for the past month, the mafia aspect, to be specific. After news of my wife giving birth circulated around, I already knew that the amount of enemies I have was automatically gonna triple, and in order to keep my family safe, I was gonna have to be more at alert. The mafia clan had thrown a party in celebration after the birth of our babies, and I had purposely attended it alone, keeping my wife and kids far away from a gathering like that because it was filled with dangerous people from top to bottom.“Your enemies are gonna start attacking you even more now that you have a successor. People who have hoped to replace you if you ended up dying without an h
Sofia’s pov TWO YEARS LATER “I look ugly and bloated.” I blurted out while eying my reflection in the floor length mirror in the walk-in closet. Luca, who had been running a comb through his hair, paused for a moment before throwing me a glance, and then a smile bloomed on his face.“Of course you don’t! How can you even think that when you look like a goddess right now.” He murmured, discarding his comb and heading in my direction. I pouted at my reflection, not at all impressed by what I was looking at.“Now you’re just lying cause I’m sure goddesses don’t look this bad. My face is swollen and I literally feel like I’m gonna die.” Luca who had now eased up behind me let out a chuckle into my hair as his hand slid around my waist to carefully cradle my large stomach from the sides.“You still look very gorgeous to me. I don’t think your face is ugly, neither do I think you’re no longer sexy, because you still are. Did last night not explain that enough?” He chuckled at the end of
Luca’s pov It was clear as day that this particular topic has been troubling Sofia for a while now. I could tell from how she was wringing her fingers. I lifted her fingers and brushed my lips across it, and then I let out a long sigh.“If I’m gonna be honest, I haven’t actually thought about it. I just assumed you don’t want them and I was cool with that.” Her eyes widened comically as she whispered. “But… I want children.”I hummed. “I see that now.” “You don’t want children?” Sofia asked after a few moments and I slowly shook my head.“I don’t think I do, cause I don’t actually like the thought of bringing a child into a lifestyle as dangerous as my current one, and leaving the mafia is completely out of the question cause the past would end up catching up with me no matter what.”“Oh.” She whispered while chewing at the inside of her mouth.“Yes, love. But, that aside, I love babies. They’re always so cute and clueless of all the evils in the world.” Sofia laughed at th
Sofia’s pov TWO YEARS LATER*** The sounds of soft laughter filtered through the screen of the television I was currently staring at and a small smile tugged at the side of my lips as I averted my gaze and took a glance at the wall clock situated at the top of the wall here in the room. It was past eight in the evening, which indicated that Luca was almost home, and an excited feeling coursed down my spine. It doesn’t matter that Luca has almost returned home to me every damn day, that giddy feeling still engulfs me every day.Which is the best thing ever, said my therapist when we stumbled on that topic. It’s been over two years and till date, I’m still yet to stop seeing my therapist. She, a Middle aged woman, has made me feel so much love and comfort than my mother has done for me throughout the past two decades that I’ve been alive. The sounds of cute giggles emitting from the television screen grabbed my attention and once again, I focused on it. This time, my bre
Sofia’s pov The weeks flew by faster than i could keep up with.Healing was slower than I anticipated, and I hated almost every second of it, if I was being honest, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t willingly take another bullet for Luca if I could, because I will. Luca had gotten extremely displeased when I offhandedly said those same words to him, and he made me promise to never, ever do that again.I stayed in the hospital for months, because Luca wanted me to be completely healed before getting discharged. The flowers that got sent to me by every well wishers had gotten thrown out more than three times because at a point, they all began to rot.A little gathering was thrown in celebration of my release from the hospital. Everybody was there waiting in the house as entered the house, from Kayla and her husband, Travis, to Armani and his girlfriend, Nala, to James and his fiancée, Blair, to Angelo. It was relieving to finally be home and be surrounded by so much love right now ma
Sofia’s pov ‘Was this how it feels to float?’I asked myself over and over again, the more time I spent in that same unending loophole. It felt like I was stuck in a fluffy space, but instead of sinking, I remained afloat.Muffled voice could be heard coming from multiple sides at once but I couldn’t make any word out, neither could I tell each voice apart from the other.I limbs literally felt nonexistent because I couldn’t wait use of them no matter how much I tried. It’s almost weird how it’s pitch dark in this fluffy space, preventing me from making anything out.Or perhaps, I was the one who had my eyes closed throughout, I realized when I discovered that I could feel my eyelids twitch a little. I tried to get my eyes open after that, but ended up giving up after trying over and over again to no avail. I drifted straight into an unconscious state after that.When I came to once again, I felt warm fingers around mine. The fingers felt familiar in a way, and with everyth
Sofia’s pov The scream that left my mouth this time was completely silent as I watched as the kneeling man who was apparently working with Ryan, fell to the ground face first after being shot by Ryan. That sent a more terrified feeling down my spine, because not only was Ryan crazy, he was clearly also heartless as hell. Seeing how he could effortless kill off his own partner made it more obvious that it wouldn’t be hard for him to kill me if he wants to, and that he wasn’t just bluffing by threatening to shoot me.“Fuck, man, you really are a freak. Your own partner?” Angelo mused with an unimpressed look on his face. Luca snorted and leveled Ryan with a look. “That’s not something a Ricci would do, you know?”“Well it’s a good thing I’m not a fucking one, okay? And now that I’ve killed my partner myself, you clearly don’t have anything to threaten me with, I have nothing to lose in this situation unlike the rest of you.” Ryan responded haughtily, sneering as he tugged on my hair.