They were talking and for a few minutes it was like she wasn’t even at the table but Mr. Montero tried to add her into their conversations a few times to which she politely brushed the both of them off.‘Don’t speak when men are speaking!’The voice was faint in her mind but soon it’s presence reared its ugly head and became louder...More prominent.Then there was that feeling in her chest again. Like something heavy sat on her chest and happily restricted her breathing.“I...” she choked out, “Please where’s the ladies room?”No...Not here, not again please!“Down the hall, the door on the right,” Mr. Montero said as his eyes took in her appearance.“Are you okay?” he asked, his brows furrowed in concern while Alexander looked at her with a blank expression.“Yes I—” she almost choked again, “I’ll be right back!”Was all she could manage before she practically bolted and headed for the bathroom.It was easy to locate, as soon as she got in, she shut the door behind her and
The drive back home was oddly quiet. Alexander just sat in his own corner, brooding, jaw clenching and he tapped his foot impatiently. There was so much tension in the car that it created an illusion of Rain not being able to breath properly. It was just the two of them but yet she felt choked up. Was it really the tension or was she having another panic attack?“Why’s your face so blue? Are you okay?”Oh. So he could actually show concern for another human being.Rain nodded with a forced smile and then rolled down the window and inhaled deeply as the fresh wind touched her face and cooled her skin.“What else are we doing today?” She asked him in an attempt to distract herself and not just because the pressure had eased as he finally said something to her.Definitely not.“We were going to go straight back home after the meeting with Montero but there’s somewhere I have to be, you’ll go straight home after they drop me off,” He said with a low voice. Whatever Enzo had said t
“So, you like him?” “What? No!” Rain exclaimed in horror. “I don’t fucking like him or anything like that,” she said to Yuki. “You only asked a question and now I have given you an answer!” Rain rolled her eyes when she heard Yuki’s melodic laugh on the other line. “I don’t like him!” Rain said again, sounding so defensive that it irritated even her. “I only asked you one question, is he hot?” Yuki began with a laugh, “But putting into consideration how you’ve just described the man to me…how could I not think that you like him?” Rain scoffed. “I do not!” Another laughter rang out, it was beginning to annoy her. “Yes, yes. I believe you. I have to go now but we’ll talk later tonight yeah?” Rain nodded even though Yuki couldn’t see her. “Yes of course, take care,” There was a click and the call was ended. Rain blew out a frustrated breath and flexed her legs without moving them in an attempt to stretch her legs. She was still in the car and being in one position for so lo
The scent of roses was the first thing that registered in her mind. It made Rain tense up because she knew that she hasn’t fallen asleep in the cabin the previous night. Her alarm kept ringing, urging her to open her eyes…face what the world wanted to bring. Am I in the cabin? Her hands reached for her phone and turned off the alarm before her eyes even opened. It was bright outside, so fucking bright and it seemed like she had forgotten to shut the curtains yesterday and now her eyes were paying the price for it. She was still in her room in the mansion. Rain almost couldn’t remember getting here last night because of how tired she’d been. Her and Alexander had talked all night. Holy shit. They talked all night. Alexander didn’t look the least bit tired but Rain kept embarrassingly dosing off and sometimes even drooled in front of him. When he finally told her to go get some rest, she didn’t even have the strength to argue, she just walked back to her room, eye lids heavy and
The city was at least beautiful. Rain hadn’t been to this part of Italy before, she could safely assume that they were in Palermo City because the car slowly pulled to a stop.Now, she could’ve asked Alexander about where they were going and who they were going to see but he had been brooding all morning just like the previous day, looking like he’d been wronged and like he was out for someone’s blood.He wore his hair in his usual style although a few stray locks kept slipping out of the hold and tickling his face. He brushed it away a few times and the sight of it made Rain’s fingers twitch.She wanted to be the person to do that. Maybe she would finally know his hair was as soft as it seemed…maybe run her fingers through it a little.He wore a black suit, looking just as deadly as he always did…heavens with a daily dose of such a visage daily, Rain was pretty sure she would die a happy death.Sure enough even after she had carefully picked out what she wore so that she wouldn’
Everyone was already outside their own assigned cars waiting for Rain and Alexander to step down. After he was out of the car, he offered her a hand so she could come out through his own door. She hesitated for a few seconds before taking his hand because this was the first time he’d ever done something of the sort. “How nice of you both to join us,” Luigi said in a low voice without humor while Romeo avoided her gaze and then muttered a few words under his breath that Rain couldn’t hear, it earned him a glare from Alexander though because the words were in Italian and it was obviously directed at Alexander. We’re the friends having issues? Once she was balanced enough in her heels, she muttered a low thank you to Alexander and he let her hand go that very second. Well, that was sort of expected. Her palms felt like they were ringing, missing his warmth. Stop that shit! She berated herself. They were at a mansion, not as big as the one they lived it but just as magnificent. Th
Vlad was glaring and his finger was just above the trigger, hovering, teasing and probably considering and weighing his fucking options. Rain scoffed at his hesitation, she was also surprised at how calm she felt in the moment. She expected her heart to beat faster because just a few days ago, the thought of being on the opposite side of a nuzzle almost gave her a panic attack. “Go ahead, prove to me that you aren’t a pussy,” Rain said with a challenging shrug, she smirked smugly at him…of course he wouldn’t be able to do shit to her. No matter how menacing he looked at that moment and how veins bulged out of his forehead. She wasn’t afraid, because of that asshole that his moods change like the fucking weather. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her, he made that promise and Rain was half sure that his men knew that they weren’t supposed to hurt her as well. They did…right? For a split second, Rain’s heart skipped a beat and she began to wonder if she should be afraid. “Th
Few Years Ago… Yaakov Guerriero stared at the destroyed pages of his research note book in front of him, his expression grim and his hands clasped behind his back. “You’re the person planting these thoughts in your sister’s head!” His last small but thick research book that had not been destroyed was then flung at his face and hit him square in the jaw. He inhaled deeply, his fists clenched at his sides as he tried to quell his anger, his anger wouldn’t do him any good when it came to their father, he had to stay silent just so he wouldn’t be given a much more severe punishment that might separate him from his sister, again. “Father please! Yaakov didn’t do anything wrong, I was the one who asked him to read and learn all about it!” Voila said with a shaky voice, her fear evident in her tone. Their father, Davide Guerriero’s hair was just as long as his son’s, some stray grey locks were on his face because of the strength he used to destroy every book he saw, he was breathing heav
Darkness. It consumed her and it was all she could think about. The darkness, how thick it was, how it made her want to scream so loud that her lungs would hurt. The pain was next, it came like a freight train to the skull, fast, sudden and unexpected. It made her moan and groan, her legs shook—wait… no they didn’t. She was laying down on her back and her head was on the softest of pillows. Roses. They came next. The scent of so many roses that it almost made her eyes water…her closed eyes. Rain opened them and then let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. It wasn’t too bright but the curtains were drawn, almost like the sun was just setting and the moon was getting ready to rise. Memories of what happened before the darkness consumed her flitted through her mind. She had been taken from the Cabin by Romeo to Cullen. He had done to her what he used to do in the past and then left her unattended because he thought she would be in too much pain to even stand, after he had
All hell was about to break loose.No, he had to be calm and level headed or else he would just worsen the situation.“He had a knife to her throat, I couldn’t make any moves without the knife digging deeper into her skin…he wasn’t bluffing…I’ve never seen him that way before,” Aldo sounded so lost and confused, like he didn’t expect shit like this to happen but Alexander expected it, what he didn’t expect was Romeo being the person who would betray all of them.“A knife to her throat?” Alexander gritted his teeth. The thought of Rain going through something as traumatizing as that was something that threatened to push him off the fucking edge.He was at his limit and he knew that at any given moment, he was going to go insane.“I didn’t know there was someone in the SUV, I would’ve stopped him first before Romeo got there but, I managed to put a tracker on them…issue is—”“It might be a trap,” Enzo said. The man’s eyes were bloodshot and his grip on his gun was so tight that
The knock came again and this time it was louder and much heavier than the last. The door shook and Rain flinched back in fear. “Rain!” Romeo? “It’s me! Open up!” Shit. It was just Romeo, but what happened to Alexander and why wasn’t he here instead? “Hey!” He was panting when she opened the door, covered in sweat and looked completely out of sorts. “We have to go!” He said hurriedly and then grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cabin and practically dragging her to the mansion. “Wait…wait!” Rain hissed at the strength of his grip on her wrist,, it felt like he was trying to break it in half. “What exactly is going on?” Rain asked as she stood her ground and refused the move. The wind was cold and it blew harshly on her skin, it was deathly calm and silent outside of the cabin almost like all of the gunshots from before were just her imagination. There was no one in sight and even where there were supposed to be guards, there was no one. Something was wrong. And somethin
Positive. Shit. All three of the tests Viola had bought were saying the same shit, her fears had been confirmed but strangely enough Rain felt really calm. She had thought she would break down until tears and start screaming hysterically but she didn’t really feel the urge to do so. She walked out of the bathroom, her legs were shaky and her eyes burning with unshed tears. Viola was right in front of her immediately and pulling her into a tight embrace. “They’re all positive, I’m pregnant,” Yes. Saying it out loud just made the reality of her situation hit her. She was carrying Alexander’s child. “It’s okay Rain,” Viola rubbed her back comfortingly, “I will be with you every step of the way, no matter what decision you make,” Rain hugged the woman tighter. She was like a lifeline in that moment. Rain didn’t think she would gain such an amazing friend after everything that had happened to her in Italy but today she was in the embrace of one, one that made her realize that everyt
“I got them for you,”Rain looked down at the black plastic bag that Viola was handing over to her.The events of the day had made forget totally that she had more issues she had to worry about.The pregnancy test. Fuck, could this day get any fucking worse?“Are you okay? You look a bit pale…” Viola held her face with a worried expression, Rain shook her head and moved out of Viola’s reach.“Thank you for everything Viola, I’m…I think I’ll just get everything done and over with, wait for me?”“ Of course!” Viola nodded, her eyes never leaving Rain as she walked to the bathroom.Rain really needed a shoulder to cry on right now, most especially if the tests came out positive. That would just be the cherry on top of all the shit that has happened today.….“Rain and Sergio knew each other back in Japan, how is it that it didn’t show up on her file?”Alexander wasn’t sure what it was but there was just something about Rain’s reaction to Sergio that just didn’t add up. When Ra
Sergio Mendes. That was what he called himself and that was what everyone knew him as. That wasn’t the name he told her three years ago. This was not the image he carried either. He might be able to fool every single person in this room but he couldn’t fool her, she knew who he was, she would recognize that face anywhere and her mind was not playing tricks on her. Three years ago she’d been a lost girl, and when she’d finally met him she thought it was over, the she’d been found and she finally found herself, found who she was meant to be. She was wrong. “Rain?” Then came Alexander’s worried tone, only then did she realize just how long she was staring at the man in front of her. His hand outstretched for a handshake, a knowing smile on his lips. When was the last time she had a panic attack? Rain could not remember. She thought it had stopped permanently. Now. “I…I need to use the bathroom,” she managed to choke out as she forced her feet to move and quickly leave the room,
One of the most expensive restaurants in Italy. To some, it might take months to make a reservation at a place such as this but as for Rain. The second she mentioned Alexander’s name to the restaurant, they quickly and easily processed everything.The Guerriero family name carried a lot of power and Rain was really tempted to use it to her advantage sometimes.Getting easy access into places that others could not. She could get used to this sort of thing.The restaurant was a long drive away from the mansion but it was honestly worth it. It had one of the most beautiful interior decors she’d ever seen, also probably the most expensive.The people on the tables dressed up like they were attending a fucking gala or something, every single one of them, prominent people in the country or even celebrities.Rain forced her mouth to stay closed and tried not to gape and embarrass herself.She then turned to look at Alexander who was dressed like he was just taking a casual stroll in t
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?” Asked Viola who was sitting on Rain’s bed which surprisingly enough, she hardly ever used these days…well until last night. Viola was munching on chips, not really caring for the crumbs that she was actually littering the sheets with.She looked as worried as a woman eating chips would look.Rain shook her head, “It was just a dizzy spell. I’ve had them countless times back when I was in Japan,”Sure, the previous day’s episode got her shook but she quickly regained her composure.It was a normal thing to feel dizzy in the morning for absolutely no reason at all.Rain had been prone to dizzy spells and panic attacks back when she was recovering from…you know who.She didn’t see anything wrong with it but Viola seemed to think otherwise, rather strongly.“You should really go to a hospital and get checked out,”“Viola…” Rain groaned.“Just saying,” Viola shrugged her shoulders, “or better yet, get yourself a pregnancy test and pee on
The meeting with Sergio Mendes was the next day but since Alexander had decided to leave her out of the serious stuff, he left for the exchange that they’d almost had an argument about. Or did they actually have an argument? After pacifying her, he went straight into the shower, it was noon by the time the guys came over and Rain had to revert to her routine of avoiding Romeo while trying to act like everything was normal. At first she’d thought Romeo was just in a bad mood and it was a phase that was going to pass but soon his actions started getting bolder and bolder. He would hold her hand secretly, whisper some nasty sexual words in her ear or try to kiss her when no one was looking but whenever they were with everyone else, he was their friend. The same person he was when they’d first met. Would they believe her if she told them just how much he was giving her the creeps and why? Probably not. Viola was the only person Rain could confide in about stuff like that but she still