Zoey p.o.vWe drove down the familiar road of the estate, the gate to our home came into view as we grew close.I remembered waking up this morning to an empty bed. Nothing but quietnesssurrounding me and the empty mattress on his side. I quickly got out of bed and started searching everywhere. Everywhere he could go, anywhere that was within a walking distance from ourroom. I went out and stood in the middle of the empty living room. I looked around and not a single person could bespotted.“Donna?” Turning around to see Matthew entering the house.“Where's Marco.” Travis's face then changed to slight discomfort at my question.“Don had left.” When those three words left his mouth, my eyes widened. But before I could utter a word, he continued, “And we will be on our way too.” He quickly added, avoiding my explosive response.“Don had something important toattend-”I had cut him off, I'm not interested in whatever cover up he has for Marco's action. I am upset, pissed even. This
Zoey p.o.vHere I am once again sitting in the living room and waiting for my so perfect husband to come back home. Two events are repeating their selves, one Marco leaving without telling me and secondly, he's returning home late once again.Such a lovely husband he is. I frown, my mind unsettled. Not knowing where he is, and how he's doing is setting my mind uneasy.I've tried reaching out to him via calling and texting, yet again he's not responding to either of them. A simple text back to tell me he's fine, will go a long way if setting my mind at rest. The soft sound from my lap brought me out of my thoughts, it was Adriano, both of us has been waiting for Marco to come back. He was playing on my lap a while ago before falling asleep.His face twisted as he broke into silent cries, I rock him to soothe him back to sleep. He might have had a bit of discomfort while asleep, probably a nightmare.“Shhh.” I pat softly on his stomach, still rocking him. He quiet down after a while an
Zoey p.o.vLike a cemetery, the surrounding air hissed with deadly silence in the car. John parked the car at a good distance from the scene, also getting a clear view of what's going on.I was too scared to come down from the car, too scared to find out the truth. I was being brave earlier, but right now, seeing the damages up close I fear for the outcome.I could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles surrounding the site, creating an eerie glow in the dark night. Cops and firefighters were everywhere, going in and out the building carrying dead bodies out.“Donna, I don't think you should go there.” John advice, staring at me with sympathy, I glared at him shutting him up immediately.They are claiming my husband is dead, and I shouldn't go there?I was fuming and scared at the same time.I shakily step down from the car, my whole body has gone limp from shock. My legs buckled the minute they touch the ground, I rest against the car to support myself.My breath were short a
Zoey p.o.vI was dead.I must be dead. There was no other reason against it. The level of comfort and lightness I was feeling, it was hardly describable. My mind was finally at a place of perfectsilence. So peaceful, I would rather not wake up. I didn't think I could, but then, I did.Forcing my heavy lids open, I lifted my weary head from a leather cushion. Suddenly, much like the lightning, a rush of blurry memories illuminated my mind. A more realistic jolt I felt shooting through my body as I awake and became fully conscious.I sat up, the brightness in the room blinding me for a while, I squint adjusting my eyes to the brightness. It's morning, I didn't check what time it is, I came down from the bed. Memories from yesterday were already floating in my head, but I tried to stay calm. Maybe it was just a vivid nightmare.I said to myself, Marco should be home now. I hastily went across the room and swung the door open, two guards were standing outside my room. “Donna.” They bo
Zoey p.o.vIt's been two days now, two long days since the supposed death of Marco. Today also happen to be the funeral, they're fucking holding a funeral for Marco. This is becoming too real to reject, why am I the only one still in doubt?I had to be here, even though I didn't want to. I haven't accepted the fact that Marco is gone – The funeral is being held at the back of the mansion.For some reason, he wasn't buried in a cemetery, rather their family has a big tombstone territory. It was like an ancestral burial ground, all their past members were buried there and Marco will not be exempted.It wasn't weird to be until I felt some certain way, I couldn't place a finger on how I was feeling. In the mixture, I felt a bit of reassurance- of what?I sat down, just watching the whole process. The invites were close relatives of the Alfonso family and important associates, they came to me one after the other giving out their condolences, but I couldn't bring myself to cry again.“Zoe
Zoey p.o.vI woke up this morning feeling the usual, the feeling of nauseous cutting short my sleep. I rush to the bathroom, throwing up all my guts. These have been going on lately, I've been feeling fatigue, nauseous and dizziness.At first, I didn't put much thought to it, but it's been getting worse recently. I could hardly stay awake and the few times I'm awake it's either I'm throwing up or feeling light-headed.Marco's mom said it was because I've been skipping meals, and thinking too much. She right on that, though, I haven't been myself since Marco's death. I don't eat well, I sleep but not fully rested.Nothing was the same anymore, and it causes a pang of immense pain in my chest. Drifting to sleep at night was, but actually having a good night rest was hard for me. I missed him so much.Every time I think about him, reliving our moments in my mind it increases the pain in my heart making it difficult for me to breathe.The thought of not being able to see him again in this
Zoey p.o.vFive months later.....I held on to Alice as she assisted me down the stairs, I am round and full now that I'm in my third trimester. I feel heavier and bigger for obvious reasons, my feet are the worst of them all as they are fuller.“Ouch.” I hissed, baby kicked my abdomen again. The pain wasn't unbearable, but was still pain.“The baby kick again?” Alice asked, small smile playing on her lips.“Hmm.” I hummed, rubbing my left palm over the place, soothing it.“It's a healthy child.” Alice commented. “Be a good child and don't stress mummy too much, okay?” She spoke softly, bending close to my stomach.It moved again, but this time it didn't kick, more like a wave of hand to say okay. I giggled at the movement, it's one of the moments that keeps me going.This kind of moments did greatly remind me of Marco, and how his lack of presence has impacted our lives deeply. When I was with Adriano, he would speak to him, telling him how eager he was for him. Sometimes he would ge
Zoey p.o.vAs I finished eating a meal that could have easily fed ten people, I leaned back in my chair with a contented sigh. “I feel alive.” I release a burp nosily, Adriano giggles pointing at me.“Momma, you farted with your mouth.” He laughs further as if it's the funniest thing in the world.I smile, my heart swallowing with great Joy, he's my bundle of happiness. He's the one person I look at that keeps me going for the past months. My son and unborn daughter are my strength, His laughter was interrupted when he releases a burp, and that too noisily. He quickly slap his mouth shot as if to keep the sound in, Camila and I burst out laughing at his surprised expression.“You farted too.” Camila told him, pulling him into her arms tinkling his stomach. Their laughter spread over the kitchen, I watch them with the most perfect smile on my face.“I did not, Aunt Camila.” His pronunciations aren't correct, but understandable.“You did.” Camila threw him up in the air, catching him
Adriano’s POVSix months later…“Now that we’re done with the ceremony, can we go on a proper tour of New York like I was promised?” Danny asked.Roselyn hit him upside the head and said, “Don’t be insensitive. Today is your sister’s day.”“Ouch, Mom! That hurt,” he complained.“And you deserve it,” Melanie’s voice cut into the conversation.“There’s my favorite nurse!” Sam yelled.“Dad, tone it down,” she said.“Nonsense. I would shout it at the top of my lungs if I had to so you can know how proud I am of you,” he replied.She smiled at her father and went to hug him then she did the same with her mom and brother who all congratulated her before she stopped in front of me.“I always knew you were something else, little nurse,” I told her. “From the first day I set my eyes on you, I knew you were better than the rest of us.”“Stop it you’re going to make me cry,” she said.I opened my arms and she stepped into me for a hug.My girl was finally a registered nurse and today was her gra
Melanie’s POVThe ride back to the house was very quiet.Throughout the ride home, I couldn’t help but think that none of this would have happened if I just had a conversation with Adriano.He was the man I fell in love with and even though I left him, he didn’t hesitate before coming for me.I know he was very relieved in the heat of the moment but I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen once the adrenaline wore off and he could think a bit more clearly.One thing I knew was that I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to him.Adriano was more honorable than people knew. I never thought I would be one of those women who would be pleased because her man killed people for her but as it turned out, I was one of those women.He pulled up to the house, which seemed to have more security guards on duty than normal and I knew it was all because of me.A few hours away, we were celebrating Christmas in bliss but I just had to go and ruin everything for every
Adriano’s POVThe warehouse was a hive of chaos, but I didn’t hear the shouting or the echoing footsteps behind me. All I saw was Melanie. She sat bound to a chair, her face pale, and her lip split, a streak of blood trailing down her chin. Alex Pushkin had a gun pressed to her temple. My blood ran cold. I raised my weapon, keeping my voice steady. “Let her go.” Behind me, my men spread out, weapons aimed and ready. They waited for my signal, but I couldn’t give it—not yet. One wrong move, one miscalculation, and Melanie could die. Pushkin laughed, a guttural sound that grated on my nerves. “You think you scare me? I’ve killed better men than you.” His hand twitched, and I saw the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. Good. He was scared, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Fear made people sloppy. I needed to buy time, distract him long enough for my men to position themselves. “Erica,” I said, shifting my focus to the woman who stood off to the side, smug and self-satisfie
Melanie’s POVI woke up to the biting chill of a dark, unfamiliar room, my head pounding as if it had been split in two. My wrists ached from the tight ropes binding them, and my ankles felt just as constricted."You’re awake," Erica drawled, her tone laced with mock concern. She folded her arms and leaned against the rusted frame of the door, watching me like a predator eyeing its prey. "How are you feeling, darling?" I didn't respond. My throat was dry, and my words caught somewhere between anger and fear. God, how could I have been foolish enough to let, Erica manipulate me? I should have known that she was up to no good when Alice told me that Adriano left her at the altar.I guess now I was paying the price for my foolishness."Cat, got your tongue?" she asked, smirking. "Or maybe it’s the shock of realizing you’ve been so incredibly stupid." Her words stung more than I cared to admit. I should have known better. Adriano had always been honest with me in his own way, even w
Adriano’s POVSomething was off.I didn’t know what but the moment I ended the call with Nik and sat down to work, something in my head kept nagging at me.At first, I thought it was the unusual silence in the house but I figured that was because everyone was probably asleep.I had expected Melanie to come find and chastize me for taking too long but since she didn’t, that meant that the day finally got to her and she succumbed to sleep.My girl was a rockstar tonight, and like I expected, she had my entire family eating from the palm of her hands throughout the dinner. I was sure they saw exactly what I did from the moment I set my eyes on her.By now Nik should be mobilizing the guys to infiltrate the last warehouse. He got intel that Pushkin finally moved all the girls to one place and he just got the location. I trusted Nik could handle this without me, after all, he had just singlehandedly negotiated a new deal with the Irish.Tonight I was going to end it sleeping next to the wo
Melanie’s POVThe cool night air felt like needles against my skin as I hurried down the street, my duffel bag slung over my shoulder. My legs felt like lead, but I pushed forward, every step putting more distance between me and the house that was once my prison but later became my home. The streets were quiet, the kind of silence that normally would have scared me, but tonight I welcomed it. I avoided the well-lit areas, sticking to the shadows, hoping none of Adriano's guards would see me. My pulse raced with every second, and my breath was uneven.I had no idea where I was going, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting away and I was lucky enough to have been able to avoid the guards. I guess the weeks of walking the grounds and studying their routine paid off.Luckily, a cab finally came into view at the corner of the street, its headlights a beacon of hope. I flagged it down, my arm trembling as I waved. The driver, an older man with kind eyes, rolled down the window.
Melanie’s POVThe first image made my heart stop.It was of a young girl who was barely a teenager. She was sitting on a dingy mattress in what looked like a warehouse, her eyes hollow, her body too thin. Behind her, a shadowy figure loomed a man I didn't recognize but I could bet my life on it that it was her oppressor.My throat tightened as I flipped to the next photograph and the next. Each one was worse than the last. Girls, so young they could barely be called women, trapped in squalor, their faces etched with fear.I couldn't breathe.At first, I thought, no, and hoped that this was evidence Adriano had gathered to shut down a trafficking ring. It had to be. He couldn't possibly be involved in this. He could kill a man but there was no way he was responsible for harming innocent girls.But then I saw it, rather I saw him. And there was no mistaking the fact that he was the one because I recognized Nik beside him.They were both holding onto girls and leading them to God knows w
Melanie’s POVWe rode home in comfortable silence. I was too full and happy from the good food and great company to say anything further.Plus, I couldn’t take my hands off the bracelet. It was just too beautiful. I’ve never owned anything as expensive as this and I was so scared to ask him how much it cost.We already exchanged gifts in the morning so I wasn’t expecting anything more from him.In a not-so-surprising turn of events, Alice was still awake by the time we got home.“For a moment I thought you both were going to spend the night there,” Alice said when we got into the living room."It's really late, Alice, and I'm sure you've had a long day. You should be sleeping," Adriano said.“I couldn’t sleep when I knew how important today was to Melanie. I was too anxious to know how it went,” she replied.“Well, you can rest easy now because it went very well,” I told her.Her face lit up with a smile and she gave me a quick hug, making me laugh.“I told you, you had nothing to wor
Melanie’s POVThe soft glow of candlelight and the twinkle of garlands wrapped around the staircase banister made the dining room feel almost magical. The air was thick with the aromas of roasted meats, spiced wine, and fresh-baked rolls, making my stomach grumble in anticipation. Platters of steaming food filled every inch of space. Roast beef surrounded by caramelized vegetables, golden potatoes dusted with rosemary, bowls of vibrant salads, and an assortment of bread rolls that looked fresh out of the oven. When we heard no movement on the steps, Zoey gave a sharp clap of her hands and called out to the men, her voice cutting through the hum of conversation. “Dinner is ready! Boys, come join us!” she said.I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs as Adriano and the rest of the men made their way over. Adriano entered first, his presence commanding as always, but his warm smile was reserved for me alone. My heart gave a tiny flutter, and I smoothed my dress nervously. As