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
Zoey's p.o.vI was frozen in the spot. For a moment, my breath caught in my throat, and my brain refused to function. I felt the rest of the world fading away, and the room closing in on me. My eyes picking him out and blocking everyone else. I blinked, once, twice, and for the third time, thinking I was hallucinating. The man sitting behind the desk in front of Matthew was none other than my husband – my supposedly dead husband. Marco.For the love of God, my freaking husband, whom we all thought was dead is sitting here, before my eyes.Confusion and disbelief warred within me as I tried to make sense of the impossible sight before me. Marco had died in the fire accident seven months ago, or so I had been told. “Donna.” Matthew freaked out, rushing to hold me as my legs buckled. I lift my hand, stopping him, supporting myself by leaning against the closest wall.“Marco?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. I was afraid that speaking too loud would shatter the fragile illusion
Zoey p.o.vI sat by the window staring outside, the night isn't young anymore, and it's way past the two hours Marco promised to come to me. I couldn't sleep, my mind filled with a whirlwind of emotions. I felt happy, confused, and hurt all at once. Happy that Marco was alive and breathing, confused about why he hadn't kept me informed of his plans, and hurt that he had seemingly forgotten about our meeting. I felt a sense of peace wash over me. Marco was safe, that's all that matters. The sound of the door cracking open reaches my ear, I don't bother to see who it is because there's only one person who could enter this room without any form of permission. And that person is Marco. “You should be asleep.” He spoke, confirming my guess. “Fuck, it's windy there, it's not good for you.” His footsteps approach me.I felt his presence, his warmth, before I physically saw him. I won't be able to get enough of his presence in this lifetime, his overwhelming presence is a reassurance to m
Marco p.o.v “There are snakes among my men.” I told her. “Aren't they always spies.” Her face frown confused. Her confused stare fixed on me, there have always been snakes implanted among my men. Having too many enemies, there's will these kinds of situations. “Roman Vladimir's snakes.” Her expression changes from the confused state to one of understanding. Roman Vladimir. He's the younger brother to Nikolai, Vladimir. My dad's swore enemy. He's the Russian leader, the Vladimir's has our enemies for decades. He's a sly Fox or so I've heard, if he were that capable, he wouldn't have been played on his on game. Would he? I had experience first hand what the Vladimir's did to my parents, the urge to get revenge has always been there. And now that he has presented himself on a platter of gold, I won't let this opportunity slides. Roman Vladimir isn't my biggest concern right, just an insignificant fly I need to get out of the way for the master mind to come out. “How did you find
Zoey p.o.vToday I woke up in a lighter mood than I've been for the past months, knowing that Marco is a big relief. A relief I couldn't content either can I express, I can only express it through my vibrant mood.“Ma'am, you seem to be in a better mood today.” Alice had asked me.My mood today was obvious to everyone in the mansion, they have seen me in this lively mood since the news of Marco death. So they are quite surprised.“Anything new?” She asked expectantly, smiling brightly as she awaits my response.I shook my head at her dismissively, she quickly took the signal that I didn't want to talk about it. I would rather not spill any words related to Marco's fake death, for obvious reasons.Presently I'm wary of every worker in the estate. Marco refused to point out or put a name of the spies.“You wouldn't be able to contain your emotions, if I point them out.” He declined firm when asked who they were.He was right on that, my reaction towards them if I were to know who they a
Third person p.o.v_The Hidden Lair_Roman Vladimir, the ruthless Russian mafia boss, stood in the dimly lit room, his eyes fixed on the phone as he reported to the hidden boss. His voice was laced with a mix of respect and venom.“Sir, it's done. Zoey is in my custody. The mission was a success. And Marco… is no more.” Roman's tone was laced with satisfaction, convinced he had finally avenged the past humiliation of his family. He could almost taste the sweet revenge, and his mind raced with the possibilities of exploiting Marco's empire.The hidden boss's voice was like a snake slithering through the grass, smooth and menacing. “Excellent work, Roman. You've proven yourself useful once again. I must admit, I'm impressed. You've exceeded my expectations.”Roman's thoughts seethed with anger and determination. _I finally settled the score. Marco's dead, and now I'll crush the rest of his empire. No one will dare challenge me again._ He could already envision the fear and respect he wo
Zoey p.o.vI don't know how long I've been sitting here, waiting. The silence is deafening, punctuated only by the faint hum of fluorescent lights above. I'm trapped, unable to move closer to the door to listen for any sign of movement. My abdomen aches, and my chest feels like it's suffocating me. I press my hands against my stomach, trying to calm my racing heart.As I waited, the discomfort in my abdomen grew, and my chest felt like it was suffocating me. I pressed my hands against my stomach, trying to calm my racing heart. “Baby, please, just hang in there,” I whispered, my voice shaking.Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the man in black loomed over me. He reached for the chains binding my feet to the bed and yanked them off, the metal scraping against my skin. I winced in pain as he grasped my arm, his grip like a vice.“Get up,” he growled, pulling me off the bed.I stumbled, my legs numb from hours of immobility. He dragged me out of the room, my feet scraping against the
Marco's p.o.vMy eyes fixed on the screens displaying the feeds from the hidden cameras.Roman thought he had the upper hand, but he was just a pawn in my game.“Marco, we need to move now,” my father growled, his anger palpable.His eyes were also fixed on the screen, and whatever Roman is doing right now is getting to us. Dad hasn't been able to hide his feelings when it concerns Mom, this weakness became evident.I knew he would rip Roman apart the first chance he gets. I'm barely holding back the rage boiling inside of me, seeing the condition they are in is killing.But for we to end this game, we have to destroy its root. That is finding the man behind the scene, he's definitely not going to be a happy ending for him when I get him.“Not yet,” I replied. “We need to let Roman think he's in control.”My father's face twisted in rage. “Fuck that bullshit, I'm going over there now.” Dad was already on his way out.“I know, Dad” I said, my jaw clenched. “But we can't let emotions cl
Melanie’s POVI woke up tangled up in Adriano’s arms, feeling deliciously sore.Last night was hands down, the best night of my life. It turned out that, Adriano was an insatiable beast in the sheets judging by the number of times we had sex. At some point, I even stopped counting my orgasms.I wasn’t a virgin, but being with the way, Adriano handled me, I might as well have been one.I felt a kiss on my head.“Good morning, little nurse,” he said in his hoarse morning voice.“Good morning,” I replied. “I’m going to need a lot of coffee to get through this day.”“Why?” he asked.“Because a certain young man couldn’t get his hands off me long enough for me to get a decent amount of sleep,” I said.“I’m not going to apologize for that, little nurse, because you enjoyed every single moment of it,” he said.That’s right. I did.“Do you want to call in sick from work today?”
Melanie’s POVAdriano’s lips were on mine, warm and commanding, and every time they moved, I felt like I was unraveling piece by piece. His hand slid up my back, strong and steady, pulling me closer until there was no space between us. The soft leather of the couch pressed against my skin, cool and grounding, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me.I opened my eyes for a moment, catching a glimpse of him. His sharp jawline, the dark stubble brushing against my skin, and the intensity in his gaze always made me feel like I was the only thing in his world.I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. Every kiss was like a promise, dark, intense, and utterly consuming. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging gently as he tilted my head back, exposing my neck to him. He trailed kisses along my jawline, slow and deliberate, his breath hot against my skin. I arched into him, my fingers clutching at his shoulders as his lips trailed
Adriano’s POVThe soft light of the living room barely cut through the weight of the night as I watched her. I blinked thinking I might have imagined the words I heard earlier.Melanie stood a few feet away, still in her jeans and that worn leather jacket she seemed to love so much. I noticed because ever since the cold rolled in, she had been wearing more of that jacket. She looked like trouble and comfort rolled into one, the kind of combination that could destroy a man if he wasn’t careful and I’ve never really been careful around my girl. In fact, I was fast losing the patience I thought I was holding on to and if she was messing with me, I would be pissed.Now, though, something had shifted. Her eyes met mine, and I knew we were past the point of trying to avoid the sexual tension that existed in perpetuity between us.“Kiss me,” she said softly, but there was nothing timid in her tone. It wasn’t a question or even a
Melanie’s POVAdriano led me into the restaurant and we were led towards a private booth. The servers were very polite and a little too eager to server but it was to be expected.The man booked the whole restaurant to take his girlfriend on a date. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he was influential.The food was amazing!I had a hard time deciding between two dishes but I ended up going for the chicken cacciatore while, Adriano ordered the second dish I was considering for himself.I tried not to swoon at how attentive he was to me because I know for a fact that he ordered that dish because of me but I didn’t want to draw attention to it.And as I suspected, when our food arrived and we began eating, he asked me if I wanted to try a bite of his food and somehow, half of his parmesan ended up on my plate.Thank God he ordered enough servings.The conversation also flowed freely all
Melanie’s POVI clocked out and ran to change out of my scrubs, ignoring the numerous eyes that were on me. Some were staring at me with approval but most of them had looks of jealousy and envy, like I somehow stole what belonged to them.Well, that was none of my business. The fact was, Adriano is my man and they can look all they want but can't have him. So that was one way to look at it. Besides, I wasn't a stranger to being stared at.I changed out of my regular clothes and when I got out. She was glaring at daggers at me but there was no mistaking the envy in her eyes when she saw, Adriano earlier.I smiled at her. Take that you petty, conniving, bitch. Yes, you can think you're all that and try to take away surgeries from me but you'll never have my man.I got to the nurses’ station, half expecting to meet, Hayley alone but to my surprise, she was engrossed in a conversation with, Adriano and they were laughing.
Melanie’s POV“Ugh… you guys are so cute it’s disgusting,” Aria said, once again interrupting our moment.“Shut up, Ari!” Adriano barked at her.“Whatever, I’m going to be with, Alice in the kitchen so wrap this up because we’re all having dinner together and I don’t want you making googly eyes at each other at the dinner table,” she said.“You still haven’t said it, Melanie,” Adriano said when we were finally alone. “I need to hear you say it.”“You need to hear me call you, baby?” He nodded. “Yes, I do because you’re mine and I’m yours. Every part of me belongs to you. So I’m your baby and it feels fucking good to hear you admit it.”I would have laughed if he wasn't being incredibly sweet. A grown-ass man was happy I called him, baby. Now that was a first.“Still, you shouldn’t have yelled at your sister that way,” I told him."She can handle it besides how do you expect me to let out
Melanie’s POVAdriano and I spent the day watching movies and munching on junk food after he finished the entire jar of cookies I made for him.I’d never seen someone that obsessed with cookies and it’s actually funny to see, Adriano react that way to the cookies.I must admit that it made me feel good that he loved my baking, now it got me wanting to do more. Maybe bake a pie or some muffins. I might start a bit easier and go with brownies instead but we'll see.When we got tired of staying indoors, he suggested we go out for a walk around the grounds and I gladly agreed.I had never really wandered around the house except the insides. I knew that the staff quarters were also in the compound but I'd never been there, and neither do I know how they live over there. It turned out the quarters were an array of bungalows for the staff.That way everyone had their privacy. There was also a large kitchen. Apparently, th
Adriano’s POVI have never loved being injured more than this moment.Melanie has been treating me like an incapacitated child and I had no complaints.Thanks to the ibuprofen she made me take after breakfast, the pain in my arm wasn’t unbearable and thank God I gave in to her.The pain was quite intense at night and the only comfort I had was having Melanie sleeping in my arms since I was doing a shit job of that.However, she woke up at various intervals throughout the night to check on me and I did a good job pretending to be asleep at those times. I knew that because she didn’t dispute what I said when I told her I slept great.“Thankfully you didn’t pop any of the stitches in your sleep,” Melanie said. She was in the middle of changing the bandages on my arm.“I’m a good patient,” I told her.“Whatever,” she scoffed and finished bandaging my arm.“Thanks for taking care of me, Melanie,” I said.“You don’t need to thank me but you’re welcome all the same,” she replied.I leaned i
Melanie’s POVI woke up feeling something poking me from behind I immediately knew what it was.I was tempted to rub myself on him but, Adriano was still asleep and I didn’t want him to wake up while I was in the middle of whatever I was doing because I wasn’t sure how I would recover from that embarrassment.I felt him stir a bit and I feigned sleep, but it turned out I wasn’t that great of an actress because he knew I was awake.“Good morning, little nurse,” he whispered in my ear. “You can stop pretending to be asleep now.”I groaned. “You’re annoying in the morning,” I said.“Nope, I’m a ray of sunshine especially because I get to wake up next to you,” he replied.I ignored him and rolled over so I could face him.“Did you sleep well?” I asked.“Yeah, I did. I told you I can handle a little pain,” he answered.That wasn’t what I saw when I woke up a few times in the middle of the night to check on him. His face was contoured in pain and it was obvious that he was having a fitful s