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Chapter 3.16
Last Updated:
2024-11-04 13:00:34
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Claim by the Don Chapter 3.17
Melanie’s POV I’ve never been the most sociable person. I was somewhat of a shy person. Case in point, I had one close friend throughout high school. Her name was Hannah. We did almost everything together and I even considered her my best friend. But she got into UCLA and although we made a promise to keep in touch, Hannah suddenly stopped picking my calls and responding to my texts. I wasn’t so dumb that I couldn’t read the message she was trying to pass along. She had moved on and probably made cooler friends in Los Angeles so she no longer had need for me. Since then, I’ve been very careful not to get too close to people. We might be friendly but I always maintained healthy boundaries in order to avoid sending mixed signals. Sure, it wasn't the best way to live and I sometimes felt lonely but it was better than subjecting myself to the possibility of another rejection. The few dates I
Last Updated : 2024-11-05Claim by the Don Chapter 3.18
Melanie’s POV I just shot myself in the foot but I didn't care. It was obvious Nurse Betty just wanted to spew her venom at me and I was no longer having any of it. Without saying another word, I turned and left her stunned in the break room. The moment I opened the door, I saw other staff scampering away and trying so hard to look like they weren’t paying attention tto what had just gone down. “What did she want?” Hayley asked when I got back. “You should know by now,” I answered. She frowned. “That bitch, Lydia has spread her lies to our CNO,” she said. I nodded in response not having enough strength to banter with her. "I've heard stories of how Nurse Betty was unfair but I never paid much mind to it because I didn't work closely with her, now I believe it wholeheartedly." “It’s no big deal,” I said and her eyes bulged ou
Last Updated : 2024-11-06Claim by the Don Chapter 3.19
Adriano’s POV “How’s our new physician doing?” Nik asked. I swear sometimes he forgets I’m his boss and not just his friend. “She’s fine,” I answered blankly. “Now why did you barge into my office?” “I just came to see my friend,” was Nik’s jovial response but I knew that wasn’t all there was to it. “This is working hours so tell me exactly why you’re here,” I said. “It’s about, Marcus,” he said. “I found out he wasn’t working alone after all.” I nodded. We had already suspected that so it was no longer news. “Is that all? You don’t have any more news of his associates?" "I haven't been able to identify who it is but word on the street is they're Russian," Nik answered. Adriano didn’t like the sound of that. A number of Russians have tried to take over their territory over the years but none have been successful.
Last Updated : 2024-11-07Claim by the Don Chapter 3.20
Melanie’s POV I should have known that Alice wasn’t the type to hover. When she knocked on my door a few minutes prior, I told her I wanted to be left alone so the fact that she was knocking louder on my bedroom door after only a few minutes frustrated me. But imagine my shock when I found Adriano standing on the other side of my bedroom door. Well, technically all the rooms in the house belonged to him but who cares, he couldn’t live in all of them. He raised an amused brow at me. “Are you going to answer my question or keep staring at me?” he asked. I recovered from my shock and glared at him. “What do you want?” I asked. “I want to know what the hell happened to make you want to starve yourself in my house,” he answered. I scoffed. How dare he? “I’m afraid you don’t have any right to tell me when I can eat,” I said.
Last Updated : 2024-11-08Claim by the Don Chapter 3.21
Adriano’s POVI remained in my study late into the night.I was still too agitated to go to sleep. I shouldn’t have fucking asked her what she wanted me to do with them. I should have known better.Melanie was too fucking innocent to hurt even a bug, even if that bug stings her one too many times. I, on the other hand, would have quashed the bug before they even had a chance to sting me.This just made me realize just how different we were. She was light while I was my soul was encased in so much darkness.If I had a conscience, I would have let her go after she momentarily lost her temper. But I’ve killed way too many people to worry about my conscience.She just needed a little time to come around and even if she never came around, it doesn’t matter.A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts and Alice walked it carrying a tray.“I’m busy, Alice,” I said, knowing exactly why she came into my study.“You need to eat, sir,” she said, setting the tray on my desk.“I’ll eat late
Last Updated : 2024-11-25Claim by the Don Chapter 3.22
Melanie’s POVThe hairs on my neck tingled and I turned to see the elevator doors closing.For some reason, I felt like I was being watched but I quickly shook off the thought.There was no way Adriano could have reneged on our agreement not to have me watched.Or could he?“Are you okay?” Hayley asked.I turned back to her.“Oh, yeah I’m fine. I just thought I saw someone,” I said.“Expecting anyone in particular?”I shook my head. "No, I guess it's just my mind playing tricks on me. By the way, what were you saying earlier?"“I said you look like you’ve got enough sleep last night. I don’t see the worry lines that were on your face yesterday,” she said.And she wasn’t wrong. Considering the fact that I was plagued with thoughts of Adriano last night, I surprisingly had a good night’s sleep.Plus, I apologized to Alice for my behavior last night and she showed me she had forgiven me by making me the most delicious breakfast.Even Ralph didn't look at me with as much concern as he did
Last Updated : 2024-11-25Claim by the Don Chapter 3.23
Melanie’s POVMy shift went by surprisingly smoothly. I still got a few weird looks but it was easy to ignore them.It was amazing what not caring can do to one’s mental health. I felt so much lighter now that I didn’t have to worry about people’s opinions of me.Yes, they already had a skewed assumption but I didn’t really care. I had a job to do and that’s what I focused on.By the time Ralph drove me home after my shift, I wasn’t even as tired as I normally would’ve been.“Someone had a good day,” Alice said once she opened the door.“Well, you’re right about that. Today was a good day, save for a few hiccups during the day,” I said.“That’s good to know. I’m glad you had a good day,” she replied smiling warmly at me.I paused at the stairs.“Alice?"“Yes, dear.”“How come I never see anybody else in the house? I remember seeing another maid after my first night here but I hav
Last Updated : 2024-11-26Claim by the Don Chapter 3.24
Melanie’s POVThe next few days passed by quite normally and before long it was the weekend.I finally met Katie and Joy, the housekeepers in charge of cleaning the house. I recognized Katie from the first time I stayed over. She accompanied Alice but I hadn’t seen her since then.But the life of a nursing student isn’t one of leisure so I spent my weekend attending classes which Adriano told Ralph that I couldn’t afford to miss.Although I was relieved not to have to beg Adriano to let me attend my classes, I hadn't seen him since our last conversation at the foot of the stairs when he stormed off angrily.For a while, I thought about going to apologize to him but I decided not to, the less we communicated the better.Besides, he also seemed to be intentionally avoiding me so I guess it was for the best.The only day I had to rest is on Sunday and since I had nothing and nowhere to go, I decided to spend it ha
Last Updated : 2024-11-27
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Claim by the Don Chapter 130
Adriano’s POVI stared at my mom who had taken the seat that Nik occupied only moments ago.“You didn’t have to come over here to confirm it,” I said.“Yeah, I did,” she said. “Lately, it’s been like you’ve been doing everything possible to avoid a family gathering and I’m not going to let that happen again.”“You could have called instead,” I added.“I wouldn’t be able to tell how you’re feeling over the phone. It’s better to see your face in person,” she replied.“I already told you that I was not going to miss Christmas dinner, Mom,” I said. “Will you be coming alone?” she asked.Now we’ve gotten to the real reason why she came.“No, Mom. I won’t be coming alone. Melanie will be with me,” I answered.That made her smile. “Good, I want to see the lady that’s got my baby boy wrapped around her fingers. Besides, she makes great cookies and I need her to give me her recipe,” she said.
Claim by the Don Chapter 129
Adriano’s POV“Mr. Alfonso, is anything the matter?”I looked up at the accountant who paused his presentation. I could tell from the sweat marring his forehead that he was nervous. He was a new hire and was still trying to learn the ropes.So far so good, his presentation was good, but it was so goddamn boring. That was why when I started getting notifications of large transactions on my card, I couldn’t help but smile.I damn near forced, Melanie to accept the card from me and according to, Ralph they had been at the mall for hours and I just began getting transaction notifications.It didn’t take a genius to figure out that my sister had a hand in it. Maybe she wasn’t so useless after all.Melanie was too stubborn to let herself enjoy things that were freely given to her so it was good she had friends who didn’t hesitate to push her when she needed it.So yes, I’ve been distracted from the presentation, but that
Claim by the Don Chapter 128
Melanie’s POVAfter I had disconnected the call with, Aria, I went in search of my man and found him engrossed with something on his desktop.He raised his head when he noticed me and smiled at me."Did you miss me, little nurse?" he asked.I walked towards him and nodded. “I didn’t want to be alone,” I said.“Come here,” he ordered and I followed without hesitation.He pushed away from his desk and made room for me to sit."I thought you had a long overdue conversation with your girls," he said.“I did have conversation with my girls but that’s over now and I didn’t want to be left alone in the room. Besides, you’ve been holed up in this study for hours,” I said.“I had a lot of work to catch up on,” he replied.“I know that but that doesn’t mean I can’t try to distract you,” I told him. “I think we’re long overdue for something else.”He smirked at me. “Really? What is it?”
Claim by the Don Chapter 127
Melanie’s POVAlice and I spent the rest of the day together chatting in the living room while Adriano was upstairs doing God knows what.He did join us downstairs for dinner, looking freshly showered and I wanted to take him upstairs and lick him all over because of how delicious he looked but I focused on dinner.I helped, Alice clean up before I finally excused myself upstairs to take a shower. Adriano wasn’t in the room which means that he was in his study.I showered and changed into shorts and one of Adriano’s t-shirts before I settled in bed to call the girls.Now that the weekend was almost over, ignoring them was no longer an option so I put a group video chat and they both answered like they have been waiting for my call.“It’s about time, bitch!” Hayley said the moment her face filled the screen.“I see you’re back from la la land,” Aria added. “You abandoned us just because of a man.”I laughed
Claim by the Don Chapter 126
Melanie’s POVThe flight home was peaceful even though I spent most of the flight alone.When we boarded, Adriano told me he had a phone conference and I encouraged him to go ahead and join the teleconference when I saw that he was willing to postpone the conference on my behalf.He had already done a lot for me this weekend and I didn’t want to keep him from the rest of his responsibilities. People depended on him and of course he had to deliver.The group chat with the girls had been blowing up non-stop over the weekend after, Aria let it loose that Adriano took me on a thanksgiving trip.She ganged up with Hayley and have been badgering me for details all weekend but I wasn’t about to interrupt my time with my family so I sent them a message three days ago telling them that I would talk to them after the weekend.That didn’t deter them from sending messages on the group chat constantly. I spent the whole flight reading
Claim by the Don Chapter 125
Melanie’s POVMom was staring at us with a bright smile on her face and I was blushing so hard that I was pretty sure my face was red.“You both are just so cute,” she said. “It reminds me of when your father and I just started dating. Those were good times.”“Woman I still woo you regularly,” Dad said, walking into the kitchen.“Is the food not ready?” Danny piped up and Mom glared at him.“If you’re so hungry maybe I should leave you to make breakfast then,” Mom said, then she turned to Dad and Adriano."You all need to get your asses out of my kitchen. Melanie and I are almost done with breakfast but we won't make progress if you all keep hovering around here," she said.“You sure you don’t need any help?” Adriano asked.“I’m sure, honey, now get our,” Mom ordered.“Bossy as ever I see,” Dad mumbled and gave Mom a quick kiss on the cheeks before turning back and walking out behind, Danny wh
Claim by the Don Chapter 124
Melanie’s POVWatching, Adriano interact with my family, I wondered why I was ever nervous.My worry about whether or not they were going to like him was moot because he had them all charmed. Even Dad who was a bit hesitant yesterday had warmed up to him.In other words, he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Also, I was pretty sure my brother idolized him with the way he kept asking him questions throughout the night and regaling him with football stories.The day after thanksgiving, I was helping my mom make breakfast while the rest of the house slept. We had a late night yesterday so it wasn’t a surprise that they were still asleep but not my mom.Mom had always been an early riser no matter the time she went to sleep, she always woke up the same time every day, like clockwork.We worked together silently in the kitchen, this time with no one to interrupt us anytime soon, I knew that I was going to hear all she’
Claim by the Don Chapter 123
Adriano’s POVThe scent of spiced apple pie hit me as soon as we stepped inside Melanie’s childhood home. It was warm and cozy in a way I didn’t think houses could be anymore. I grew up in a warm and cozy home but I soon learned that not all homes were like mine. Pictures lined the walls, memories frozen in time. Her mom, Roselyn, had been very welcoming. Melanie had once told me that her family was affectionate, but still, I wasn’t expecting this level of hospitality. Her father, on the other hand, was another story. He’d shaken my hand firmly, his eyes narrowing just enough to let me know he was sizing me up. It didn’t bother me. Hell, I respected it. If I had a daughter like Melanie, I’d do the same thing, I might even go overboard with it and try to scare the boy away but I didn’t get scared easily so he was just going to have to tolerate me in his house and his daughter’s life.Her brother, Danny, was a wild one. The guy w
Claim by the Don Chapter 122
Melanie’s POVThe wheels of the plane hit the runway with a soft thud, and I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Adriano’s hand slid over mine as the plane taxied along the runway, his fingers warm and firm. “Relax, Tesoro,” he murmured, his voice low and soothing. “We’ve landed.” I turned to him, his dark eyes drawing me in as they always did. “I’m relaxed,” I lied, though the tight grip I had on his hand betrayed me. The corner of his mouth tilted up in that knowing smirk that drove me crazy, in both the best and worst ways. "Sure you are, little nurse. You look very convincing.” The pilot announced over the intercom that we could disembark and we stood. We landed on another private airstrip but I could tell it was an extension of the bustling Austin airport.The flight attendants had already carried our bags into a parked SUV. I couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nerves.
