EVA"It's been a year." He looked at her from under dark lashes, "You left without saying goodbye."If his eyes were hands, she would have been naked. His cigar lay forgotten on the tray, and she wished he'd crush the amber rather than let it pollute her air."I see you got your wishes granted," she said, looking around the office she once remembered as Adler's. Her throat became heavy. "Aren't you quite the opportunist, Don?"He chuckled and looked down at the ring on his finger. "I almost thought you came by to celebrate with me, but you've always been cruel to me." He looked up again. "So tell me now, what can I do for you?"She quickly replied, "My sister. Victor, I know you too well to know what you're up to. I've come to plead with you not to.""Plead with me?" He cupped his chin. "No way you're pleading with that hatred in those beautiful eyes, Evie."She would have known it wouldn't be easy to hide a feeling so deep. Eva dropped her gaze to the floor."Alright, sweetie," he re
AUTHOR'S POV4 MONTHS LATER Domenico stood beside the frail woman on her sick bed. There was a time when he would hold her hand, and she'd open those eyes and smile at him, but that had changed over the years. His mother's hatred for him intensified after Adler died. He could see the accusations in her eyes when she looked at him, and despite the fact that he was here because she had called for him, he still dreaded what he would face when she woke up.His father, not his mother, was the source of the musty smell in the room, which was filled with heated blankets and old books.Leaning against the wall with a shoulder, Domenico watched her face, his arms folded across his chest. Tempted to wake her up so they could get her guilt trips over with, Domenico resisted the urge instead, checking his watch and looking out of the window.Finally, she stirred, and he held his breath, watching her lids flutter open before finally becoming stable. And that alone poked the sleeping guilt in him
EVAThat was close. Eva sighed.Knowing Victor, his ego was bruised, and he would never consider popping the question again as a form of punishment.He was genuinely offended, but still, Victor will do everything to hurt her except put her away.The last 4 months had been a circus, with his intentions to live her obsessed with him vivid.Poor Salvatore always played an audience role and later managed his boss's tantrums. She shrugged; they deserved each other anyway.Eva replaced her frown with a beaming smile as soon as she opened the door to reveal Lily, her niece. Constance was lying on the bed, and Lily was sitting beside her, sifting through papers with a somber countenance."You were quick, "Lily said as soon as she picked up Constance from the bed. "What did he want from you?""Nothing much." Eva replied, making faces at the baby, who cackled loudly. "He wants me to accompany him to an event." I turned him down."Her sister climbed out of bed, the papers still in her right hand
SALVATORE"What's wrong with him?" While gesturing forward with his glass, Rune shouted over the club's booming music.Salvatore lowered his cup, followed Rune's gesture, and found Victor, the object of his attention, in a preserved space in the bar. Girls in different stages of undress surrounded him, and he absent-mindedly stamped bills on their asses."I would feel the same way if three people stood me up in a day," Salvatore answered, handing the bartender his cup for a refill.They were already in the club when Luigi and Ruslan abruptly called off the meeting via text, and from that point on, they stood by and watched Victor unravel, aggressively flirting and drinking."I know Russy and Luigi stood him up," Rune said, gently rolling his glass. "But who's the third person?"Two brunettes walked by, their hips swaying as if to the high-tempo beats that reverberated through every surface in the club."Eva. She rejected his proposal." Salvatore answered watching Rune shake his head c
RUNE Crystals, blinding lights, booze—what had happened the night before?Rune stirred, opened an eye, and, seeing the wall didn't look familiar, cursed and shut them back. He knew he had been good last night, even after he took the first spiked drink.Speeding automobile, continual screaming, obscured vision, and profanities.Of course. Relief flowed through him as his memories returned, and even in his trampled state, a smile slipped across his lips: Salvatore.Opening his eyes fully to Salvatore's wall, Rune turned his face, and his grin became a chuckle. Salvatore lay sprawled beside him, so unmoving that anyone who had no clue what happened would think him dead.Salvatore was going to have his head when he woke up.Rune yawned and sat up, putting his heavy head in his hands. After that, he sniffed, pinched his nose, and gave Salvatore a sneer. What a nasty person.His phone buzzed against him, sending him reaching for his pocket. Pulling it out and seeing her name on the screen,
"I apologize for that night." He said.With her hand on the banister, Eva turned to the foot of the steps, and there he was—the person she had tried to avoid for the past three days but somehow kept running into.She had last seen him in the kitchen, where she had gone to get a glass of water, and they had said nothing to each other. She left, but it was typical for Salvatore to follow when he wasn't needed.He appeared ready for bed, shirtless and only wearing black beach shorts, making it difficult for her to focus on his face."I wasn't myself that night," he said, climbing another step. "Rune spiked my drink which screwed with my head. That I do apologize for.""It's okay, Salvatore." She managed a small smile, to hide the disappointment that flooded her chest. "It meant nothing to me anyway."In the silence that followed, he maintained her stare. When he nodded, she could also see his clenched fist in the corner of her eyes.Eva elegantly turned, hitching her gown up so she didn'
EVAShe turned, worry strewn on her face, "I can't leave both of you, Evie."Jesus Christ, Lily, you'll be back in a flash; this is merely a spa session." Eva snorted but then smiled as she gazed down at Constance, who grinned back at her.Every day, her resemblance to her father became more obvious. The thick black hair and the soulful green eyes that seemed to be looking into her soul made her want to have hers.Constance was a peaceful baby. It was as if the universe realized Lily couldn't handle any more challenges and sent her an angel, which was a waste because Lily never stopped fusing."Even Constance is tired of your sorry ass, right, Cos?"The baby beamed again, Lily groaned playfully, and she resumed running the brush through her hair while they watched quietly."I'm just worried about both of you, and my worry isn't baseless, "she said defiantly. "Face it, Eva; you've not been yourself for a while now."If she meant since the night the mistake with Salvatore happened, then
LILY"I was six when I discovered that the convent sisters who came once a week to take children from the orphanage were anything but angels," Ruslan said, rocking my daughter's cradle. "It became clear why the boys never came back, and the girls who did barely lived."Twenty minutes ago, I had laid my sleeping daughter in her crib and rushed into the bathroom for a quick soak, despite knowing she wouldn't stir.Two seconds ago, I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around my chest and damp hair still dripping, only to see Ruslan standing over Constance's crib and staring at her.Even though he didn't touch her, my racing pulse refused to die down.But he paid no heed to my presence and continued, "They needed us in a coal mine in this little spot in Serbia." He paused, his gaze remote. "Our starved, wiry, agile bodies were the perfect fit for narrow spaces, running errands, and sometimes checking if the explosives had completed their work."My hawk-like eyes on Constance made it