It was the empty sheet beside her that woke Margaux up. Instantaneously, her eyes searched for Rome upon realizing that he wasn't beside her. She was wincing when she scanned the room. A second more, and she stiffened, recognizing that she wasn't in her treehouse."Shit!" Her head was spinning when she rushed out of bed. Did Rome carry her back to her room last night? How come she didn't know?She grabbed the alarm clock on her bedside table and cursed louder, realizing that it was almost lunch. The sun was already up, which meant that they needed to go back to being strangers again. Although she wanted to question Rome, she would have to wait until eleven in the evening tonight before approaching him again.'Rules!' She palmed her face while walking to the bathroom. She wasn't the type to regret things she decided on, but she couldn't stop herself because of the rules she made.She had no exact name for what was irritating her. Nonetheless, she was sure that she liked waking up to Ro
'WHAT THE HELL?'Margaux couldn't care less when the gold watch on her hand slipped through her fingers. She was caught between laughing and cursing while sitting in front of her dresser. In her right hand was an envelope, while her left hand remained frozen in the air.It had been two days since a maid handed her that package, but she just remembered opening it today. The past few days had been the happiest for her, and going back to that parcel just completely slipped her mind.She and Rome had been too busy fixing their treehouse and, eventually, violating their 'rules.' Kisses in the morning and sizzling sex at noon weren't exactly part of her plan. But then, those things became so inevitable recently between Rome and her that she started forgetting a couple of things.' This is crazy.' Margaux shook her head while suspiciously looking down at the gold watch. The extravagant gift was from Greg's father. She had already been expecting a parcel from the Montecillo family ever since
[WE HAD A SECURITY BREACH YESTERDAY.]Rome clutched the steering wheel tighter upon hearing Lucille's report. He was sitting alone inside Margaux's car while talking to his assistant over a lapel mic. The afternoon was breezy inside Eternal Garden Memorial Park, but the beautiful weather wasn't enough to cool his temper down.He hadn't been in his best mood since the argument he had with Margaux this morning. Although he succeeded in forcing his cara to take him with her, he also got him on the wrong side of his woman. Thus, she ended up ignoring him the whole time.There was nothing but deafening silence between him and his cara when they drove. Then, as soon as they got to the memorial park where Alicia was buried, Margaux leapt out of the car, walked as fast as she could to her mother's grave, and didn't even look back!"How the fuck did that happen, Lucille?" He breathed in frustration while palming his face. He hadn't gotten over Margaux's attitude towards him yet, and here came
"PUSSY..."Margaux sighed heavily upon hearing Rome. It had been half an hour since the man confessed to her, but she still couldn't speak. Hundreds of things had been running through her since they left the memorial park and drove her car.Although the brute didn't mention the magic words directly, the effect of what he said affected her just the same. He made his promise to her so sincerely that it sounded almost like he loved her. 'Shit—'"I'm expecting a better reaction than that." It was Rome that broke the tension between them. He was driving with her to 'God-knows-where,' but then she couldn't even care less about where they were going. "I'm breaking all your rules in your face, Cara mia. Aren't you going to say something?" Margaux turned away from Rome and pretended not to hear him. Then, hoping her heart would stop beating madly, she watched the view they were passing by through the car's window.It was already past five, and everything in that part of the city was bathing in
NOTHING WAS NORMAL with the Saavedra's house. It was located in a valley, about half an hour away from the city. The way to it wasn't a regular street. Rather, it was a dark extension in one of the country's tunnels that not many people noticed. Well, what should be expected with a 'safe house' anyway?After a long drive inside that dark, sophisticated cave, Rome's car reached the mansion's gate. It was made of full metal, with two guards standing just before the main entrance.Looking through his car's window and recognizing him as the Saavedra's youngest son, one of the guards respectfully nodded and pressed a button inside the guard post. That triggered the electric door to open, giving a clear view of the place he grew up in, 'The House.'It was a four-story mansion made of red bricks in the middle of a vast gun-shooting range. Luxurious? Yeah, maybe a bit, considering the magnanimous swimming pool on one side of their home and the golf course on the other. Tall, sturdy trees were
TWELVE IN THE EVENINGMission in the Grande Casa HotelRome knew that he shouldn't be here at this hour. His eleven to four had always been Margaux's, and he had no qualms about religiously giving her those hours.However, this evening was different from all the other nights. There were no kisses, no making love until the next dawn, and more so, no sweet nothings.Even his need to embrace her to sleep lost its bearing at the moment. He had to attend his father's punishments, and there was no way he could just say no to the head of their house.He failed to hide things he should have from his father. Don Marco still noticed the slightest emotion that showed on his face when they met a week ago.That was a fucking big no. Thus, his father ordered him to do an extracurricular activity on top of his running mission inside Alejandro's villa. Don Marco said that he had softened and had no right to be one of the mafia's hitmen.Rome was ordered to take down Senator Luis Brambilla, another 'c
MARGAUX FELT THE MATTRES BEHIND HER SINK under someone's weight. It marked the start of a sick routine that had been dragging on for the past five nights.She was so aware of it because she had been patiently staring at the desk clock for hours. Rome should have entered her room by eleven, but it was already past two in the morning. He was late again, and only God knew how much she wanted to ask why."Where'd you been?" Margaux tried her luck and spat out the question that was burning in her throat. However, as always, Rome didn't answer and just turned his head away.That was all he did each night: lay beside her and let his constant breaths tell her that he was still alive. His reaction was far less than what Margaux needed, but then she couldn't do anything else but sigh.She wasn't good with emotional torture, and Rome should be the first to know about that. Curling her body in a fetal position under the quilt, she mentally cursed, 'Damn...'She wasn't 'eidetic, and it was easy fo
'CARA MIA, WHEN DO YOU PLAN TO WAKE UP?'Rome couldn't stop phasing back and forth in his room. He hadn't been smoking for days, but then looking at the only woman he cared about forced him to.Margaux was still unconscious minutes after he dared her. Should he have known that Margaux would react that way, he could have started teaching her something more manageable. Morse code, assassin theories, just goddamn anything.Getting even more stressed, Rome raked his fingers through his hair. He had never worried about anyone this much, and this unpleasing feeling wasn't something he was accustomed to. He didn't want to succumb to it. However, how was he to avoid it if Margaux's survival was at stake?Before Rome could even think, his feet had already walked towards the bed where she was. He cursed again when Margaux's tiny frame came into his view.How could something so small and vulnerable have such overwhelming power over him? She was just a girl. She was not even the best, for that ma