Ava's pov “ Who the fuck made that statement?” Coran's loud voice emanated as he stepped back from entering the elevator.‘ Damn,’ I gritted my teeth, knowing fully well that the person just triggered him.“ I won't repeat myself,” then a girl with a face full of makeup stepped out, rolling her hair with her finger.“ It was a mistake, boss,” she said in a tone that lacked all forms of sincerity. Coran was about to step away from where I stood when I dragged him back by his blazer.He glazed down at me and I nodded my head negatively, giving him a pleading eye. I don't want to have a bad reputation on my first day in his office.He reluctantly moved backward which made me heave a sigh, at least he respects me outside.Coran glanced at Joe who already understood what he was hinting at. Joe stepped forward and began to search through a pile of documents in his hand.“ Hello miss Lisa, according to the contract you signed with the company on the… you are obliged not to speak rudely or b
Coran's povI watched as Chris got out of the office before I landed a punch on my desk, I turned to Ava because she is the only one I can still warn right now.“ Stay away from him, he has nothing good to offer. To even think that I just went out to make a call and you guys are already in that overwhelming position,” I groaned with anger.But just in time before I could leash out my anger, a knock came knocking on the door and judging from the urgency, it's definitely Luca.I unlocked the door with the remote and just as expected, Luca entered in his thin rim and pure white lab coat.“come sei stato (How have you been?),” I asked as we exchanged close handshakes.“ è lei quella giusta? (Is she the one),” Luca asked, generating a nod for me. I hinted at him to speak in English and he nodded his head in understanding.“ Hello madam…”“ Ava, just call me Ava,” she answered and he smiled at her.“ Get yourself together Luca, just get her checked and get the hell out of here,” I shouted a
Coran's pov.“ It's Dario, that guy with a long facial scar,” he said, panting loudly upon completion of his statement which was a clear sign of how weak he was.“ Are you sure of what you just said? You know the fate that awaits you if you lie to me right?” i threatened but he stood his ground which meant that he wasn't lying.I exchanged a meaningful glance with Luca who nodded in understanding, he changed his drip, checked his response to treatment then we found our way back outside.“ So what do you think of the things he said?” Luca asked as we made our way to a particular corner in the hallway.We paused at a safe and quiet place before I answered, “ I think he is actually telling the truth, Dario has been missing for some days now which is suspicious. Also, he was part of the men guarding the clan that night and she was the only one missing on duty,” Luca seemed shocked by the new turn of the whole situation.I won't say he was shocked because of the betrayal because it's very
Ava's pov I could hear yelling and banging sounds coming from Coran's office after I left, I quickened my pace back to the kitchen since the last thing I want is to be caught up in his mess.“ Did he drink it?” Mrs Kris asked I'm a curious tone, I nodded and dropped the empty cup in the sink. “ Yeah, he drank it in one go,” I answered in a bored tone then returned back to my room upstairs. I got inside the room, sat on the bed then began to think of what to do.The previous days have been boring but they weren't this bad since I usually have something to keep me occupied but this time around, I have nothing to do. I am even tired of taking a nap every minute.After so much thought, I moved to the chair that was placed beside the window and engrossed myself in another round of thinking. This time around, it was focused on the soul that I haven't visited in weeks that I have been here.My hand involuntarily went to my necklace which shone in response to my touch. I picked up the round
Ava's pov"Hop in,” Chris repeated; this time he added more depth to his voice. I stared around in haste, thinking of what to do. I have two options, which are either for me to run or enter the car as he wishes, but the thing is, even if I run, the estate is very quiet, so he will still catch up with me and do whatever he wants with me.In short, the two options I have are directly linked to him. Since I am also a girl and I don't want to be subjected to rough treatment, I swallowed my pride and joined him in his car."You made a good choice,” he said with a smirk as the car engine roared to life.The car began to move, slowly at first, but the speed was later changed, and the car began to flash past everything.Fear encrypted my heart, and I held on to the locked seat belt tightly. “Please, can you reduce your speed?” I requested in a shaky voice as my eyes were almost turning in my head.At first, he refused, then suddenly he matched heavily on the brake, making me hit my forehead o
Ava's povI felt my palm go cold upon hearing what Chris just said, I was even beginning to shiver as my pictures started flying in my head.I gently took Gary's hand and locked it with mine while I silently sob about the new turn that my life took and the worse one it might take later.Just then I heard the door open, a doctor and three nurses entered with some instruments that I am not So familiar with. I moved away a bit so that the doctor could make his diagnosis well.They began to plug several machines in Gary's body but there seemed to be no improvement. After lots of effort and hardwork, the doctor removed and hung his stethoscope on his neck before he faced him.He adjusted his rim well and gave me his disheartening information, “ I am afraid to tell you this but we can't keep him like this any longer, he has to have surgery.”My heart clenched in pain and I bit my lips tightly to prevent myself from crying out loud, “ G… Go ahead with the surgery,"I stuttered with a shaky vo
Ava's povI was hesitant not because it's a hard decision for me but I was curious as to the reason why he wanted me to leave Coran, I mean – if I wanted to stay with Coran, I wouldn't have escaped from the house I was held in.“ What if I don't leave him?” I put forth my curiosity, his forehead creased and he gave me a warning gaze.“ Don't test me, I will arrange for you and your friend's journey once you agree to stay away from him.”“ But I already told you that I was held down by him against my wish, is there anything else I can do? What if he chases after me and catches me?”“ That shouldn't be an issue, just follow all the instructions I give to you then you will have it easy,” Chris said and began to operate something on his phone.It took me only a minute to come up with a choice, “ Alright, I promise … I will stay away from him, just get Gary and i away from here,” True to his words, he got us an international passport, flight ticket and before I knew it, we were booked for
Ava's pov He pulled me into his car, then commanded all his guards to stay some feets away which kind of ignited some fears within me.‘ calm down, he is just trying to scare you,’ I kept comforting myself with these words even though I can tell from his aura that something bad is about to happen “ What are you doing?” I asked with suspicion when he began to unbuckle his belt but I was totally ignored by him till he finished his business. The next thing he did was to adjust his car seat and lay me down.At this moment, he looked unrestricted and I knew at this point that I had triggered his limit and he wouldn't be gentle with me at all but at least I still wanted to try my luck “ Please can you pardon me this time around.” I pleaded and my hand suddenly became drenched and sweaty.For the second time, I got no response but then, he flipped me over and before I could process the next thing that was about to happen to me… I felt something huge at my entrance.My body was shaking as I
Luca's POVI stepped out of the bathroom as I rolled the condom packet between my fingers with a lazy smirk already playing on my lips.Jessica had been the one pushing for this, and fuck, I was already getting excited thinking about how much I wanted her—how much I had always wanted her. I guess taking things slowly wasn't in the cards for her. "Hey, you might want to—" I was saying but then I froze.She wasn’t there, She wasn't in the room, on the couch where I last saw her. I frowned as my eyes scanned the living room. The spot on the couch where she had been sitting was empty.Perhaps she was thirsty after the steamy moment."Jessica?" I called out as I glanced towards the kitchen. No response.A strange feeling had already begun to crawl up my spine, the kind of unease that didn’t make sense yet. Maybe she was in the other bathroom? I walked toward the door, listening. Silence.She still wasn't anywhere.Is she trying to play games with me? I wondered. Jessica really wasn't the
Jessica’s POVI should have known Ava wouldn’t let this slide.The moment she got me alone after I had agreed to go on a date with Luca, I could see it all over her face—the disapproval, the concern, the desperate urge to shake me out of what she believed was a mistake.I understood that she didn't want me to have to go through that trauma but I promise I was fine. "You can't be serious about this, Jess," she said with her arms crossed as she stood in front of me like a mother about to scold her child. "A date? With him?" She asked me incredulous. I let out a sigh, I had already anticipated this conversation. I knew she was speaking out of a place of concern but I could handle myself. "Ava—" I was saying. "No, hear me out," she cut in as I saw the way her eyes burned with something close to frustration. "I'm not saying Luca's a bad guy, okay? I actually think he's annoyingly charming in his own way. But you... you've been through so much, Jess. Are you sure you can handle this?"
Jessica’s POVI wasn't supposed to be know what he was going to say. At least, that’s what Ava had whispered to me the moment Luca showed up and Coran had called him away to speak with him. Ava had reached for my hand when I wanted to follow them and she had tried to pull me away from going with them. “Leave it to Coran,” she had urged me in a low but urgent voice. “You really don’t need this right now.” she had said to me and she was right, I didn’t need this. I didn’t need Luca showing up at Coran’s house, invading a space that had finally started feeling safe for me. I sure as hell didn’t need the way my heart stuttered the moment I sst my eyes on him, nor the way the world suddenly seemed to shrink down to just his presence the moment o noticed him standing there. But none of that stopped me from standing up and ignoring Ava’s grip."I'm just going to check up on them and let them be." I said to her as I ignored Navia's eyes on me and I quietly followed Luca and Coran as they d
Luca's POV I wasn’t supposed to be here,I know that much but the moment I heard Navia casually mention a barbecue at Coran’s place—and the fact that Jessica might be there, I shut my thinking.I already had it planned out, I was visiting a friend in Milan. An old pal, but upon hearing that she was going to be at Coran's place on Saturday, I just knew that this was my chance to see her and if I got lucky, get to speak to her. I had called, rescheduled my visit to Milan for a few more days and prepared to visit Coran's mansion when no one was suspecting. I had spent days trying to figure out where Jessica had disappeared to and everyone refused to tell me, they were all acting clueless. Not Ava, not Coran, and definitely not Jessica herself as she had somehow either deactivated her phone or blocked me from contacting her. It was like she had vanished into thin air, and I had been left with nothing but restless nights and this growing frustration that gnawed at me at every thought of
Jessica's pov The afternoon sun was warm and it's golden rays were sprawled over estate as I pulled up to the gates of Ava and Coran’s mansion. I had debated coming because I was a bit hesitant for reasons I didn’t want to acknowledge, but Ava had been persistent, She kept texting and bothering me. Begging that I came. What had finally pulled me to the bathroom was a particular voicemail she sent to me. "Jessica, it's just a casual barbecue. You need to get out of your apartment for once," she had insisted over the phone. "And before you ask—no, Luca won’t be there. He’s traveling to Milan for a few days. You won’t see him, I promise." Those were her exact words. That promise had been the only reason I had agreed on visiting. Well, plus the fact that it's been days since I last saw Coran. He wasn't one to bother me, but I knew he wanted to see me as well. Now, as I stepped out of my car and adjusted my sunglasses against the blinding sunlight, the sight of the grand villa stole
Luca’s POVI was still at the hospital with my mind still reeling from the photos Nadia had shown me earlier, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn’t even check the caller ID before answering.“What?” I snapped impatiently into the receiver speaker. “Get to my house. Now.” Coran’s voice was sharp and his tone left absolutely no room for argument. I frowned. “What the hell is this about?” I demanded. “You know exactly what it’s about.” His tone was controlled, but there was an edge of something that resembled a hardly contained anger under his voice. “Get here, Luca. Or I’ll come to you.” he threatened. The line went dead before I could respond, I let out a harsh breath as my jaw clenched. What was this? I get that Coran could be overbearing and too demanding at times, this could probably be just some emergency. Perhaps an integral part of his Mafia family like Lorenzo was in an emergency and needed to be treated on as soon as possible and he needed my help but whatever thi
Chapter FourJessica’s POVI sat curled up on my couch with my knees tucked to my chest while staring blankly at the untouched pizza box on my coffee table. The TV was on and some mindless show was playing with the volume on mute.My fingers dug into the soft fabric of the blanket which I had wrapped around me. It was more or less a very feeble attempt at comfort that did nothing at all, to say the least to ease the chaos inside me.I had locked myself inside my apartment since last night and had tried to use that as a means to shut out the world. My phone was off and my laptop was closed. The only sound that filled the space in my apartment was the occasional drip of water from my kitchen faucet. But even with all the silence I simply couldn’t quiet my mind.Because all I could think about was him.Luca.I clenched my jaw as my stomach twisted with what felt like guilt and self-loathing.They had become my companion now. Admittedly, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every single second of i
Chapter 3Luca's POV I walked into the hospital the next day and was greeted by the usual sterile scent of disinfectant that instantly filled my lungs. The place was as busy as usual—doctors and nurses moved around with purpose, while patients were wheeled down corridors. Conversations naturally blended with the occasional beep of heart monitors. A typical scenerio of a busy hospital. As I stepped my foot into the office room, something felt off... Jessica's usual cheerful self wasn’t anywhere to be found, everywhere was quiet and sad. I swallowed hard as I dropped my folder bag on the chair.I carefully checked the locker room, the changing room and even the damn supply closet where she sometimes stay whenever she wants to avoid paperwork. Nothing.I clenched my jaw as I pulled out my phone, prepared to call her.The call went through but soonest, I got the same response I have been getting since the previous day... Voicemail.“Jess, where the hell are you? Call me back.” I said in
Chapter TwoLuca's POVI let out a groan and stirred as sunlight filtered through the half-open blinds of the hotel room and another tired moan escaped my lips. My body felt warm—too warm. I reached out instinctively and my fingers grazed the empty sheets beside me. The place felt warm but the spot was vacant. I let out a frown as I turned my head. The bed was unmade and the sheets were in disarray. I took in a deep breath and instantly I recognized the unmistakable scent of jasmine and vanilla that still clung to the fabric. It was a very familiar scent. Jessica’s scent.And then realization hit me. .JESSICA'S SCENT! Holy shit.Now fully awake, my eyes widened as fragmented images from the previous night surged through my mind. The wedding. The drinks. Yes. I remembered them all. The laughter. And then, .....her hands tangled in my hair. The feel of her lips against mine. The sounds she had made. The heat. The urgency. The way her body had melted into mine, as if this we had don