“One of my friends, Chloe used to work doing the school break, meeting new people, getting to know them, helping them solve problems, and the unreasonable demands of some customers she would come back every school break with the funniest stories, it was a blast” I tell Maria as she chops some vegetables “I’m not sure if I’m cut out for the fashion world though, you remember that movie we saw, what was the name...? I trailed off racking my brain. "The one with Carla Hernandez in the lead, where she ran a fashion house, now imagine that in real life, it is just too competitive you know, and the forever changing trends? Nah... I dont think it is for me. Not to mention it deals with too much publicity." I shake my head once more. Niko would never agree with something that puts me in the spotlight. It would make me an easy target. This is the next best thing, I’m already getting it all figured out. Once again I marvel at the choice I’m career. After getting my certification I am tryi
“Why are you talking to her?” I asked after letting myself into the room. Twice now, after my physical exam, Niko would offer to see Andera off, and they’d get holed up in his study for some time before they finally leave, Niko going back to work and Andera going back to God knows where. I raised an eyebrow then waved it off the first time I saw it happen. Shrugged it off the second time, now however, I am just irritated. “What is going on here?” my eyes jumped from my husband to Andrea and back again. “Niko had some questions about the pregnancy,” Andera said, my attention remained on my husband who is sitting behind his desk. “Niko?” I questioned because that sounded like utter crap to me. “Just as she said” He confirms, my eyes narrow as annoyance and another emotion I can name surges through me. “And you couldn’t ask these questions in front of me?!” I snapped. Still calm, he waved a hand at the empty chair in from of his table, next to the one Andera already occupied.
Present. I remember the day I married my husband, as he slipped his rings on my finger, the dread in my heart as that single action sealed my fate. It was not a marriage I chose, or he a man I wanted for myself. It was sad, but I accepted it with grace, like a young woman befitting the Blanco name, I became a Salvatore. I didn’t love or care for him. But I made peace with it, the women in my family are beautiful and coveted. It is our duty to marry well and support our family's standing. Still, I promised myself, that whatever the future may hold, I would be fine. In the early months of marriage, we came to an agreement, I would fulfill my duties as expected of the wife of the capo, and in exchange, he would give me what freedom I could manage in between. Now, I sit with my hands clasped in front of me. On the table, under my clasped hands is a file including a list of activities, some photographs, a few hand-drawn images, and more papers covering the personal information of Jud
***Okay, so maybe I spoke too soon.This is kicking my ass I groaned three days later. It’s like the minute I pick up a file or sit down to look through a document, one or both of my children start crying. I don’t know the spirit that alerts them that mummy is doing something else other than mumming. I swear. And Judith is proving to be disagreeable. She doesn’t like anything the team and I have been able to come up with, the survey failed. I can’t believe the survey failed.We were so thorough’ compiling that thing, there’s no way it could have failed. But it did.I am tempted to drop her like a hot potato. I am this close to referring her to another agency because what the hell?How can one person be so negative? Whoever her fiancée is, I feel for the guy. In the bathroom, I wet a paper towel and wiped at my dress where Michela threw up on me five minutes ago. Giving up, I slip off the dress instead, tossing it into the hamper, and exit the bathroom for the closet instead. Immed
mother was here for three months following the birth of the children, Gianna, and Eva Vanessa and Anna visited every other day. Father didn’t come, it remains a critical time in Chicago, his position in jeprody, he dare not take his eyes off the ball for a second, choosing to stay back and guard his position. Sometimes, it surprises me how much I have come to understand the politics of our world as time passes. It’s mid-afternoon when I sit in the sunroom downstairs, the children, Angelo, Caela, and Sebby are playing with toys on the rug. I sit with baby Rico in my lap, though he is a month older than the twins, he is slightly smaller. On the single couch in front of me, Vanessa sits in jeans and a red top, shiny black ankle boots, and bright red lipstick, her black hair straight as a pin. She has a glass of wine in hand as he observes the children. I just joined them having rounded up my meeting with Alex it is safe to say we need more capital. So much capital to run a business
*** Becoming a mother, and having children changes you. It was hard I’m not going to lie, carrying them in my belly, giving birth, I was scared all the time, I’m still scared now. But the thought of the strengthens me. I have felt love, from my mother to my husband, but the thought of my children brings me so much joy and a kind of love that I could never fathom. I feel them in my soul, they are a part of me, my blood. And for that, I could never understand how some parents see their children as a source to gain power or an advantage. In the months I carried them in my belly, scared for the change about to be presented in my life at their birth, Mama, Eva, and Gianna practically moved in by the time they were born. Though they were here to offer my support at my behest, I found myself wanting to do it all, They were so tiny and perfect, with little fingers and toes, blue eyes that barely opened, and fragile bones and skin. My heart just melted. I wanted to do it all by myself,
Niko is leaning over Caela’s crib when I returned, he’s home early as it was just around six in the evening, he must have come in while I was still down in the kitchen. “Where is Tommy? He didn’t leave them alone did he?” I ask with a frown, shutting the door behind me, he clearly agreed to watch them for a bit and I don’t think I was gone long.“He just left” Finally, he turns to me, his hair now shorter, but even more sexy if I do say so myself. He just went out one day and came back with the new haircut, buzzed short at the sides and the back, longer at the top combed back.The new haircut gave him an edgier, sharper look, making his chiseled features more pronounced, I had caught between annoyance and glee, missing the longer strands already and how I used to run my fingers through his hair when we kissed. But the new cut suited him perfectly.“You cut your hair” I had told him that day, my fingers hovering over the buzzed side by his ear. Niko lowers his head slightly “Don’t li
I don’t put them down for bed immediately as it's still early, we head to the living room, Niko leaving me with the kids to shower and get changed, when he returns, I hop in for my own shower. With the kids fed and bathed, and Niko here to watch them, I have about an hour to myself before it is time for dinner and I intend to enjoy every last second.I take a long hot shower, allowing the heat to soak into my skin and relax my muscles. After about a solid thirty minutes, I shampoo and condition my hair, ensuring I get enough conditioner on my scalp and the ends of my hair.Finally, I rinse off and exit the shower, Slipping on a bathrobe I tie the sash loosely at my waist and get a towel for my hair. I squeeze off the excess water, wrap it around my hair, and finally dig out the creams my Mama sent over earlier. I tear off the wrap and twist off the cap, immediately, the smell of cocoa and butter assaults my senses. “Nice” I scop off a decent potion with my index and middle finger, t
The second I was out of sight, I braced a palm flat against the nearest wall, my heart beating so fast behind my ribs, I felt like I was on the verge of fainting. I try to get my bearings. My hands tremble I have to bring my right to my chest. My knees knocked together and sweat beaded on my forehead. I licked my dry lips and focused on my breathing exhaling through my mouth. I’d put on a brave face in front out there, that I wasn’t scared of Valentina. Truth be told, I am terrified of the woman. I’d given the performance of a lifetime and the anger boiling in my chest gave me an edge. It had to be done and I don’t regret it. Valentina Salvatore is a bully. Plain and simple. I've known a few in my life, My aunt Sara and daughter Katherina to mention, and a few from my time at the academy. The only way to get them to back off is to stand up to them. She treats everyone as less than and expects us to fall at her feet. She was very harsh with Eva, the thought of it gave me
The entire family is waiting for me when I get back. “Are we having a family gathering? Why didn’t anyone invite me?” I suppose they heard about my unplanned visit to Valentina and called a meeting. Tommy jumps from the couch, hands outstretched and I think he wants to come in for a hug, his hands clasped on my shoulders instead turns me to the right and then to the left, he draws back with a frown, “You’re fine” I watch his retreating back as he heads back to the couch, “Should I not be?” “I heard you threatened my mother, please tell me that is true?!” Matteo responds and then bursts into laughter. Niko glared at his uncle and then his eyes shifted to me. I read the annoyance in his gaze. “Don’t encourage her,” Eva chastises him. “That was beyond, foolish, I don’t know what to say to you right now” she scolded with a shake of her head. Still laughing he leans forward, “What I would I given to see it happen, Ivan did you at least sneak a picture of Mother’s face?” Ivan sha
My lips stretch into a smile. “I have to disarm your men” his voice is low, challenging. I hummed, waving my hand for him to have at it, I moved to step forward but Ivan held out his arm in front of me. I clear my throat, my polite smile dropping flat, the look I shoot him has him putting his arm down quickly. Valentina’s man, Maxim, steps to the side, letting me walk through, Ivan and Rico coming in behind me. Tilting my chin up, I follow where the sound of the voice came from, my heels clicking on the marble floors. Valentine is sitting on her patio at the side of her house, overlooking a small garden. I step through the wide double doors, smoothing a hand over my hair, pulled back into a low ponytail, the ends of my hair sweeping over my spine as I walk. I wonder where her other men are, seeing none of them around, this will be easier than I thought. She is dressed in a soft blue sweater and a long cream coloured skirt, pearls at her throat and ears, and her ever pre
I push out of the water breathing hard, I wipe water from my eyes with a hand, climbing out of the pool ungracefully. My arms shaking, lungs burning. I had hoped I would feel better after the workout. I don’t. I go to bed angry and I wake up frustrated, I’ve been to the shooting range every day for the past three days, shooting a few rounds, I’ve gotten more familiar with my weapon and my hands don’t shake anymore. The recoil and loud bangs don’t make me jump. My aim has also gotten better. My life is falling apart, the mansion is as tensed and quiet as a graveyard I don’t know how things are with Eva and Matteo as I haven’t been able to reach either of them, Tommy has been MIA, Niko isn’t speaking to me, I know he felt bad about pushing me away the other night but not enough to make peace, it’s all that witch’s fault. Everything changed the moment she arrived. Everyone has asked me to steer clear of VValentina. Matteo, Eva, Tommy, Maria, now, even Niko. He assures me that
When most women upset their husbands, as punishment their credit cards get taken away, some other of their favorite things, or he can new mistress brought to the house to show the woman her place and that she isn’t irreplaceable. My husband fucks me into oblivion. A strange feeling wakes me, I turn my head, trying to get a sense of myself, was it the kids, did I hear a sound? Breathing deeply, my lashes flutter, and with sleepy eyes, I notice a dark form just beside me on the bed, watchingas a large hand glides up my thigh.“Niko…?” I swallow, blinking away the fog of sleep from my mind, my eyes travel around the room, behind him, and it's dark in the room, only a soft glow from a bulb at the far end of the room. When he remains quiet, “Did something happen?” he looks fine, excluding his silent demeanor. I wasn't expecting him after he left me in bed this afternoon. “Are you hurt?” He pushes off his jacket and crawls onto the bed and over me throwing off the blankets as he goes.
“Oh my, yes!” I gasped. “Niko…”My core clenches at the onslaught of pleasure gathering between my legs. I scream his name when the wave comes, my head trashing, hair flying about at the intensity. He doesn’t stop, just keeps pounding into me as I ride my orgasm.A broken sound leaves me, I blink back more wetness in my eyes.“Oh…” I squirm beneath him, rolling my hips up into him, knowing I'll have a rug burn on my back but I need more of him. It gets too much, looking at his face eyes dark with pleasure, I tug on my wrists, “Please let me touch you” “No” he punctuated that with a particular vicious thrust and I screamed he repeated the action, hitting a sensitive spot inside me again and again intense pleasure swirled from my hips spreading over my limbs and I felt like I might disintegrate.“Oh…fuckkk” I stand right at the edge, on the precipice as my orgasm crests, about to fall over when he slips out of me. My entire body quakes, my pussy clenching around nothing, as I blinked,
“Hm-not much” I stammered, my eyes jumping around nervously, I wondered what he would do if I made a swift escape, in his current mood, probably chase me. His head tilts to the side in silent challenge. “We didn’t get to the gun part-" I decide to add "But he said to shoot to kill” Niko nods in agreement, walking around me, he says, “He’s right about that, don’t pull your gun unless you have every intention to use it.” I follow him with my eyes, my feet still rooted to a spot. Whenever he gets like this, anyone with the right sense will find a place to hide. “And if you do, aim to kill” Now behind me. “What else did your friend teach you” I winced at the way he gritted the word friend. My... I really fucked up. I didn't plan any of it, the thought of learning how to shoot came to me this morning and the more I thought of it, the more it seemed like a smart idea. The mansion is guarded like Fort Knox, but like I told Miguel, one day I might be the only thing standing between my
Angelo is sleeping on my chest, just months ago his little body could ball up on my chest but now his hands and legs hang over my sides, his head resting on my breast. They are growing up so fast. To imagine that a year ago they were inside me. My hand drops to his back.“Caela” I called softly. She turns to me, lips parted and struggling with Angelo's toy car happy to be alone with it, the both of them were fighting over it before Angelo had given up, deciding on a nap instead. Caela would have fought over her beloved giraffe until next year before letting someone have it. When I smile at her she turns back, slamming it on the couch and giggling by herself. “Caela” I called again and she turned immediately, eyes wide. I shake my head with another smile. When she turns away from me I say “Valentina?” Waving the car in front of her, she tosses it to the other end of the couch then struggles unto her hands and knees, crawling towards it. “Vale?” I try again. Nothing. “Isadora?” T
The door opens a head with brown curls peakes in before he enters the room fully, followed by a low whistle” Was this you Eva? Damn” Tommy eyes the destruction with keen appreciation. His long legs eat up the space easily and before I know it he is lowering down to the couch beside me. I take note that Eva and Matteo are no longer touching. “Are you all planning on how to get back at Nonna? Why did nobody call me?” at my surprised look je pushes his hair from his eyes with a careless shrug, “She wants to take my girl, that’s more than enough offense in my book” “We aren’t planning to get back at Valentina, I was just telling Lola to avoid her, you will do the same” “But why…” he practically whined, throwing his large arms around my shoulders in a hug. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Niko said no so we should be golden” “It's cute that you think that’s enough to stop Valentina,” Tommy says with a pat on my head. "Pretty sure she sacrifices virgins every night and drinks their b