Jacopo Nicolo...I was once again pacing around the apartment, my bare feet slapping against the ceramic floor with anger, my shoulders tense, and the burn wound hurting even more.My head was a mess.Every part of me wanted to go out and hunt those three women down so I could bring my wife back home to safety. After what Victor Viper told me, I was more on edge than I had ever been in my entire life The conversation I had with him kept echoing in my head.Victor had a lot to say, and there was plenty more going on in his city that he wasn't sharing with Dante and Elijah when he should.The first thing he starter was by saying that I was right when I told everyone about some of the Vipers helping Elizabeth out and trapping Alex Fimbar into doing their dirty work. He had only recently found out that there were some people left in his city who still wanted Eliot's ways of earning money back.That bastered had made an impact on the Vipers, and clearly Victor didn't do as much clean
Ezabella Viper....I realized that I was addicted to Jacopo Nicolo, the man I was forced to marry but the one I have grown to care and love.As his lips moved against mine, all I could think about was the best years that are to come and the best moments we had shared to get us this far.I was falling for this man really hard and really fast to the point that I could no longer stop myself.I breathed out a sigh of content as he pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine.I couldn't even open my eyes were, my entire body weak from the kiss. I never knew one could have the power to do that to another person and make them completely powerless and powerful all at the same time. That was how Jacopo was making me feel.He looked back a bit and looked at me again, his eyes combing through my hair."You really like it?" I asked with a small smile stretching my lips."I do. I actually love it." He replied. "But Eza, next time you want to go somewhere, wake me up and let me know you're
Jacopo Nicolo...I knew I was going to run late for the interrogation of the biker Dante invited me to yesterday, and I couldn't care less.All I wanted to do was stay in the apartment, which started to feel more like home with each passing day. I wanted to stay behind and keep Ezabella in my arms, kiss her until we could no longer keep our eyes open, and sleep takes over.I wanted to have her wrapped around me for the rest of my life, and damn it, I wanted to keep listening to her say those three magical words to me.I will admit.I never thought it would be possible for me to find love that burning my insides to this extent. When Eza said she never thought she would feel that strongly about another person, I could relate because I never thought it would be possible either.I didn't expect her to say it back to me when I confessed my true feelings to her and told her that I love her. The words had just slid out of my lips before I could stop them, and damn it, I didn't want to sto
Harvey wheeled the steel table closer to the ground, one that was filled with different kinds of tools laid out on top of it."I'm taking the lead." Victor commented as he took his jacket off and tossed it aside."Richard?" Victor called out. "I am certain you have seen my work of art in torture. You have witnessed yourself that I don't give out mercy after asking a question for the second time, and I am certain you know well that once I start, I get too carried away to stop. So before you lose your life in the most horrible way possible, I suggest you talk. How many more Viper traitors are living under my roof?" Victor was standing in front of the strrl table, looking at each and every single one of the tools laid down."Victor, I am telling you the truth. I do not know." The biker replied, his breath bow shallow and his forehead already coated with sweat.Why does everyone wait to tell the truth until they get tortured? Victor was not joking when he mentioned his art of torture. I
Ricardo didn't take long to come out of the casino through the back door. One look, and I could tell he was too excited for his own good, too excited to even see that he was running himself into a trap. "How is your night, boss?" He asked, walking closer to my car. "It's about to get better." I replied as I stood up straight. "Hop in. We have a long drive ahead of us." I ordered before I got into the driver's seat of the car. Ricardo followed after me and hopped into the passenger seat of the car. I fired up the engine and pulled away from the back of the casino. "So, what is the assignment?" Ricardo asked. I briefly glanced at him before I returned my eyes to the road, driving calmly towards Dante's house. "He wanted me to go on a hunt." I replied. "Hunt?" His eyes lit up. "Who are we hunting?" He asked. "Apparently, there are some Vipers causing chaos in the city. Dante seems to think Victor might be turning on us, which examines the Vipers that have been messing
I slammed my fist into Ricardo's abdomen, and he let out a pained groan. He could barely breathe at that point, considering how I'd been on it for well over thirty minutes now."You're a tough one, Ricardo. I'll admit that." I said before I delivered another blow to his liver. The gasp he took looked like it was going to be his last breath on earth.I pulled my hand back, ready to deliver another punch, when I heard him whisper."Wait." "What was that?" I asked as I pulled his head back by his hair."Wait..." He whispered again, wrinkling his unrecognizable face in face."Are you ready to speak now?" I asked.Ricardo slowly but surely nodded his head.The biker was watching everything with wide eyes, his mouth stuffed with a gag so he wouldn't blurt out any names and confuse us.Ricardo slowly started naming the people he was in contact with, and sure enough, he named out all the Vipers the biker had names, along with Attiwood and Alex Fimbar.I knew we didn't have to worry about Al
Ezabella Viper...I woke up enveloped in Jacopo's arms in the morning, feeling loved and cared for, protected and chairshed.Jacopo was still sleep when I woke up in the morning, having slept much longer than him.I could tell that it was a lot late when he came to me last night and joined me in bed.I wanted to give him all of my undivided attention at that time, but I was too sleepy to properly talk to him. But at least I recall telling him that I loved him before falling back asleep, and I remember him telling me that he loved me too.It felt insane to know that that two of us had beaten the odds and fallen in love with each other, even after the rocky start we had at the beginning of our marriage. I was so in love with Jacopo Nicolo that I ended up just laying in bed, in his arms, for another hour even though I was wide awake the entire time.I just lived the feeling of having his arms around me. About an hour and a half after I woke up, Jacopo finally begun to stir.He let
I made my way back to Jacopo's bedroom. Well, I guess now it is his old bedroom since I have managed to completely move him in with me.I walked into the walk-in closet and made the drawer my target. Leaning down, I picked up the large photo album and closed the drawer.I then took it back to my room... I mean, our room.My knee was starting to throb, but I couldn't care less. I wanted to see some cute photos of Jacopo as a child, and I was all in front it.I sat down on the bed and made sure I was comfortable before I opened the cover of the album.My smile dropped when I didn't see a single photo on the first page, or the second, or even the third.I flipped through the pages, and they were all empty. I got excited for absolutely nothing.I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I was. I was curious to see what my Jacopo looked like when he was a baby. But I guess that will be left a mystery.I continued to flip through the empty pages, just fanning through them, wishing th
"How did it go?" I asked.Jacopo and I had shared dinner alone after Dante, Elijah, and Ella, along with the twins, left. The day turned out a lot different than I thought it would be. The men spent most of the day behind the doors of Jacopo's home office, coming up with a plan to take their enemies down, while Ella and I caught up, ordered food, made sure the men were fed, and played with the kids when they woke up.It was nice to forget about everything bad and surround ourselves in the bubble of joy the twins provided, and I didn't want it to end. But of course, the sky was starting the darken, and the men were leaving the home office.After saying fairwell to our unexpected guests, Jacopo and I settled for some leftovers from lunch from earlier and retired to our bedroom to call it a day, where I couldn't help but start to ask him questions about the conversation he had with the men in his office."It was... fine." He replied, settling down under the covers next to me."Did you g
Ella and I left the twins to sleep some more in the bedroom and found ourselves in the open kitchen.She was telling me how her and the other ladies of the web missed my company, and it reminded me that it has been a long time since I joined the gatherings. To be totally honest, I did miss hanging out with some of the ladies of the web as well. I don't mean the mean mother-in-laws and constant glares of the younger women. I mean the women who went to those gatherings to genuinely have fun, to talk with one another, and had a good time outside of their houses."I do miss you guys too." I replied."Well, you can always come on the next gathering." Ella said. "I know things aren't great right now, but it would be good if you give yourself some time too.""That would be nice. Bit, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to show up at your gatherings when Jacopo wants nothing to do with the web." I replied.Ella and I were talking about having something to eat before we came to the ki
Ezabella Viper...I watched as Ella lovingly looked down at her two daughters, her fingers gently brushing their thick hairs off of their faces.I look at her, and I see a loving mother looking at her children. It was a beautiful sight, and I wondered if I could ever be the mother that she is.My hand was pressed against my lower abdomen as I stared at her."Is it hard?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice high enough just for Ella to hear me, and low enough not to disturb the sleeping twins."What is?" Ella asked, tearing her eyes away from daughters to look at me."Being a mother... being a mother in a place like this. Being the wife of a dangerous man working for a dangerous organization. Is it hard?"Ella let out a soft sigh, looking away from me as she thought through her answer. "I wouldn't say it is easy. What I can tell you is that I wake up every single day next to the man I am madly in love with. I have two amazing daughters who I would give my life for. I have a fami
Jacopo Nicolo...Elijah, Dante, Victor, and I sat in a circle, our focus on Victor as he restarted his explanation on how he was looking into Elizabeth while he stayed here to keep Eza safeEza and Ella were in our bedroom with the twins as Elijah had refused to talk about killing a bunch of people in front of his two daughters, and while both Eza and Ella wanted to stay and listen to our plans, they didn't protest against Elijah's request."As I was saying before, I was rudely interrupted by your unwanted appearance..." Victore said as he pointed at Dante and Elijah at the same time with two of his left fingers. "I've found out that Elizabeth is staying two towns over with a small mafia wannabe, boys. All we have to do is march ourselves there and wipe them off the face of the earth.""We need to be careful." Elijah commented."Of course, we need to be careful. That doesn't mean we should waste any more time than we already had." Victor countered. "It's been two whole months sin
A short silence fell in the home office as Dante and Jacopo stared each other down.Jacopo crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to make a single comment and forcing Dante to continue."Like Elijah said, I am sorry for what happened that night, but I, too, had someone I needed to save. And as much as it pains me to sat this, your mother was not my priority that night."My goodness... I get what Dante was saying, but damn it, he didn't have to say it like that."And what? I'm supposed to just believe you and be happy with your decision? I'm supposed to clap my hands for you and just move on?" Jacopo asked, hurt still evident in his voice."That is not what I am saying. What I'm saying is that the night was not easy for any one of us. We were all isolated and were forced to choose to save those we loved the most. Elijah had to choose his family and you had to choose your wife..." "Then what about you?" My father jumped in. "Who were you forced to choose?" He asked.All eyes turned
Ezabella Viper...I sat tense in Jacopo's home office, my back to the window, and my face turned towards the unexpected guests sitting in front of my husband.Dante, Elijah, Ella, and their twins. One look at Jacopo and I could tell that he was trying his best to control his anger, to stay come and hear them out before he can kick them out without Dante threatening to burn us all down along with the apartment building."This is very awkward." My father leaned in to whisper to me, shaking his head in disappointment for getting caught up in between the affairs of the people of the web."It sure is." I replied, keeping my voice hushed enough only for my father to hear."Are you sure you want to say with this man, Bella? Because if I were you, I would not handle this well." He added."Well, it's a very good thing that you are not me, then." I replied, glancing at him and seeing the face he was making at me."Are we going to sit here and stare at each other all day... or are you going
I was in the middle of preparing breakfast for Eza when the panel lit up with a notification. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to look at what had set it off.Victor was standing in the elevator, aggressively punching the button that would take him to my floor.Goodness.I pushed the pass code in through my phone and watched as he shoved his hands in his pocket and looked up at the camera.I returned my attention back to the breakfast I was preparing for Eza, which did not need the stove to be turned on. Thank goodness.I ignored the noise of the elevator door opening as I started plating the fruits and cookies."Is that why you eat? Or is that what you feed my daughter?" He asked as he stopped in front of the kitchen counter."Mind your own business." I mumbled."My daughter is my business." He replied."Dad?"My eyes are drawn to the hall at the sound of my wife's soft voice."What are you doing here this early?" She asked. "Did we make plans for today?""Good morning to you too,
I stood in front of the mirror, pulling a black t-shirt over my head, wincing as I felt the slowly healing gunshot wound on my shoulder.Eza was still asleep in bed when I got up to get ready. The previous night, after Eza and I had spent the day together forgetting the horror we were living, we'd returned home and spent a few more hours in each other's arms, talking about this and that until she fell asleep.After tucking her in bed, I'd returned to the living room to retrieve my phone, charge it, and make a phone call even though I knew it was past midnight.I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep if I didn't call Victor right that second and make plans. I just couldn't wait a few more hours until the sun went up.I was sitting at my desk in my home office, one I have not been in since the day I lost my mother, and almost lost my wife for the rest of my life.I expected to call Victor a few times before he picked up, but to my surprise, the phone didn't even ring three times befor
Jacopo Nicolo...If there is one thing going right in my life, it's having Eza next to me.These past eight weeks had been brutal, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get out of my shell as fast as I could to start fixing our marriage. I was the one who messed up, yet Eza was still by my side, cooking my every meals and trying to get me out of my shell every single day.I didn't deserve her kindness. I still don't. But I recognize how blessed I am to have her.She was probably the only reason why I was back on my feet, walking around and not letting myself west away. As of now, she is also the biggest reason why I decided to go through with the visit to see my mother.I was not even close to being ready to fall at her grave, to say the things I wanted to say to her. But I also knew that the longer I took to get to the cemetery, the harder it was going to be for me to start healing, and that will only make it even harder to fix my marriage with Eza.I glanced at her