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
I was freed from one monster, only to be thrust into the arms of another. It has been exactly a year since I lived through a nightmare, a year since I was rescued from my own home. I didn't have enough time to heal before I was told that I was going to be married off. I begged. I begged for a whole year, and in the end, I still found myself in a room, alone, in a white wedding dress, about to walk down the aisle to marry a man I did not know. "You'll be fine." I heard him call out. I glanced up, only to see that he was staring down at me with nothing but void in his eyes. "You promised that you would protect me." I accused as tears blurred my eyes. "You'll be protected here." He dismissed before he gave me his back. "I hate you." I whispered, feeling my scarred heart break in my chest all over again. "I hate you for what you'd allowed to happen to me, and I hate you for what you're allowing to happen to me now." I added, hoping my words would hurt my coldblooded father. I kn
When my father and I reached the end of the aisel, I glanced at him. Victro Viper had his eyes on Jacopo Nicolo. While my father's eyes were no longer void of any emotions, there was a certain look in them that I couldn't quite decipher. My father then dropped his eyes on me for a split second before he turned away. "Step forward." The priest spoke with a gentle voice, and I forced myself to move. No matter how hard I tried to stop myself from limping, I couldn't control it. My right leg was too weak to hold my entire weight for more than a few seconds at a time. I stood in front of the man without lifting my eyes to his. My line of sight was directed at his hands, both hidden within black leather gloves. The priest started speaking, and not a single word he spoke entered my ears. Nothing made sense to me as I continued to stare at the man's gloved hands. Why is he wearing gloves on a day this hot, especially one that is leather? Was it to hide the blood he had on his
The ride to my now husband's apartment was torturous. I was told to sit in the back seat of the car while Elijah and the silver-haired woman sat in the front. Neither of them said a word, the car filled with the utmost discomfort. I kept my gaze planned on the right window of the back door of the car, gazing out in case this was the last time I would get to see the outside again. I haven't seen this many cars since before the day that man took over my previous home, since the day before I became a prisoner. The sun was bright in the sky even though the hours for her disappearance were looming closer and closer. I wanted to erase my memory even for a few minutes, so I would be able to enjoy the view, so I wouldn't be taunted by the thought of this ride being my very last. When the car came to a stop, my heart nearly dropped out of my chest, fear shooting up and down my body at an alarming rate. "I'll be back, my love." Elijah commented, his gaze planted on the
I landed on a chair with no armrest, one I had not seen because the bed had all of my attention. My breath was coming out short, my vision swimming and my head filling up with pressure.I heard a chair squeal, and I looked over to see Jacopo slowly lowering himself to the opposite side of the small circular table separating us.Despite not being thrown on the bed, I was still unable to calm my heart down, gain control over my breath, and stop my heart from having a heartbeat of its own.I placed my shaking hands on my lap and slowly raised my eyes to his.Jacopo Nicolo was staring me down as if he was trying to study me. I can almost see the gears turning in his head, as if he was thinking about what he would do to me.Jacopo said no words, just boring his gaze into me. The burn scars on his face pulled at his cloudy eye when he narrowed his eyes at me, and it quickly made me avoid making eye contact with him.Jacopo placed something on the table, and the small click it made when he
The evening blended into the night, and I was still locked in that man's bedroom.I had not moved from the chair he'd left me in, too fearful of what I would discover if I dared to move around.My eyes started hurting from staring into the distance for too long, the thick drapes blocking the view of the dark sky.Time slipped from my grasp as I continued to glue myself to the chair, my nails digging into the side of the chair as anxiety embedded itself deep in my bones.The wait was unbearable. It left me alone with my thoughts, contemplating on what had happened after I stepped into this apartment and the dilemma I was met with.Even though I could barely see anything in front of me, I could still invision the three items that the man had laid down on the table.I had a hard time wrapping my mind around what that was about and all the accusations he shot my way before he tried to make me end my own life.What had my father dragged me into?I tried my absolute best to try to keep myse
I dragged the suitcases down the hall, wondering if I was supposed to move them to his bedroom, or if there was a guest bedroom I could stay in.I tried to open the doors of the rooms located on either side of the hall, but all of them were locked.The only door that remained open was his bedroom, and that was all I needed to know that I wasn't provided with a private space for myself.With no other option to take, I dragged the suitcases into his bedroom and set them aside near the door.I knew I had less than an hour to get ready, and I was desperate to get out of this wedding dress, so I opened one of the suitcases in search of a more comfortable dress.A frown covered my face when I realized that most of the dresses, almost all of them, didn't belong to me. They were all brand new, their tags still attached.I haven't gone shopping in the last one year, which was why I was staring at the opened suitcase with wide eyes.I reached for the other suitcase and pulled the zipper open to
My heart dropped to my stomach. Horror washed all over me, shooting from the top of my head down to my heels. The man took a single step towards my direction, and that was enough for me to turn around and run back to the bedroom like there was a monster from the dark chasing after me.I slammed the door shut as soon as I entered the bedroom, my hands fumbling with the nob to look for a lock.My heart skipped a beat when I couldn't find the key. He must have taken the key before he left.I took a step backward, trying to put distance between the door and myself, hoping and desperately praying that the man wouldn't follow me in.But his heavy footsteps didn't stop approaching the door.My eyes were glued to the knob, watching it slowly turn. The wedding dress I had dropped near the suitcase was long forgotten, causing me to tire backwards on it.Another gasp ripped its way out of my lips when pain exploded in my hip, the fall forcing an impact on my never-healing injury.The man pushed
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
"Okay." Jacopo said once more, and I felt enough relief to reach for his hand again and lock our fingers.I turned to face the cemetery and started leading him forward to the place I knew where his mother's resting place was.Jacopo followed silently, his fingers tightening around my hands as he kept his eyes on the ground, refusing to look up.I stopped in front of a new grave."Vanessa Nicolo, a mother and a best friend." Was written on the head stone."Here it is, Jacopo." I commented, glancing to see that he was staring at the words. His hand fell away from mine, and I watched as he crumbled. His knees buckled, forcing him to fall to the ground right in front of his mothers grave."Mom..." He whispered, hus voice barely audible.I took a few steps back to give him some space and to let him be with her on his own, but I didn't move too far away just in case he needed me."I'm sorry." I heard him whisper."I'm sorry I didn't get to you fast enough. I'm sorry I let them do that to y
Jacopo and I took our time to enjoy our breakfast, sitting next to each other at the dining table for the first time in a while. After that, we went straight for our bedroom. I took a quick shower in the bathroom with the hot water, and Jacopo took his in the other bedroom with the bathroom with cold water.I slipped a black dress on, one that made my baby bumb more visible than usual, and when I men Jacopo in the living room, I saw that he was dresses in a full black suit, his hair messy, and his expression looking like ge was already regretting his decision to go visit Vanessa."You told me to drag you by the collar if you end up changing your mind, Jacopo. I plan on doing that." I playfully commented, limping closer to him and offering him my hand.He slid his hand into mind, his fingers firmly wrapped around my own, holding on to me as if I was his one and only life line."Are you ready to go?" I asked.Jacopo shook his head."Not even close." He replied as he took a step closer