Ezabella Viper...I tried to keep myself busy by moving my things from Jacopo's bedroom to the guest bedroom I was going to stay in.It would be an understatement to say that I was more than happy to have a room of my own, a space I can retreat to whenever I feel low and need to be by myself.There is a huge possibility that Jacopo might have a spare key to the guest bedroom, but that was a detail I was willing to ignore. On the previous nights, after Jacopo and I had our dinner, I was more than happy to go to sleep on the couch. But Jacopo had to surprise me even more by giving me the key to the guest bedroom.I was more than excited to go see the room, the aspect of a hot shower just a few feet away from me making me want to squeal.I'd opened the door that night and locked myself in before I looked for the light switch.The guest bedroom was slightly smaller than Jacopo's room, but it was too big for only me. I'd looked around first, dragging my heavy belly around with me as I
I was in the middle of trying to decide which resturant I was going to from when a noise at the elevator caught my attention.I startled, turning around to look at what was causing the sudden noise.There was a small light flicking in the panel and walked closer to see that the screen had lit up as well, showing a woman standing in the elevator, pressing the last button that would take her to the top floor, which was the exact apartment I was standing in.I leaned closer to the panel trying to get a better look at the woman. She didn't stop pressing the button, once in a while, before she would go back to aggressively pressing the button.I stood up straight, knowing well enough that I was not about to let a stranger into the house, but also wondering why she might be and why she was there in the first place.I reached into my pocket and took out my phone.The first person that came to mind was Ella Smith.I dialed her number and pressed the phone against my right ears, returning my
"Jacopo?" I called out."Was someone at the apartment?" he asked again.I stood on my tiptoes once again to look outside through the peephole."Yes. There was a woman..." I started, but he cut me off."Did she get into the apartment?" he asked."No," I replied. "I took her picture and sent it to Ella. She told me the woman is Attiwood Nicolo, your mother."Jacopo sighed."Yes. That's Attiwood. Did she know you were in the apartment?" he asked."No. I don't think so." I replied even though I was not certain about it. Something told me that Attiwood somehow knew I was on the other side of the door, staring at her through the peephole."If she returns, don't let her in, alright." He ordered. "I'll be home soon," He added."Okay."Jacopo hung up the call, and I looked down at the screen of my phone, slightly confused.He did confirm that it was his mother, Attiwood Nicolo, but the way his voice sounded when he told me not to let her in made it painfully obvious that he wasn't so fond of
Jacopo Nicolo...I stared at Ezabella Viper as she took another bite, a look of satisfaction on her face as she chewed with a mouth full.It amazed me how, in a month, she was able to sit in front of me and eat as comfortably as she did. I didn't mind her being found comfort. I actually happen to like it. It was nice not to be seen as a wife beater, flinching whenever I raised my hand to do something.My plan was going well. I wanted to gain her trust in order to get to the next step and get rid of her.I would have to admit, though, I didn't hate her company. I liked having dinner with her the previous night and sharing lunch with her at that moment.She was unexpectedly refreshing even though the majority of our time was spent on not exchanging words with each other.I just... like her presence already. And that was starting to worry me.I didn't want to get attached to her in any shape or form at all. If she were to leave my apartment and I was to regain my status as single
Ezabella Viper..."Ezabella?" Jacopo's voice came from the dark hall, and I opened my eyes to look in his direction.Jacopo stepped out of the dark, his tall figure slowly being revealed as he walked into the living room."Yeah?""Do you have any plans now?" he asked, making me frown."Is that supposed to be a joke?" I asked. "Because I am certain you know how free my schedule is."He nodded his head, looking at me as if he was considering what he was going to say next."There..." He stopped, crossing his arms over his chest."Is something wrong?" I asked, eyeing him with worry and suspicion.Jacopo might be reasonable for a short while for whatever reason he has on his mind, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't go back to who he really is. A person can't change that quickly, and me thinking that he has changed for the better is stupidity."There is a dinner party at the Smith Mansion, and we've been invited," he commented."And?" I asked.Last month, I know I missed a lot of gather
Jacopo Nicolo...I watched as she slowly and hesitantly walked away from the car, directing herself to the front entrance of the large mall.She'd stopped once or twice to look back at my car, probably considering turning back and returning to it.I shouldn't have sounded too harsh. I wanted her to go in there and have some fun, but she wasn't leaving. What else was I supposed to do?I let out a sigh, reaching a hand back to squeeze the tension out.My eyes stayed on her as she stood in front of the entrance for a few seconds without entering, making me wonder if she was reconsidering turning back again.She finally entered the mall, and I let out another sigh.Why was I being so difficult?Why was IT so difficult?If I needed to earn her trust, then I needed to be there for her whenever she needed me, not say harsh words to her and send her off on her own, knowing well enough how afraid of new people she was.Damn it.I took my key and opened the door to hop out of the car. I loc
Ezabella Viper...I walked out of the small book store with Jacopo hot on my heels.I glanced back at him, my cheeks flushing at the sight of his holding two paper bags containing the books we just bought, the fronts of the bags plastered with the logo of the book store."Where to first?" He asked.I glanced around. The nearest store was a clothing store, and I pointed towards it."Alright, Tyan, Hamster. Lead the way." Jacopo commented, and I shook my head as I walked towards the store.Jacopo and I walked in, him just a step away from me, probably looking like my bodyguard.One of the workers in the store walked towards us."Good evening, ma'am. Is there anything I can help you find?" She asked, a polite smile on her face."Let her look around by herself." Jacopo's voice suddenly rose, startling both the woman and I, if not the rest of the people working and shoping in the store.Her eyes moved to him, and I saw fear flicker in her gaze."Of course." She replied before she step
I saw in the passenger seat of the car, comfort humming between us. The items we purchased were in the backseat of the car.It would be an understatement to say that I genuinely had fun. From shopping for books to the last store we walked in to get me a bag. It was nothing like I expected it to be.Jacopo didn't leave my side even once, even when he himself was having an internal battle with people's gazes.It brought us closer to each other in some sort of way.I let out a soft sigh of content, already imagining the next week I would spend curled up with a book. Bye-bye, boredom."Do you like the things you got?" Jacopo asked, breaking the silence."I do." I replied with a nod, remembering how he had helped me put the purple flats on, the way he responded with such gentle words pushed by an even gentler voice.I glanced at him, feeling an odd flutter in my chest.The moment was broken when his phone rang, splitting the silence in the car.Jacopo answered the phone, putting it on a l
Three days.Ezabella Viper has not left her room for three days. I felt lost. That night, the night we went to the Smith mansion for the dinner party, had been a disaster on both of our ends.My night was ruined by the things some of the members of the web thought about my wife and by the bet Elijah and Dante set on me taking Dante's offer or not.Ezabella's night was ruined by someone sending a video of her torture to the group chat of the women of the web.That's right. Ella Smith told me everything in great detail about what happened that night in the living room while I was in the home office of Elijah Smith. Someone had the nerves to do that to my wife, to send a video of her torture for everyone to see.Ella said she had tried to delete the video since she was the creator of the group chat, but that unknown number kept sending the video back over and over again until she was forced to delete the group chapf in whole. She said she had taken a screenshot of the number before she
Jacopo Nicolo...I stood outside the door, my eyes still thrown into Cilvia's bedroom, silently listening to the conversation they were having.From the looks on the remaining women in the living room with Ella, I knew something bad must have happened. I just didn't know it was this bad, bad enough for Cilvia to speak to Ezabella this way and force her to hold her hand even when I hadn't held her hand yet.They were talking about a video just seconds ago. What Video?I had several burning questions I needed to ask, and I wasn't sure how I was going to ask them.Suddenly, I was no longer upset with Ezabella for departing from Ella and running off alone. At least the crazy woman was keeping her company.Their conversation seemed to end with Cilvia confessing about her baby sister's murder, even though she failed to mention that she was the one who murdered her own sister, using the same poison I had tried to make Ezabella drink on the night of our wedding.I stepped closer to the do
I limped out of the living room, not knowing where I was going to go and hiding before I broke down into pieces."To the stairs." A woman's voice came from behind me, and I glanced over my left shoulder to see that it was Cilvia."Go up the stairs." She said again, nodding towards the stairs.I turned towards the stairs and limped forward, hearing Cilvia's heels echo after me.I climbed up, tears burning my eyes and a huge lump stuffed in my throat.My own scream was ringing in my ears as I climbed the stairs, pain radiating from my knee up to my hip, making my limp ten times worse."Turn left." Cilvia ordered once I reached the top of the stairs, still closely following me from being but giving me enough space to breathe.I followed her directions, hoping she would lead me to a place that wouldn't have any witnesses to see me break down after what had just happened.Cilvia continued to lead me around until I reached the door. All the while, my cheeks were flooded with tears, and my
Ezabella Viper...The dinner was nice, not the tense silence but the delicious food.It was nice to enjoy a meal even though I felt awkward sitting with so many strangers. Call me delusional, but I felt like I was being watched by some of them, as if they were predators trying to figure out the weakness of their prey, who happened to be an injured prey who can't even defend herself from the majority of them.I silently enjoyed the dinner presented in front of me until Dante stood up and walked away, calling for the rest of the members of the web.I wasn't sure if I should stop eating, since a lot of them were gone, or if I should just silently continue to enjoy my meal.I finally glanced around the dining table and saw that the women were still eating their dinner, so I continued to do so until someone said we had had enough, or until my belly was too full for me to even move.The first month of marriage had taught me not to take food for granted, so I was determined to clean my
I let out a sigh."I'm working on it." I replied, and the two men looked at me as if I had suddenly frowned three extra heads right before their eyes."Wait?" Elijah said, forgetting the fact that he passed just seconds ago. "What do you mean you're working on it? Are you accepting his offer?" He asked.I remained silent, and that was enough for both of them to understand that it was a yes."Well, I'll be damned. I never thought you would easily cave in." Dante said, leaning back in his seat.I stupidly felt insulted at that."I will fulfill my end of the bargain, and after that, you will never even consider me for an alliance with another party." I commented, and Dante nodded his head."Of course. All you have to do is wait until the child is born, and then you are free." He confirmed.Heaviness weighed in my body, as if someone had cut me open, filled my insides with cobblestones, and threw me down to sink into a deep, bottomless ocean.Admitting what I had planned to do out loud fe
I was the last to enter Elijah Smith's home office, the familiarity making my skin crawl.Elijah was sitting behind his desk as he would when the meetings were at his house, Dante taking another seat at the side, while the rest stood around.There were a few people who I was more familiar with than the rest, including Elijah and Dante, Harvey, who is Dante's shadow, and Cane, who always stands with his back pressed against the bookshelf, his eyes looking left and right as if they were surveillance cameras.I looked at the empty chair left across from Elijah and I reached up to gently tug at my collar, remembering how I was sitting in it over a year ago, fresh burn wounds all over my body, when Dante suggested the marriage to Ezabella Viper."Now that we are all here, there are a few things we need to discuss..." Dante commented, looking at each and every single one of us."To begin on a lighter note, it has come to my attention that we are currently dealing with another opponent who c
Jacopo Nicolo...The scene was quiet and awkward. The only noise that filled the room was that of metal utensils clinking against plates as everyone focused their attention on the plates in front of them.I glanced around the table, taking note of everyone present and everyone missing from the so-called dinner party. There were a few empty seats, which was weird, considering there would usually be extra seats pushed in to fit everyone in. Missing the meeting for the last month was not the smartest decision I have ever made since I joined the Web, especially seeing how different the vibe of the group was.There was more tension than I remembered, and I wondered why.I glanced towards Elijah first, seeing how he was more focused on his food and his wife, who was sitting on the chair next to him, than on the tension in the room. I glanced at Dante next, and I wanted to roll my eyes at how unbothered he looked, enjoying his dinner like no other person sitting around the dining table.My
Jacopo knocked on the door of my room exactly an hour and a half after he had left me to rest. I was in the middle of a deep sleep when he came to get me, successfully waking me up with excitement at the memory of where he said we were going."I'll wait for you in the living room." He'd commented, once again looking bothered at the sight of my room before he closed the door and walked away.I got up and took a super quick hot shower, washing the sweat of the exciting evening away, before quickly drying myself and limping towards the walk-in closet. I found the bags Jacopo left in there and aimed for the one I was sure contained the long, purple dress.I put my underwear on before slipping into the fitting dress, already feeling better about myself than I had in the last year while glancing at my reflection in the mirror.I slid my feet into the purple flats we got to match my dress, my cheeks once again heating up at the memory of how gentle the man I married turned out to be.I grab
I saw in the passenger seat of the car, comfort humming between us. The items we purchased were in the backseat of the car.It would be an understatement to say that I genuinely had fun. From shopping for books to the last store we walked in to get me a bag. It was nothing like I expected it to be.Jacopo didn't leave my side even once, even when he himself was having an internal battle with people's gazes.It brought us closer to each other in some sort of way.I let out a soft sigh of content, already imagining the next week I would spend curled up with a book. Bye-bye, boredom."Do you like the things you got?" Jacopo asked, breaking the silence."I do." I replied with a nod, remembering how he had helped me put the purple flats on, the way he responded with such gentle words pushed by an even gentler voice.I glanced at him, feeling an odd flutter in my chest.The moment was broken when his phone rang, splitting the silence in the car.Jacopo answered the phone, putting it on a l