Yes. This is the same Cecilio Dante and Sal have been looking for. Care to guess why they're after him?
"Are you waiting for someone?" I ask Sal. He keeps craning his neck as if he's waiting or looking for someone. We're sitting at one of the tables in The Cloud. The place was opened half an hour ago but it's almost full. While I appreciate the money people bring in, I wonder if these men have nothing better to do. Don't they have wives or girlfriends to spend their time with? I've seen the same faces show up here every day that I now know the drinks they always order and how many is too many for them. Fuck, I need to go back home before I lose my shit and start demanding my customers find somewhere else to spend their money. "Why isn't she here yet? I expected her to come in and at least shoot your balls or something" "Who?" "Your wife. Who else?" "Why would Emiliana come here?" He sips his glass of scotch, hiding a smirk behind the glass. "I sent her a photo of you and Paulina looking cozy" This motherfucker "Why the fuck would you do that?" Paulina is the new girl we hire
Weirdo aka Cecilio only wanted to say hi and take our photo. He let us go after that. It's the strangest kidnapping I've ever heard of but I'm not complaining. He even had his guys drive us to Climax. I can't figure him out nor do I have the time to do that. When we get to the Club, Sergio, and Eugenio are waiting for us out front. Most women in the line are trying their hardest to get the guy's attention but they don't even spare them a glance. Which is unlike them. Either they've changed or they were just worried because we took too long to arrive."What took you guys so long?" Sergio asks, his eyes snagging on our outfits. We may or may not have picked the sluttiest dresses we could find. Elena's is a one-shoulder with a cut out across her cleavage. I'm in a little sparkly spaghetti dress that just falls over my hips. The one thing we have in common is that our boobs are almost spilling out. My father would never let us leave the house like this. But I'm done
I have to admit, this right here scares me. Emiliana with someone she's known all her life, someone she's familiar with scares me more than I thought it would. After spending two hours looking for her, I got a message from an unknown number with only one word. Climax. It took me more time to figure out what it meant but by the time I got there, they'd left. The owner is under Calderone so I pretended to be her guard Danillo and asked to see the footage. The second I mentioned the boss's daughter and the word kidnapping, he couldn't bring up the night's footage fast enough. Seeing Emiliana so close to one of the twins felt like a punch to the gut. I knew she was mad at me but I didn't think she'd turn to someone else. I saw the way she looked at him. For a split second, I thought she was going to kiss him. If he was a stranger, it would have been different. I wouldn't be so worried because it would be a meaningless fuck to get back at me. But someone she trusted? I regretted not lettin
"I knew from the beginning you were set up" he starts, looking cautious. As if he's expecting me to pounce on him or something. I'm tempted to do it but I want to hear everything he has to say "I wanted to use the photos to my advantage so I played along with whoever framed you while making a deal with Romero in secret" "I see" I don't see it. Why the fuck wouldn't he just tell me that? But as always, before I can ask, he answers, "I needed your emotions to be real. For everyone to think that we were fighting and that our marriage was on the rocks" "Did you need an entire week to make that deal?" "No. I spent the rest of the time looking for the guy who tried to kill you. There was no connection between him and my enemies so it took some time to get him to talk" I expect him to go on but he looks away. "And?" I prompt, knowing I won't like whatever he's about to say. "It was Leo and my mother. They paid him to do it and added sedatives in the security's coffee" "I'm not e
She's smiling. Her eyes are on the ground, and most of her face is hidden by her hair but I can see she's smiling. Or trying not to. When they left, I was sure Emiliana was going to scratch his eyes out. I kind of hoped she'd kick his ass and send him packing. Our parents are banking on him fucking up so they can swoop in and take her back. They even discussed about it. Agreeing that they could compromise with her demands if it meant getting her away from Vernetti. They think that way because they truly don't know the real Emiliana. I'm sure she'll fight tooth and nail before coming back home. She looks all innocent and angelic but when she's mad, I swear she becomes someone else. It's as if there's a switch inside her. Elena calls her sweet Emiliana and bitch Emiliana. Right now, she's reverted back to sweet Emiliana and it's all because of Vernetti. Like our parents, I was against their marriage at the beginning because I thought he only wanted to use her. Now I'm not so sure. He
"Okay spill. What's with the secret smiles? You're acting like someone who just had a dozen orgasms" Elena says. With the excuse of getting dessert, she pulled me to the kitchen and I came willingly because I'm still on cloud nine."It's better than that" looking over my shoulder, I check to make sure he didn't follow us then whisper, "He said he loves me" "Who?" "Are you dumb? Dante of course. Who else?""It could have been Eugenio. I thought he finally grew some balls" I'm taken aback by her comment. So him having a crush on me is true? How did I not know this? "You knew about that?" "Dude, if you didn't know about it then you're blind. Anyway, how did Dante say it? I bet you had to kick him in the balls to get it out of him. He doesn't strike me as someone who would say that willingly" I look out the window to where the men are sitting. Angelo, Sergio, and Eugenio are sitting on one end while Dante is at the other end. My eyes go to Eugenio who, I realize
She looks stunned so I kiss her again. Pushing her back and covering her body with mine. I don't expect her to say those words back. Not now or ever. I'm content with just loving her. I've known her for far longer than she's known me. I spent a year dreaming about having my cock inside her then I'd wake up and jerk off to the images I'd dreamt about. There are times when I wake up expecting all this to be a dream. The wedding, our life, it's still unbelievable. But I'm slowly getting used to the fact that she's my wife now. And I am never going to let her go. I settle between her legs, thrusting inside her, this time making love to her slowly. Enjoying the feeling of having her around me. I don't think I'll ever tire of being with her like this. We come together and she falls asleep right after. She sleeps like an angel, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm. Like every other time, I get out of bed and grab my pants. Reaching inside the pocket to take out my phone, and snap anothe
"Two things. You know how our customers have been losing their shit and attacking people around them?" Sal says entering my office "Well, it's because of a new drug that just hit the market. No one knows where it came from but it's been making rounds" "Except whoever's selling them is only doing it at The Cloud. Why?" "That's where my second theory comes in. I have this nagging suspicion that Cecilio might have something to do with it. My guess is, he's trying to discredit us and once that happens, we'll go out of business" That fucker. His plan would have succeeded when I was still new and hadn't proven myself. But right now, the most that can happen is the club going out of business. While I enjoy running this place, it doesn't make up even a quarter of the money I bring in. I've invested in legal and illegal businesses and saved money in more than five offshore accounts. His attempt at trying to hit me where he thinks will hurt the most is pathetic.
"I'm the fucking boss. My word is the law now. If I decide to cancel these Sunday dinners, who has the guts to stop me?" Eugenio and Sergio glance at each other and then burst out laughing. Fuckers. They work for me now and I sign their checks but they have the nerve to laugh in my face. We'll see how much longer they'll continue doing that. Especially after I deduct their payment for being insolent little shits "While you're busy laughing, just remember that I'm the one in charge of your bank accounts" "No offense, boss but this isn't something you can decide on your own" "Why the fuck not? I hate attending these things" they're just an excuse for the elders to rip into me. They'll find the smallest faults and pretend that if they were in my position, they could have done better. Truth is, they don't know shit. They don't know what it's like to make a decision that could impact thousands of lives. When papa was still alive, I used to admire how he ran everything. He made it seem s
"WHERE IS HE? Dante, you fucking bastard. Show your face" "She looks mad. What did you do?" Sal asks watching the feed from over my shoulder. "Fuck if I know" Javier sent me a message telling me she'd left the house looking like a mad woman. I had every intention of cutting off his fingers later when I arrived home but now that I'm looking at Emiliana, I have no choice but to agree with him. She definitely looks like a mad woman. Her hair is sticking out in different directions and... She's still in her pajamas. Did she come to The Cloud in her sleepwear? Fuck. I look at Sal to see if he feels the sense of foreboding slowly filling the room. I swear it's almost tangible. What the fuck did I do? I'm sure I put down the toilet seat and I made her breakfast before I left. Did she not like it? "She's coming up. I'm going to leave you guys alone so you can talk it out" he says heading to the door with a smirk "Emiliana, looking lovely as..." "Go back inside" the steely command has Sa
All eyes turn on me as I enter the abandoned warehouse. It reminds me of the one I went to on the day before I got married. Dirty floor, broken windows, and a thick musty smell. I count seven guys in total sitting or leaning around a rectangular table. Not many. I can handle them. A gun is faster than... Wait, where's my gun? I carried it, didn't I? Fuck, fuck, Dante's going to kill me for coming here without a weapon. That is if these guys don't do it first. Shit, what was I thinking? How could I... My internal dialogue is cut short as I trip over my feet and I'm launched forward, my arms flailing in all directions trying to find something to hold on to. Of course, there's nothing. I'm in an open space and I go down, face-planting the floor in front of men I'm supposed to threaten. Way to go, EmilianaAnd ew. Did my mouth connect with the floor? Huffing in annoyance, I get up, brushing the dirt off my hands, face, and jeans. All this while no one says a thing. I expected them to lau
"What if she changes her mind and doesn't come?" Before I can reply, Soraya reaches out and smacks Sal then goes back to fussing with my suit "Don't jinx my daughter-in-law. She's very excited to get married" "But they're already married" "Find him a wife. Someone who will help him settle down" By that, she means someone who will keep him in line. I know that because I can see the twinkle in her eyes. Like Emiliana, she's easy to read. All I have to do is take one look at her and I'll know what she's thinking. I'm not nervous. Actually, I'm confident that Emiliana wouldn't even think of not showing up. She's looking forward to our two-month-long honeymoon. Spending that time with just her sounds like a dream. I'm probably more excited than her. I take Soraya's hands to stop her from fidgeting "It's fine. Everything will be fine" "I... I'll go see if..." A split second. That's all I have. From the corner of my eye, I see movement, someone raising a hand. I manage to push Sora
"Tell me who this Lia is and I'll let you walk me down the aisle" Angelo scoffs "What other option do you have?" "Mama can do it. Or the twins" "Your husband will murder them before they even touch you" he's right. Dante will kill them and I'm trying to have a wedding without dead bodies anywhere near the church. So it's either him or Mama. I love her, I do but I'd rather Angelo do it. "Do I know her? What's with all this secrecy" "It's not a secret. Mama and papa wanted more children. After you, they tried to have more but it just wasn't working out. She came to live with us way before the twins arrived. I can't believe you don't remember her" "So I've met her?" "She was obsessed with you and called you pretty girl. I hated how she ignored me and treated me as if I was invisible so I followed her everywhere. Since she was older, she took over the big sister role and kept us in line. Especially after the twins arrived. But you were too young to remember. She lived with us
"Can you tell me what happened during the time you were locked up? Rico and Valerio have hinted at some things but they wouldn't explain anything" I won't either. She's too pure to be tainted by that shit. Some of it is buried in the deepest, darkest part of my mind. Never to see the light of day again. No one will ever find out. But I know what it means to tell her these things. It's a sign of trust. She needs to know that I love and trust her enough to open up. So I tell her bits and pieces. Things that might be dark to her but are only the tip of the iceberg for me. "I mostly remember living in the dark. He blocked all the windows and would only turn the lights on when he came down. He'd torture and kill someone in front of me then leave them there for days. The first time was the hardest. I was so scared and freaked out about staying in the same room with a dead body. The darkness made it creepier. I'd imagine the guy getting up and trying to kill me for not helping him. It was
He walks towards me, undoing the cufflinks on his wrists. Letting them drop to the floor with a thin clanging sound, he shrugs off his coat and untucks his shirt. His fingers move with precise movements as he starts unbuttoning it. My heart beats faster as I stand beside the elevator, frozen, the anticipation of what is going to happen next rooting me in place. Didn't he just kick me out a few minutes ago? He said he was fine without me and that hurt. Because I'll never be fine without him. We both made mistakes. He shouldn't have let himself be photographed with her and I should have told him where I was. I shouldn't have let Mama hide me from him. When we left through a secret airstrip, I knew what she was doing and I let her do it because I knew she was hurting. If keeping me from Dante alleviated her pain, it was a small sacrifice to pay. He knew that, and understood I needed to do it but still had the nerve to be angry. If the tables were turned and I was the one seen around wit
She looks stunned but I don't know whether it's from finding out Luisa is my therapist or that I was so fucked up I needed one. It hadn't been easy accepting her help. I was against the idea because of some misconceptions I had about masculinity. That sitting down and telling someone how I was struggling made me look weak. While I don't care about what people think of me, I was raised to be a leader and leaders handled their own shit. They didn't find some quack, especially a woman, and expect them to help them sort through their feelings. The idea of even bumping into one on the street was repulsive. But Luisa was sneaky. She didn't approach me as a doctor but as the daughter of Dr. Mendes. I was surprised he had a family and I thought maybe he was training her to take over from him. I let my guard down, talked to her, and all too soon, I'd told her things I'd never told anyone. She asked me to take her to dinner and consider it her payment. That way, things wouldn't be too formal b
Soraya is Dante's mother. I'm still processing that. This explains why Gisella never cared about him. I thought it was odd how she never made an effort to support him and the reason was that she wasn't his mother. I talked to Soraya some more and she explained that she hadn't known Romeo had him or else she would have done everything in her power to save him. It's her greatest regret. I asked her about the woman Dante is dating and her reply was, "I can't tell you about their relationship. It's not my place to do that. But I can assure you, they're not together that way. My son adores you. He would never look at another woman" Contradicting much? He would never look at another woman but he would let himself be seen and photographed with her. Why do that if she didn't mean anything to him? I've tried to figure out what their supposed relationship is but for the life of me, I can't. Why wouldn't Soraya just tell me the truth once and for all? I asked Elena what she thought. Her reply