No Dante. Why would you leave your mother and wife in the same house? Smh men. π
I sit on the bed and let out a sigh of relief. Sex is out of the way. At least for now. The only thing I have to worry about is if Dante will change his mind and kill me in my sleep. I need to find out what this feud with my family is about and how to act. Is it justified? People have been known to start a war for nothing. If my husband is unreasonable, then maybe I shouldn't get comfortable here. Speaking of which, is it just going to be the two of us in this humongous house? Doesn't he have family or friends? Who is Dante anyway? I've never heard of him. If he was Romeo's nephew, how come no one knows about him? Ugh, I'll think about everything later. Right now I need to get out of this dress, shower then get some sleep. I start with the veil, sliding the clip out of my hair and dropping it on the floor. I reach behind me ready to undo the buttons on the back but realize I can't reach them. There's no way I can get this dress off by myself. If I was in a romantic book, I'd go lookin
I might have overreacted yesterday when Dante told me his mother was coming to live with us. But in my experience, living with a mother-in-law is not easy. Before nonna died, she used to live with us. The screaming match she used to have with mama could be heard all the way down the street. They'd disagree on everything and nothing. At one point, papa stopped trying to intervene. He'd hide the weapons and then leave. As if either of them had the guts to shoot anyone. Then again, maybe they could do it in the heat of the moment. Who knows? My point is, it's not advisable to live with my mother-in-law. Especially when this is not your conventional marriage. I'm sure she will be okay with Dante having a mistress but if she sees me with a man, names will start circulating. Mothers are always like that. Their children can do no wrong. I might be overreacting. Or I might be right. Either way, I called Elena over to discuss this. She's my only friend and it's always good to have a second
"Have you found him?" "Have you found him?" I echo the question back to Sal. Ever since he found out I married Emiliana, he's been moody. Calling to check in on me every few hours. Something I don't appreciate. Getting married doesn't render me incapable of making decisions or kicking his ass. "So the answer is no," he says "That was sloppy which is unlike you. No one gets away from you" One of Romeo's men escaped. I had Mario and Uberto, my guys go get him and he escaped from them. Saying he was no traitor. I know for a fact Luis wasn't loyal to Romeo. That bastard hadn't done anything to inspire loyalty from his men. Luis ran away because he knows me. He knows I won't keep any of them alive. If he's smart, he'll leave and never look back. That doesn't mean I'll stop looking for him. He knows too much about my business to be walking around with his head attached to his shoulders. I would go looking for him myself but I can't leave Emiliana alone in this house.
I called Elena right after with the good news. Truth be told, I didn't think I would ever go to college. My father made his stance on that clear. He wasn't about to let college boys distract me or convince me into giving them my virginity. Up until now, I thought his reason was justifiable. He wanted to keep me away from temptation. But now I can't help but wonder if it was because he didn't trust me. It's not like I'd done anything to make him doubt me. Why wouldn't he allow me to further my studies? The only thing I can think of is because he didn't want me to possess any type of skills. Having a degree meant being qualified to find a job and support myself. Without it, I would be forced to rely on him or my husband. This is one of the reasons women are trapped in marriages they don't want to be in. Because they have nowhere to go and no skills to help support themselves. Is that how my father wanted me to turn out? I'm starting to think that maybe marrying Dante wasn't such a bad
"How did you lose her? Do you understand the meaning of a shadow?" I ask calmly. I can't let them see how rattled I am. How much I want to smash their heads on the pavement until there's nothing left in their brains. I specifically told them not to leave her side for even a second. But they defied me. "She went to the bathroom and never came out, sir" Valerio offers pissing me off further. Is there a portal in the bathroom? "Why didn't you follow her and wait outside?" Silence. I thought she would feel more at ease with a familiar face but I was wrong. I never should have put anything before her safety "Security cameras?" I ask my jaw tight."We checked. They only show her going in but never coming out" Rico says. "So you're telling me she disappeared in the bathroom? On her first day of school? Are you fucking kidding me?" They all stand with their hands folded in front of them and their heads bowed. The only reason I haven't taken out my gun is because we're in school, surrounded
Earlier that day, "You're up. Can you stand?" An overly chipper voice asks. I blink rapidly trying to clear my vision. What the fuck happened? My limbs feel wobbly and my head is heavy. It takes a few minutes to find the owner of the voice. A moment later I manage to make out the person's features. It's a woman with black hair held in a high ponytail. She's in a tank top, leather pants, and combat boots. "Who are you?" I ask. Damn, even my throat is dry. What did they do to me? Is this a kidnapping? "Try standing and moving around. The knockout drug is strong" Knockout drug- "Did you kidnap me?" "Do you have a problem following orders?" "Excuse me?" Who the fuck is this bitch? Running a hand through my hair, I shake off the cobwebs in my head and get up. Only to fall back in the chair. I couldn't run away if I wanted to. "It'll take a while for it to completely leave your body. Drink the water. Your handler should be here any minute" I pick u
Fuck! I shouldn't have done that. I was half asleep and that was a scenario I'd imagined more than I care to count so I reacted instinctively. When you wake up with your wife in your arms, the only logical thing to do is kiss her good morning. If she hadn't left to use the bathroom, I'm afraid I would have done more than that. When I got in bed last night, I had every intention of waking up after she'd settled down. But the longer she was in my arms, the more reluctant I felt to let her go. Next thing I know, she's nudging me awake and I'm kissing her and asking her to come right back. As if I have any right to do any of that. She might be my wife but she didn't choose to marry me. Just like her parents forced her to marry that bastard, I also did the same thing. She was scared into marrying me without knowing about my obsession with her. I allowed her to go to school so that when we part ways, she wouldn't have to rely on her family. And we will part ways eventually because the last
My legs shake as Dante's tongue swipes along the junction between my thighs. His fingers spread my pussy open and he sucks my sex, licking and thrusting his tongue into me. Finally, I understand why Elena likes this so much. It's exhilarating and it feels so fucking good. I'm pushing my ass into his face, not caring if he's suffocating or not. When I came back from school, this wasn't what I had in mind. Okay, who am I kidding? When I put on this piece, I knew the night might end this way. A part of me wanted it to turn out this way. The fact that he refused to send Constanza away was annoying. When we were alone she confessed that G had sent her to keep an eye on me so I won't go running my mouth. But what really pissed me off was how Dante refused to acknowledge that kiss. No matter how small it was, I wanted him to give me an explanation. He'd made it clear he wanted an experienced woman. The only experience I had was with the mysterious guy at The Cloud. And at first, I was okay
"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