Her Pov: I am so tired.. I don't know what I am living for anymore.. Am I only alive for others to use me like a fucking toy.. To use me and throw me away... Whatever I see wherever I see all I see is black. Darkness.. I am surrounded by darkness.. I am held captive in darkness, or maybe my soul itself has turned black. I thought Leonardo would return me my passport and I would go back to my country and start a new life there for myself. I want to look for Antonio.. I want to ask him why he did this to me.. Why did he destroy me? Did he ever even love me? All the moments we had... All conversations.. every touch.. Was it all just meaningless to him? A fucking game for him?Maybe I was never meant to be loved. My mom loved me she died because of the very love she had for me... My grandma also left me alone just after a few years later. And now... I am on the edge of meeting them. Because of this, very love...I squeeze my eyes shut. To cry to shed tears, but my tears dried up. All I
Her Pov:He takes off the muffler he's wearing and bends a little while still keeping his hold on my forearm. My eyes shot up to him." What are you doing?" " You ask too many questions, don't you?" He wraps the muffler around my neck, making me feel things...Things that I should not feel.... He's so close to me that I can smell his intoxicating smell like wood and leather as he wraps the muffler around my neck. I can't look past how his eyes are zeroed on my neck or how his breath is creating a slight sensation on my skin ..Wait.. What the fuck am I thinking? What has happened to me? This man forced him on me. Not once but twice. He is not a person but a monster. But then.. Then why do I feel like this? Why, when he's so close, all I see hear smell or feel is him! No... This is not how it is.. I am just confused.. My feelings are just too mixed up.. It has nothing to do with him. I will leave him one way or another anyway. It's just a matter of time. I won't let all these get to
Her Pov:He takes my hand in his and almost drags me out of the mansion. As soon as we reach out side, I jerk my hand free from his as his hold on my hand is way too strong. It almost felt like he would break my wrist. I message my wrist as it's almost bruised. Is he crazy or what? I looked at him, but he didn't even take a glance at me as he told one of the guards to prepare the cars.After a moment, a black sedan parked in front of us as we got in, and our journey started. 4 cars filled with men dressed in black started to follow our car. Leonardo is busy with his phone as I steal a glance at him. Just what does he do? Since the very first time we met, I could tell he's an influential person. But with every passing day, I am wondering what he exactly does to be this influential that he needs four cars of people following us around.I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realise I was still looking at him before he turned his face to me. I quickly turned my face away from his a
Her Pov:I slip out of the sedan as I almost crawl outside. A few more steps, and there's the gate of the construction site leading outside.I get up and slowly walk to the gate of the construction site. With a few steps, I will be out of here. My chest tightened as if an invisible hand clenched my ribs. Each step towards the gate seemed to echo with voices from my first day in Italyāwhispers of fear, shadows of memories dragging me back.Leonardo told me to stay in the car. What will happen when he sees I have run away? I don't have my passport with me... What will I do? How will I survive? What if Leonardo finds me?I force them on the back of my head. I won't get this chance again. I will have to take it nonetheless. Once I am away from here, I can probably make a way out of here.I turn around and take a last glance at Leonardo. He's giving me his back on this side. And the guards of his are beating the people they have caught from the SUVs. The air is full of their painful screa
His Pov:I slam the door behind me. I needed to leave the room, or I would have killed her by now. Her words enraged me more than it should have. Her influence on me is getting stronger with every passing day. And I can't afford that. I would have just killed her if I hadn't loosened my hold on her neck. I don't understand when she had gotten that much effect on me that all I could see was red. I couldn't see anything past that. Her seemingly not wanting me always irritated me. But when she admitted that she wants to fucking get rid of me I felt something I didn't know I was capable of feeling.She's so desperate to get rid of me that among the guns and guns shots, all she could think of was escaping me, making me want to thrash something or squeeze the life out of someone. It's true that I have no reason to keep her, but I can't let go of her. Yet. I can't. But she can. She wants to leave me, and it makes me enraged. To the point I almost killed her today! She was just doing okay
Her Pov:He slams the door behind him and leaves as I am on the floor trying to catch my breath, stupefied and scared stiff.I feel tears welling up in my eyes, still not being able to breathe properly. Sweat forms on my forehead as my mouth and throat are burning and aching from his chokehold. I taste metal in my mouth from biting on my lips due to pain. I still can't get over what just happened. I tried to stop my hands from shaking as my mind kept playing of him strangling me. No mercy in those dead eyes. No second thought, no hesitation in those hazal eyes...I didn't know, behind the Leonardo, I knew there was such a beast hidden. I assumed it after that day he fucked me but I never could have thought that the beast that is hidden inside him might be his real identity. The rest of it is just a facade. It's just a show for the world. And he plays it very well. Too well that a freaking murderer is roaming free outside.I was always kind of scared of him even though he had never sho
Her Pov:Leonardo... He is standing behind me in a black tuxedo towering over me. His hazel eyes lock with my ice blue ones in the mirror . He's standing too close to me. So close his breathing is creating a sensation on my nape as he's watching me through the mirror.And his eyes... His eyes have something I have never witnessed before.. It has admiration amusement and something else... Something totally else...Not being able to bear his piercing gaze, I trun my face away. He gets closer as his nose touches the shell of my ear slightly as he takes me in. " You smell so fucking good." He concludes in his husky voice as he intensely watches me...I move away from him. I can't bear how close he is to me. I wear the necklace and the other jewellery as I get myself ready.All this time, Leonardo's staring at me. Watching me. As if trying to read my actions. I try to keep myself calm, but only I know at this time I am anything but calm. I don't know how much the security the place will be
Her Pov:The lady comes to us hurriedly as she recognises Leonardo even while he is wearing a mask. The lady is wearing a wine toned gown as she looks breathtakingly beautiful even behind her mask." Brother.. You are late.." She whines." But you didn't cut the cake." Leonardo replies. His voice is way softer with her admirable even." Of course I had to wait for you.." She states happily." Is it? Is it me or your precious husband that you are waiting for you?" Leonardo asks her in a playful tone as I watch totally taken aback. I never witnessed Leonardos this side. Even he can be playful like a normal person..She laughs. " Well, that also. I had to come back from Paris alone as he had to urgently attend a meeting in the US. He must be on his way to here."Before Leonardo could say anything else, her eyes fell on me as even behind her mask, I could tell that caused a crease on her forehead. She was about to say something, but a voice from the middle of the room made her halt and al
Her POV:āPack your clothes, Rosalina.āHis voice is smooth, commandingāso effortlessly authoritative that it leaves no room for defiance. But beneath that polished control, thereās something else. An edge of impatience. A quiet demand that brooks no refusal.I freeze, my grip tightening around the phone. Leaving?āP-Pack my clothes?ā My voice comes out uncertain, barely above a whisper. My heart is already hammering against my ribs. āBut why? Where are we going?āA pause. Just long enough to make my breath hitch. And then, finallyāāParis.āThe word drops like a stone, heavy, and final.I forget to breathe. Forget that heās still on the line. I just stand there, the phone pressed to my ear, my mind struggling to process what he just said.Paris? Is he serious? Is this some kind of twisted joke?My stomach clenches as reality crashes into me like a tidal wave. He slept with me once, and now he thinks he owns me? Does he really believe that because last night, Iāll just follow him like
His Pov:I made Rosalina breakfast before leaving early. My father was heading home today, and I needed to speak with him before he did. He had probably already heard everything from Eliza. Knowing her, it was likely all over the place by now.I arrived at his condo, where his men escorted me inside. I didnāt bring any of my people, except for my driver. This conversation wasnāt meant for witnesses.The room was dimly lit, the scent of burning tobacco thick in the air. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to me, exhaling a slow stream of smoke as he observed the city below. His presence alone was a quiet warningācontrolled, dangerous, absolute. At least we have something in common. "I heard you wanted to see me." His voice was deep, calmāunbothered. He didnāt turn to acknowledge me, and I didnāt care."Yes," I replied, my tone just as cold. "Thatās why Iām here."Our relationship was nothing like what a father and son should share. No warmth. No sentiment. Just business.
Her Pov:When I open my eyes, the golden light of morning is already spilling through the curtains, painting the room in soft hues. I blink, my body heavy, sore. My gaze drifts around the room, searching for him, but he's nowhere to be seen. The sheets beside me are cold.I shift, trying to sit up, but a sharp ache between my legs makes me freeze. A whimper escapes my lips. Last nightā¦ he didnāt hold back. Not even a little. He took me as if restraint was a foreign concept, as if I belonged to him in a way that denied the need for gentleness. And now, I can still feel himāhis presence lingering inside me, on me, all around me.I exhale shakily, dragging my body up against the headboard, each movement a reminder of his merciless touch. Thatās when I noticed the bedside table. A plate of buttered toast, a cup of coffee still warm, a glass of water, andā¦ painkillers.My throat tightens. He thought of this. He knew. A contradiction wrapped in flesh and boneāthatās what he is. One moment,
His Pov:I lay her down on my bed, her body trembling beneath me, barely holding onto her senses after I fucked her. Hard. Deep. Like I needed to brand myself into her very being. Like I needed her to feel me long after I was gone. Her breath is uneven, her lips parted, swollen from my kisses, her skin still flushed with heat. And yet, the fire in her eyes hasn't dimmed. That defiant glare, that sharp tongueāGod, she gets under my skin in ways I canāt even put into words.I hadnāt planned to fuck her like that. Not there. Not then. But I couldnāt hold myself back. Not when she looked at me like that. Not when her voice dripped with accusations, with detest, with anger that cut deeper than I wanted to admit. Not when she threw those words at me, her voice laced with bitternessā" What did you think, huh? She's a slut anyway. Why would she mind being a mistress?"That hit me. Hard.Like a fucking gut punch I wasnāt prepared for. The way she degraded herself, reduced herself to something
His Pov: When the bell rang, I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders back, forcing the tension from my muscles. But it was still there. That feeling. That goddamn feeling I hadn't been able to shake since earlier tonight. Since her. She had cooked for me. And Iād fucking stood there, frozen, watching her shift nervously under my gaze, her fingers fidgeting, her cheeks flushed like she wasnāt sure if what sheād done was right. Like she was afraid Iād dismiss it. Dismiss her. That softness in her voice, the unspoken need in her eyesāit did something to me. Twisted something deep in my gut. No one had ever done that before. Not for me. People feared me. Respected me. Needed me. But no oneā¦ cared. No one gave without expecting something in return. No one saw me as a manājust a force, a means to an end. But she did. And it was fucking unsettling. Because I didnāt do softness. Didnāt do warmth. Those things made a man weak. Made him vulnerable. And yet, standing there, listening to
Her Pov:"Don't fucking touch me..." I hiss and his eyes darken so much they get just like the night.Dark... Unsettling...He tilts his head a little as a smirk takes over his face. A smirk is so dangerous. As he leans over me, his mouth reaches just to the shell of my ear as his hand squeezes my hands painfully."You..." His voice is low, a dark promise against my skin as his hand drifts up my thigh, slipping beneath the soft folds of my baby pink dress."Don't..." A breath catches in my throat as his fingers graze the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh, teasing, lingering."Get to..." His lips ghost over the shell of my ear, warm and tantalizing, sending a shiver down my spine."Stop me."I try to push his hand away, my fingers wrapping around his wrist in a feeble attempt to resist, but he doesnāt yield. Instead, he presses me back, pinning me against the cold railing with nothing but his presence. A gasp escapes meāa sharp intake of breath, equal parts defiance and submission. His
Her Pov:The glass slips from my fingers.Time slows as it falls, spinning through the air before crashing against the marble floor. The sound of shattering fills the roomāa sharp, piercing noise. But I donāt hear it. Not really. Not over the deafening silence that rings in my ears, the blood roaring through my veins. I donāt even feel the icy droplets of water splattering against my bare skin, the tiny shards slicing against my ankles.Because all I can see is them.She is draped against him, her body moulded to his like she was made to fit there. A short red dress clings to every soft curve, vibrant against her golden skin, her blonde hair cascading in waves over her shoulders. She is stunning. Effortless. Everything I am not. And her handsāthose delicate, manicured fingersāare cradling his face with a familiarity that makes my stomach churn. Like she belongs there.And him?His lips.His lips are on hers.The breath in my lungs vanishes, like Iāve been punched in the chest, hard en
Her Pov:It has been two weeks since I found out I was addicted to drugs. Two whole weeks of living through a walking nightmare, clawing my way through withdrawal, fighting demons I never even knew existed inside me. The past fourteen days have been nothing short of hell. My body revolted against me, turning into a prison of agony and desperation. Sleepless nights melted into torturous days, where reality blurred into something grotesque. Nightmares didn't stay confined to sleep; they slithered into my waking moments, twisting shadows into monsters, whispering voices into my ears that werenāt there. My own mind betrayed me, playing tricks so cruel I lost touch with what was real and what wasnāt.I would wake up drenched in sweat, heart hammering against my ribs, gasping as if I had just surfaced from drowning. My skin burned and froze at the same time. My stomach twisted into knots of nausea that never truly left. Some days, the weakness was so severe that even the act of standing
His Pov:And Iām still paying her back.Even now.But hereās the truth Iāve been avoidingāthe truth that stings like a blade pressed against my throat.I didnāt remember Aunt Rachel.I only remembered the debt.I buried her somewhere deep, in the same place I shoved all the emotions I refused to feel, all the memories too painful to hold. She was lost in the graveyard of everything I had to kill inside myself just to survive.But thenāI look at her.At the woman sleeping just a few feet away. At the slow rise and fall of her chest, at the softness in her face now that she isnāt watching me with those sharp, searching eyes.And suddenly, sheās there.Aunt Rachel.Because of her.Because of the words she murmured so carelessly, not realizing they were pulling something out of me, I thought it was long dead. Not realizing how easily sheās stripping away the armour Iāve spent years building.She doesnāt even know.She has no fucking idea what sheās doing to me.She shifts restlessly, her