EmmaAs a little girl, I often dreamed about my wedding day. It didn't help that, growing up, I attended the wedding ceremonies of a mafia princess every weekend, and each one was grander than the last. Those weddings left a lasting impression on me, and I couldn't help compiling my wedding day in my mind, ensuring it was as lavish and beautiful as those I had witnessed.As I got older, I found myself daydreaming about my wedding day more and more frequently. I would imagine walking down the aisle in a gorgeous white dress, surrounded by friends and family, with the love of my life waiting for me at the end as I smiled more prominent than ever.Of course, in my mind, the groom was always Luca. I must have imagined marrying him more than a hundred times by now. In my head, each imaginary wedding was just as perfect and magical as the last I attended.Those musings all but stopped the day I left him behind; well, that was until I came back. Yet since I've been here, I've only imagined h
———The designer made the trip to dress me, and as I stood before him in nothing but the lingerie he matched with my dress, I wondered how my mother left so quickly when I demanded that she go.Why couldn't she fight more for me?Is that so much to ask?I step inside my dress with the help of my sister, and the designer pulls it up my body and encourages me to place my arms in the sleeves.I do as he's asked, but I cannot bring myself to speak.I'm so livid about her request, yet I know I'll carry her warning throughout my experience of becoming a mother.Sighing, I resolved to ignore this morning's events and concentrate on being present for my wedding.And that's easier said than done, but my dress adorns my body, and Niko arrives to escort me through the house to my father, who's apparently awaiting my arrival despite me having not requested him to walk me down the aisle."You look as stunning as the first day you wore this contraption, queen," Niko jokes—a slight grin adorned on h
LucaIt has been a little over an hour since guests started arriving at my compound, and I can feel my anxiety levels rising. As someone who values safety and security above all else, the thought of exposing my well-guarded haven to the potential dangers of the mafia way of life is almost too much to bear, which is precisely why no one is allowed in the house, for fear they mark down the blueprint of the house for future reference. As you can imagine, every passing moment feels like an eternity as I weigh the risks and devise a plan to keep everyone who matters to me safe. As I bask in the warmth of my guests' congratulations on my upcoming nuptials, I can't help but feel a sense of pride welling up within me. Each person who smiles at me and takes a moment to express their admiration for my home fills me with a sense of satisfaction and contentment. Their kind words somehow validate all the hard work and effort I've put into making my life what it is today. And so, as I look around
"Boss?" Niko's voice has me dragging my gaze from the Rossi women back to the place I've taken to standing. I'm now in a position to watch Emma walk to her fate—to me. And I couldn't be happier with the turnout as everyone takes their seat as per the event planner's instructions."Everything secure?" I ask, holding my hands behind my back. I penetrate my guests with a blank stare, ensuring they all know I'm here and I'm watching."Everything's secure; the gates are closed. I also gave Emma your gifts.""Did she like them?" I ask with an arched brow."She called out that you didn't choose them yourself," he smirks."And how would she know that?" I asked, perturbed."I didn't lie," he shrugs."Lucky I have another gift for post-ceremony, then, isn't it?" I roll my eyes, annoyed.Of course, Emma would call out that I never chose those pearls myself.Must she challenge me at every turn of our lives?"She asked me to give you this," Niko surprises me, his fingers passing something into my
EmmaItalian weddings are more for the people than the couple, or that's my summary of today anyway.I've stood beside Luca all evening as people ate and then partied while the music blared only to lower for the speeches that weren't anything special—just a few words wishing us a good marriage and a long reign. A long line of couples queued to talk to us where business deals were appraised or thrown around as some sort of wedding present, which Luca lapped at like a starved man.I'm tired and emotionally worn, yet excited that it's finally time to leave behind everyone else to spend time just Luca and me.Right now, I wonder if a small inconsequential wedding that Luca offered might have been the way to go.His hand has cradled mine all evening, so when he leaves me to speak to Niko, I stand dutifully to the side, yet I can hear his every word. And though I turn to face the small gathering inside the tent, I listen avidly."I want them all off the property by half an hour. The weddin
I can't break my gaze away from him; I can't make myself break this connection he's quietly creating, and as I stand here in this impossibly beautiful but uncomfortable dress, I think I might be suffering from a lack of oxygen."Your gift surprised me," he mumbles, looking down at his hand where the necklace sits. "I can't believe you kept it. I thought you would have forgotten something like this when you packed in a hurry.""I packed nothing, only those sentimental necklaces and bracelets and my photo album of us," I breathe quietly."Why?""The only thing I wanted to take with me was you; I wasn't allowed, so I took the only things I had of you.""I hate that my father had you sent away—.""But...""Hush! I know. Fuck, Emma. I should never have blamed you, but it was easier to hate you when I allowed my mind to convince itself that you were the traitor. I've never loved anyone but you, and it hurts to know you left. For a while there, I thought you might have died, that your father
Luca Can a man pant like a dog?That's what it feels like I'm doing at this very moment as I breathe heavily against Emma's neck.You could say I'm unimpressed with my lack of control, the need to make love and mark Emma having ruled my body way too quickly as I allowed a spontaneous orgasm to wrack my body after weeks of abstaining.But I'm not a man done after one round. Instead, I take the time just to hold Emma's relaxed body to mine, her fingernails scraping against my skull as she hums that sweet lullaby my mother sang to us on many occasions.I can sense her smiling aura, a silent happiness seeping from her every pore as it pours into my own emotions."How are you feeling, Emma?" I ask."Happy...""I mean down here, Emma. Are you sore?""No. I don't think my body has got the memo that it's over; I'm still pulsating with...pleasure."I concur with her musing; her body is still strumming with excitement. It's in the way her legs are shaking. Her eyes laced with passion. And als
"Good morning," Niko interrupts my thoughts."You wanted to see me?" I answer unhappily."Yes, your father has set the ceremony for four nights time. He has requested both yours and Emma's attendance.""You didn't automatically accept?" I ask, sighing as I look at the clock on the wall behind him.It's seven am, and I should be rousing Emma from her post-orgasmic sleep to take her again. Yet, here I am attending this pointless meeting with my number two because of his lack of foresight to accept the invitation to Emma's acceptance ceremony."I did accept, but I must inform you of your last task," Niko grimaces."And what shall that be, praise tell me?""Pierce Addisol, his death is your last commitment before your father agrees to begin the passing of his title.""He wants me to kill the head of the New York syndicate?""He's being trialled for unknown reasons; his death is cleaner than the possibility of his mouth running wild.""And he wants this done within the next three nights?"
BiancaSo we're in hiding, great, except for the fact that there's no food or much water and only one bedroom come living area, leaving us with the only option but to share space with one another.That first hour was filled with tense silence. We sat in a circle, staring at one another as we judged each other.I guess none of us had a clue of what to say, leaving the only sounds coming from Alexandra as she hissed annoyance at being tied to another chair while simultaneously trying to release herself. She couldn't, of course. Sven ensured she wasn't able to breathe, let alone escape. Soon, though, the trivia of being trapped down here had me wandering around the space as I paced back and forth in an attempt to kill my anxiety. And my movement had first Sven agitated and then Alexandra."You'll have to surface at some point; they'll be waiting," she tells me. Or at least she looks to me as she speaks. It's as if she's solely talking to me, yet she never actually addressed me. Anxiet
Continued:"No, I'm here. Right where I should be. I'm here for you, Bianca. Only you.""You can't heal these ugly parts of me," she tells me desperately, but I hear more than her telling me something. I listen to her convincing herself she can't be healed. She's so wrong."I don't care; I accept them. I accept all of you, Bee.""Why?" she asks in a quiet and frightened tone. Her disbelief is flavoursome, and I hate it. I think long and hard about my answer, but it comes down to one thing. "Because I can," I tell her with a look that I hope transpires everything I'm not saying.Because I love you should have been the words that left my mouth, but it's the wrong time to say such things, especially when the feeling is so new and appeared so quickly that even I'm tripping over this emotion I've run from all my life."I'm ugly, horribly ugly inside, Niko.""And I'll love those ugly parts just the same; now, do you want to talk about it or save that conversation for later?"She looks ast
NikoSven and I meticulously strip what little clothing Alexandra had on, but we find nothing that could account for a tracking device.Even so, we check every crevice of her body and still come up empty-handed before replacing the clothing to give her some sense of decency. If I'm honest, I tackle the task with indifference, but in honesty, I feel sick to my stomach doing such a task. At first, she shook like a leaf, but her true identity showed itself when her quivering lip turned into a malicious smile when we realised she didn't have an evident tracking device."Perhaps you should look elsewhere," she sneered at me with enough malice to prove she's gone entirely fucking rogue. This is not the woman I remember; she sure isn't the loved-up woman who followed Mitchels every word. "I should kill you now, leave your dead body for them to find. Perhaps that would leave the message that I'm not to be played with," I hiss back with equal fervour, but I knew I was only playing into her g
Continued:My entrance is dramatic, and I twist my ankle. Barely containing the yelp of pain as hands steady me. "Careful," Niko warns as his hands grab my shoulders. Righting me, he strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves me, moving for Alexandra, who is sitting on one of the kitchen stalls in the middle of the kitchen. I watch Niko closely tie her to the stall, ensuring her hands and legs are immobile.I'm itching to turn every light off and cut out all light for anyone searching for something to guide their way here, to me.The seconds tick by until he's finished, and I slap every light switch to swamp us in darkness when he begins to stand."Bee?" He questions me as the house falls into darkness. The silence around us stretches out only as far as Alexandra's laugh allows. She knows, god, she knows that they're coming. "Isaw lightout at sea," I whisper to Niko. "She's guiding them here. I'm sure of it!" I tell him desperately, knowing he probably won't believe m
BiancaThings are escalating so quickly, and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know what to do with the information safely stowed away in my bra. It is burning my skin. It's begging me to reveal it, knowing deep down that we need to acknowledge the fact that a Densel was seemingly working against one of their own with the likes of another man's wife, who just so happens to be one of the top three rulers of our kind.I'm sure Niko could make more heads over the tail of it himself, but I don't want to give away the game for Alexandra only to win with the upper hand. Because she knows, she knows what Benji was doing there, and she might be the fucking key for the downfall headed our way. Now, whether Benji is the one she is hinting at or if she is hinting at Mitchel is above me right now.Anxiety rolls through me, and a sixth sense begs me to accept the truth. They were working together, but for what and why? And more importantly, who?So, I defer. I accused her of cheating des
Continued: Sighing and gritting my teeth in annoyance, I begin to unbutton my shirt in a hurry. Shifting it off my shoulders, I hold it out to Alexandra with a stern look of annoyance, willing her to take it without saying thank you. Sven chuckles from the back of the boat. He's far enough away that his chuckle comes at me quietly, but I hear it anyway as I make eye contact with him. He never did appreciate having morals. "Thank you," Alexandra eagerly takes my shirt, wrapping it around herself, proving she was trying her damned hardest to conceal the fact she was indeed very cold. I train my gaze away from her lack of attire, aware that my staring might well upset Bianca, and I far from want to create that distance between us. Not after we've come so far in our relationship. "I think you need to start talking, Alexandra," I finally demand with a low undertone, my voice as menacing as I can make it. I want to instil as much fear as I can to successfully seek the answers I need. Bu
Niko The short ride to the private dock is tense and, quite frankly, unnerving as I try to remain stoic and quiet after saving Alexandra and nearly losing Bianca in the process. I want to ask Bianca exactly what happened and how she came to be in that room alone with no one holding her there as I thought I'd find, but I cannot fathom asking these questions in the earshot of Sven, and perhaps even Alexandra. I need to judge whether the pair of them are safe, and I definitely need to gauge whether Alexandra is a threat. How did she know that Bianca would be in that room, and would she tell me if she had planned to abduct her alongside the Densels? I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the Densel dabble in illegal requirements of girls, even by the mafia's sordid morals and not one family knows the coordinates of any one of their bases. Most girls, if not all, disappear without a trace after they are handed over to the Densels. It's quite literally as if they vanish into thin air
Continued:"Stop calling me Bambi.""Don't you like to be reminded of who you belong under, Bee?" "Benji, I—."Surprisingly, he pushes past me, heading for the opened suitcase on the bed. He shoves a few loose articles inside, then walks off to bathroom returning with a wash bag that goes in too.I blink, like a retard. What in the hell?"Don't play games with me, Bambi. Sit down," he scowls at his hands, speaking in the same tone as before. And yet his whole demeanour changes. He drops the knife on the bed, disregarding it as if it hurt him to hold it up to me.I frown at the door I'm still stood before and I talk in a genuinely frightened and confused voice."Okay, okay. Where do you want me?" I ask."There," he point to the desk."I'll sit," I tell him, moving with my hand before me to show I'm playing his game. Even if it seems demented at this point. I walk to the desk, and I see a notepad and pen supplied by the hotel. Taking the pen I write down on the notepad.What the fuck i
BiancaNiko executed his plan very promptly leading me and grabbing the girl as we compiled out of the small door that led us back here in the first place. But things don't continue as expectedly when I start to veer off from Niko with the encouragement of a hand that surely isn't his."Let go of me," I hiss in pain as I'm dragged by the wrist through the crowd of people. The hand holding my wrist is cold, and unlike Niko's warm and inviting touch, I recoil very quickly from the individual leading me away. I try to turn away using my weight as a tool to pivot in the direction I want to head in, my aim is to head back to the group of people that are now lingering outside the door. Back to Niko, back to safety but my feet lose purchase on the floor, my body being lifted quite easily as if I weighed nothing.The strong smell of aftershave fills my nostrils, a stark reminder of him, of Don Densel."Let me go! Let go of me," I begin to shout.Pushing away from the body I find myself crus