NICO’s pov~The gift arrived immediately after Lola left. A basic brown envelope was unmarked except for my name scrawled in a thick, black pen. My stomach knotted. No good ever arrived in such packaging.There was only one picture inside. Lola. in the embrace of another man, so she’s been cheating on me all this while, all this time, even while I proposed to her.Is this a game plan? To leave me for someone else and take my money?I gripped it tighter as I peered at it. It wasn't a casual embrace. It was familiar, personal.A longing for him. It appeared that she was way too comfortable with this guy, I didn't need to see the man's face clearly, but it was partially hidden. Everything I needed to know was shown to me by the way he held her and the way she leaned into him.There was a slip of paper underneath the photo.His face went white at the sight of blood as soon as the guard barged in. " Hold on, I'll send a nurse!He left the door open and ran off. Amateurs.Ignoring the
Pearl’s POV~Sophie’s seventh birthday was just days away, and I was drowning in last-minute preparations. With Nico’s sick ass at home, Camile has been making my life miserable, and Tilly is MIA. A birthday fit for a princess—that’s what I wanted for her. Balloons, a cake so big she could barely reach the top, and a day so perfect she’d forget, even for a moment, that our lives were entangled in chaos.She hasn't needed my blood in a while, the doctor says everything is going fine, “she’s a fighter” He smiled as I fought back tears.It had been an amazing family reunion between Nico and Sophie, he seemed to remember her now but he called her my daughter too often and it made me wonder if he still thought I bore sweet Sophie.But, of course, Camille had other plans.I should’ve known, everything with her was a fight, a fight no one ever took my side for.And I was sick and tired.Everything was going smoothly until it wasn’t. Orders were mysteriously cancelled.The venue manager cal
Pearl’s pov~I knocked while my fingers were shaking in the dark hallway outside Nico's door, my heart beating like a machine was pounding yam on top of it. I had been caught off guard by the vow renewal, what the hell was that?How did Tilly get him to do that? And where the hell was the guard when this was going down? I should have never asked her to pretend now she thinks it's all real?But still, my mind raced endlessly and I couldn't get over it.What was this feeling I felt? Hurt?Why do I need to hear it from him? I needed clarity, I needed closure.My heart was broken, I thought we had something special together and now he is marrying a woman faking this to upgrade her lifestyle!He was wearing a black silk robe, his hair still fresh from a shower, when the door flung wide, he groaned softly, yet weakly as he held his side.The corner of his mouth tipped slightly as he saw me and he raised an eyebrow, he grinned and winced in pain again.Swiftly I walked to his side."You ju
Pearl’s pov~Something is off with Nico, what did he mean by he knows they are up to something?I thought he had believed them, but still, there was a familiar disdain when he saw August coming around or calling to familiarize last-minute details with me.I had created a beautiful wonderland on the D’angelo Estate. Beautiful floral arrangements adorned the tables, a magnificent carousel had been prepared for the kids, and sparkling fairy lights streamed down the marble archways. Only Sophie, Nico D'Angelo's daughter, could have such a spectacular birthday, a birthday fit for a princess of her status, no expense was spared.I watched as they mounted a wedding podium right after it.It sickened me to watch Tilly strut around making final adjustments for what seems to be her wedding day.I navigated the crowd, feeling alienated at a party put together. Sophie's day was supposed to be today, but now her aunt had put her selfish interest and had convinced her father to follow suit.Key
NICO’S POVAll I could see was Sophie's little hand holding mine as the celebration whirled around me, complete with music, laughter, and the soft murmur of conversation. She looked excited, as though she couldn't wait for her special day.Even at the age of seven, she possessed her mother's keen gaze and quiet resolve. Her mother was Pearl, in this case, the confusion lingered.Who exactly is my daughter’s mother?"Are you certain of this? There’s no going back now Sophie, are you sure you want it" I crouched to her level and whispered. She smiled toothily at me, her loose tooth smiling at me."Don't you trust me?" she giggled.I let out a sigh and shook my head. That problem I do, a grown man trusting a child, what has the world come to?” She fled with a loud giggle, squeezing past guests like a cunning sprite, waving at them and shouting “It's my birthday!” she let out a giggle. At that moment, my grandmother came over, her shrewd eyes piercing me, she tapped my shoulders ligh
Am I in a dream or is this real?I was drifting…. My body felt weightless, stuck in a dream that didn't feel like mine, it felt like I was watching another version of me getting her happy ending.A part of me that wanted Nico too, somewhere between truth and illusion. Like a scene from a movie I wasn't sure I had agreed to star in, the wedding played out in front of me, I saw myself shocked beyond reasonable doubt, my mind in endless fractions, imagining and reimagining scenarios.Nico was in front of me, something I couldn't quite put my finger on smouldering in his black eyes. What was it that covered his beautiful hazel eyes as he gazed upon me?Love? Want? Lies? As he spoke his vows, his smooth and deep voice enchanted me.And I still couldn't believe what was happening. "I knew” he started, touching my lips softly, “from that night I saved you from that car wreck I knew you were going to be my wife” he smiled.What were these words flowing out of his mouth?“ I recognized som
Pearl’s POVThe D'angelo Residence had turned into an endless battlefield fought with whispers, sidelong glances, and carefully sown seeds of doubt and confusion rather than the typical swords and bloodshed. Camille was an experienced warrior in matters of this nature.She was a natural-born Amazon displaced from her people. Although Sophie had always been a bright and self-reliant child, something felt strange tonight, it lingered in the air and I could taste it. I didn't come out from my new room until later that evening when I was in there thinking about the worst.If this is a fake like Camille said then have I just destroyed my chances with August forever?Sophie, sat across from me at the dinner table, frowning and picking at her mashed potatoes, stabbing them with her fork, as if she were punishing them for something. "Not hungry, sweetheart?" I asked, attempting to sound light, she’d noticed I'd been distant all dinner long.“I overheard Aunt Camille talking,” Sophie admit
Pearl’s pov~Something happened last night, something I had to remember.Nico averted my gaze now and again but there was this smile that lingered too often.I excused myself to go to my room when he cleared his throat, “I had them put your things in my room since we are now married….”“No!” I interjected, “I will not be staying in the same room as you, I w…”“Then you shouldn't have said I do” he interrupted.“We share a room now and that’s final” I looked back at him, unable to understand what he was thinking.I fumed and raced up the stairs to my room.I couldn't for the life of me understand what I'd put myself into.I'm married again!I sobbed, picking up the snow globe from the dresser, I stared hard at it.I shook it and The globe whirled. I couldn't tell if the sluggish, creeping haze clouded my mind or if the wind rushing past me was to blame. I was unable to release my fingers from the around the round object, I fixated on it like my life depended on it.My mind let loose
PEARL’S POVI sat in my chair looking out through the glass window, wondering where the father of my children was.I asked myself, ‘do I want Nico to be a part of my child’s life?’ Still, a part of me lingered to tell him this exciting news: 1 month of marital bliss, and now once again I have an estranged spouse. How fast the tables turned.I missed him so much even though I couldn't bring myself to say it, but today is not the day I show my weakness.I have a visitor who will decide my little daughter’s fate.The conference hall at DM Holdings felt colder today, or perhaps it was just me, heavy, sweaty, and anxious in my seat while acting like I had everything together.August had been amazing at helping me at the office. Rumours were flying that I was proving to be like Logan after all, and I didn't care about the company. Now that Nico’s on the run, no one knows the fate of the company.The sun shone outside the glass windows, but inside, it felt like a glacier had moved in. I lo
PEARL’S POV~“Im sorry im what!” What am I hearing? Is this a prank? Perhaps a dream.But how? It's just been a month since I married Nico and honestly, I thought i could never get pregnant not after the last time.My heart pounded against my ribs as I gazed at the physician."Congratulations," he repeated. I looked at his identity card. “Dr Gibson, you are mistaken; I'm not pregnant.” He chuckled, his voice softer this time, as if he were worried I would lose it totally from confusion. "Yes, you are. You're pregnant."The impact of the words was far greater than that of any bullet, betrayal, or fall that had become a part of my identity for so long.I'm expecting a child…. This was the last thing I ever thought could possibleI felt my gut turn around and my knees sway. The whole room swayed, but the door slammed open with a crash before I could comprehend it."Pearl!" The hospital wing was filled with August's voice.I turned just in time to see him lunging through the doorway, ga
Lorenzo’s pov~I followed the van closely, and soon we headed for the Bronx. I sent a message to Adam, and he wasted no time arranging enforcers.I got out of my car and slid into the shadows. I watched them hurl both women out of the car and into a house that looked like it had not been lived in years.I quietly snuck in just as the door was about to close.I walked over to a dark corner just as one of the guards moved to shut the door.“Well, lucky me killing two birds with one stone, bring them over here.” I heard Camille's voice next.I hid and peered through the darkness to see what would happen next, I couldn't take on the guards in here without help, all I could do was hope Adam came just in time to save them.She injected both women with something and soon I could see them groaning as they came to.“Hello, Pearl,” she started with a smile. Pearl turned around just in time to catch her disdain, “what the hell! Where is Sophie?” she yelled not caring about herself.She was a sel
PEARL’S POV~Devina finally left.And this time, no drama at least Not in a big way. No flipping hair in my face, No last dig on my personality.She just looked in both directions, hung her belly in the air and left.I guess that's the last I'll see of her, I take it means she’s not going to attend the pageant. Leaving the disposable phone like a corpse. I sat still. Listening. Reflecting. Making a plan. Camille had always been the one. Behind the glass at all times. behind the mask In the back of this twisted, decaying labyrinth. Used people conveniently like Nora, Langdon’s daughter.But wait, the story is getting me more and more confused.Think Pearl what are the facts,he made Nico who he is, meaning my bastard of a husband owes him fuck all, but what happened between them that has led them down the rabbit hole.First, he was black and now white?Who is Langdon Mosely What have I really found, everything always led to Camille and Nico.Who sent the bomb and why was Camille
PEARL’S POV~For a heart as loud as mine the city was too silent. I should have let it go and gone home. Devina said something that didn't sit well with me.Her anxiety had been too convenient, and her eyes had darted too quickly from Me Lorenzo.She claimed that Camille was "crazy," but Devina and her fiance feared being controlled more than anything. She was terrified of Camille My mind still wasn't at ease, if she's communicating with her, I also wanted to hear Camille's lies. So, I told Lorenzo and Adam that I needed air and slid into the closest taxi, guiding it to the small private airport, rather than returning to the apartment.According to Devina's itinerary, her flight was departing from New York to Paris tonight. A vacation. A clean break. Not at all. This late, the terminal was silent. A couple of pilots milled about, and an attendant who looked drowsy waved me through after thinking I was a Davis-Malone. I didn't try to correct her, I smiled and walked right in. If
PEARL’S POV~It was hard convincing August to go along with my plan seeing how worried he was about me.“This isn't right Pearl, you almost died in that station and now you are off again to find Camile, are you sure this is not about Nico?” he asked, stopping me just as I was about to grab the door knob.“Everything I've been through has been all about Nico, don't you get it?” I scoffed, “Everything!” I exclaimed.“But I can't leave Sophie to pay for his misgivings, she’s a harmless angel August, im not letting her die” I continued as the thoughts of Sophie entered my mind.“Fine but I'm coming with you Pearl and I mean it” I sighed and turned to him, I took his hand and pulled him close to me.“I need you back at the office August, everyone is counting on us to make this pageant a reality, this is my legacy im not letting Nico steal this from me, I'm respected enough to be included in the inner circles, I'm not letting that go for a bastard who took great pride in ruining my life”
Pearl’s POV~When I awoke, the harsh smell of hospital antiseptic and the soft buzz of machines greeted meThe ceiling was excessively white and it burned my eyes. I felt a wave of nausea wash through me and the urgent need to throw up stung my gut. My chest hurt the most, but my entire body felt as if I had been struck by a train. My hands were chilly and rigid beneath the blankets, and my fingernails were still dry from the blood. I was definitely in the hospital, the smell was too distinct to ignore.Once more I'm in the hospital because of Nico, my life keeps getting worse with each passing day. I kept thinking about Nico's blood, Camille's sneer, the station, oh my God the explosion. The monitor next to me beeped more quickly, and my breath caught the attention of the nurse outside the door. A nurse entered, the same one Nico fucked right in front of me, smiling politely. "Now that you're safe and awake, Miss Pearl, you need to relax, okay?”I felt a dull agony clamp acros
PEARL’S POV~Like fingers pulling secrets through the air, smoke coiled through the station's hallways.I took off running.The whole building had shaken from the blast, and now sirens were screaming everywhere. My mind was racing, and my ears were ringing."Nico!" As I ran down the west wing hallway, one palm to my ear, I shouted into the comms. "Do you see him, Lorenzo?, there’s so much smoke I can't see him!”I tried to look through the dust but all I could do was cough and my eyes were blinded from all the debris lingering in the air.Breathless, Lorenzo answered, "No! Not yet, but pearl all I can see is blood, Lots of it”I froze as I turned a corner, blood, does that mean?My body quivered in fear as I stepped into a pool of red thick blood.It soaked into the white tile in a pool, still warm. The wall was marred with smudged handprints that looked like someone trying to crawl. Iron, smoke, and something worse clung to the air.But, there was nobody, no Nico.I looked around
NICO’S POV~The interrogations were no easy feat, I'd been hammered by different officers wanting to know everything.How I started my empire and who my mentors were.How long have I been doing all of this?They wanted to know how long I've been Nicolas D’angelo, the feared don of the entire New York City.More painful than the handcuffs on my wrists was the chilly air inside this flimsy holding cell, now that the bribes have stopped they no longer respect me.Even though my blood was boiling, I continued to focus on the grey metal table below me with my head down and my hands folded. I sensed Pearl, Adam, and Lorenzo were observing, their comma open waiting to hear every secret spill. Especially pearl…I considered them All rats in what they believed to be a maze, a maze each one was determined to get out of. They can never know Camille, not the way I know her.The first night I met her, her adopted father was my mentor, and if I was visiting him for some wise words, back when ton