Elara's POV Mr. Russo stares at me, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he's trying to place where he knows me from. “Do I know you?” he asks. I’d laugh if I wasn’t moments away from peeing my pants. A powerful man like him knowing someone as insignificant as me? No way. “No, sir, you don’t. I’m just… nobody. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get out of your way now,” I say quickly, already turning to leave. “Wait,” he calls. I freeze, clenching my fists and forcing a polite expression onto my face. I’m exhausted, and all I want is to run away from his grumpy son, but there’s no walking away from this either. Not when I’m face-to-face with a man like him. “Yes, sir?” “What are you doing here?” His gaze flickers to the private elevator I just exited. “You came from Lorenzo’s floor, didn’t you? Only people who work there have access to that lift.” “I—um, yes,” I stammer, unsure what to say. He’s Lorenzo’s father, after all. Shouldn’t he want to know who works in his son’s office? I would if
Lorenzo's POVI have been in a terrible mood ever since my father came into my office to tell me what he had said.Nicola looks at me again, twirling the liquor in his glass. “Are you sure you're okay, man? What did your father say again?”“You know how my conversations with him always end. I don't know why he doesn’t get the point. I’m not interested,” I say, running a hand through my hair as frustration claws at me.Nicola raises a brow. “Well, you should just end it once and for all, you know. Think of a way to get him off your back. I’m thinking sabotage.” He smirks.Now, what is this sly devil thinking? I’d love to know. Anything to make my father see Alexander Vitali as the devil he is. “So, what do you suggest?”He signals for me to come closer, and once I do, he whispers his plan in my ear. I smirk, understanding where he's getting at. “Nic, you're a bastardo, you know? How did your dumb brain come up with such a brilliant idea? This is great.”If I put this plan into action,
Elara's POVAfter trying for hours to get the door open, I finally give up and decide to sleep. It’s the only way I can escape the gnawing hunger and thirst.What I don’t expect is to wake up to my boss staring at my chest. What a pervert. Thank goodness I wasn't completely naked. Not like there's anything for him to see that will interest him. Men like him admire better things.I would have loved to give him a piece of my mind if the security guards weren’t standing before us with a man I don’t recognize. The man who locked me in. Who is he? And why would he lock me in here? It doesn’t make sense. “Peter, you better stop talking before I get to work on you,” Lorenzo’s voice cuts in, cold and commanding.“Mr. Russo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do it,” the man says hurriedly, his voice trembling. “The girl threatened to hurt me. She also promised to feed me for a week." he cries, falling to his knees before Lorenzo.My brow furrows. What girl? I think, but before I can dwell on it an
Elara's POVAs I stoop to arrange my bed, my eyes droop with exhaustion. The silence from behind causes me to turn around. Lorenzo still stands there, his eyes taking in the state of the tent. He looks genuinely worried, frozen in his thoughts, his gaze darting around uneasily as if the condition of my home has left him speechless."Mr. Russo, I think you should leave," I say, my voice steady. "A place like this is not good for someone like you."He snaps out of his thoughts, his eyes locking onto mine. There's a flash of something in his gaze—sympathy, maybe pity—but I can't stand the idea of him looking at me like that.“Elara, I—uh, I—" Lorenzo stammers.I roll my eyes. Why isn't he leaving? I really need to sleep. “Look, sir, I understand this place is stinky and all. You should leave. I'm fine. I'm home now, right? I'm going to sleep. Early in the morning, I'll get something to eat because I have nothing here. Then I'll come to the office. So please, the door is that way,” I tell
Elara's POVLorenzo stares at me incredulously for about five seconds before breaking into a low chuckle. "You can't be serious, right? How do you expect me to do this now? It's 3 a.m. already."I roll my eyes. "Guess you can't accommodate us all in your house, right? Good! Now please leave so I can sleep in peace."Lorenzo huffs, running his hands through his hair, causing the thick locks to fall across his face. He looks really intimidating in my small apartment, and I feel heat crawling up my skin. He should leave—I am not comfortable with his presence right now."Fine, who do I talk to among these people?" he asks, his eyes bored. "Who is their leader?"Wait a second, is he actually agreeing to take us to his house? "Wow, I didn't think you'd agree. Okay, let me go get him."He nods, and I run out of my tent toward the old man—Mr. George's tent. "George, George, wake up!" I call out, joggling him. He stirs slowly and pushes away my hand. "Leave me alone. I’m in heaven.""If heaven
Elara's POVThe room is brightly lit when I wake up, my vision slowly coming into focus. As I regain consciousness, I notice two figures in white moving around. An annoying beeping sound steadily creeps into my ears, worsening my headache. I reach up to touch the back of my head and feel a bandage. What happened?Then, the memories come rushing back—someone trying to hit Lorenzo, me pushing him out of the way, and taking the blow myself. But before that, Lorenzo had also been hit. Oh my God! I quickly open my eyes and sit up in bed, but two figures rush toward me. After a few seconds, I make out the doctor in his white coat and Lorenzo in a white shirt, a bandage wrapped around his head."You're awake. You gave us quite a scare, young lady. How are you feeling? Any pain?" the doctor asks, while Lorenzo stands silently behind him.After a few moments, the doctor finishes his examination and says, "Well, you seem all right. You can leave soon. I'll just get everything ready, and by noon
Lorenzo's POVWhenever I start thinking that the past has left me, it comes rushing back, dragging me down to the place I've been struggling to escape from.That old man who tried to hit me but ended up hitting Elara—he was one of them. One of the key figures who caused all this pain. One of the people responsible for turning me into the person I am today. Now, it feels like I’m back to square one.Seeing Elara’s bloodied head and her unconscious body nearly drove me mad. Thankfully, the rest of the crowd managed to restrain him, and my security team arrived just in time.The men on the scene didn’t like him much either, so it wasn’t long before they had him dragged away to one of my private holding cells, where he's going to regret ever hurting the woman I care—Wait, do I care about Elara? Well, maybe I do care about her a little bit—just as a friend. Okay, fine. I want her, and I’m trying to make up for the damage I’ve caused. Once this is all over, I’ll let her go if she refuses t
Elara's POVLorenzo returns a few hours later and we head out of the hospital together. He opens the door for me and I climb into the car, ready to head to his place—well, our place for the next few days. I won't be staying there longer than necessary.“How is Jayden?” he asks, eyes glancing at me for a few seconds before turning being fixed on the road.It’s the first time I’ve seen him drive, and he looks incredibly attractive with his strong muscled hands gripping the steering wheel. The two open buttons on his shirt reveal a glimpse of his toned, milky chest. I wonder how it would feel to run my tongue over—“Elara,” he says, startling me out of my thoughts. I jump slightly, cheeks flushing. Lorenzo chuckles from the driver’s seat. “You okay there? You zoned out and were staring at me like I was a steak and you were starving. Don’t go all ‘SpongeBob hungry’ on me, alright?”I swallow hard, my face burning with embarrassment. I bite my lower lip, trying to calm down, but it’s usele
Lorenzo's POVAn important business meeting is going on.By important, I mean a meeting among the top people in the country.You can already guess who they are.Damien and Antonio Rossi sit at the curved edge of the expensive polished mahogany table, their faces set into hardened glares, exuding an aura of power.Just like the powerful men they are.On the other side of them sits Alexander Viali.I don’t know why the fool had to show up in my office, but his presence here is getting on my nerves.We are at the top floor of my building, in the boardroom designed specifically for meetings of the upper class and important investors.Since my building is taller than all the others around, we have a great view of the blue skyline, the city below, and the rooftops of the slightly lower but still elegant buildings surrounding us.But neither the presence of these men nor the beauty of the view can hold my attention.All I can focus on is Elara, seated across from me, scribbling down notes on
Elara's POVOkay, I admit, Peter has a death wish, and he wants me to be included in his demise. I try to pull away from him, but he hugs me even tighter. Finally, with one shove, Lorenzo gets him off me.Peter staggers backward but maintains his balance, then smiles at me, his crooked teeth on full display.No, don’t get me wrong, Peter is not ugly. He just has crooked teeth. He’s quite cute, which is the stupid reason I am in this predicament.“Baby, who are these men, and why are they acting all protective of you?” he asks. Then, as if figuring out the missing piece of a puzzle, he smirks. “Oh, I understand.”Peter’s smile widens as his gaze flickers between them. “These are your brothers from the family that adopted you. Well, guys, you have nothing to worry about. Elara and I have come too far for me to ever hurt her.”My head snaps to Lorenzo, and I see his eyes darken before his jaw tightens. Dang it, Peter! Just leave already.“Lorenzo,” I plead, trying to hold his arm, but he
Elara's POVThe halls are brightly decorated, large, and filled to the brim with what looks like a thousand people—or maybe more. Each of them is adorned in glittering dresses. Gold chandeliers line the ceiling, and the finest artistic paintings fill the walls.My eyes scan the crowd, looking for any familiar face to help ease my anxiety and stop the trembling in my legs. Soon, two towering figures—one in a crisp white suit and the other in blue—push through the crowd, walking forward to stand before me. I leap into my dad's arms, hugging him like my life depends on it."Happy birthday, princess," he whispers in my ear while ruffling my hair, which was perfectly done by the stylist. I hug him even tighter, never wanting to let this moment go.Someone clears their throat, making us pull away from each other."I understand you guys doing all this father-and-daughter bonding, but where's my own hug?" Uncle Damien opens his arms and narrows his eyes. I smile and lunge into his open arms.
Elara's POVIf anyone had told me that I would stand in front of my own grave, I would never have agreed. I would have looked at them as if they were the craziest humans to grace the Earth. But I had indeed stood there, looking at my name, Kiara Rossi. The name Uncle Damien and Dad had called me.That was supposed to be my name, but Mother Esther must have changed it to Elara—either to cover her tracks or protect me. Dad promised that he would have his men take her in for questioning after the party.He had given me space to connect with my mom and sister, but all I felt as I stared was emptiness.Maybe because I never knew they existed, or because I had long given up hope of ever being with them. Still, I spent almost three hours at the graveside, just staring into nothingness, until my dad had called me to inform me that we were to leave.Now, as I stand in front of the mirror, staring at myself in a royal blue floor-length gown that hugged my waist and flared at the bottom, my hair
Elara’s POVTalk about bad timing. Why is Dad here now? And why did Lorenzo have to come into my office this afternoon? I force a smile onto my face, though I know it looks awkward, and walk toward him."Dad, You didn’t tell me you were coming," I say, hugging him."Why? Is a father not allowed to visit his daughter at her place of work?" He emphasizes the word work, his eye lingering on my face, which I know is smudged from my make-out session with Lorenzo.I run a hand through my hair. "It’s not what you think…" Why did you have to say that, Elara? That is so cringe, my subconscious chimes in. It is exactly what it looks like. You’re lucky he didn’t walk in just as you two were…"Mr. Rossi," Lorenzo calls out, and I exhale in relief at his intervention. He extends a hand to shake my dad’s, who blatantly ignores him and turns to me with a broad smile."My baby girl, come. I have something I want to show you. Let’s go now."I narrow my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Dad!"He h
Lorenzo's POVIt has been a month since Elara stormed out of the orphanage and, without even a hint of a smile, told me we should leave. I didn’t want to leave, knowing that someone had hurt her in there, but I respected her decision.In the car, I had probed, trying to find out what the problem was, but she didn’t tell me. She just said it was nothing too important.Frustration washed over me like a plague, and every single day when I found her, for at least five minutes, staring off into the distance, or pulling out her hair, or pacing a room, I would groan and think about what I could do to find out who had hurt her and what they had done.I had also tried to get the mothers at the orphanage to tell me. All I had found out was that Mother Annabelle had been really rude and called her names. But that couldn’t have been what was causing her to be like this, could it?It is a day before her birthday, and I have been restless the whole time, pacing my office because I am still trying t
Elara’s POV“Mr. Russo,” Mother Esther calls out, her face breaking into a wide smile. “It is an honor to see you today, sir. Why didn’t you tell us you were going to come by? We would have prepared something special to welcome you.”Lorenzo smiles back at her. “There is no need for that, Mother. Elara and I won’t be staying long.”“Nonsense, sir. I insist that you join us for dinner at the orphanage,” Mother Annabelle urges.I beam at the thought of meeting the little children, but my heart is torn at the thought of being in the presence of these mothers. I still remember what they said to me last time.Lorenzo turns to face me. “I will do whatever Elara chooses to do.”All their eyes turn to me, and I lower my gaze to the ground. After thinking for a few seconds, I decide it’s best we stay for a while. “We can spend an hour with the children if it’s okay with you, Lorenzo,” I speak out, emphasizing the word children to make the mothers know that I am not staying here for them.Mothe
Elara's POVIn front of me is the entrance to the Eastside community. My childhood home. But it’s almost unrecognizable. Wasn’t I just here a few weeks ago? How is this possible? My stomach turns as I face Lorenzo, my eyes wide with disbelief."W-what? H-how is this possible?""It’s not impossible, Elara. This is what we actually had in mind for the Eastside," Lorenzo explains calmly, staring straight ahead.I keep staring at him, closing my mouth and opening it a couple of times. I’m at a loss for words. The Eastside has been completely renovated. Well, not all of it—there are still a lot of uncompleted buildings—but everything looks different, fancier, and much bigger. Like civilization just took a new turn in the community."But I thought you had plans for something like a mall, industry, maybe some businesses, hotels, or restaurants. Why are you...?"Lorenzo laughs, the sound echoing in the quiet night. "Are you kidding me? Why would we do that? I just wanted to give these people
Elara's POV"Lorenzo, you know you’re being too rude, right?" I huff. "When I said 2 hours 30 minutes, I didn’t mean you should come exactly at that time to get me."He raises an eyebrow. "Of course, I’m a man of my word, Elara. You really think I’d leave you for longer than that? Hell no. You said 2 hours 30 minutes, and I came at 2 hours 30 minutes. Now shh.""But you didn’t even let me say a proper goodbye to Victoria. Is that fair? How would she feel?""Elara," Lorenzo says, his tone firm, "I don’t care how Victoria feels. Okay? Let’s go.""And where exactly are we going?" I ask, crossing my arms."I don’t know," he says with a small smirk. "I told you it’s a surprise, didn’t I? But do prepare—it’s going to be a long, long journey.""Long?" I ask, my eyebrows knitting together. "What do you mean by long?""You’ll find out," he replies, his face unreadable.I frown. "Okay, give me a hint.""You can try to decode it yourself," he answers casually, walking one step ahead of me.I hur