Emily I want to fall asleep in his arms, but I can’t.He begins snoring quietly, and I can only focus on how he feels against me.My chest is tight, and I wrap his arm around me tighter. I begin to cry silently to not wake him.To think that this is the last time I’ll have him by my side like this feels like the end of the world.Like a piece of me has died.I want to lie down on the ground and feel its ice-cold marble against my skin, for even that seems warmer than the cold spreading through my bones, blood, and heart, numbing me to every reproach.What if I didn’t run.What if I stayed here and told him about the baby.Couldn’t we just continue living that way - Emily and Felix with our little baby, forever.He would want that. Felix would want that happy family.But how soon before the Don’s woman and child become targets?Before computer screens and articles are pulled up to find my weaknesses?How long before my greatest weakness, the name assigned to me at birth, is declared?
FelixI walk in through the cafe, my eyes darting for her.The moment I received the call, I rang Angelo.My men stand right behind me.Where the hell is Emily.My eyes first scan over her and then perform a double take.“Emily?” I ask loudly. She looks up. Yup, that’s her.My body is fuelled with rage as I go closer to her.She’s positioned on her chair, her face pale and eyes wide.I’m about to ask her what happened exactly, word for word, when I notice the cuts and bruises on her arms and legs.She looks like a wreck - blood seeping through her clothes.“My god,” I gasp out, my voice a loud whisper in the cafe.“Emily, who did this to you?” Tears are streaming down her cheeks, and she shakes her head.She can’t speak. My heart tightens in anguish as I look closer at the damage to Emily’s body.I look around for whoever did this to her. I know no one is here now, but if they’re still alive...Emily shakes her head, unable to speak. “Was it your ex?” I ask.“I ... I don’t know,” she
Emily I wake up to the sound of my door banging shut. I hear shouting outside."There's been a breach," Felix tells someone.My hand instinctively reaches under the adjacent pillow for the cold metal of the gun he's taught me to keep there to protect me.I hold it up in my hand, every inch of me on fire with the instinct to survive, and I hold it towards the door.I stay like that, till it hurts to hold my hands up, but I don't move from the target.How can I when I've got a mother's instinct kicking in? I can't get hurt, for my baby would get hurt."Sorry, little one," I mutter, with one hand on my belly."Not even born as yet and I've already put you in so much danger."The thought of being a bad mother sparks tears in my eyes. I wipe away the tears. Not now, I tell myself.Right now, I have to be strong.The floorboards creak outside my bedroom door, and I now grip the gun with both hands.The door creaks open and I take a deep breath, ready to pull the trigger if needed.Felix.He
FelixI pace the marble floor of my dining room, barking orders into my phone.“I want eyes on her at all times. Do not let her out of your sight for even a second.”My security team knows better than to fail me.If anything were to happen to Emily, they’d regret the day they were born.When I glance up, Emily waves to get my attention from the corner of the room.She mouths the words “going upstairs,” before disappearing down the hall.An hour later, I’ve assembled my best men in the living room.Thirteen of my most trusted soldiers stand at attention, their eyes fixed on me.I dial Emily’s number, waiting impatiently for her to pick up.“Come downstairs,tesoro. There are some people I want you to meet.” She is my treasure, after all.A few moments later, Emily descends the stairs in jeans and a white t-shirt, her hair tumbling casually over her shoulders.Emily’s eyes widen when she sees the small army assembled in our living room.“What’s going on?”I pull her close, wrapping an arm
FelixShe takes a few more bites under my watchful gaze.Color starts to return to her cheeks, and her eyes brighten."This is delicious," she says with a small smile. "Thank you, Felix.""You're welcome,tesoro." I reach across the table to squeeze her hand."I'm glad to see you eating again."Her smile widens. "You always know how to get me in a good mood."Heat sparks in my belly at her words.I move to her side of the table, drawing her into my arms.She tilts her face up to mine, lips parted.I capture her mouth in a searing kiss as my hands slide down to cup her ass.She moans softly, pressing closer.My fingers slip underneath Emily's dress, hooking into the sides of her lace panties and sliding them down her smooth thighs.My dick twitches at the thought of her bare, wet pussy waiting for me."God," I moan into her mouth."With everything going on, how I've missed this.""Mmm-hmm," she says, inching her hands through my hair and pulling me closer.In one swift motion, I sweep th
I carry her across the threshold. Today, I married the love of my life.My enemies daughter - a fate so sealed in destiny that mafia families worldwide are speaking of it.Today, Rosalie Battaglia, and I, Felix Carlisi, changed history by doing something no one from our families has done before.Defied tradition.Blood doesn't triumph love. We proved that.But now, the past is the past and I am looking forward to the future, starting with what I've wanted to do since I saw her walk down that aisle in her wedding gown.She was - is - a vision to behold.Her figure hugs her curves in all the right ways, the fabric of her dress accentuating her perky tits and sculpted ass, making me want to rip the dress off her and claim her as mine.The air is heavy with lust as I lay her down on the soft bed, her chest heaving as she looks up at me with hungry eyes.I waste no time as I start kissing her neck, tasting the salty sweat on her skin.Her hands run through my hair, tugging at it as I roughl
FELIXI watch as Emily fidgets in her seat, her fingers nervously tapping the delicate porcelain teacup.Her eyes dart around the room before they find mine, and I can see the uncertainty swimming within them."Is something wrong, Emily?"I ask, trying to keep my tone light despite the concern that gnaws at the back of my mind.She bites her lip, hesitating before finally speaking up, almost like she doesn't know what to say."I... I don't know what to wear tonight."A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips.Of all the things she could worry about, her outfit troubles her."Don't worry,cara," I reassure her. “My dear, you'll look beautiful no matter what you wear."I mean every word; she could walk into a room wearing rags and still be the most captivating woman there."Who will be there?" Emily's voice trembles and I understand her nerves now.It's not just a simple party she fears, but attending one in the heart of the mafia world.I realize then that Emily's unease stems from her
EMILYAs I enter the lavish ballroom, my heart hammers against my ribcage.I'm Emily Jackson tonight, yet the ghost of Rosalie Battaglia haunts me, threatening to reveal itself.I scan the room nervously, praying that none of my father's allies or foes recognize me—sweat beads on my forehead despite the cool air of the dimly lit room."Relax, Emily," Felix murmurs in my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine for all the wrong reasons."Don't let them get to you. The wives of these dons may seize you up, but if they come at you with their teeth, just remember, it's because they're jealous that you have an elegance they'll never have."I nod, trying to steady my racing pulse.How can I tell him I'm not worried about what he thinks I'm concerned about?This whole time, pretending to be nervous about the clothes or what people will say has been eating me from within.I'm just playing hide and seek, waiting for Felix to find the real me.And the thought petrifies me because I kn
AlexanderA year have passed since the end of the war between my family and the Saconne family. Everyone was at peace. The Romano family was prospering with the added territory of the Saconnes we had divided amongst the other three great families.We were in good times now. Aryana had given birth to our son and he was adorable. He had my gray eyes, which I had also gotten from my father and Aryana’s golden-brown hair. I can still remember the day she went into labor. I had been so afraid and uncertain of what to do. Give me a gun or a knife, and I could kill anyone you wanted to, but give me a pregnant Aryana who was in labor? I was lost.I could still remember the emotions that threatened to overflow when an exhausted but overjoyed Aryana placed our son in my arms for the first time. Despite how wrinkly skin, he was beautiful.After recuperating, Aryana completed her master’s degree in Psychology. It had been a little bit difficult to see her stress over completing projects before de
“I was unconscious for two weeks?” Alexander was astonished, but I ignored his question because I just needed to tell him about my feelings in case this was all temporary.“And seeing how you would never wake up, I was lonely and scared, and I thought about all the times we had spent together, and I realized that I had fallen in love with you, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t say it, and then I regretted it and-,”Dry lips blocked the rest of my words from coming out. I didn’t hesitate to kiss back. It was amazing! I didn’t care that his lips were parched or that he hadn’t brushed his teeth in two weeks. I only watched him kissing me back, something he could do because he was awake!We slowly drifted apart.“Hi,” I whispered, afraid I would start rambling again.“Hi.” He said back to me. We stared deeply at each other, cataloging our features as if afraid we would forget with time.“I missed you.”“I missed you too.”I smiled widely, the first smile I had given in two weeks, and leane
AryanaTwo weeks.Two weeks had passed since Tony and Marcelo returned with an unconscious Alexander, covered in his blood. It’s been two weeks since Alexander promised me everything would be all right, since he promised he would come back. Technically, he didn’t lie. He did come back. Just not the way I had expected. It’s been two weeks since I last heard his voice, Since Alexander was last conscious.I missed him. I missed his voice. I missed his smiles and his grins. I missed seeing his gray eyes. I forgot how warm his embrace was. I missed the feeling of his lips on my body. I missed everything.To think that his last words to me had been to reassure and comfort me, and I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him. That was right. In watching over his prone body for the past two weeks, I came to the realization that I did, in fact, love Alexander. I couldn’t believe it had taken him falling into a coma for me to realize my feelings.How had I been so blind? Why had I continued to dou
Having found out the truth, there was no point in delaying matters. The only reason why Tom had been so successful in beating us down was because of Alfonso. Without Alfonso, what power did Tom have? Tom was already in a tight corner, and seeing how desperate he was to have sent Alfonso to kidnap Aryana, I could sense the end of this pointless war coming to a head.“I should kill you for your betrayal and send you on your way to meet my father, where you will spend your afterlife begging him for forgiveness, but I won’t. Not yet. What you’re going to do now is, you are going to tell Tom that you have Aryana, and he should meet you where we tell you to say. Do you understand?”The resignation was written all over Alfonso’s face. He knew he was done for. He had sealed his fate the day he decided to betray my family.“Are you sure it’ll be fine?” Aryana pulled me aside and asked. “What if he-”“Nothing will happen, I promise you.” I comforted her. “This will be the end, and we’ll finally
AlexanderWhy? I couldn’t believe it. I almost hadn’t wanted to believe it when Felice had taunted the knowledge in my face while kneeling on my feet moments before his death. Seeing my enemy at my feet greatly irritated me, laughing like a mad person instead of cowering and begging like I had wanted him to.Nonetheless, the information struck me like a bolt of lightning. A traitor in our midst had supplied the Saconnes with information about our trade routes so they would know where to hit. The traitor was also responsible for reporting my father’s location. Because of him, my father died. I was filled with rage. We had welcomed that traitor into our midst and had treated him like our family, and he repaid us like this?What pained me the most was who the most likely suspect could be. Marcelo and Tony had discussed this when I told them. We went over different possibilities and clues we could have missed.For the traitor to be reporting my father’s whereabouts meant he was high up in
My eyes widened in surprise.Elio Saconne was one of the brothers of Tom Saconne, the Don of the Saconne family. Marcelo had explained a little about the dynamics of the mafia families. Tom Saconne was the oldest of three brothers. After him were his two younger brothers, Elio and Felice Saconne. Despite how impulsive Tom appeared, it was a known fact that he doted on his brothers though I had doubts on whether he actually doted on them or if it was simply that he let them do whatever they wanted, precisely because he didn’t care about them.Alexander killing Elio meant a ray of sunshine for the Romano family as the war finally turned in their favor. It also told that Alexander was proving himself to his family members. Killing Elio was equivalent to cutting off a limb of the Saconnes. It was good news. I allowed myself to drag my eyes over Alexander and observe his features, spotting no happiness or pride in his feat. It had been quite a long time since I last saw him.I barely see A
AryanaWatching how the men under the Romano family cheered for Alexander settled the unease that had appeared ever since Marcelo told me what was happening. I was aware that this didn’t mean that they had forgiven Alexander. It meant that they would give him a chance to prove himself. I wondered if we hadn’t slept together or if I had allowed him to go back to grab a condom from his car back then, would this have happened? There would have been no need for Alexander to go into hiding. He would have stayed here with his family. His father probably wouldn’t have died, and these men wouldn’t have doubted Alexander’s loyalty to his family.I wished they wouldn’t be harsh on Alexander as it hadn’t been his fault. It wasn’t as if he had wanted to leave. He had argued with his father, but in the end, he’d had no choice but to obey his father’s orders. But I knew that wasn’t how the mafia operated.I watched in curiosity as they went on to perform the ceremony that would mark Alexander as th
“How are your injuries? I heard they’re better.” I changed the topic. I didn’t want to immerse myself in my longing for my father.“It’s getting better. You need not worry.” He patted my shoulder.“I know you need time to think about handling what will happen in a few minutes. I’m sure Tony told you about the displeasure of our men.”My eyebrows slightly furrowed at the words ‘our men,’ but he continued speaking before I could contemplate it. I decided that it must have been a blunder. After all, he was an old family member who served on my father’s side. It must have been a blunder.“I only came to tell you that I am here. I watched you grow from a baby to the man you are. You have my support.”I smiled, thankful for his support. He again gripped my shoulder, momentarily tightening his hold on me before letting go with another smile, exiting the study, and leaving me back to my thoughts.I let my mind wander as the time the men under the Romano banner would arrive slowly grew closer.
AlexanderReturning to Manhattan filled me with so many emotions. Memories of my father slammed strain me with so much force that I stopped in my tracks, earning glances from Tony, Marcello, and Aryana. I waved their concern away and stepped into the building that once housed my father, and meters in arms had arrived this morning to drive Aryana and me back to Manhattan. The ride back had been tense and quiet. The atmosphere between Aryana and me was strained. Since I told her I loved her last night and she didn’t reply, we didn’t know how to act in each other's presence. Even though I said she didn’t need to say it back, it didn’t mean I hadn’t been hurt. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t say it back.Didn’t she love me? Had I read her emotions wrong? It was clear that she had feelings for me. Was it that her feelings for me were not as deep as mine, or was it too early for her? I scoffed bitterly to myself. It didn’t matter what. I couldn’t force her to return her feelings for