(Alessio's POV) I caught him staring at Lisa—his eyes shamelessly roaming over her breasts, lingering on her curves as if he had any right to desire what wasn’t his. A surge of uncontrollable rage coursed through me. I had uprooted her from her peaceful life in California to keep her safe, under my protection, away from the lustful gazes of men like him. And yet here he was, crossing the line I had silently drawn. Before I could process my actions, I was on him. My hands locked around his throat like a vice, squeezing as if I could snap his neck with sheer willpower. My anger boiled over when he dared to call Lisa a call girl—a disgusting insult to the woman who never laid on bed with any man until she met me. How dare he? "Give me a knife. Someone’s eyes need to be plucked out," I commanded, my voice cold and unforgiving. The menace in my tone was undeniable—I meant every word. Ivan, ever loyal and efficient, handed me a knife without a moment’s hesitation. In one swift motion,
(Alessio's POV) In the VIP room of a nightclub, women presented themselves to me, stripping naked in front of me while dancing and twisting to the slow music in the background. They were doing their best to seduce me, going so far as to spread their thighs apart, giving me a clear view of their pussy. But I stayed emotionless as I watched them, with the smoke from the weed I was smoking drifting around my face. No matter how seductive they looked, I wasn’t moved by it. All that kept replaying in my mind was Lisa—the night I met her, and also the same night I explored her body and made her mine. I always come to the nightclub to watch strippers dance for me in a VIP room, and afterward, I'd take them to bed and fuck them however I wanted. But after that night with Lisa, it’s hard to get any woman in bed. She stirred something in me, such that my cock refuses to erect at the sight of a woman who isn’t her. I’m a sex addict. Since women at the clubhouse were easy to buy with mone
(Lisa's POV) Waking up the following morning, I saw the duvet wrapped around me. I don’t sleep with a duvet wrapped around my body, so I knew he was here last night. He must’ve been the one who covered my body with a duvet. It’s a good thing I didn’t see him last night. He isn’t human but a monster. How could he gouge out a man's eye without a second thought? It came so easily to him, which meant killing someone would be just as effortless. This wasn’t the first time he had done it, either. It felt so terrifying to see how the man’s blood splashed out from his eye. It felt like I was watching a real live brutal movie. I am not a fan of bloodshed movies. I prefer lighthearted movies that had to do with romance, but yesterday, I witnessed blood splashing out from someone’s eye. The thought of it made me want to puke, but the knock on the door distracted me. My heart raced, thinking he was the one at the door, but on second thought, Alessio isn’t the type to knock before coming
(Alessio's POV) I stormed into my room, fists clenched in rage and my heart pounding with fury. Why is she so fucking stubborn? I warned her. I fucking warned her not to try to escape again, but she took my words for granted. If I hadn’t been home on time, she'd have died from the smoke and the traps. My house isn’t like the typical house you see every day; it’s not just a maze-like structure, it’s filled with so many hidden dangers that if you're not cautious, you’ll fall right into them. My enemies don't dare to attack me from the inside because they know what will happen if they do—what will befall them if they try. "Tie her up and lock her in the cold room," my order from earlier echoed in my mind, fueling my anger even further. If she had just listened to me, I wouldn’t have had to issue that command. The way I treat her is different from how I treat everyone else, yet all she thinks about is escaping from me. Why can’t she fucking understand that she is mine and I won’t le
(Alessio's POV) All heads bowed to me as I arrived at the clan. They were all shivering at the sight of me—just the way I wanted it. Ivan was beside me; he’s my right-hand man, so he is often everywhere I go. "Good evening, Don," they all greeted in unison, their heads bowed horizontally in front of me. In the DeLuca empire, I’m referred to as Don by everyone who works under me. "Have all the drugs been packaged well for shipping?" I asked, my face cold as ice. It had always been that way, but tonight was worse, and it was all because of Lisa. My mind kept drifting back to her being in the cold room alone with every second that passed. "Yes, we did, Don. But one of the mobsters tried to escape with a drug." My face tightened at the words I just heard. Just when I was thirsty for blood, someone had offered himself. "Where is he?" I asked, my voice laced with fury. I was led to the dungeon of the clan, and the man who had tried to run away with one of my drugs was sitting
(Lisa's POV) I felt his huge arm wrapped around me as he lay next to me on the bed. I took a moment to visualize where I was, and when I realized I was in his room, I let out a deep sigh. My eyes slowly met his closed eyes, and I couldn't stop myself from admiring him. He looked like an innocent angel who couldn’t hurt a fly while sleeping. His long eyelashes curled up to his eyelids, his pointed nose was well-defined and structured, and his soft, thin lips—it felt so kissable right now. I had to look away, reminding myself that he is a monster and shouldn’t be swayed by how innocent he looks while sleeping. Once those eyes of his open, he becomes a monster who won’t hesitate to gouge out someone’s eyes or kill a person. Not only that, he even asked Ivan to lock me up in a cold room, caring less whether I was going to die or not. When I was locked up in there, I said a short prayer, hoping to make it to heaven because I thought I'd die. How could he have done that to me? He kidn
(Lisa's POV) He took my legs and placed them on his lap, and all I could do was watch him in shock. Was this the same monster who had gouged out someone’s eyes without thinking twice? Why would he even bother to treat my wounds? I thought to myself as I watched him open the first-aid box, pulling out an antiseptic solution. The warmth of his hands moving gently across my feet as he examined my injury sent shivers down my spine. I should have been focused on the pain in my foot, but instead, I was hyper-aware of his touch—almost as though it were igniting something deeper within me. His hands always seemed to evoke sensations I couldn’t suppress, no matter how much I hated him. He applied the antiseptic solution to the wound, and that’s when I winced. “Does it hurt?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper. I nodded slowly, feeling strangely childlike. He lowered his head to my feet and began blowing cool air over the wound to soothe it. I stared at him, utterly baffled. Was this Ale
(Alessio's POV) "Alessio," she called my name, and when I turned to look at her, she raised herself on her toes just so she could reach my height, and she kissed me. The kiss came so unexpectedly that the cigarette stick fell from my hand. I wasn’t expecting this from her. She nearly accused me of trying to have sex with her when she was unconscious, and now she’s kissing me—her lips all over mine as though she was waiting for an invitation to enter my mouth. She devoured my lips even though I wasn’t kissing back. I was too shocked to reciprocate. The way she was kissing me wasn’t the same as that night. That night, it was passionate and filled with longing. But this time, her kiss felt empty, like she was doing it on purpose. Recovering from my shock, I pulled her away. "What are you doing?" I asked, and she smiled at me—something she had never done before. All she ever did was glare at me or look at me with fearful eyes. "Kissing you," she replied, trying to kiss me again, b
(Lisa's POV) My eyes slowly opened, and I winced in pain from my stab wound. I tried to comprehend where I was, but the room was dark. I attempted to stand up despite feeling weak, but I couldn't move. I was tied up with heavy chains that I couldn't break free from. What happened? Why am I here? I asked myself these questions, slowly remembering how I had asked Rosita for help and how she had willingly agreed to assist me, only for me to fall unconscious in her car. "I’ve found someone for the job" I recalled her words from earlier, and fear gripped me as I realized I had been kidnapped. What job was she talking about? Did I jump from frying pan into a lake of fire? I was trying to run away from Alessio, only to be kidnapped again. I struggled against the chains, but they were too heavy for me to break free from. Even when Alessio had kidnapped me, he had never tied me up with chains. "Someone please help me!" I screamed. My wounds were bleeding, and it hurt so much, even
(Alessio's POV) "It's been a while, Godfather. I'm so happy to see you again," I heard Bianca say as I entered my office. She was pouring him a glass of liquor, trying to win his favor. "Why are you back?" I asked, not bothering to offer him a welcome greeting. He had to return to Rome at a time when Lisa needed me the most. She’s lying in a hospital bed, and I can’t be with her right now because of Salvatore. "Shouldn’t you at least give me a welcome-back hug?" Salvatore asked with a smile. "That’s not my thing," I replied, my eyes shifting to Bianca. She understood the silent command in my gaze and left without a word. "What brings you to Rome?" I asked again. "Am I no longer allowed to be in my home country?" he replied with a smirk. "By the way, where’s Ivan?" he asked, and Ivan entered immediately. "Welcome back, Godfather," Ivan greeted with a warm smile. Salvatore walked up to him and patted his back. "Thanks, Ivan. That’s what I like about you—you always know
"She is going to be fine. The knife didn’t go that deep, which means it’s just a minor injury," I heard a man say. My vision wasn’t clear when I first opened my eyes, but after a brief moment, I saw Alessio talking to a doctor. "If something bad happens to her, you’ll be dead," he said authoritatively, his tone scaring the doctor. "I have been in this medical field for more than eleven years, and I assure you she will be fine. I’ve already operated on her, and the stabbing didn’t go that deep," the doctor explained, though he fidgeted nervously in front of Alessio—he always had a way of intimidating people wherever he went. As for me, the doctor was right when he said the stabbing wasn’t deep, because I had made sure of that when I intentionally stabbed myself. It had taken all the courage in the world to purposely stab myself. It was the only option I had. I thought finding the exit would get me out of his life and back to my normal life in California, but I was wrong. With
(Alessio's POV) "Did you just smile?" she asked, looking surprised to see me smile. This would be the first time she had actually seen me smile, even if I had chuckled or smiled a few times because of her. How she had compared me to her ex-boyfriend stayed glued in my brain, and every time I thought about it, I felt nothing but anger. I couldn’t shake it off no matter how hard I tried, and that’s why I decided to ask her. When she said she no longer loved or thinks of her ex, I felt happy—no, I was over the moon. Do I love her to this extent for me to be overjoyed that she no longer thinks of her shitty ex-boyfriend? If a soothsayer had told me Lisa was a witch, I wouldn’t doubt it, because she had cast a love spell on me. "You just smiled, didn’t you?" she asked again, as her fragile index finger pointed at my lips. "No, I didn’t," I said, keeping a straight face. Even though I was in love with her, I couldn’t make it so obvious. I was still Alessio DeLuca, no matter what.
(Lisa's POV)I kept pacing around the room, not knowing how to leave the suite. I had screamed and knocked on the door, but no one was willing to open it for me. My throat even hurt from screaming so much. Why would he think of locking me in here? Still, I couldn’t shake the thought of how I—no, how we survived the landmine without getting hurt. Was it a real landmine, or was it just for show? I thought to myself as I continued pacing around the room.I need to go back to California now that I was fully aware of the exit, but what if he keeps locking me in here? I quickly went to the door to knock again, but that’s when he entered. I stumbled backward at the sight of him.“You were about to knock on the door again, weren’t you?” he asked. His voice seemed calmer now. Does that mean he’s no longer mad at me?“You locked me in here the whole day. Why would you even do that? You can’t just lock me in here,” I said. He walked closer to me, lowering his head to match my height. I gulped ha
(Alessio's POV) I wanted to leave her there, letting the rain continue to drench her, but she kept calling out my name, making it difficult for me to stand by my words. I brought her inside the house after she lost consciousness. When she woke up this morning, I was on the brink of unleashing my anger at her for disobeying me. However, when she winced in pain as I held her jaw, I let go, because this foolish heart of mine always ached in pain whenever she was in pain. I hated the fact that I was in love with her. It took a lot of thinking for me to understand my heart. I had always said I would never fall in love with any woman, but here I was, already in love with that fragile, stubborn woman. Now that I know how I feel about her, the Godfather might come after her, but I will ensure he never lays a finger on a single strand of her hair. She was mine even before I realized my feelings for her, and now that I know I love her, I wouldn't hesitate to kill millions of people just for
(Lisa's POV) I kept my eyes wide open, trying my best not to fall asleep. If I did, I would move my feet, which meant I would die, and the fear of dying scared me to the core. Now I fully understood why everyone here respected his orders; they didn't want to die. My legs ached, and I was growing weaker from standing on this landmine for more than three hours. I had heard a couple of stories about how deadly landmines could be, and Alessio was cruel for leaving me here without even attempting to help. I hated him so much! Who in their right mind would install a deadly weapon in their house just because they had a web of enemies? Just when I thought I could finally go back to my dad, I was trapped here with no one trying to help me. "You are so heartless, Alessio," I muttered as tears continued to pour down my cheeks. My eyes threatened to close, but I fought to keep them open. "Please, anyone, help me!" I screamed, but the response I got was the echo of my voice. The guar
(Alessio's POV) "Welcome back, Boss Alessio," the gatekeeper said as I drove past him. I ignored him, just as I always ignored anyone who greeted me. My face bore nothing but anger as Lisa's words kept echoing in my ears. I had spent the previous night at the clan because I was consumed with rage, and I didn't want to take it out on her. If I did, she wouldn't be able to survive it. The drive to the house took a few minutes since the distance between the gate and my house was a bit far. When I stepped out of the car, I was immediately approached by one of the guards. It was unusual for them to approach me unless something serious had happened. "Don Alessio," he said, his head bowed to the ground. "What do you want?" I asked coldly. "It's the woman you brought home," he replied, speaking in Italian. "What woman?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "The woman that was brought from California." "Lisa?" I furrowed my brows, not quite understanding what he was saying. He was one of the me
(Lisa's POV) I sat on the bed, my smile never leaving my face. After much thinking and trying to figure out where the exit of Alessio's house could be, I had finally found it. He wasn't just a monster; he was a tricky man as well. No one would have guessed that the tiny dot could be the key to leaving this house. I had finally come to believe the saying that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Now that I knew the exit, I planned to leave quietly, without anyone noticing. I had no idea how I would book a flight back to California since I had lost my phone and credit card the day he kidnapped me. But it didn't matter; I was going to find a way back to California. What mattered most was leaving this place first. A hand tapped my shoulder, causing me to scream in surprise, as I had been deep in thought. "Are you okay?" Isabella asked, worried about my outburst. I let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Yes, I’m fine. Why did you tap me like that? You scared me." "I'm sorry I sta