(Alessio's POV) Her eyes were shut as I stared at her sleeping on the bed. She looked so innocent and fragile when she sleeps, as if she isn't afraid of anything. But when she looked at me, she always appeared terrified, as though I was her worst nightmare that came to life. Am I that scary? The question surged through me as I continued staring at her. She lay on my bed, still asleep. I must have scared her to the point of making her pass out. I didn’t even do anything. I only asked why she was trying to escape. Did I ask her those questions in a harsh tone? Was my voice too deep? Is that why she got scared and fainted? Or were my eyes too cold for her? I wondered to myself, trying to figure out where I went wrong to frighten her so much. This was how I was raised—to always be in control, to always be in charge so no one could step on my toes. Maybe that’s why I can’t interact with her in a way that wouldn’t make her scared. I stood up from the couch and moved to sit on th
(Lisa's POV) I tried figuring out the structure of his house so I could find where the exit leads to. If I can figure out the exit of this maze-like house, I will finally be able to escape. But it was futile because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't. My head was spinning as a result of it, and it made me wonder if it took hundreds of years to build such a house. It was so confusing. He must’ve structured his house like this because of his enemies. I haven’t encountered a mafia boss before, but from the stories I’ve heard, they’re surrounded by webs of enemies. That’s why I need to escape from this place before he drags me into his blood-soaked world. I’m not a warrior princess or Wonder Woman to be dragged into the chaotic world he lives in. “We are here, madame,” Ivan said to me when we got to the doorstep of my room. I forced a smile since he was smiling at me. He wasn’t like Alessio, who never smiles yet still wants me not to be afraid of him. I don’t want to see what
(Lisa's POV) "My woman?" The words echoed in my mind, its weight unsettling. No man had ever said that to me before. Even Nathan, my ex-boyfriend, never referred me with such possessiveness. Yet, hearing Alessio call me his woman sent an inexplicable flutter through my chest. "Should I bathe you?" Alessio’s deep voice pulled me back to reality. He leaned closer, his fresh breath brushing against my face, making me freeze in place. "If you don’t say something, I might take your silence as a yes," he added, as he reached down as if to lift me off the bed. "I can bathe on my own," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. He chuckled—low and brief—but it disappeared so quickly that I questioned if I’d imagined it. Without another word, he strode back to the couch, lighting a cigarette with a calm demeanor that contrasted sharply with the storm of emotions swirling inside me. "Aren't you going to leave?" I asked, and he exhaled a plume of smoke, his sharp eyes locking onto
(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 o
(Alessio's POV)"Where are you?" I read the message Lisa had sent me. I was about to reply when another message came through, demanding that I come back to the clan, because she had something to give me. "A gift? What kind of gift?" I texted back. She replied that she would only show it to me when I returned back to the clan. I smiled lightly, imagining how cute she must have looked while typing the message. "Don Alessio? Are you still listening to me?" the woman across from me asked, and I shifted my gaze from my phone to look at her. She had come to meet me because she claimed to have an abusive husband who beat her and her twelve-year-old child. Right now, the child was in the hospital with only a ten percent chance of survival. "Yes, I'm listening. Go on," I said, and she began sniffling. "I know it’s all my fault for marrying an abusive man. Even when everyone warned me not to, I insisted on marrying him. I tried to run away, but no matter where I hide, he always find
(Lisa's POV) I have always been curious about Alessio's family. Anytime I brought up the topic, he always found a way to change it. Though he had said it was something he didn’t want to talk about, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Even Ivan had once warned me never to mention his mother to him. Bianca might be the second person I hate after the devil, but at least she was right about one thing. I can't claim to love a man and have countless sex with him without knowing anything about his family—what they look like, what happened to them, and, most importantly, his relationship with his parents. "You know everything about his family?" I asked as curiosity took over me. Bianca walked up to me, the smile on her face unwavering. "Do you think I was joking when I said I grew up with Don Alessio? We grew up together, Lisa. I ate from the same plate as him and even slept in the same bed. I knew the cheerful side of Don Alessio when he was still a kid, before he transformed into a
(Lisa's POV) "Whoa, Lisa! You're improving so much," the lady in charge of teaching me Italian complimented after I finished reading some words in Italian. Though it was hard to pull off, I was happy my efforts weren’t going down the drain. "Thank you so much, ma. But I'm still not fluent in it," I simpered. "Yeah, you're not, but you're doing a very good job. If you keep learning, you'll be perfect—not as perfect as a native speaker, but at least you'll be able to understand when someone speaks Italian," she said with a smile, her Italian-English accent evident. Some people in the clan could speak basic English, but Italian tones were always detected in their voices whenever they spoke. I was the only fluent English speaker here, which is why I was determined to learn, so I could interact with them in the language they were comfortable with. Not to forget, there was also my deal with Salvatore. I had been getting a lot of compliments on how much I was improving in terms o
(Writer's POV) Isabella sighed deeply when she woke up the following morning and found herself naked in Ivan's room. She had clearly been somber when she asked him for a one-night stand, and right now, she didn't regret it because it wasn't the first time it had happened. Before she had come here to be a chitchat buddy to Lisa, she had always gone to the clubhouse once every month, bought herself some drinks, and then get laid with any man who approached her. Just like she had told Lisa, she shut her heart from love after her love story was cut short when her first love died. She believed she would never find a man like him or a man who would love her the way her first love did. Sighing again, her eyes scanned the room in search of Ivan, and that’s when she noticed the sound of the running tap coming from the bathroom. Her clothes were scattered all over the room due to how Ivan had hastily discarded them. She clearly enjoyed the sex from last night, and she'd admit that
(Writer's POV) Enzo had always kept an eye on Alessio. He followed him everywhere he went, making sure Alessio didn’t notice him. The DeLuca family had always been known to move silently, as it was a part of their training. Enzo had witnessed how Alessio’s eyes were fixed on Lisa the night she walked into the bar after she got her heart broken by Nathan. He had also witnessed how Alessio saved her from the man who tried to harass her and how possessive he was when he held her fragile arms. Enzo was also aware of what had transpired between them when Alessio took her to a hotel. He had thought Lisa was just one of the flings Alessio had a one-night stand with—until he overheard Ivan talking to Marco about finding a chef who knew how to cook California dishes. He disguised himself and went to Marco's clubhouse since he had been following Ivan too. That’s how he learned that Alessio needed a chef. At first, he didn’t know why Alessio needed a chef who could prepare Californ
(Writer's POV) Isabella sat in the dining chair, enjoying a bowl of pears while grinning to herself. She loved pears a lot and couldn't go a day without eating them. Fortunately for her, they were always among the items delivered to Alessio's residence every month. Ivan was always the one who took the deliveries from the gateman and brought them inside the house since he knew both the exits and entrances of the mansion. "Anyone who doesn't love eating pears must be from ancient Greece," she said and chuckled at her own words. She was still enjoying her bowl of pears when Vanessa approached her with a worried expression. "What's wrong, Vanessa? Why are you wearing a sad face?" she asked. "Aren't you worried about Lisa? She hasn't been home for seven days," Vanessa voiced her concern. "There's no need to be worried about her, Vanessa. She already started her training at Don Alessio's underworld." "Really? Even if she has started her training, that doesn’t prevent her fro
(Alessio's POV) "Am I interrupting something?" I asked, jealousy evident in my voice. I was clearly not happy about the unnecessary attention she was getting. Everyone in the clan was talking about her, and some of the male mobsters even went as far as complimenting her beauty. I was sure that if I had introduced her as my woman, none of them would have dared to talk about her or even try to compliment her beauty. As if that wasn't enough, here was Angelo, the clan's hacker, offering her a can of soda. "Good afternoon, Don Alessio. Lisa and I were just talking," he said in Italian with a smile. "What were you both talking about?" I asked in English, just so Lisa would understand. Before Angelo could reply, Lisa interrupted him with a laugh, stepping in between us. "You should get going, Angelo. I'll just talk to Don Alessio," she said with a smile. I didn't like the idea of her calling me 'Don Alessio,' and what intensified my irritation was how she was smiling at him. T
(Lisa's POV) I walked around the clan, feeling so excited to be here. There were lots of training grounds to learn martial arts and how to handle guns too. When Alessio showed me around the clan, I couldn't even count the number of guns, dangerous weapons, and explosive bombs they had. I guess the mafia world sometimes calls their clan the underworld because it’s filled with all the dangerous things you could find. Alessio said he needed to attend to something, which was why I was taking a walk and going through the places he had shown me. I smiled when I saw two young ladies like me fighting in the training ground. I’m definitely going to learn how to fight like them. "Hi," I waved at them with a smile, and they waved back before continuing with their combat. This was what I wanted, for everyone to be comfortable with me. If Alessio had introduced me as his woman, I’m sure they'd have bowed to me instead of just smiling and waving at me. Well, everyone except for Bianc
(Lisa's POV) I kept grinning as Alessio drove toward his clan. It would be my first time seeing the underworld he ruled, and I felt so thrilled about it. When he told me he had agreed to let me join his clan, I was overjoyed, and last night was mesmerizing. It was wild, passionate sex. He made me experience what it feels like when a man teases you with his tongue. I enjoyed every bit of it and would love it if he did it again. Damn! I’m becoming more corrupt with each passing day, I grinned to myself. "What's making you so happy?" he asked when he noticed my smile. "Why don't you guess?" I teased, my eyes boring into his. Alessio glanced at me, and a naughty smile played at the corner of his lips. "You loved last night, didn’t you? And you want me to do what I did to you again, right?" he asked, his eyes flickering between the road and me. "How on earth are you capable of that? Are you sure you're not a wizard?" I asked, and he chuckled. It was still hard to get us