(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 sober 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 s
(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
(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
(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
(Alessio's POV) How could I? How could I have done that to the woman I love so much? How could I have vented my anger on her like that? I should have held back. I should have held back my anger no matter how angry I was. I shouldn't have done that to her. I should have simply torn the picture when she gave it to me. But if only she had told me where she got the picture and didn't keep insisting I missed that despicable woman, I wouldn't have lashed out at her like that. Still, it didn't justify what I did to her. I didn't just choke her almost to death, I threw her like a piece of paper, making her back land forcefully on the wall. Kindness? The woman from earlier who had an abusive husband must be mistaken. There's no single kindness inside of me. The boy from decades ago is already dead. If I still had that kindness in me, I wouldn't have done what I did to Lisa. I would have held back. I had promised her I was never going to hurt her, but still, I broke that promi
(Lisa's POV) I still couldn't believe Alessio would do that to me. He had promised he would never hurt me, but yet he did. When he choked my neck, I pleaded with him, hoping he'd stop, but he ended up throwing me against the wall like a piece of paper. I had never imagined he would do that to me. Even though he hasn't said he loves me yet, I thought I was the most important person to him. So how could he do that to the most important person in his life? I was just looking out for him because it's been years since he saw a picture of his mother, and yet he reacted as if I had just shown him his worst nightmare. I want to hate him. I want to hate him for what he did, but I couldn't do it, because I was completely head over heels for him. When I sent him away, I felt hurt doing that to him, but it was the only way to show him I was mad at him for what he had done. I must have nine lives because I don't know how I've kept surviving with everything that has been happening
(Lisa's POV) It's been a week since Alessio told me about his family. I felt pity for him because he had witnessed his own mother murder his father. It must have really been hard for him since he had no one to defend him when Salvatore heartlessly trained him. Hearing his past, I finally understood why he turned out the way he did, and why he didn't want to talk about his family. No one can grow up normal after experiencing such tragic incidents at a young age. "What are you doing?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. I simpered then turned to look at him. "We aren't in your office, Alessio. What if the members of the clan see us together?" I muttered with a smile, looking around the shooting range. "Who cares about them?" he replied, trying to kiss me, but I resisted with a smile. "I'm training, Alessio. I don't want to get distracted," I said and shot at the shooting target, but I let out a frustrated sigh when I missed the scorning zones. "Why is it
(Lisa's POV) I yawned loudly after I was done with my trainings for the day. Thankfully, I didn't have classes with the lady who taught me how to speak Italian. I was thrilled about that because I didn't have the energy to sit through her classes. Angelo wasn't in the clan, he had left to see his family, and it kind of felt odd not having him here. He was the only one I was used to in the clan. I miss Isabella and Vanessa. If I was home, Isabella would be filling my ears with so many stories. Where she always got her stories from was something I still didn't understand. I missed the maids too—and making coffee for them. I couldn't wait to go back home after I must've proven to Salvatore that I wasn't a weakling. I sat outside just to feel the warmth of the evening breeze. While at it, I took out my phone to look at some old pictures of mine, especially the ones Alessio had taken at Gianicolo Hills, only to remember I no longer had my phone with me and that I was holding th
(Lisa's POV) I betrayed the man I love and the man who loves me, and no matter what my reasons were, it wasn't justified. I had a chance to ask him about it, but rather than confronting him, I acted rashly. He lost everything. A lot of innocent souls died because of me, and it's best if I leave. If he had wanted to kill me, I would have accepted it, but since he wanted me out of his life, I will do as he says, even though it hurts being separated from him. Staring at the entrance of the airport, my tears fell down my cheeks, but I wiped them off with a sob. With the despicable thing I have done, I don't know if I could live a normal life. I will forever be haunted for betraying him and for killing innocent souls. I sniffled one last time. I made to enter the airport, but I bumped into someone. "I'm sorry," I managed to say, but fresh tears fell from my eyes and down to my cheeks when I saw I had bumped into Angelo. "Angelo," I said, nearly breaking into tears. I had
(Alessio's POV) "How long have I been unconscious?" I asked. "For a few days," Ivan answered. I sighed, trying to sit up on the bed, but Ivan quickly stopped me from doing so. "You shouldn't do that yet. Your wounds are still fresh," he said, but I ignored him and sat up on the bed, enduring the pain. Every part of my body was filled with injuries. It hurt and itched at the same time. "Where's Salvatore?" "He left a few minutes before you woke up," Ivan replied. "Is it true that Enzo destroyed everything, including my house and the clan?" Ivan looked at me and sadly nodded his head. "We lost the mobsters at the clan. The innocent maids also died from the explosion." "No single person survived?" I asked, hiding how bad I felt. "No one, Boss Alessio. We have nothing left," Ivan answered, wiping his tears, as he was too emotional to control them. I failed to protect my men. If I hadn't been trapped under Enzo's custody, none of this would have happened. "Aren’
(Writer's POV) "What did I just hear you just say? You gave who to who?" Salvatore sneered. He had booked an early flight to Rome so he could know the happenings of the clan, only for him to meet dead monsters and a destroyed clan. Lisa took in her lips, unable to say anything. Salvatore had always said she'd betray Alessio, and she felt so embarrassed because his instinct came to pass. She betrayed the man who loves her. A man who always showed up whenever she was in danger. She made a promise… but couldn't keep her promise. She was just like his mother. "Have your tongue been cut off? Repeat what you just said!" he snapped at her, and tears strolled down her eyes. No matter how much she cried, it wouldn't justify what she had done. "I didn't mean to betray him," she began sobbing. "I thought he killed my dad, so I gave him an apple injected with succinylcholine. He became weak because of it, and Enzo was able to trap him. Enzo has him in his custody and it's all
(Writer's POV) "Did Don Alessio answer the phone?" Isabella asked Ivan in a panicked voice, while Ivan shook his head with a sigh. "Why would Lisa even think of leaving the house?" Isabella murmured, her worries palpable. She had earlier gone to Lisa's room to talk to her, only to find out she wasn't in her room. When she got worried, she asked Ivan for help, and he looked into the surveillance cameras and they both found out that Lisa had sneaked out of the house by secretly entering the car trunk of Alessio's car. "Do you think Don Alessio has seen her already?" "I don't think so, Isabella. It's unlike him not to answer the phone either. Something seems off and I can feel it," Ivan muttered. Isabella swiped her hand through her hair in frustration. "Why can't Lisa just believe that Vanessa was indeed a spy?" "Asking questions won't do. If Alessio still doesn't know she's not in the house, then we should find her before he does." Isabella nodded, and just as they were about t
(Lisa's POV) "I love you so much, Lisa." Those words repeated themselves a thousand times in my ears, and fresh tears rushed down my face. These were the words I had always longed to hear from him. Alessio finally confessed his feelings to me. My glassy eyes shifted to him, and I saw the sincerity in his tears. Did he really not kill my dad? Did I accuse him wrongly? If he wasn't the one who murdered my dad, then who could have done it? "I didn't kill your dad. I will never do that to you," he whispered, and my heart shattered even more. I didn't know who to believe because my dad, who could have spoken for himself, was dead. "Enough with the emotional scenes, lovers. Tell me, Alessio, aren't you happy to see me?" he smirked. Alessio glared at him. "Why should I miss someone like you? You're still the weak person you are. Isn't that why you made me appear weak in front of you? Because you know I would always beat you to a pulp," Alessio said, despite his weakness. Enzo got
(Alessio's POV) I was all alone in my office, thinking of ways I could make Lisa forgive me, when I received a text from her, demanding we meet up. My eyebrows furrowed in surprise, wondering how she was able to leave the house because I had given my men strict warnings not to allow her leave. I sprang up from the chair and called her. It rang many times, but she didn't answer. Grabbing my jacket, I rushed out of my office and almost bumped into Angelo on my way out. He looked shocked upon seeing me. "Why are you looking at me that way? Did something happen?" I asked. "No... nothing happened?" he stuttered, his hand shaking. I didn't have time to ask him why he was reacting that way because all I could think of was going to Lisa and ask how she was able to leave the house. I left Angelo standing there and got into my car. I drove off to Gianicolo Hills, where Lisa had asked me to meet her. Arriving at the hills, she was the only one there, staring into space, lost in t
(Lisa's POV) Angelo arrived at the location the caller had given me. It was a warehouse, but from the looks of it, it was still under construction. I tried getting down from the car, but Angelo held my hand. "Don't tell me you're going in there?" "Yes, I am. That's why I asked you to bring me here in the first place." "You need to tell me what's going on, Lisa. Don Alessio will kill me if he finds out about this," his tone was etched with worry. "You don't need to worry about that. He won't ever find out unless you snitch on me. Are you going to do that?" Angelo sighed, feeling defeated. "You know I would never do that to you. I just want to know why you came here and who you want to talk to." "It's just someone I know. I just need to find out the truth." "The truth about what?" I ignored his question and got out of the car. He tried to follow me, but I stopped him from doing so. "What if you get hurt?" "I'll be fine. I can defend myself," I assured him. "Should
(Lisa's POV) I didn’t know what to do at that moment. There was no way I could possibly leave this house—not when Alessio had his eyes on me. My heart shattered as I spoke to him. Not even in my worst nightmares did I ever dream about losing my dad. Everything was happening so fast in just one day. First, Vanessa died. Then Alessio drastically changing from who he used to be into something worse. And now, I just found out that my dad was dead. It felt like my world had collapsed right in front of me. Why was all this happening to me in one single day? “I… I can't leave. Alessio’s got his eyes on me,” I sniffled. “Then it means you're not interested in knowing who killed your dad!” he snapped and hung up. “Please, don’t hang up on me!” I cried out. Sobbing, I called the number again, but he didn’t pick up. “Please answer the phone,” I cried, almost at the brink of losing myself. I wished this was all just a dream—one where I’d wake up and find Vanessa cooking for me, my dad sti
(Lisa's POV) I sat down on the bed, burying my face in my thighs and wrapping my arms around them as fresh tears dripped from my eyes. I don’t know what had gotten into Alessio, but he had completely changed in just few hours. First, he killed Vanessa, and now he didn’t even blink before sending my dad away. I want to leave. No matter how much I love him, I can't tolerate him anymore. He killed Vanessa—an innocent woman who had been so kind to me from the very first day she was brought here by that monster. More tears streamed down my face as memories of Vanessa filled my mind. It felt like a dream, but I knew it wasn’t. She was dead. The door creaked open, and he stepped inside, his hands in his pockets. “You’re finally awake?” he said, but I only gave him a hateful glare. My heart might still love him, but my mind already despised him for what he did to Vanessa. “Lisa…” he took a step closer. “Don’t. Don’t come any closer, Alessio,” I said firmly, though my eyes continued to