Pov: BiancaThe wedding was in two weeks. And today we were fine tuning the details."Wow, Mária," Ines cooed, holding up a picture of the colour theme my mother had chosen. "I think this is a lovely colour you picked.""It's an awful colour," I sniffed, not looking up from my magazine. I was perched on one of the plush seats in the dining room, early morning sun washed into the room through the glass walls.Mama had picked rose gold as the colour theme for the wedding and in truth, I had no hatred for the colour but since I let the resentment spill out the other day, it was hard reigning it back in. It had been reignited and there was nothing on this earth that could put the livid fire out.I wasn't even sure why I was here. Why she insisted on having me over. They fine details of the wedding has already been decided on before I even RSVP'd their introductory dinner invitation. Nothing I said could change what had already been set up. Still, I tried to make my mother as uncomfortab
Pov: Bianca"And who will your strong man be?"She blushed profusely, releasing my hand. "Creed," she whispered. My eyebrows furrowed. "Should I know who that is?"She shook her head, her blush intensifying. "He's the future underboss of Philadelphia. He's five years my senior but he's kind and patient.""And you know all these because...""We used to be friends when we were little. He was my crush." She added shyly. "Before he left for school in Italy, he showed interest for my hand to Andre.""And let me guess, Andre benevolently handed you over because he was sweet and nice and safe," I said sarcastically.She looked at me, brown eyes flashing with a seriousness I didn't see coming. "I had a choice."Her words made a kernel of hope sputter in my chest. "You did?""Yes. I was only fifteen at the time, Andre made it clear that no one was forcing me into doing this. I could back out if I wanted. I can still back out now if I wanted, even though the contract has been signed already,"
Pov: AndreIt was the day of the wedding. We were at the reception and so far, things were going perfectly. Too perfectly. Not a hitch, not a squabble, nobody had gotten shot in the head so far. It was a good day.After the surprise attack last week in one of my restaurants and Leon being perforated with enough bullets to kill a grown man, I had trippled the guards that protected my family and tightened security around our homes, knowing that the Polish would want to strike at a time when we're all gathered together.Once the wedding was over, I would have to break the news to Bianca that she would have to leave that dump she called her apartment and move into one fit enough for a mafia princess.Speaking of the devil, she suddenly glided across the room, an apparition in black of all colours, and blood red on her lips.She was wearing a cheap dress with a glittering tulle fabric even more scandalous than the last one. The strappy sleeves fell down her shoulders seductively and stylish
Pov: Andre"At this point, you can't be any more obvious, Dre.""Go away, Leon before I shoot your other hand and make you truly handicapped.""Is this the thanks I get for trying to keep you company?"I sighed. "If you have nothing important to report, leave. I prefer my own company."He laughed, shaking his dark blonde hair out of his eyes. "You wound me, man."I shrugged and sipped my whiskey.At the moment, Bianca was tipsy. Not too drunk to make a fool of herself but drunk enough that she wasn't as aware of her surroundings as she should be.Alexei had kept his word and stayed away from her, but his eyes would occasionally meet mine and I knew he was waiting till when the reception was over to talk to me.I wish the rest of the men would take the hint. So far, no one was acting out with their dicks yet, but the night was still young and alcohol has had the best of better men.My father and Mária had left the reception early at my coercion. I had been paranoid enough to send Inés
Pov: BiancaMy legs were shaking as I left the dancefloor and went upstairs to quiet the throbbing in my skull from all the music, dancing and alcohol. I was tipsy, cranky and lost.I had been given a room in the DiMarco mansion to stay in, in case the reception ended too late.It wasn't my intention to sleep over but I could barely keep myself upright and the more I searched for my room, the more hopeless it got until I was sure I was getting myself even more lost.I made a turn on my left and rested my hand on the doorknob of the first door I found but voices from within the room stopped me. Voices, some of which I recognized."I heard the Polish are giving you a tough time," I heard the cold monotone of a man."Yes. They planned something today," Andre confirmed."You mean the Polish tried to attack here? With all of us gathered in one place." That calm alto belonged to Alexei."They planned to kill my stepsister." Andre corrected, his hardened detached voice sent a noose tightenin
Pov: Bianca"Uh... Bianca..." Deliah, my best friend of sorts said nervously when she met up with me that day on campus, chancing glances behind me. "Who are those sexy guys in black trailing behind you all day?" She whispered to me in her thick foreign accent as we started walking."They're my pests. Ignore them hard enough and you won't even realize they're there."Her pretty face scrunched up in confusion but she shrugged it off easily, the way she shrugged off all her problems. "Hey, so, huuuge favour I want to ask. Please say yes," she whispered, clasping her hands to her chest and giving me a pleading look."Depends," I huffed, adjusting the straps of my bag on my shoulders. "What is it?""It's my brother's surgery tonight and I want to be there for him. I need you to cover my shift at the club tonight."I tilted my head up to think just as I registered the clouds darkening to a deep gray colour. It was a Thursday evening and there was an important dinner I was supposed to join
Pov: Andre (Two hours earlier) "Oh, good. You're awake." The half naked man I had hanging upside down, like a starfish, on a contraption that looked like a medieval torture instrument, murmured something incoherent, only just regaining consciousness. There was a blood bag that was filling up with blood as it drained from a vein in his forearm, instead of nourishing him. I straightened from where I was leaning against the wall, a tumbler of whiskey in my hand. "You passed out too quickly. I would have thought a Capo of the Polish could take a little more beating." "Screw you!" He spat vehemently, finally regaining consciousness. He muttered a few choice words in Polish, probably expletives at me, blinking away his confusion and trying to tug himself free. I sighed, placing my tumbler on the only table in the room. Selecting from an array of knives from the table, I walked over to him, twirling the knife in my hand. "You won't talk to my men, I was hoping you'd be a lot more chat
Pov: Bianca"And where are you coming from?"There was nothing to be heard except the sound of my heart beating wildly.The light from the foyer stopped just were his boots had been planted, as if even the light was afraid of him, as if he was worse than the darkness."What part of 'you will attend all social events with the rest of the family' got lost in translation, Bianca?"He stepped into the light, his arctic gaze searing into mine. He wasn't even dressed for the dinner, in only dark pants and a black turtleneck shirt that only emphasized his ripped upper body muscles, he was a sight for sore eyes.I chewed my lip nervously, avoiding his gaze like a fucking schoolgirl about to be reprimanded.His eyes narrowed at me, his expression sizzling and hot and burning through my skin with cold fury as he took in my trembling form, from my wet hair to my little white dress that was now see through, thanks to the rain."And where did you get that jacket?" He asked, his voice deceptively s
Optional, but if you decide to read, I'll really appreciate it. Guys, I'm done. It's over and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share my story with you all. Thank you for following me on this journey. Every gem, every coin, every nice review was seen by me and I love each and every one of you for the support. I can even name some of you off the top of my head because reading your comments brought me so much joy. I hope you all stick with me for future projects. I'd like to know more about books you would probably like to read from me: The genre, trope, all that. Do you prefer Werewolf? Billionaire? Or Mafia?... Or a combination? Rich boy poor girl? Enemies to lovers? Rejected trope? How do you like you male leads? Strong, controlling? Nice? Cold? Ruthless? Cruel? Over the top? How do you like your female leads? Feisty? Demure? Kick ass? Soft? The power is in your hands, I'll try to write future books, of course with loads of creativity but also keeping in mind what my read
EpiloguePov: Andre(Four years later)I roused awake in the middle of the night with a starts and looked around the room, peace settling over my heart when I saw that Bianca was right beside me.Very much asleep and very much round with my baby in her.A beautiful little girl I was going to love and cherish with my whole heart.The years had been fairly peaceful with no more intruders trying to close in on my territory. Business was better than ever and Bianca was an active member of the mafia, asserting her place as my wife and equal.Thr room was dark except for the sliver of light that reflected from the night lamp by her bedside.She had never really gotten over her fear but she was better at controlling it now.I reached out and rubbed her swollen belly and she roused awake and looked at me with sleepy eyes."Andre?" She murmured, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Can't sleep?"I shook my head, "just worried." I murmured, rubbing her bare stomach.Even after all this while, I st
Pov: Andre"You're sure you don't want our help with this?" Alistair asked one last time before I jumped into the Jeep and the rest of my men got ready to get the fuck out of here."In the Cosa Nostra, we deal with our own famiglia," I said gruffly, my knuckles turning white as I clenched my fists hard around the steering wheel and started the car. Usually, Oscar takes the wheels but I was prepared to fuck up the speed limit and drive like a mad man until I got to Bianca.That slimy bastard is fucking dead. Nothing will stop me from tearing open his gut with my bare hands and stringing out his intestines. Excitement thrummed in my blood, the idea of having a reason to finally kill him was too good an opportunity to pass up."Found his location," Leon chirped behind me in the back seat. "He's back at the old townhouse."Good. I had one of my men link a tracker to him after the fiasco at the party cleared up. He had fled back to Sicily where I didn't have to see his face and contempla
Pov: Bianca(Two hours ago.)Things went wrong almost immediately Andre left."Where's Nico," I turned to Bernard as he led me up the stairs towards the safe room where half a dozen other men stood, alert, with their guns drawn."I sent some of the men to look for him. He probably snuck out to go with Andre. Right now, my job is to keep you safe.""You don't understand, Nico is also important to Andre, you have to find him. I don't want anything happening to him again."He huffed an exasperated breath and looked at me as if I was over-reacting. "Fine," he conceded, "get in the room and I'll go with the rest of the men to find Nico after you're safely locked inside.""How will you get it to open? Only Andre and Emilio knows the password.""Andre had you and Nico's fingerprints scanned and inputed into the house's control unit. The two of you can pretty much open any door in the house. We can let you in, but none of us can get out unless Emilio or Andre himself unlock the door from the
Pov: Andre"Get up," I told the girl, dropping my hand. "Lead us to the basement he was talking about."She sniffed and scurried to her feet while glaring at me with as much venom as she could. "You killed him!" She screamed at me."Careful," I narrowed my eyes into slits at her, "I'd hold my tongue if I were you, unless you wish to join him."She wisely clamped down on her lips as her body racked with sobs.My phone buzzed in my pocket and I ignored it, knowing that the men would reach out to me through the earpieces if they wanted to deliver a message."The south wing has been successfully breached," Alexei's voice came in through the receiver. "No sign of Grigori.""None here, either," Enzo murmured."He's probably hiding from in his basement. I'm heading there right now.""We'll cover you," Alistair said, sounding not too far away.I grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her along with me. She couldn't be of much importance considering the fact that she was dressed in a scruffy maid
Pov: AndreI grabbed strapped on my armoured vest and double checked my weapons.Roma voice suddenly blared through the receiver. "Incoming, in three, two..."I turned to see the mad man standing up in his jeep, his upper body poking through the space in the roof, a rocket launcher balanced on his shoulder.He grinned hard and wide and launched the weapon, the grenade flying past us at record speed and launching itself straight into Grigori's wall, exploding immediately on contact.The ground shook at the rumble as the grenade exploded and crumbled part of the wall to pieces.I looked at Roma and he nodded a you're welcome at me, strapping his own vest and jumping out of his car."It's a good thing law enforcements have been taken care of or we'd have a hell of a time explaining what the fuck that was," Alistair grumbled into his speaker.The explosion alerted Grigori's men and in no time, they were stumbling through the wreckage, confused and disoriented. As if they hadn't been ready
Pov: AndreMy living room is one of the biggest and most lavish in Chicago, yet it felt small and cramped as the respective mafia bosses I called my allies gathered there, armed to the teeth, their expressions lethal and serious.The entire energy seemed to cackle with the electric force each of us exuded and I had never been more grateful to be part of this alliance. Leon worked on passing around the guns and weapons, with earpiece devices that doubled as a microphone so that we could communicate when we seperated into our different rides.Bianca was perched on the armrest of a couch, chewing her lip pensively, her bright green eyes were worried as they found mine.I tucked my Glock I had been double checking into my pants hostler and walked over to her, her gaze beckoning me.She rose to her feet immediately, her lip trembling. I took her chin in my thumb and forefinger, stroking her jaw. "Tesoro," I whispered. "If I don't come back–"She shook her head, a stubborn glint in her br
Pov: Andre"Nothing's going to happen to her. Benito knows what he's doing, we just have to let him do his job.""She saved me," she whispered, her voice detached and cold. "He aimed for my heart. She took the bullet for me."The least fucking thing she could have done in the situation, considering all the shit Bianca went through because of her negligence.But instead of ruining her train of thoughts, I pulled her close to me and pressed a lingering on her forehead.She sighed and relaxed against me, her arms going around her torso. She rested the side of her face against my chest, listening to my heartbeat. Her eyes were closed, her breathing even. I nuzzled her hair, loving how soft and sweet every inch of her felt.I had never felt peace like this even after such a dangerous situation."I'm glad it wasn't you," I said truthfully. "I don't know what I would have done if it had been you, Bianca.""Me too," she whispered after a few seconds. "I'm glad it wasn't either of us. I'd be d
Pov: AndreMária had rented out an entire high end Italian restaurant for the occasion, to ensure that we would be uninterrupted during the entire discussion.She was over the top like that, and I didn't mind, seeing as it was my papa's money and I hadn't wanted to accommodate her in my office where thoughts of bending Bianca over my desk and taking her from behind seemed to resurface everytime I blinked.She donned a white fur jacket and black jumpsuit with long diamond earrings and an equally large diamond set of rings on her fingers. Her dark hair was now dyed blonde, christian dior sunshades shielded her eyes and louboutin heels clad her feet.She had been nervous cracking her knuckles when we showed, her body movement anxious and antsy."Angelo mio," she whispered, rising to her feet when we walked through the doors. She wasted no time in leaving the table to come and throw her arms around Bianca, sobbing quietly.Bianca was stiff in her mother's arms but at least she hadn't bolt