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Love and Shadows 9
Chapter 9 - Luca Romano I don't do anything particular in my office. No, I simply spend the time thinking. But I don't beat myself up for it - what with my life hanging in the balance at the moment, I can't exactly blame myself for wanting to secure my survival first of all. That feeling, wanting, not minding if she tries to kill me again as long as it means we'll meet with each other once more, still nags at me, but I force it down. It's my life we are playing with at the moment, and it's a very expensive joke if anything. It's best I never see her again, but somehow just the prospect of that ties my stomach in knots. "Where did I get such a masochistic trait?" I question myself, rubbing my fingers on my temples and feeling like a fool. Even with my experiences with Vanessa, it has never come close to death before. But this with her - death is but a moment away, and I actually find myself excited by it. "This is getting really unhealthy," I tell myself, making up my mind to make
Last Updated : 2025-01-08Love and Shadows 10
Chapter 10 - Vanessa HollowayThroughout the week we spend apart from each other, I feel like I'm tearing up into pieces. It pains me that he never calls, not until he needs something. It pains me that we never went on actual dates with each other, that things between us have to be so professional and simple when it could be a lot more. I don't push it, however. There's not a lot of time, and soon he'll start coming through - I know it. Maybe he doesn't like me that way yet, but with time, he's going to get really involved and finally see me as a perfectly eligible lady for marriage.I can't wait till we start dating. Something tells me to take the bull by the horns and be the one to initiate things between us, but still, I find myself waiting patiently. Maybe I'm just a bit too scared.I go back to the company, looking at the large building and the scale of it, and begin writing again. It's what I do, what I enjoy doing, so I don't think I'm nervous at all. Somehow, I also feel at ho
Last Updated : 2025-01-08Love and Shadows 11
Chapter 11 - Kira RogersI spare him once again this time around. I don't know what comes over me - I don't kill him, I can't, but at what cost? It's only after leaving the car, after completely leaving the premises, that I realize the full extent of my crimes. I'm going to pay for it, and I'm going to pay dearly. Hell, I know it can't be as serious as my life for his, but it actually makes me apprehensive with fear when I'm not supposed to be afraid.I've never been afraid of Dante or anything concerning him because it's something he trained me against. He pretty much forced me to stop fearing him, and at the moment there was no going back. There was something I had overcome, but that doesn't mean I'm not able to answer for what's going to happen next.If he's not dead by Sunday, I think, remembering his execution was due Sunday - it was pretty much my last chance unless I went back to kill him once again, but obviously I won't be doing that. I might as well have ended it when I had
Last Updated : 2025-01-08Love and Shadows 12
Chapter 12 - Kira RogersHe looks up at me and then looks back at his drink, saying in a cold, rough voice, "The man is still alive." It wasn't a question but a simple statement that conveyed his height of displeasure at my incompetence."Why is he still alive?" I find myself unable to say anything. The last excuse was stupid enough - if I tell him that I just couldn't kill him once again, I don't know how he's going to react."Want him dead by evening," he says, glaring at me. I apologize, biting my lip but holding it back, knowing that it's not going to be helpful.He glares at me even more. "Tell me once again, what's the problem? Why aren't you delivering on your job anymore?"I frown at him - when on earth had he ever wanted to know my reason, or was something wrong this time around? I decide, however, that I need to answer him because obviously he's not going to let me off easy this time if I don't give him a reasonable explanation. If there's any chance of me getting off this o
Last Updated : 2025-01-08Love and Shadows 13
Chapter 13: Luca RomanoIt's difficult enough to have a company to head and a lot of responsibilities at home as the heir to the Romano Mafia family empire. My dad doesn't really require anything from me at the moment, so I can relax and be playful as I usually am. But as much as I want to take advantage of that and enjoy myself before I'm no longer presented with that opportunity and saddled with more responsibilities on every corner, I can't. It's difficult enough to handle all that, but with the threat of my life being gone looming over me, I find it hard to even breathe.I know that there's a killer on the lookout wanting to kill me more than anything, and it makes me very apprehensive anytime I'm moving. I try to do my job and live normally like I usually did. I am taking in the situation around me while in my office, realizing that once again I have zoned out. There's a meeting with my board of directors coming up in the next 10 minutes, and I need to organize myself. I need to
Last Updated : 2025-01-09Love and Shadows 14
Chapter 14: Vincenzo RomanoI'm busy watching the TV, entertaining myself with the dances of young women in a sensual rhythm. There's nothing left for me to do after all my work today, and the only bother for me at the moment is getting my son accustomed with all the things he has to do in order to keep my carefully built empire running. It's a mafia organization, and there are very specific ways of running it if he doesn't want to crash down everything I've managed to build. We are so powerful at the moment, and I don't plan for that to be a thing of the past even after I leave. It's another reason why I called him, but I guess he doesn't know.He seems genuinely happy that I have him here, probably thinking I want to finally share some love for him as my son and care for him. I laugh internally. While I'm not completely incapable of being a father, there are too many things for me to do for me to bother about his well-being to that extent. However, no matter what, it's always good t
Last Updated : 2025-01-09Love and Shadows 15
Chapter 15Luca RomanoHearing my father confess literally to being the cause of my problem, I can't help but grit my teeth in annoyance. How many more problems is he going to leave behind for me when he leaves? How many more threats to my life is he going to let me inherit along with his mafia empire? If that's the cost, then is it really worth it? I know that I can't really be angry with him. It's the life I'm born into, and I have to deal with the problem with him and accept his support at the very most since there's no other option for me to choose between."I'll give you a couple of tools for you to protect yourself," he says, and I wonder what that could be. I know my father well. The only thing he has for protection is guards upon guards upon guards. Of course, they are important in protecting me, but I can't help but feel that it's going to be a waste of time against the killer lady that's up against me. She has infiltrated all my protective means so easily already, and at the
Last Updated : 2025-01-09Love and Shadows 16
Chapter 16: Luca RomanoAnother week has passed without me seeing the killer. She hadn't come to get me, to attempt to kill me, leaving me in peace for a very long time now. Somehow, I miss her presence. I don't know whether to be happy or sad—sad that my life seems to be coming back to normal. A small part of me doesn't want it to, but the rational part of me is pretty happy that I won't be threatened with death anytime soon, all of a sudden for no reason.I relax a little in my seat. This time I'm in my room, not my office, and I'm trying to go over everything that had happened between us in my mind. Her image looms over me, had loomed over me for days now without me being able to push it away. I just loved seeing her, and by now I had come to accept it. Somehow, I felt a little lonely without any contact from her whatsoever so far."Is she going to come anymore?" I questioned, frowning as I scrolled through pictures on my phone before shaking the thought off. I shouldn't wish for t
Last Updated : 2025-01-11
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Love and Shadows 81
Chapter 81: Luca RomanoI look straight at my sister in disbelief. Challenging for my position, the one that's mine by right - that's simply going too far. I am not quite sure what has suddenly gotten into her for her to even try this, but I am very angry with her now."How can you even-" I start, standing up to my feet and stomping on the ground in anger, but my dad is looking at me, his eyes firm now."Sit down," he said. My eyes widened in shock as I look at him, wondering if this is really it. I take a moment to contemplate my choices before I sit down finally, somehow having the feeling that this is going to be more than a mistake for me.I'm not quite sure if I should continue going along with what I have chosen, but when I think about it, I can't suddenly start changing my idea and what I have stood for just because of the consequences that await me. What would that make me? I wouldn't even feel like a man any longer if I suddenly started conforming because of the threat of los
Love and Shadows 80
Chapter 80: Luca RomanoIt is one thing to be defiant and say everything I want to say to every other person who questions what I choose to do. It is one thing to be myself, act free, and not care about what others think of my decisions. But it is another thing entirely to speak the same words to my father. And that is my situation now as I stare straight ahead at the man who holds my future in his hands somewhat and looks like he has a lot to say to me right now."I heard something about you refusing the marriage," someone says. I snap out of my thoughts and look at him boldly, deciding that it is best to face him man to man and tell him what I want. He keeps frowning hard at me. This is pretty much a family meeting now because everyone is here. Maybe he arranged it this way for this particular reason.If he thinks that because of all the people present and all the officials of the Romano mafia empire here, I won’t continue presenting my argument, then he is mistaken. He is the one w
Love and Shadows 79
Chapter 79Vanessa HollowayI couldn't help but feel like this was fated for the two of us to suddenly be sharing a meal with each other in a restaurant. Both of us, two parts of the same coin and facing the same situation of a forced marriage. I couldn't help but think that maybe we should just go along with it. After all, his eyes were very shocked when he noticed that it was me, but that was the same for me. I didn't know myself that he was the one that I was supposed to face. I had no idea whatsoever. And there was actually no way I could ever have known that it was.I was being prostituted. I knew that just as much as he was right now. With a sum of a higher class, they said, I was forced to drop my appearance as a journalist, to open up my ears and start calling myself my real name for just a while. But I told myself that the moment this was over, I would ensure that he would regret it if he decided to throw in his own blood with me and tried to be a thing with me.At his part,
Love and Shadows 78
Chapter 78: Luca Romano My sister comes to meet me and seems to want to have a long conversation, from the looks of how long she is spending and how she doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" I get questioned, frowning at her. She smiles at me slowly before she continues, her voice taking on a lighter tone."There's something else. You need to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you," she informs. I look at her in surprise. What on earth does she have to tell me that is actually so important?"Speak," I start, but she is already talking, and she doesn't need me to prompt her."What has happened is going to give us more resources and also give us backup against the various. I have more power over the family farm and can tilt the scales in our favor," she tells me. I can hardly believe my ears."What?" I ask. She doesn't seem to be joking at all."I know how it is to you. I know what you feel about it," she tells me. "She wants her m
Love and Shadows 77
Chapter 77Luca Romano I don't know what to say about her, how she reacts. It's surprising, simply put, and also incredibly interesting. "What is it you know about her?" I ask her. She raises an eyebrow."Don't worry yourself," she says. "I can't think," I respond coldly, wondering what has suddenly gotten into her and also wondering why she would decide to treat me like this, or her husband. "Are we now leaving each other in the dark about important things?" I ask her slowly, my voice having a dangerous edge to it as I question her actions and how she treats me right now.She seems to be a little uncomfortable. Finally, she responds, "I've done my research and I found out about him. I also know that he's not someone we can play around with. He's a very powerful figure in the criminal underworld. And also, there has never been anybody he came across that managed to survive." She told me, sounding rather fearful, "How did you survive?"She asked me all of a sudden. I blink, refusing t
Love and Shadows 76
Chapter 76 - Luca RomanoI stare at the man in front of me. I know that negotiation isn't going to get me anywhere. I don't even need anyone to tell me - I'm really well aware of the fact that he's here to take me alive, and that nothing I would say ever would change that. I'm feeling rather crazy inside as I look at him and try to plan.My phone is in my pocket. My hands are not really where he can see them. They are in my pocket, so I can pull off a trick or two on him, if I'm lucky enough. I wonder silently whether it's a good plan at all because personally, it seems like it's only going to be futile in the end. I really don't see how he's not going to be aware of my little trick if I actually decided to try it out, and I knew that it's already a daunting task in the first place for me, even more so when I decide that I'm going to try to talk to him and use my phone at the same time while maintaining that I am giving him my full attention.I am taking a deep breath as I try to calm
Love and Shadows 75
Chapter 75: Dante IcarusI don't really think my plan is feasible. It's not supposed to work at all because of how stupid it sounds, but somehow I have confidence that it's going to work either way. It simply borders on betting. Betting is only a bet that the relationship between Luka and Ikira is far further off than I would like it to be. However, I know that betting against myself is probably the best option I might have. I might have acute knowledge of it, but my analysis proves that for her to actually be protecting me, they might even be already having sex.Either way, I would find another way to get to him if he doesn't just come on his own. So even as I wait some distance away from where I called him to with her phone number, I didn't want her, but I think that it's too easy if he's actually going to come. I'm already making plans for what I would have something to work with when it actually doesn't work. But suddenly I see the car driving up quickly towards the space in the d
Love and Shadows 74
Chapter 74Dante IcarusLooking at the records in front of me, the files that are supposed to be easy to analyze, I find myself boiling in rage as the words blur in my vision. Twenty-two attempts at killing one man and he's not dead yet. I breathe, banging my fist on the desk, my eyes flashing in anger. This is absolutely impossible. This piece of information is something I can't fathom. Usually, one is all it takes, especially when I send my sharpest blade who goes by the name of Zora. But this time around, it takes a hell more than one, and even then there doesn't seem to be any results.I stopped sending her a while ago. It was pretty much clear to me that I wasn't going to get anything as a result from her, so it was best I send others that would be more obliged to comply with my will. Yes, I did everything - I followed all the rules, sending those I trust like her favorite colleague and companion, and also sending a couple of minors with some assistance from the tough guys, but t
Love and Shadows 73
Chapter 73 – Luca RomanoThe experience with her was bliss, and not just in words. I enjoyed it with every fiber of my being, and I was sure she did too. We started meeting with each other after that day, frequently in a way I wouldn’t have expected. Not in my house every time, of course, because then my dad or someone else might get wind of it, and I’d be in serious trouble if they started suspecting anything. But hotels were a good place for us to meet, to enjoy the pleasure of being in each other’s arms. I couldn’t help but feel like this was absolutely wonderful between us. I never wanted it to end. It was a deeper aspect of our relationship now that we were exploring further, now that we were finally having sex again after literally years of refraining. The only time we had done it before was that one-night stand that got us started with each other. Now, it seemed like something had finally ignited within us, and I never wanted it to end. I wanted the fire between us to continue
