RAVENNA
~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤♤I came to a stop at the kitchen’s entrance, damn sure I was seeing things.“Anthony, you’re cooking?”“That’s the same expression we had on our faces when we came into the kitchen this morning,” Nana said, giving Anthony a motherly smile.“It’s a little thank you for letting me stay at your place last night. Don’t worry. I made sure I wiped the all the counters,” he said with a smirk, winking at Zypher who choked on the juice she had been drinking.My eyes danced between the two of them. What was going on with two of them? Zypher avoided looking at anyone in the kitchen, while Anthony grinned from ear to ear.They definitely did something last night. That was why Zypher didn’t want to look at anyone.“This is interesting,” I said, grinning from ear to ear as I took a seVALENTINO~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“My body hurts all over. I just feel like sleeping and never waking up,” Ciro said as I lowered him to his bed. “That’s wishing for death, Ciro. Stop saying shit like that.” I found an envelope on the bed next to Ciro, but as I reached for it, he quickly snatched it off the bed. “What are you hiding?” “Nothing.” He was definitely hiding something. I could tell from his tone. “Ciro!” I snapped. “What’s inside that envelope?” “It’s private pictures of this woman I’m seeing.” I knew he was lying, but I let it slide. “Next time, keep it where no one can see.” He forced a grin. “Yeah. I was looking at it before I had to leave the house, so I just left it on the bed. My bad.” “Whatever. I’m leaving, okay? Send me a text if you need anything. Or don’t. It’s fine with me either way.” “You love me and you know it. You even killed a bunch of men for
RAVENNA ~~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤♤“Slade and the rest will be fine. Thankfully, it’s nothing too damaging,” Uncle Leo said, patting my shoulder as we waited for an update on the men. “Uncle, did you see the fire that burnt our house down?” “Yes.” “It was a raging fire. Nothing could have saved them. We must have stayed long at the park because the fire didn’t look like it just started. Can you imagine getting burnt by that?” “It was brutal, Ravenna, but even in their dying breath, they made sure they typed out a text to you. Who knows? If they hadn’t sent that message, you might be dead by now. They loved you a lot.” My vision got blurry as tears poured out of my eyes. “Did you know Mom was pregnant?” Uncle Leo raised a brow. “She was?” “Yes. She was going to tell D
RAVENNA~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“What’s going on here?” I repeated when Aria just stared at me with wide eyes, and Valentino looked away from me. “It’s none of your business,” Aria hissed, scrambling for her clothes. “Not really, but care to explain why you’re naked in front of your step son?” Even though the question was directed at Aria, I kept my eyes pinned on Valentino. “Drop it, Ravenna. It’s none of your business,” he said. Aria smiled triumphantly. “See? He agrees with me.” “Shut up, Aria. I’ll only let this slide today. Don’t ever try it,” he said before walking out of the room. “You just had to ruin everything, didn’t you? I just wish you would die,” Aria spat as she put her clothes on. “You should be disgusted with yourself. He’s only two years older than your biological son, and you want to sleep with him? I’ve never met a more fucked up and disgusting woman like you.” “You’re j
VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“What are you doing in here, Paul?” I asked as I walked into my kitchen. I took off my jacket, placing it on a stool. “I was dreading making a call to you, so I grew some balls and come see you for myself,” he replied. “You’re just in time. I made you something to eat.” I went to the sink to wash my hands before returning to the table. “You were dreading making a call to me because you finally told me the truth about my mother.” He placed a plate of Lo mein in front of me. “You’ll have to hit the gym with this one.” I took a bite of the noodles. “Tastes good. I didn’t know you could cook.” He took a seat at the other end of the table. “I didn’t always come from money, you know. I couldn’t splash thousands of dollars on food at a pricey restau
RAVENNA ~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“Boss, she’s refused to eat anything for almost a week now. She also refused to tell us more about that Sawyer guy.” I heard a voice I was already accustomed to say from outside the room they kept me in. “Is that so? Open the door,” Eamon said. The door got unlocked and Eamon walked in, but I was too tired to sit up on the bed. He walked to the side of the bed so he could look at my face. “Why are you punishing yourself?” He asked, taking a seat on the armchair placed next to the bed. “I am not punishing myself. You insisted on keeping me here.” “Only because you refused to say anything about Sawyer. I already told you. They took my family heirloom, and it’s very important to me.” “You must be out of your mind if you think I’m gonna tell you anything. If you’re go
The next time I woke up, I was on a bed. I tried to sit up, but a muscular arm pushed me down on the bed. “Stop being so stubborn and get some more rest,” Valentino said. I turned my head to side to find sitting on the bed with a laptop on his thighs. “It wasn’t a dream. You really came.” He closed his laptop, placing it on the nightstand next to him. “I did. I think you have a penchant for getting yourself into trouble, and I’m always left saving your ass.” “Not true. The time my men’s house got burnt, you didn’t come to help me, did you?” “There are some certain things you need to take care of yourself or you won’t be able to stand on your own.” “Not that I’m complaining, but you’re always the one coming to my rescue without me even having to ask you.” “Reallly?” “Mhm. If this continues, I think I might actually get used to having my personal superhero coming to save the day.”
RAVENNA ~~~~~~~♤♤♤♤♤“Do you want to come inside?” I asked Valentino as the gate to my house slid open, and there stood Nana, Uncle Leo, Zypher, Drake, Jacob, and Alaina. “Nana would want to say thank you.” “Come on in, you two,” Nana shouted from the other side of the gate. “I’m not staying long,” Valentino said as he drove into the compound. “Right.” He had barely parked the car before Nana was yanking open the door to my side. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, pulling me into a hug. She pulled away from me and went over to Valentino, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you for bringing her back.” I hugged Uncle Leo and the girls next. Valentino stood there awkwardly, and I could see he contemplated hugging her back or not. Nana pulled away from him, looking up at him. “You’ve grown so much. You tower over me now,” she said with a smile. “I always towered over you.”
VALENTINO ~~~~~~~~♧♧♧♧♧♧“It’s been long since you dropped by,” Payton said as she opened the door to her apartment for me and I walked in. “I had things going on. How’s Jasmine doing?” “She’s fine. She’s sleeping in her cot. Do you want to see her?” “No. Maybe some other time. Are you and the baby doing okay?” “Yes, but the other day, I saw some men watching us. Did you send them over?” I didn’t send anyone to monitor them, but I knew telling her that would only worry her. “I did, but I told them to do it subtly. I guess they’re not doing their job properly.” I made a mental note to send some men over to her place. “You really don’t have to do that. Jasmine’s father is no longer in the picture.” “It was just precautionary. I just dropped by to say hi. I have to go visit Paul, and then I have to grab Renegade from Ciro’s place.” “Don’t let me keep you waiting. You can stop by an