AlceoAll my thinking was going into the dungeon to see Marianna and maybe talk to her about her present state. How her life had been ever since it all happened. But no, I happened to meet her late father's guard instead, challenging me.We all knew that what happened that day wasn't her fault, it was the history that ran deep between them that fueled the fight.The house was connected in such a way that I could hear most of the things being said from the dungeon in my room.I couldn't afford to look weak in front of my brother, he had sacrificed so much for me. And I was sure that Marianna had gone through alot too. It was almost impossible to not notice the healed bruises on her skin. Diego would never have done that, he was so protective of her, that I wonder sometimes if that was all this was about.I found my way to my room, placing my ear against the wall to see if I would catch anymore words being said.The door opened and I knew who exactly walked in. The thing Diego talked ab
MariannaThe loud banging noise from the bars of the iron forced me up. I had no idea when I slept off in Diego's arms but now, I found myself gently laid on the cemented floor with Diego's shirt covering me. The last thing I remembered was crying and holding on to Diego like he was the oxygen I was using to breathe.There was a small lamp on the floor, casting its reflection all over the place, aiding us to see clearly. Diego's rigid wide back welcomed me, his hands were folded into a tight fist.“Diego,” I called out, finding support from the walls as I tried to get up.“Oh the little bitch is up,” I heard a voice say. I recognized it to be Uri's. “I do not have a business with you, it's her I seek.”Diego's voice was as hard as a rock, deadly and venomous.“Call her one more name and you would wish you hadn't,” he threatened. Well, except the fact that it wasn't a threat. I knew Diego well.I found a spot where I could gently stay and watch both of them. He moved closer to Diego, h
AlceoAs I reclined to her level, all I wanted to do was wrap her now big body into my arms and relive the memories from our past.Her face glowed and she curled her lips into a smile as the word pretty left my mouth.She opened her mouth to talk and the next thing that plastered itself on my face was the remains of pizza leaving her mouth.“Gross,” came from different parts of the room. I could bet that they said it with a disgusted look.She was confused, fear had replaced the smile on her face. Her gaze was shifting from me to everyone in the room concurrently. She was literally shaking, only I could see it.She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her palm. “I'm sorry, I did not know that was going to happen.”I stayed still without giving her a response.“Remove your cloth and wipe his face,” Nina commanded with a stern voice. Every word of hers coming from a place of hate.“Oh, I'm sorry,” without a second thought, the ash blouse she wore went off her neck. She was lef
JavierIt's been close to a month since Marianna escaped. Her existence alone threatens my reign on that chair. Arico and the boys went out each day and returned with nothing.Lanco stopped feeding me with intel. I guess he took himself off the search.I tried to think about the possible places she could be, her late father's house was the last thing in my head.She could hide in that house for days without needing anything in the outside world. Santo made sure to stock it up.I reached for my phone, calling Arico.“It's Javier, did you check Santo's house?”“Not really but the boy stationed around hasn't reported seeing her. Maybe she did not go there,” he said.I sighed frustratingly, rubbing my sweaty palm over my face. “I do not care what you think, go inside and check. It's almost a month since she disappeared. Find her.”“Yes boss,” he said, his voice getting further away from the phone. I assumed he wanted to end the call.“One more thing,” I said. “Go now and when you get ther
JavierMy feeling of satisfaction about having a lead of where Marianna might be had me on my highest. The hooker I laid with was busy groaning and squirming under me. Maybe it was pleasure or pain, I cared less. So long as I enjoyed it, I decided to do it my way.The Italian song set as my ringing tone, dragged my attention away from the sex.“Who the fuck is calling me?” I questioned, still slamming myself into her. I held her hands above her head and restrained her from moving.The persistent ringing tone forced me away from her and the corner of my eye saw her wrapping the duvet on her body and breathing a sigh of relief. I dragged my attention away from her and placed the call in my line of sight. It was Lanco. “Give me good news Lanco,” I said, the frustration and anger that I was coming with had subsided.“I was able to trace him to a particular hideout but unfortunately nobody was there. In fact the basement was burned down.”“Burned down?” I questioned, making sure what I he
AlceoThe next few days had been terrible for both me and Marianna. But I guess it has been a lot worse for me. There was no one to pour out my feelings to, everyone needed me to be strong. Everyone wanted me to finally take up the legacy left behind by Isiak Romanov and that was exactly what I was doing.Uri was the exact opposite of what a brother should be. I needed someone who would understand what I felt, someone to rant to but then all in his face and head was utter hatred for the Italians. Hence transferring the largest chunk of it to Marianna.“How's she doing?” I heard Diego's voice from where I sat. It was like an echo, loud enough for me to hear. I had restricted Nina from entering my room. She needed to know her place, she wasn't my wife yet.“It's a he,” her beautiful solemn voice dragged me out of my reverie, snapping playfully. I guess they've been having this conversation for a while now. “I want him to look like his father; strong and handsome.”I pictured her rubbing
NinaThe little stunt Alceo pulled in front of everyone was enough to get me in my highest. As he walked away, my insides blossomed with different shades and feelings of happiness.I was going to get married to Alceo Romanov and finally be a Romanov. Even as I dined and basked in happiness, a part of me still felt empty and shallow and scared.That woman in the basement claiming to carry the first heir of the Romanov—be it a female or a male, the mafias don't discriminate about gender. They even believe females to be more ruthless than males. That woman's presence bothered me, she irritated my entire life.Her being in this house was going to cause a lot of troubles for me, even when I finally got married to him. She needed to leave, I don't care. I wasn't ready to share my man with another Russian woman, not to talk of an Italian. Before doing anything, I need to know things about their relationship. How it all went south.Only one person was going to be willing to talk about it. The
AlceoAfter laying with her, my eyes became clear. The only person that I had promised to lay with ever since I popped her cherry was right there in my home. So close to me yet I chose to dishonor her.Earlier this evening, I know I had said I was going to marry Nina but right now my thoughts conflicted with one another.What would be the fate of Marianna? She couldn't possibly stay in my dungeon forever. A part of me knew she heard the grunts and groans emanating from Nina and I. She was unusually loud and I felt she did it on purpose.Acting on instincts, I dressed up and made my way towards the dungeon. Maybe seeing her would get rid of my guilt. Even at that, I knew I was delusional.The entire house was still and quiet. The tiniest sound was going to give me away, and I wasn't ready for anyone to catch me, making my way there. I gently opened the iron door and flashed the light across.There she was, lying peacefully and snoring softly away in Diego's huge body. Her round tummy w
AlceoThe days pass us by quickly; minutes turning into hours and hours turning into days. The bigger portion of it wasn't left behind; days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month. Word on the street was that Javier was still on the run with the house and Rosco desperately looking for him.When Marianna told Rosco about how everything went, he was skeptical about her decision at first but reluctantly had no choice but to accept it. We managed to act cool but deep down I knew how much Rosco loathes us.Our lives have been beautiful ever since then but paranoia wouldn't release its tight grip on me. My presence seemed to calm Marianna down, knowing that I was crazy in my own way. I would watch the world burn for your sake if she demanded it. She lived freely and Javier became her past.She hummed along to the music playing from her phone inside the bathroom. She decided to use that day to wash her long dark hair, there was no way she was going to let me in with her.“It's high
MariannaThe mumbling sound of disagreement was starting to get to my ears. I refused to take my gaze away from the forefather, we both stared at each other like our lives depended on it.He hit the table, silencing everyone at once.“If I hear you well, Alceo Romanov is of Russian descent. His father is the late Isiak Romanov who got into a crossfire with your father, right?”“Very well forefather, you are correct,” I responded in affirmative.“I'm afraid my dear Marianna, that will not be possible,” he said. Deep down, I knew that was a response I might get. Rosco and Alceo believed that I was at least going to attain my rightful position today but I purposely kept that part away from them. Alceo renounced his position just because of us, and I wouldn't take my father's position and leave everything that concerns us. I love him too much to do that.“Why forefather? Is there something attached to it?”“The Russians are our enemies, one of the main reasons Javier was stripped of his
Marianna As usual the asshole who called himself my husband that stole my rightful position was up there, smiling at me. It's only a matter of time, sorry hours and minutes. Heaven knows why he decided to answer the message sent out this morning.“Good morning elders of the house,” I started to say. “You gave me an option the last time that I was here and I am here to present to you what I found the past few days.”Oblivious of what was spoken about the last time, the smirk on his face still did not disappear.I brought out the recorder in my pocket and handed it over to the house boy. He connected it to the speakers and everyone listened to the devastating truth on it.As I looked up to see the look on his face, it had been replaced with one of shock. Now was my turn to smile, a proud smirk plastered itself on my lips, refusing to go away.Huge uproar of mumbles arised and he kept adjusting himself in his seat. He had begun sweating and cursing himself. Even the great Javier still h
AlceoThe night felt like eternity to me, I couldn't close my eyes to sleep properly. Any little sound, I was up; knowing that Diego's killer was still roaming freely with no idea of him being exposed.Then I thought about Javier's words to Diego, he has a bigger plan than to rule the Italian mafia. He was after the Russians too. If I could connect all the dots properly, that would make a lot of sense why Nina kept pressuring me to marry her. Not because of my father but because she needed to marry me and then get rid of me for Javier. After that, he would be successful in penetrating the Russian mafia.The pads of my palm stroked Marianna's hair gently, showering her with a lot of thanks in me. Her giving birth to Cael made me come back to my senses. Thank whoever made her fall into forced labor, might as well be Nina; every disappointment is a blessing after all.Her light snores captured my attention back to her, she is a very beautiful woman. Ecstatic that we ended up with each ot
MariannaKnowing Diego's final moment was both torture and relief for me. At least we knew the son of a bitch that murdered him. Rosco and Alceo sat there without saying anything. His head was bent and I could hear very gentle sniffs from him. I never saw him as someone who could cry but I guess the death of a loved one was the most torture to be ever created.My eyes were starting to hurt badly, I could feel how swollen they were. Without looking at myself in the mirror, I pictured the color to be red.I reclined in the direction of Alceo and laid in his body, he wrapped me with so much warmth and care. Maybe my tears weren't enough but there's still a lot more that I would do.I decided to go first, the silence in the room was shattering. It could pass for a graveyard.“I'll go to the house tomorrow and show them the evidence. Javier Bezzio needs to be dethroned, he has done nothing but harm since he assumed that title.”“No way,” Alceo said.“I'm not going to let you put yourself i
AlceoThere was no amount of consoling that I could do for Marianna. First of all, I was glad that the Russians had no hand in Diego's death; maybe a little but not totally. And his Russian spy is dead as well. All the pieces of the puzzle were falling in place. Before I could return back to the surface of the earth, I heard screeching of a car outside in the compound.I had zoned out and forgotten that Marianna asked us to call Rosco. She sat by the phone and kept crying her eyes out, holding the phone like her life depended on it.The door flew open and I met with Rosco's bloodshot eyes. He searched for Marianna with his eyes and came straight for me. There was no time to tell him that I didn't cause her tears. 2 heavy punches hit me in the face and he held me by my neck, choking me. I tried to break free, but he was just too strong. Marianna ran from her position and tightened her grip on him.“I told you if she shed a single tear, I'd kill you,” he reached for the gun in his pock
MariannaIt's been over a week since Alceo came back from their house about Nina's death. No news or any progress has been made concerning it. And I could see worry and fear starting to reside in his eyes and his gestures. He became more clingy and protective of us, always swearing and promising to protect us.I decided to indulge him in the house chores I wanted to do. It was a general cleaning and it would be so cumbersome for me to do.“Al,” I called out for him. He came out with an apron tied around his neck, making him look sexy as fuck. I was beginning to drool just by looking at him.“You can take me if you want pretty,” he came closer, running his index finger over my cheek. “The sitting room is big enough for us to do as we wish and you can be sure that I would make you scream my name loud enough for the neighbors to hear.”I snapped out of the trance he was trying to put, I hit his hand away and pinched his arm, making him curse out.“Ouch,” he whined. “That wasn't nice, pre
AlceoImmediately I stepped into the room, every eye turned at me. Uri's situation was worse, it wasn't up to 48 hours since he was proclaimed the new leader that a death happened in the family. And it was more suspicious, because it was Nina's. Someone he was closer with.Frustration and worry resided deep in Uri's eyes, for a moment I wanted to sympathize with him but I decided against it.“I thought you weren't going to come around,” Aleksi said in a low voice to me, coming closer.“I could still turn back and return to the love of my life, it's not too late,” I replied to him in a straight and sharp tone.“Now is not the time to do all these, let's figure out what happened first. Then we'd sort the rest out ourselves.”“There's nothing to sort out, just let me be.”I went straight to the body and pulled the cloth covering her face. She was stone cold and dead by now, her face was pale and hard. I examined further, lowering the cloth again. I saw the spot where she was stabbed, it
AlceoKrrrrr-krrrrr-krrrrr, the incessant ringing of my iphone forced me out of bed. In my sleepy state, I walked to the spot where Marianna made us plug our phones. She was a huge advocate of not sleeping with our phones because it caused radiations of some sort. Without checking the caller, I picked up.“Hello,” my voice was gruffy and scratchy. “Who is this?”“At least, wake up from your stupid slumber and check the caller ID on your phone.”I could recognize that voice from hell. “What else do you want Aleksi? At least, you all have successfully taken away my father's legacy from me.”He sighed before saying. He knew how much pain I was in. “Nina is dead, we found her body in front of the house this morning.”“Well I didn't kill her, if that's what you are asking,” I said nonchalantly.“Arrrrrgh,” his grunt forced me to push the phone away from my ears. “This is not a joke Alceo. I know you don't like her but not enough to the point of killing her. So please we, I need you to come