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
NinaNo matter how beautiful the morning looked, it irritated my soul. I had a sinister plan run over in my head multiple times last night before I went to sleep. One that was certain to send Marianna packing and also to rid whatever love of hers that was left in Alceo's heart.I stole the keys from one of the guards tasked in watching her. I walked into the dungeon with all of them oblivious of what I was doing. They were probably still sleeping, I cared less.She sat up, playing with the face of the man who was locked in with her. Her beauty radiated and she glowed irrespective of the fact that she hadn't had a good bath in days.Instantly I became jealous and that envy helped fuel the disdain I was having for her.Her head went up in my direction. Her body seemed to stiffen, she attempted to wake Diego but I was faster.“You don't have to do that Marianna, I'm here to see you,” I said calmly, trying to be convincing as much as I can.The doubt and surprise on her face were staring
DiegoThe shouts from the main house forced me away from my sleep. I had barely had a good sleep and now these damn Russians were compounding my problems.I expected Marianna's sweet voice and words to wake me up but it wasn't as I thought.Sensing that she was not with me, I called for her everywhere but the echo of my voice answered me back.The exit door leading to the dungeon was slightly open, somebody had come in here to get her. Taking my sleep to their advantage.The door opened just in time and one of the guards walked in with my food, he dropped it in a rude way on the bare floor and was about to walk away. I needed to piss him off and make him fight me, that way I could get the key dangling on his trousers.“If at all you don't have manners, your mother would have at least taught you when you were younger. I'm sure you didn't take it seriously.”At the mention of his mother, the mean looking guard with a scar running from the top of his head to his cheek stopped abruptly.H
Marianna“Here is what would happen,” he started. I gripped the table cloth used to cover my shame tightly. My heartbeat raced faster and I prayed that he would be lenient. Nina's words were slowly working its way in him. Doubt laced every corner of his eyes, Alceo no longer believed that I was carrying his child.He would have despised me but I'm sure the memories we held from the past still had an effect on him.“I'm not going to be cruel, even though I should be. Over here, we do not tolerate rubbish. You have 2 options Marianna Del Vecchio,” he said and my heart sank deeper. He rarely called me by my father's name and for a moment, I was glad that he didn't call me Bezzio.“My apologies, Mrs Bezzio,” he corrected himself and it felt like my thoughts were being read. “You have 2 options; walk away from here or render yourself to be a servant to the Russians. Make your choices well, whatever you choose, will be applicable to Diego as well.”Nina cut in immediately. “There shouldn't
AlceoFew minutes earlierImmediately Marianna chose her preferred option, a part of me was glad that I'd still see her in the compound and a part of me tried not to care.Everything happened in a split second, the clattering of dishes and a knife pressed firmly to my throat.“Don't do anything stupid, just enter that room. You and I have a lot of things to say,” he held me down and kept pushing me into the closest room behind us.“Diego, what are you doing?” She called out, obviously shocked. I was too. I had no choice but to adhere to his instructions. One slight mistake and my jugular vein would have to suffer for it.“Don't worry Princess, me and the pretty boy here just need to have a private talk,” he said. I pictured him smiling after his words. The guts of his calling me pretty boy.The door went shut and he hurriedly secured the latch on the door.“Sometimes I think you forget that this is not the Italian turf, it is the Russians,” I said as soon as he freed me.“Well confide
MariannaIt's the second week in the servant's quarters and it was kind of like what I expected a bit. Glares of death and foul words spewn the air like oxygen anytime I passed or whenever they sighted their eyes upon me. I was determined to lay low and just mind my business, I couldn't afford to make one single mistake. Anything done wrong, I would find myself on the streets. I felt like Alceo had given me a chance to save myself. I couldn't afford to go back to Javier. He must have almost ran mad looking for me. Maybe he knows where I am, maybe he doesn't, who knows? He should have connections up to that point.“Thinking again, Marianna?” A sweet serene female voice called out to me. I gently turned my head towards the direction of the call. It was Valentine, the only female friend I had there. When everyone treated me with hate and disrespect when I moved there, she was the only one who drew me close and put me through.“Not quite, I am just taking some fresh air in. Want to join m
AlceoWe knew exactly how dangerous wasting was but it was our only choice in order not to mess things up. I tried so hard to believe in my head that it was Javier that was with Marianna and not that bastard that I just heard about today. For like a week, we stopped every street tracking and went silent, keeping the most vital information to ourselves. Just between our circle, making whoever else Javier has on us to believe that we have given up.Rosco's call came in, I jumped from my seat and had it placed on speaker. “We've gotten Lanco’s position, I'll hold him off till you get here. I'm sending the address to you. And have some of your trusted boys go join mine at Renzo's house. I don't want a repeat of the trouble I carried.”The line went dead and without being told much, my brother's grabbed every piece of gun they could find, fixing silencers onto some of them. We weren't in our city, we had no reason to have the cops on our tail.Every one of us wanted to be there when we fou
AlceoHaving an inkling about how much he despised the so-called Lanco, I decided to know what exactly must have transpired between them. I poured wine into his glass cup and watched him down it at a go. “What happened between you and Lanco?”He sighed, shutting his eyes tightly, as if trying to shut out a bad memory. “He is a hitman or someone you call a mercenary. He's devoid of any human feelings and does things that are out of the norm. Once a girl was stolen from her home and the girl's mother came to beg me to help look for her child. I searched everywhere and information later reached me that she was taken by Lanco.“I tried to reason with him about how we were both Italians and how he should honor the bond between us, so he'd release her to me. Lanco told me that she was his plaything and vowed never to let her go. I let my ego down and promised him whatever amount he wanted, he still wouldn't listen. All of a sudden, he asked me to go back home and be at peace, that he'd sen
AlceoHis leg was wrapped up in order to avoid him bleeding to death before could say what he needed. We didn't start anything yet, he just sat in the middle of the room, sweating profusely with each of us watching him intently.“I heard the latest news,” the last person we were waiting for showed up. Rosco was in the most casual clothing I had ever seen him in, he was probably taking a nap when my call came in. Seeing Rosco had him drag his bloodied leg uncomfortably on the floor.Rosco settled beside Uri, making me wonder why. Another excuse that came to me was the fact that it was far away from where the guard was. Knowing how bad his temper was, he wouldn't want to kill him before he gave up the information we needed.He relaxed back, crossing his legs over one another. “What I hear, is it true? Is it true that you were caught speaking with the one person that has been troubling both the Italians and the Russians for months now?”Ashamed to face us, he knew very well the cost and
UriJust like that, 4 months in total had gone by since the death of Diego and the disappearance of Marianna. Alceo looked a little closer to death everyday, the house was gloomy and nothing made anybody smiley. We all admitted and accepted that we had treated Marianna in a bad way, most especially me. Not knowing that she was a top asset to us. I imagined that, only if father was alive, he would have fought tooth and nail to make sure nothing comes in between their love. It would only make him so much more protective irrespective of whatever bad blood is between him and Santo.The picture of the late Lady Del Vecchio hanging boldly on the wall in our living room gave me a little bit of hope anytime I walked past it. It was a way of reassuring me that we would find her and properly I'll tender my apologies. The way her cheek lit up and a part of her teeth showed, it was obvious, Marianna took her mother's face.For my father to have fallen in love with this woman, it meant a whole lot
Alceo2 weeks laterThe last meeting with Javier's father was relieving and at the same frustrating. Everything went silent, no new information or anything to keep our asses on the street. Rosco was busy helping us to comb the street but since he was a lot more used to it than us. My brothers have welcomed him gladly into our home but he wasn't one to cross his boundaries. Something was tying the Italians and the Russians together now, it was best we work together.The elders of the Italian house too couldn't find anything on Javier, not after the last threat I gave them. Javier was pretty stealth and I was sure that he had help else he wouldn't be able to pull this off by himself.It was late at night, everyone sat alone, moody and pissed. The door swung open and in came Rosco.I was the first to go. “You look like shit, have you had a bath recently?”“There's little or no difference between us, so wrap it up boy.”His muscular frame made him look like my older brother, so him callin
AlceoI managed to make myself a little bit neat, shaving my beards and taking a cool shower in order to help me think. My phone chimed and I got out of the bathroom, locating it immediately. It was a message from Rosco. We've combed every place we knew but everything ended in futile. There was a place we could try out, this time, it was just going to end in talks not the usual bloodshed.I dressed casually, tucking a pistol behind me. I met my brothers waiting for me downstairs.“You got the location?” Uri asked, loading the guns in the back of the car.I nodded my head in affirmation. “But we might not be needing that. We are just going there to have a talk, we are hoping he might have an idea where he is.”“Hmmm,” Uri said, still ignoring everything I said. “You never can tell what will happen. To be on the safer side, I'll just keep them here.”I didn't argue with him anymore and just found a spot to settle in. My mind was clouded, my vision was starting to become blurry due to th
JavierReality was starting to dawn on me, I thought kidnapping Marianna and having her whenever I wanted would fill the empty space in my soul. Instead it just made it wider, seeing her lose herself made me lose myself too.I sat outside in the cold, lighting a cigarette to keep me warm. One single drag in, and I felt so good, having the feeling of euphoria. This continued for a while and I threw my head back to relish the feeling I was getting.It was a quiet scenario with just the cottage in the area. A call from my other phone shattered my blissful feeling. I stared blankly at the caller ID before picking it up.In a straight, stern voice, I answered. “How can I help you Arico?”“Where are you boss? The Russians have been going berserk, killing whoever they find affiliated to you. Are you safe where you are?”“So what should I do about it? You are my boys, so it is necessary you die for me,” I didn't think twice before I said what I said. If I was in Arico’s position, I'd be quite
Alceo Everywhere went silent after the call, no one dared say a word. My anger could make a whole pasta go from raw to finished. I grabbed the phone beside me and threw it against the wall.“AARRRRRRRGH,” I destroyed everything that was in my way. The guards rushed in, trying to see if an intruder was in the house and I decided to transfer my anger on them. Going physical on them was doing little to nothing to my anger, instead it enraged me more.Before I could say jack, a real heavy punch lodged itself in my face. Turned around to see who it was and lo and behold, it turned out to be Aleksi.“You want to let off some of that heat, let's go,” he took his stance in front of me and that angered me more. He was more strategic, I was fighting blindly. Most of my punches missed him but his punches were hitting me in sensitive places, making me go weaker faster.“You bastard,” I spat out blood. “You think you can handle me?”The others stood at a corner watching the drama happening betwee
Trigger warning ⚠️ Marianna1 month later I don't know what day it was or how long I've been there but to me it felt like months. I was plunged into the dark and the only time I had any companions was when my master came in. Either to serve me or to relieve himself using me. I crave for the sun, I crave for the morning light, I crave for a particular touch but I didn't know who it belonged to.All I remembered of him was his distinctive features; full eyebrows, dark skinned with a different shade of blue eyes. His face was starting to disappear and I desperately sought to keep it. Master told me he was the one that caused all my misfortune but his face failed to give off that vibe. His face was the definition of peace, it gave me all the tingling I needed. The door opened and immediately I went on all fours. It was in the same position that I was fed and used as a tool to satisfy master's cravings. If I failed to do so, I'll be met with master's anger and I wasn't ready to face tha