MariannaMy black hair tripped over my face as I carefully walked into the already filled class with my head bent downwards. I held my books firmly to my chest and avoided the lecturer's eyes."Miss Marianna," the lecturer's voice halted my steps. Turning my back slowly, I brushed my hair backwards to face him."Yes Mr Alceo?"He removed his glasses from his eyes, burning his stares into my skin."What time does it say on your watch?""I'm sorry Mr Alceo, I had some things which kept me late," I bit my lower lips, the memories from last night which made me late flashed through my head. "Fine, don't let it repeat itself. I'm not very tolerant of late coming, go have your seat," he said, moving on with his lecture.I settled in my chair, in the far corner of the class. The class went by so quickly and I could barely grasp what he was teaching. My attention was returned back to earth when the class became rowdy, the other students stood up, dropping the assignment he asked for. I reache
MariannaStill confused about the whole news my father just sprung on me, my gaze trailed from my father to everyone in the room one by one.Their son—Javier—sat beside his parents, still wearing the ugliest smile I had ever seen. I spent a few more minutes accessing his physical features, his stature was small, smaller than Alceo's. He wore a white shirt and a black trousers, his tiny arms being obvious in his clothes. I compared his with Alceo's arms, they were enough to wrap me in. Alceo was home, my home and even since we've been together I have never pictured myself with another man."Clearly you're joking, father," I said, releasing a short laugh afterwards. "You expect me to marry him," I pointed to Javier in a disgusting manner."What's wrong with him? He's a good boy," my father looked at him and the smile on his face disappeared."You told me to go for men, that I could see you in them and I definitely do not see you in him."My father—Santo—held my shoulders, rubbing my ch
Marianna"Papa," I jumped from the bed still holding the blanket that covered my nudity. "It's not what you think, I can explain.""Alright then, I'll give you a benefit of doubt. What exactly is going on?""Papa, this is the man I'm in love with. I don't want to marry whoever you choose for me, I want to live my own life. Mama would have wanted that," I purposely brought my mother into the issue, knowing fully well how much he loved and cherished her.I saw my father's face taken aback with pain, I could bet that memories upon memories were busy swimming in his head."You don't know what your mother would have wanted," he said between gritted teeth and I knew that I had crossed the lines. He faced the guards. "Take him, I need to teach him a lesson of not messing with Del Vecchio's daughter."I gripped my father's clothes tightly, my tears were flowing freely by then."He didn't do anything to me papa, it was all me. I lured him to bed," I couldn't live with knowing how much pain my
AlceoAs soon as the party was over, I was flung back into the basement I was once picked out from. My body came in contact with the untitled floor, I whined in pain and helped myself to the wall, resting my back on it.Santo's head popped through the door, our eyes becoming 4."You should be glad that my daughter is in love with you or else you would be dining with Satan in hell already."I chuckled, wiping the blood at the corner of my lips. "You think you scare me, Santo Del Vecchio?"I guess it was the first in a long time someone had called him by his full name. The shock in his face was evident, his brows creased and his lips twitched to the other side."You don't know who you are dealing with, you this old scared little man. I know everything about you, I know your secret," I continued."Let's see how you would get out of here alive, I'll make sure to kill every form of love in my daughter's heart.""Not even the devil himself can make that happen," I said and the blood in his
MariannaThe deafening sound from the gun had me wondering who was shot again. I swiftly turned around and I saw my father, still standing with the gun pointed at Alceo. He had fallen with his back to my father's feet.I raced down from the step, in twos, trying to get to the last landing quickly."Nooooo, Al," I shouted on top of my voice, running towards him, not caring about the commotion that was happening at that point.I reached his body and met the beautiful blue eyes that I had always fallen in love with, sealed shut."Al, please don't do this to me. I love you, please wake up. I believe everything you say," I took his face in my hand and immersed my pajamas in a pool of his blood. At intervals, I kept tapping his face, pleading with him to wake up.I zoned out from the room, my tears made a huge mess on Alceo's face, the flying bullets and gunshots made no difference to me. I buried my face in his body and sobbed loudly, begging him to wake up if it was a dream. In less than
MariannaIt's been a long time since the whole saga happened and I had no idea how much time had flown by. Javier kept me in the basement, locking me up like a prisoner. He called me his prisoner, he wasn't exactly lying about that.The basement lid might not open for days and sometimes I was grateful for that. Grateful that I had the peace to myself, even though I starved badly most times.His abusive nature was one I could never deal with, I would have killed him if we ever lived together. I had to mind my words around him, knowing how angry he got the last time I asked for a better type of food.I had lost a reasonable amount of weight. My glowing beautiful skin had become dull, it cracked and drew white lines anytime I itched my body.Javier had been merry-go-rounding all over the house. Sometimes, I could hear the voices of him and someone else, a lady to be precise, making out.I was restricted to the basement, chained at the feet and one hand. My dry skin was filled with bruises
Javier It's been a few days since I went to check up on Maria. The house has been doing a lot of work for the past few months, cleaning up the entire mess the Russians created and making sure the police are not involved. Knowing how much I desired Santo's position, if they ever found out that Maria was still alive, they'd never transfer the properties to me. She had been throwing up lately and lost a lot of weight. Her beautiful face now drooped, her glowing skin faded. The only thing she does to me now irritates me. Deciding to find out why she was throwing up so much lately, I drew a portion of her blood without her knowledge. Taking it to the lab, it was confirmed that she was pregnant. I could feel myself tear into 2 mentally and emotionally. Not now that I sought a greater purpose, a child is coming into the picture. The child of the enemy at that. Determined to clear anyone who stood in my way, I made up my mind to kill that thing sprouting inside her. I found my way home a
Javier Wearing an apron and gloves, I held Marianna's customized bracelet in my right hand, standing with Lanco over the dead girl's body. My face ruffled up on its own, Lanco shouldn't be among the living, he was a brutal man. The dead girl's face was beyond recognizable, while her dark hair fell back in the tub, few bruises and cuts were logged on both sides of her arms. He turned to look at me, pausing the things he was doing. His yellow unarranged teeths flashing at me, saying hi. "Do you want to know how she was killed?" "No I do not want to know," I snapped. He wasn't even reading the room, I wasn't interested in knowing. Even though my conscience pricked me a lot, I assured myself that I was sacrificing for my goal. "You are no fun," he said, stretching his bloodied hands out for me. "The bracelet." Passing it to him, he wore it carefully on her. "Done," he smiled, looking satisfied like a child who had just been given candy. Taking a final look at her, I didn't even know
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
Alceo2 weeks laterDays ran faster than we knew, it's been 2 weeks since Javier and Melissa's disappearance. Combed every place we knew yet it came out with disappointment, even his right hand man Arico disappeared off the grid. Catching him would mean catching Javier but first we had to look for him.My eyes were weary and heavy, sleep has eluded me for the past few days. Waking up with nightmare of Melissa being in torture everyday seemed to be my constant companion.My beards were full and rough, with just one piece of cloth on my body all day. My brothers looked almost the same but they tried to keep the hope alive. Melissa was one of us irrespective of the fact that she was of Italian descent.I grabbed my phone and placed a call to Rosco. “Yes Russian, have you got any news?” “Nothing yet,” I laid back on the bed, inhaling the smell of food placed on the bedside table. “Can you set up a meeting with the elders of the Italians?”“Yes I can, but why do you need the meeting?”“N
Trigger warning ⚠️ MariannaMy bare back came in contact with the cold floor. A sharp pain shot through my head, I wondered where I was. Trying to remember the last thing that happened before I found myself here. The room was pitch black and instantly a fear crept up my body. This scene was familiar and my body was starting to be filled with goosebumps.“Javier,” I muttered under my breath, trying to stand. But my legs gave away themselves, catching my attention to the jingling sound of chains. A force of wind blew through the semi-open window, making me shiver badly and I realized that I was still in my underwear. I raised my left hand to drag the cloth a little bit under, then the realization set in.“Son of a bitch,” I cursed. “He had me chained like a dog.”Frustrated, I sat back shivering in the cold. My tummy rumbled and I remembered that I hadn't found anything to eat. I was busy waiting for Alceo so we could eat together before the bastard bursted in.The light suddenly went
AlceoThe revving of a car just outside the yard alerted me of his arrival. I grabbed the bag load of guns and flung it over my shoulders. “Thought you wouldn't show up,” I fired at him immediately as he came down from the car.“And you look like shit, is the shower not running?”I fired him with a nasty look. “How will taking a shower help Marianna where she is?”“You've got a point, let's go,” I opened the backseat and dropped the luggage I was coming with, while I settled into the front.The entire ride was quiet, I believed he wasn't much of a talker. He only talked when it was necessary.We arrived in front of the gate and waited for it to be opened. The guards had tripled and I believed that yesterday's incident had an influence on it.None of the guards tried to stop Rosco, maybe because he was with me or because he tripled their size.“What's he doing here?” Uri said as soon as we stepped in. They were having breakfast. “We welcome no Italian in any way. Javier's fight is not