Enjoy the chapter, my lovely readers! Just a quick note—I update daily, and there’s even a calendar on the app to prove it. If I take a day off, it’s because I need some time for myself, not because I’m prepping double updates. And to those who only comment to complain or bring negativity: remember, no one is making you read this book. It’s entirely your choice to be here. To the rest of you—my wonderful, supportive readers—you make this all worthwhile. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Drop a comment and let me know who’s excited for the next one! XOXO 💋
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Then he spoke again, and his voice hit me like a bucket of cold water. Oh, he was real. Too real. “You're the biggest headache of my life... and the only thing I can't stop wanting,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. His hand raked through his hair, and he looked down, like he was trying to find the words buried somewhere in the concrete beneath us. “You’re so goddamn...pretty. It’s infuriating.” I blinked at him, caught off guard, “What?” His head snapped up, and he looked at me like I was the problem, like I was the one ruining his life. “You heard me,” he said, “You’re pretty, okay? Too fucking pretty. And I hate it. I hate you. You make everything impossible.” My breath hitched, and I hated myself for it. “You hate me?” my voice trembling with anger or maybe it was something, “Good. Because I hate you too.” He stepped closer, and suddenly there was no space left between us. I could feel the heat rolling off him, his breath warm and tinged with whis
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ His lips dragged a lazy path down my stomach, he kissed the sides of my waist, his stubble scratched against my skin, and when he reached the edge of my lace blue panties, he paused. His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine, half-lidded, intense, and filled with so much lust that made my stomach flip. His lips parted, his teeth brushing over the delicate lace as he caught the fabric. It wasn't smooth, it was messy, slow, and really sloppy. He tugged the panties down with his teeth, the fabric catching briefly against my thighs before sliding lower, until they pooled at my ankles. Every nerve in my body seemed to be on edge, my head spinning from the booze, the heat, the way he looked at me like I was something he was about to ruin in the best possible way. His mouth hovered just close enough to make me squirm. My head tipped back against the pillows, the room spinning like I was on a carousel I couldn’t get off of. When his tongue finally swept between my folds, I c
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ The morning air bit at my skin, cold enough to clear my head. Coffee in hand, I leaned against the front door. Last night replayed in broken flashes—her body beneath mine, her breathless moans, the way she looked at me. I shouldn’t have touched her. Not again. Not after everything. But fuck me, when she’s near, it’s like every ounce of logic burns away. And God, she makes it so fucking easy. One of my men stepped out of the car, with the garment bag in his hand. “Sir, the dress,” he said, holding it out. A dress for her. Something elegant, beautiful, tailored to fit her perfectly. Because, apparently, I’m the kind of man who has shit like this ready for a woman I can’t trust, can’t forgive, but still can’t fucking let go of. I snatched the bag out of his hand, and dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Inside the house, I dropped the garment bag onto the couch. The coffee in my hand was lukewarm now, but I drank it anyway, the bitterness biting at my to
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ This had to work. Failure wasn’t an option, not for me, not for her, and definitely not for the truth. If this plan fell apart, it wouldn’t just ruin everything I’d clawed my way toward; it would rewrite the narrative, paint her as the victim when she was anything but. The thought made my stomach churn. I stood at the head of the table, my arms crossed, watching the two boys fidget under my gaze. Their mothers stood protectively behind them, throwing nervous glances at each other. They weren’t scared of the courts or the cops. No, their real fear had a name: Nikolai. “Do I need to remind you how much I’ve already paid you?” I said. I leaned forward, my palms flat on the table, watching their faces carefully. One of the boys, the taller of the two, finally mustered the courage to speak. “Yeah, but… going in front of Don Niko wasn’t part of the deal. We agreed to testify in court, not to lie to him.” Before I could answer, one of the mothers stepped in, “Ms.
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ “Stick to the script I gave you,” I said. The boys nodded in the rearview like their lives depended on it—because it did. The Costellos were laying low, their operations still on ice but that doesn't mean they were any less dangerous. No flashy parties, no public outings, no throwing their weight around. They weren’t taking any chances. Instead, they holed up in each other’s mansions, surrounded by family, playing house like they weren’t the most dangerous people in the city. I pulled into the long driveway of Nikolai’s estate, the towering gates opening. My car glided to a stop, and I turned to the boys in the backseat. “If you embarrass me in there, I’ll make you wish you had never crossed paths with me.” I didn’t wait for their shaky nods before stepping out. I adjusted my jacket and strode to the front entrance, the boys trailing behind me on the steps. Danilo was by the front door, patrolling as usual. He caught sight of me, and his whole demeanor changed
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Scott dragged a chair across the room, the legs scraping against the floor in a sound that made my teeth clench. He didn’t seem to care about the noise, though; he was grinning like this was his favourite sick game. Alessandro carried a second chair in one hand, a gun in the other, the weight of it swinging casually at his side. They positioned the chairs back-to-back, like they were setting up for an execution. Once the chairs were in place, they each took a side—Scott on one, Alessandro on the other. My heart pounded like it was about to burst, my eyes flicking to Angelo and Joey. Their gazes locked onto mine, filled with silent, desperate pleas. Joey’s chin quivered, and in that moment, a fierce instinct surged through me, I would protect those boys with everything I had. “Sit,” Alessandro ordered. Angelo and Joey exchanged a terrified glance, their faces pale as ghosts as then they looked at me again, but they didn’t dare to refuse them. Scott grabbed Joey
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ I used to think nothing could break me. That I was untouchable. Unshakable. Unbreakable. And now I was curled up on the couch in Brandon’s empty apartment, clutching a spoon like it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart. A half-melted pint of chocolate ice cream sat in my lap, barely touched, while some cheesy rom-com played on the TV. Never thought I’d end up here. Viviane Kane, the one who walked away before anyone else could reduced to this. Alone. Pathetic. Watching strangers pretend love fixes everything while mine left me shattered. Maybe this is what karma looks like. Maybe I deserved it. I thought I could handle anything. Thought I could keep my walls high and my heart out of reach. But then Alessandro happened. And now...now I couldn’t even hold myself together. The tears came before I could stop them, hot and bitter, sliding down my face in waves that wouldn’t let up. I wiped at them angrily, furious at myself for feeling this way.
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ “God forbid anything in your world not revolve around her,” she spat and I could hear the hurt buried underneath her words, “Your loyalty. Your blind devotion. She could burn you alive, Alessandro, and you’d still protect her. You’d throw me to the flames just to keep her warm.” I opened my mouth to argue, to explain, but no words came. I couldn’t even breathe past the knot in my chest. How could she think that? Viviane stood there, glaring at me, she wrapped her arms around herself like a shield, not against the world—against me. And it wrecked me because I could see it in her eyes. She believed every word she said. She thought I’d put Francesca above her, that I’d choose anyone over her. She couldn’t be more wrong. “You don’t get it,” I finally bit out, “You think this is about her? You think I’d protect her over you? Goddammit, Viviane, you are so far off the mark, it’s insane.” Her jaw tightened, “Am I?” she muttered, “Then explain it, Alessandro. Ex
Francesca sat in the chair, trembling, her hands clutching the fabric of her skirt. Her tear-streaked face darted between the women surrounding her, searching for sympathy.but she found none. Evangeline adjusted the tripod, the camera framed Francesca perfectly. Allegra crossed her arms, “You know, Francesca, the thing about the truth is, it always comes out. Whether you say it yourself or someone else drags it out of you, that’s up to you.” Francesca sniffled, dabbing her face with a trembling hand. “I don’t know what you think I’ve done,” she stammered, her voice uneven. “Oh, we’re way past thinking,” Delilah snapped, stepping closer. Her heels clicked sharply against the floor, “We know exactly what you did. To Alessandro.” Camilla stood at the back of the room. Her eyes bore into Francesca, filled with years of pent-up rage and sorrow. She didn’t say a word, she just looked at that woman with a new kind of hatred. Francesca’s eyes darted nervously from one face to the nex
Viviane☩═✦═☩The moment I stepped outside, I stopped dead in my tracks. They were all there, standing in a tight circle. Each one of them towered over six-foot-three, dressed in black suits that barely hid the tattoos snaking up their necks and wrists. And knowing them, each probably had at least five knives or guns hidden somewhere under all that tailored fabric. Hell, probably even brass knuckles tucked away for good measure. While I was unarmed...I had nothing. Just the clothes on my back and whatever shred of confidence I could scrape together. My stomach twisted, the instinct to turn and run hammering in my chest. I pulled my shoulders back, forcing my spine straight, and took one step after another down the stairs. The sound of a black SUV pulling up caught their attention. They moved as one, parting without a word, clearing a path for me straight to the car. My throat felt dry as sandpaper as I swallowed hard and walked forward. Nikolai stepped to the side and opened t
Viviane☩═✦═☩“Alessandro,” Evangeline began casually, twirling her wine glass by the stem, “I’ve been thinking about what you said in Nikolai’s office the other day.”I didn’t even realize my hand had tightened around my fork until I heard the faint scrape against the plate. My eyes flicked to her briefly, then instinctively to Alessandro, who sat across the table.He frowned at her, “What about it?” Evangeline tilted her head slightly. She lazily moved her fork through the air, like she was painting an invisible picture. “Oh, nothing really. It’s just something you said stuck with me,” she sipped her wine slowly, “That little comment you made about how ‘boys don’t get abused,’” she said, mimicking his words, her voice lilting mockingly. “And then you added, what was it?” she snapped her fingers, “Ah, right, ‘boys enjoy it.’”I froze in place, unable to bring the fork to my mouth. Did she really just say that? Here? Like this? My eyes went to Francesca sitting at the far end and she
Viviane☩═✦═☩In the mirror’s reflection, I saw him. I spun around immediately, my heartbeat went haywire. Without thinking, I moved to push past him, my shoulder brushing against his arm as I headed for the door. His hand shot out, gripping my waist that stopped me in my tracks. Before I could react, he pulled me back, positioning himself in front of me. I shoved his hand off with more force than necessary and tried again to move past him. But he was faster. Both of his hands found my waist this time, locking me in place. And then he lifted me off the ground like I weighed nothing and set me on the sink counter. My hands shot out to push him away, I opened my mouth, ready to tell him exactly where he could go, but his finger pressed against my lips. “Shhh, just shhh...” his gaze said, though his lips didn’t move. My chest heaved as anger burned through me. My lips pressed into a tight line as I glared at his face, but his focus wasn’t on my face. His eyes had already dro
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Stella’s favorite pink gown. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The silk clung to me in all the ways it used to cling to her like it was made for her and no one else. My hands trembled as they smoothed over the fabric, my fingertips skimming the delicate spaghetti straps, the soft sheen of the silk, the open back that dipped low. It felt wrong and right all at once, wearing this. Like I was trespassing into a memory that didn’t belong to me but still clung to me like a second skin. My vision blurred, and I had to blink hard to clear the moisture pooling in my eyes. She lent it to me. I remember the way she smiled as she handed it over, the way she laughed and said, “You’ll look better in it than I ever could.” She was lying, of course. Stella lit up every room she walked into, and in this dress, she looked like a star. She lent it to me but I never got the chance to wear it. And I never got the chance to give it back. My chest tightened as I wrapped
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ Numbness. It wasn’t just a feeling, it was the absence of it, a void where something should have been. Like standing in the middle of a fire and not feeling the heat. It was the cruelest kind of punishment because it wasn’t pain—it was the loss of even that. I looked at him, the man I would’ve given everything for, the man I still would and felt the kind of emptiness that comes from feeling too much for too long. I loved him. I loved him so much it hurt. But that love had hollowed me out, until all that was left was this ache I couldn’t get rid of. It wasn’t that I stopped caring, I couldn’t even if I tried. He was still the one I’d die for, still the one I’d burn my entire world down for. But when I looked at him now, there was this cold, cruel distance between us, and I didn’t know if it was his fault or mine. I wanted to scream at him, shake him, make him see what he was doing to me. But instead, I just sat there, silent, staring at the man who still owned ev
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ “Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice was barely audible. She leaned in, her forehead pressed against mine, “Why?” she repeated, “Well... because you did it to me. You took everything I hated about myself and made me live in it, drown in it. And now?” her hands slid up to cup my face, her lips just brushing my ear as she hissed, “It’s your turn.” I clenched my teeth, fighting the instinct to lash out at her, to tell her to stop, to end this insanity. But I knew if I said a word, if I gave her even an inch, this madness would spiral out of control. I needed to get it over with once and for all. “You don’t like this, do you?” she murmured, her voice honey-sweet, she took another drag, the ember glowing bright, and then tilted her head, exhaling the smoke directly at my neck. It clung to my skin, suffocating, and I fought the urge to jerk away. I kept my eyes fixed on the wall, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Her breath was warm agai
Alessandro ☩══♛══☩ “God forbid anything in your world not revolve around her,” she spat and I could hear the hurt buried underneath her words, “Your loyalty. Your blind devotion. She could burn you alive, Alessandro, and you’d still protect her. You’d throw me to the flames just to keep her warm.” I opened my mouth to argue, to explain, but no words came. I couldn’t even breathe past the knot in my chest. How could she think that? Viviane stood there, glaring at me, she wrapped her arms around herself like a shield, not against the world—against me. And it wrecked me because I could see it in her eyes. She believed every word she said. She thought I’d put Francesca above her, that I’d choose anyone over her. She couldn’t be more wrong. “You don’t get it,” I finally bit out, “You think this is about her? You think I’d protect her over you? Goddammit, Viviane, you are so far off the mark, it’s insane.” Her jaw tightened, “Am I?” she muttered, “Then explain it, Alessandro. Ex
Viviane ☩═✦═☩ I used to think nothing could break me. That I was untouchable. Unshakable. Unbreakable. And now I was curled up on the couch in Brandon’s empty apartment, clutching a spoon like it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart. A half-melted pint of chocolate ice cream sat in my lap, barely touched, while some cheesy rom-com played on the TV. Never thought I’d end up here. Viviane Kane, the one who walked away before anyone else could reduced to this. Alone. Pathetic. Watching strangers pretend love fixes everything while mine left me shattered. Maybe this is what karma looks like. Maybe I deserved it. I thought I could handle anything. Thought I could keep my walls high and my heart out of reach. But then Alessandro happened. And now...now I couldn’t even hold myself together. The tears came before I could stop them, hot and bitter, sliding down my face in waves that wouldn’t let up. I wiped at them angrily, furious at myself for feeling this way.