Natalia's POV: My eyes went round, jaw hanging loose. “You're joking?” “Nope,” he popped the ‘P.’ “I'm not.” My breath caught in my throat at his admission. What…what does this mean? That I've found a woman who could be my birth mother? What if this was all a big mistake and I should have just let the sleeping dogs lie? What if they don't want me anyone? Fuck, was I really getting a cold feet just from hearing about the possibility of find my real parents?“Hey!” Fingers snapped at my face and I blinked to focus, clearing my throat. “Where did you go?” His eyes narrowed on me but I had a lot to ask him… “Did you talk to them? What did she say? Did you talk to her—”“Calm your titties, geez.” His hand dug into the pockets of his baggy jeans, as he searched around for something while I waited patiently for whatever it was. “Gotcha.” He pulled out a small picture, flipping it between his fingers.“Is that her?” I asked softly.He didn't reply but waggled his brows in response inst
Natalia's POV:I had to hold back a moan as the rich flavour of Caterina’s special homemade baked chicken exploded on my tongue.Seriously, how does she make a banger every single time? I know Tanya's mom used to make us tasty meals but Caterina’s cooking was on a whole new level.And maybe one day I could get her to teach me some tricks. One day, hopefully.I had just stuffed my mouth full with another piece of my chicken when Angela's loud curse had my eyes snapping up to hers.“Give it back!” She yelled, her face already turning bright red with rage. “Aless!” My eyes shifted to Alessandro who had kicked back his chair, trying to get away from her reach.“Alessandro!” “Quiet sister, you've been smiling like a love sick idiot lately, need to know what's up with that,” he said not bothering to look up from her phone's screen, knowing there was no way she could get to him.Seriously, why was the fucker always so goddamn annoying? Was this how brothers behave? I shoukd probably thank
Carlo's POV: “Romeo and Francessco say they have a lead on Luca,” Enzo said, leaning back in his chair. “They said an Intel told them that he was last spotted in Andorra but they aren't sure.”I arched my brow. “Andorra?” “Yes.” Dio. This boy would be the death of me someday. Perhaps I should have just gotten my men to bundle him back home as soon as we realized he'd run to Spain. I couldn't tell what was on his mind, couldn't understand the reason why he was doing all this.But I had wanted to trust his judgement, didn't want to be the kind of father that mine was to me but this time, he was really pushing my hand. And only a matter of time will our enemies begin to go after him.Enough is enough.“If they find him, they must get him home no matter what,” I demanded. “I don't care whatever method they use, they must bring Luca home, got it?” “Sure thing, Don,” he replied with a curt nod, digging into his pockets. He produced his phone, unlocking the screen and typing rapidly on
Natalia's POV: Why did I always make bad decisions when I was upset? Because that was exactly what I did earlier. Make a bad decision.Why did I think it was okay to barge in and talk to Carlo in that manner? That in no way helped Angela's case and I think I just made it worse.From the way his jaw clenched hard at the mention of Angela texting a man, I knew I'd fucked up. Fuck. Was there a way to turn things around? And Angela… My chest tightened painfully. The poor girl must be devastated. I think I should go see her first before deciding what to do to salvage this situation.But as soon as I opened my door, I dived face-first into a hard, warm wall, stumbling back, a hand shot out and steadied me.I didn't need to look to tell who it was, I could recognize his scent in my sleep. “Carlo?” He took a few steps forward, forcing me to move backward until he was standing in my room, locking the door behind him. “You wanted to talk. So here I am” I arched my brows, eyeing him warily.
Natalia’s POV: ‘Strip.’That commanding tone of his already had my belly flipping really hard. But I decided to mess with him, I mean, is it going to be a fun punishment if i don't mess with him a bit.“I'm sorry, what?” I feigned ignorance, my eyes tracking his movements as he unlatched that black belt from the belt holes of his slacks. At my words, he arched his brow, folding the belt in two. “Are you trying to disobey me, monella?” I rolled my eyes but kept my lips shut. This was going to rile him up. Good. I wanted him that way.God, I was so fucking sick.Why did the idea of being punished by him make me ruby thighs together, relieving the growing ache between them.“Strip,” he growled, his eyes darkened w as he took several steps forward until he stood toe to toe with me and I could clearly make out the color of his eyes. “I will not repeat myself again. Do as I say or face the consequences.” Fuck.A shiver ran down my spine at his words, I should be afraid of the dangerous
Carlo's POV: “N–yes.” I chuckled under my breath. “Go on, tell me why you're being punished.” “I.. er.. because.” She paused, breathing heavily as if trying to catch her breath. “Uh.. I barged into your office and spoke rudely to you.” Close enough. “That you did, but that is not why you're in this situation right now.” I heard the moment her breath hitched. “It's… it's not?” Well, it was until I changed my mind. I don't say that out loud. Wanted to keep her guessing. I moved closer to bed, admiring my handiwork on her skin. With how reddish and tender it looked, I bet she wouldn't be able to sit for days without thinking of this moment.Good.I liked the idea of being on her mind all the time.Well, for now, let's get right back to business. “I'm still waiting for your reply, bella. It's either that or I double the punishment.” “Shit.” She cursed under her breath, and I could almost hear the gears in her head turning. “You have only sixty seconds to give me a reply,” I said,
Natalia's POV: First, the fog cleared, next, my eyes fluttered open. And then I realized; I can't feel my limbs. I couldn't move either. But I could feel hands on me. My body felt like it didn't belong to me. And maybe, it didn't. Not with the way Carlo had manhandled me. I definitely should get on his nerves more often if it was gonna end up the way it did. “Can you walk?” Carlo's deep voice penetrated my thoughts and my bleary eyes shifted to him. “We need to shower, can you walk or do I need to carry you?” I guess you'd have to carry me. I tried to speak but my tongue felt too lazy and my throat was sore from all the screaming. So all I could do was stare at him, drinking in the sight of him in a disheveled state. His thick, dark hair looked wet on some parts from sweat, some strands were flustered to his forehead. My eyes dropped to his bare chest, showing off his impressive pecs. Somewhere along the line he'd taken off his clothes, untied me and cuddled me against
Natalia's POV: Morning sun filtered into my room, forcing me awake. My eyes squeezed shut as I rolled over, away from the window.I still needed to get some more sleep in. My body felt so weak, I'll probably need two weeks’ worth of sleep ro get back to normal. Satisfied with my new position, I hugged my pillow tightly against my chest, drifting into another peaceful sleep when a knock on my door interrupted.“For fuck’s sake!” I muttered under my breath but not moving. Maybe if I didn't answer, whoever was at the door would go away—KNOCK!! KNOCK!! “What now?!” I groaned loudly, tossing the pillow I'd been cuddling across the room. I just need so few minutes to myself, why couldn't I just get that?!KNOCK! KNOCK! “Goddammit! I'm coming!” I yelled, tossing back my covers as I slid out of bed, stomping over to my door. I grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and I yanked it open. As soon as the door opened, I came face to face with a maid and my irritation grew. “Now why would you keep
Natalia's POV: I stood close to the door as Luca stood in the middle of my room, his hands shoved into his pockets, eyes fixed on me. Shit. I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. What do I say? ‘Please I don't want to marry you. I already have feelings for your father’ or ‘We can't get married. You do know I have sexual relations with your father, right?’ None was convincing enough. Just plain stupid. I'd brought him up here without a goddamn plan. What on earth was I thinking? “...I don't have all day, Natalia.” His voice penetrated my thoughts and my eyes snapped back to his. I can do this. This is just Luca—even though he's changed a bit… Keeping my eyes fixed on his, I cleared my throat, wiping my sweaty palms against my leggings. “Uhh… how have you been?” Easing into a conversation was clever, right? “You just…just.. disappeared… I… I hope you were doing alright wherever you went.” And I meant that sincerely. He scoffed angrily, eyes blazing as he regarded me slowly. “
Natalia's POV: This has to be a joke. Really. A mean one.He was threatening them now? With his death? There was no way Carlo would refuse him now. No way. As much as he'd like to act tough to the outside world, act like he didn't have feelings, I knew how much he loved Luca. He wouldn't let his son die just because of me…I was literally nothing to him. Just his property.My eyes stung with impending hot tears and I blinked them away…With everything that had been happening these past few months, I'd forgotten my place in Carlo's life and I foolishly fell for him…Now look. He was going to give into Luca's demands, that much was certain.I could still hear them trying to reason with him. It wasn't working.I could feel my hands literally shaking, my hair sticking to the back of my neck from the sweat there as my heartbeat echoed loudly in my ears.This was bad.This was really fucking bad.My stomach churned, making my insides twist uncomfortably—a prize for letting curiosity get
Carlo's POV: ‘Natalia. I want to marry her this time.’ His hard, cold gaze held mine unflinchingly as the words left his mouth. His words rang in my ears, over and over again and yet, I wanted to pretend like he hadn't uttered the most absurd and ridiculous things.He wants Natalia back? She was mine.He'd left her, clearly wasn't interested in her. He can't have her. She's been in my bed severally. I knew how she felt wrapped around my bare cock, I've had my tongue far up her cunt, I knew how she tasted even in my sleep. She was mine in every way.And I was certain he knew she was my mistress even if he'd been away for months. Everyone within and outside our circle knew, surely, he must have heard the gossip. So how could he want her?I guess he didn't mean it, right? Right.But I waited. Waited to hear that he was joking, that he'd been messing with me but instead, the silence stretched. The tension in the room grew thicker, almost suffocating as Luca bored his cold eyes into min
Carlo's POV: “Enzo, stay. The rest of you, leave,” I demanded as soon as Luca joined us in my home office. I paced the space behind my desk, hands on my waist as I watched my men bow slightly before they left the office one by one.My eyes met my son's as he leaned against the now locked office door, his pose exuding nothing but arrogance and defiance. No remorse whatsoever. What the fuck? What has gotten into him? My blood boiled even more.I was furious. Might seem irrational to zia and maybe others but I knew how his stupidity could have cost us. Dearly.At first, I was relieved. Happy. Overjoyed. And then reality sank in. This boy could have gotten himself killed! I worried when he ran from home, hell, I panicked when he suddenly fled Spain too. I couldn't show it, wasn't allowed to show it or think of it, but I did panic. I had my men search all over Andorra even had them searching France just in case and now he was suddenly here. What sick games was he playing at?“Don?” En
Natalia's POV: ‘Luca is back.’ Why did that seem like trouble? Naaa, I was overthinking again. As the words escaped Enzo's lips the world seemed to have stopped, my eyes were wide with shock, Doctor Camilla's brows were almost kissing her hairline and from the shocked expression on Carlo's face… he hadn't expected that either. Wait… didn't he have Luca followed? I thought he knew his whereabouts since he was keeping a close eye on him. Surely, he would've been informed beforehand that his son was returning to Italy, right? “How do you know that?” Carlo broke the silence as he strode across the room to Enzo, taking the phone from his fingers. He glanced at the phone's screen and whatever he saw on it confirmed it; Luca was home. “This is nuts,” Enzo half laughed. “We couldn't even find him the last time he was spotted in Andorra. It felt like he knew we were following him and he was running away and now he shows up back in Italy. Willingly… What is going on in his mind, w
Natalia's POV;TWO DAYS LATER…Me: so this is it? Me: you'd ignore me forever? seriously this is so fucking childish and not what I'd expected from someone like you…I stared at my messages to Carlo and heaved a tired sigh. He's read them. It literally shows that he has and yet he doesn't respond. It had been almost two weeks since anyone at home had last seen him and this was getting ridiculous…My thumb hovered over the screen as I tried to make a decision if I should send him more text messages or not. The shrill sound of my phone's ringing tone and Doctor Camilla's name flashing on the screen made a decision for me unfortunately. No texting then…I swiped to answer the call, placing my phone against my ear. “Hello?” Hrt voice crackled through the phone. “Hi, Natalia. How are you?” “Good, I guess?”I heard her exhale deeply. “He's still avoiding home?” More like avoiding me. “Yes and he won't reply to my texts yet he reads them. All of them.” I heard her curse under her breat
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-TWO: Carlo's POV: EIGHT DAYS LATER…Thanks to the little soundproofing in the vip lounge, the loud music blasting from the club's speakers were almost muffled.At first, coming to a club to distract myself, to just have some drinks and chill seemed like a good idea. But twenty minutes in and I'm not so sure it was a good idea anyway.“Can I speak freely?” Enzo asked, leaning back against the couch as he nursed the glass of whiskey in his hand.I scoffed, tapping my cigarette against the ashtray to expel some ashes. “When have you ever not spoken freely to me? You just use my title to mask your sharp tongue.” He pretended to be shocked by my words, clutching at his heart. “Now it hurts me to think you actually think I have no respect for you.”I puffed out a ring of smoke. “Enzo, if you had no respect for me you would have been six feet under, you know that.” “Alright, alright you have a point.” He took a sip of whiskey, setting the glass down on the sm
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY-ONE: Natalia's POV: It was clear Caterina hadn't said a word to her. But why? It wasn't anything she didn't already know… I should tell her…I think it's probably nothing and I was just overthinking things. Caterina probably didn't want Angela worrying about Carlo's health.“You're unusually quiet,” She said softly, her questioning eyes not leaving mine. “Is there something you're not telling me?” I lost the battle, dropping my gaze as I pulled out my phone. “Why would you think that?” I answered her question with another. The look on her face told me she wasn't buying my bullshit. “You're deflecting.” She nudged her glasses up her straight nose. “Natalia, I'm not stupid, I've lived with zia my whole life and I can tell something is wrong. And for some weird reason, you're aware of it. So spill.” I kept my eyes glued to my phone, typing rubbish on it. “This is stupid,” she huffed, sounding upset. “Zia would definitely talk if I pester her but she loo
Natalia's POV: Fuck. His wounds look bad. I thought, feeling my chest twist with an unpleasant feeling… If only there was a way to take his pains away, stop him from doing this to himself… Well, Doctor Camilla had said we could help… couldn't wait to hear the ideas she had.“Nngh,” Carlo grunted in pain and I craned my neck even more, watching from the side as Doctor Camilla took out the damaged bandage to redress Carlo's wounds. “You still don't want the pain meds?” She asked him.“No,” he grunted and I had to fight back an eye roll. Seriously, what is his problem? He was obviously in pain. “But you need it.” The words left my mouth before I could stop myself and he threw me a warning glare.Fine. Whatever. At least he was better now, a lot calmer which is definitely a good thing. My heart could finally be at peace.In silence, I watched her expertly replace the bandage with another one after she'd cleaned up his wounds. “I think you should be careful how you move that arm,” she s