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My core was throbbed with dull pain as I slowly woke up. My body sank further into the soft mattress. My mind was in a haze, and my thoughts were sluggish. It felt as if I had just emerged from the depths of a dream. A dream that was far too real. My eyes fluttered as I fought against the harsh sunlight glaring through the curtains. I inhaled deeply, and my senses immediately got filled with Nikolai's masculine and intoxicating scent. It felt as if I werr draped in him instead of the sheets. The moment his thought crossed my mind, my breath hitched in my throat. The reality of the last night crashed over me. His touch, his voice, his dominance. Every moment we shared the previous night burned into my skin as a cruel reminder of how I yielded to my tormentor. A frustrated groan escaped my lips. What the hell is wrong with me?Shifting slightly, I tried to sit up, and a wince escaped my lips when a sharp pang shot through my lower half to my entire body. Damn him! I am unsure if he
My throat tightened as I took in the sight of Dimitri in front of me. His arms bore dried blood from where Nikolai and I had shot him. Nikolai hadn’t tended to his wound properly.His body was covered with deep cuts and bruises. His wrists were raw from the tight shackles, and his knuckles looked as if they had been smashed against something repeatedly.A part of me believed that if Dimitri was truly innocent, then this was nothing short of barbaric. If he had no hand in my father and brother’s deaths, then what right did Nikolai have to punish him like this? What made Nikolai any different from the monsters he claimed to hate? "I knew Alessia, you would come." His lips curled into a weak smile as he looked at me with hope in his eyes. His words sent a shiver through me.Would I have come here if I truly believed he was guilty?The cell was locked. I looked around for the key but found nothing. All I could see were cold stone walls and rusted chains. My heart is not for this cruel
"The accident made you forget things." His words echoed in my mind. My head spun, and my hold on the iron bar tightened. My breaths became uneven, and my legs began to give way. "Why didn't my father tell me this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I knew my accident had stolen parts of my life. I knew it had taken my mother away from me. And I knew who was responsible. Nikolai. He wanted to kill me. He couldn't have me, so he tried to erase me. But instead of me, my mother lost her life. Instead of my death, I lost years of my memories. This is from the day I started having flashes and dreams. I always asked my brother and father about them, but they always gave me cryptic answers. 'It’s just your mind playing tricks on you.' 'You’re safe now; that’s all that matters.' 'Don’t think about the past, Alessia. It will only bring you pain.' 'Nikolai wanted to kill you because he can't have you. He is a monster’ 'He killed our mother and snatched away the title of
"He raped you... Not once, but multiple times." His words echoed in my head. My breath hitched in my throat. My pulse roared in my ears so loudly that I could barely hear anything else. He... He raped me? "Yes, Alessia, the person who tainted you was none other than Nikolai himself." How could he? He didn't touch me without my consent, even after marriage. How could he rape me? My head spun like a wheel as I shook it slightly in disbelief. This was a new kind of horror. "Now that you have forgotten everything, he is trying to be a saint in front of you, Alessia." I swallowed hard. Nikolai's face flashed in front of my eyes. I can't believe he can do this to me. I know he is cruel and can go to any lengths to get what he wants, but rape...? "He is once again manipulating you." He just wants me to accept that I belong to him. He wants me to surrender to him, to accept him as my husband. I felt like screaming. Like tearing my own skin just to rid myself of this u
Nikolai Moretti I leaned back in the chair when the clock hit 4. I still had hours left before returning home, and I already missed my pretty little wife. My finger tapped against the polished wood of the desk as I waited for the sun to set.Every minute felt like an hour. The boardroom was filled with the scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of it. My mind was clouded with thoughts of only my Dolcezza. "Wrap it up," I ordered. The discussion about our expansion could wait. I craved my Dolcezza. I didn’t need a reason to leave the meeting. I just wanted to see, hug, inhale, and keep her on my lap until my heart's content. She is, in fact, my drug. At this time, she must be curled up in our room with a book in her hands. I love the way her eyebrows furrow and a cute pout appears on her lips whenever she sees me returning home early. She gets riled up easily, and I love to tease her. I smirked. She is so adorable and all mine.
Trigger warning ~ Third Person POV Alessia tried to focus as darkness surrounded her. Suddenly, a soft golden light replaced it. A warm wind brushed against her skin, carrying the scent of peonies and something sweeter. Her heart suddenly jumped with excitement and happiness. She knew who was here! Pressing her body further into the mattress, she lay on the bed, relaxing her body more. Peace settled over her, and she exhaled a deep breath. Suddenly, she felt a gentle touch on her swollen belly. She immediately looked down and saw a hand caressing her stomach with so much tenderness as if she were made of wax. The hand was big and rough, which meant it belonged to a man. The man sat beside her. She tried to focus on his face but couldn't see his features. The man leaned down and pressed a kiss on her belly as if it were the most cherished thing. Her heart clenched. His voice felt soothing, soft, and protective, exactly what she needed to hear at this moment. Suddenly, she felt
Alessia RossiEven after an hour, my heart was hammering in my chest. I am trying to convince my mind that it was just a dream. But it felt too real to ignore. It was the first time that I had seen a clear face in a dream. The sheets were still damp with my sweat. My fists tightened as I pulled the sheets closer to my trembling body. I had been forcing myself to take slow breaths, but nothing is helping. My heart felt too heavy, and my head was still spinning with all the thoughts. I hugged myself and rested my head on my folded arms, looking outside through the slightly parted curtains. The pain is overwhelming and unbearable. I had always seen silhouettes and blurry images. But today, I saw a clear face, and that has made it even worse. "Nikolai killed your baby, Alessia." Dimitri’s words echoed in my head. When Dimitri told me that Nikolai killed the baby, I couldn't believe him. But now, the dream is making me think otherwise. I couldn't believe that Nikolai had killed the b
Trigger warning ~ "Did you kill my baby?" "Yes, I did!" Stunned. Silent. Speechless. Frozen. Terrified. This is what I was after hearing him. Suddenly, he stepped forward and grabbed my face from between his palms. "For me, Alessia, no one has ever been above you before, and no one ever will be. If I have to kill my child for you, I won’t hesitate again. As I said, I can burn down the whole world for you—I still stand by it." The way my father has loved me and Marco, I can't even imagine someone hurting his child. How could he? My breaths came in ragged gasps. The room began to spin, and my vision became blurry. The only thing I could see was the monster in front of me. Even after confessing to his crime, he dared to look into my eyes. He proves me wrong every time I think he could not stoop lower than this. My fingers trembled as they curled into tight fists. He killed my baby. He took the life that was growing inside me, a life I never got the chance to
Pain. Raw pain. That was all I could see in his eyes when he said that I forgot him. His voice was laced with pain that I have never heard before. He wasn't angry or frustrated. He was just heartbroken. I can't imagine, how hard it must be for him. "You forgot every single moment that we spent together. Every promise that we made. Everything we did. You completely forgot me." His voice that was once commanding was now barely above a whisper. His voice cracked by the end. "For you I became a monster, who killed your mother" A tear slipped from my eye, and I wiped it away with the back of my hand, but it did nothing to stop the storm building inside me. "Because that’s exactly what they told you, isn’t it?" Yes. After I lost everything—my memory, my past, my sense of self. I had been told that it was Nikolai who had taken everything from me. That he killed my mother. That he tried to kill me and I believed it too. He loved me so much and I was carrying his child so practi
My fingers dug into my lap, and I sat frozen in my place as I waited for him to speak. I had been waiting to hear the truth for so long."Yes, this is the truth: because of me, we lost the child." My breath hitched. "But I wasn't directly responsible for it." My eyebrows drew in confusion. Nikolai leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the table. His hands were clasped loosely in front of him. "You may not remember it, but I know your heart has realized how deeply we were in love with each other once." "We were living a happy life together. We created our small little world without caring about others. And then..." He smiled. "We got the greatest news of our lives: that you were pregnant." I blinked, and a gasp escaped my throat as I tried to think about it. My head spun, and frustration grew when I couldn't remember anything. "But our happiness caught an evil eye. The doctor said that you weren't fit to carry a child." I swallowed hard. "But you still wan
He didn't look as youthful and lively as before. His hair was messy, and his beard had grown out; it was heavy and untrimmed. His eyes looked hollow, with dark bags underneath, as if he hadn't slept for nights. His shoulders were hunched, and his body didn’t carry that aura. His eyes softened slightly when he was sure that I was actually standing in front of him. He looked at me as if I were the first light after a long night. Slowly, he stood up, and my feet subconsciously took me to him. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The world around us blurred as we kept looking at each other like we hadn’t seen each other in lifetimes. Then, his lips slowly curved into a faint smile.“I knew you would come,” his voice was low and raspy, missing that roar and firmness. I said nothing because I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to scream, wanted to ask him why he was still doing this—why he was still making it harder for me to hate him. Another part of me just wanted to fall
"Where are you going?" My feet came to a halt when I heard Marco's voice. I turned around to face him. I couldn't forget the way he had shouted at me in the study. He is my elder brother. I have always respected him, but that doesn’t mean he can shout at me. I don’t give this right to anyone. "I don’t believe I’m obligated to answer every question you throw at me, Marco. I’m not accountable to you.” I folded my arms across my chest and looked directly into his eyes. His jaw clenched and fists tightened. It was quite clear he didn’t like what I said, but still he kept his voice neutral, not allowing his feelings to reflect through his tone. "I understand that you are an adult with your own rights, but you are living under my protection and..." “Under my father's protection,” I corrected sharply, cutting him off. His eyes darkened, and his head tilted just slightly to the side—an old habit of his whenever he didn’t like what the other person had just said. It was subtl
My heart stopped for a moment as I listened to that deep, rough voice that somehow managed to make space in my heart. It still made something inside me stir. I wanted to end the call, to prove that he no longer controls me, but the way he said "please" made it impossible for me to do so. My grip on the phone tightened as not a single word came out of my mouth. Silence spread between us. I could hear his ragged breathing and feel his nervousness through the phone. Then, I heard the rustle of wind on the other end, as if he were outside. "How did he get my number?" The question popped into my mind. I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. How could I forget that he has many sources? "I didn't think you'd pick up," he said softly, breaking the silence. Suddenly, I felt a rush of emotions and was about to end the call when he spoke again. "I won't take much of your time, Alessia." I swallowed hard. "One minute—just say whatever you want," I stated in a cold and flat tone, t
“Sign them over to me.” For a moment, I thought my ears were ringing, that I had heard something wrong. First, I can't believe Nikolai has transferred his property into my name without telling me, and now Marco wants me to sign it over to him. Why? I realized my hands were trembling when I felt a large, rough hand cover my palm. It was my father's. He looked at me and nodded reassuringly. He already knew about it, and he also wanted the same from me. How could I not know about my own life and the things happening to me? They gave me a few minutes of silence to understand the entire situation. Then Marco spoke again, "Alessia, I know you are pregnant, and we shouldn't give you too much stress, but this can't wait any longer." He sighed. His tone was very soft, as if he were speaking to a child. "Alessia, before taking you away from us, Nikolai snatched the throne of Mafia king from Dad. It is only because of him that our mother is not with us." Marco's gaze flicke
I sighed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. It took me exactly half an hour to get ready. As I went downstairs, I found Marco and Dad already at the breakfast table, waiting for me. “Good morning, princess,” Marco greeted me warmly as he walked up to me and pulled me into a tight hug. “Good morning,” I smiled, wrapping my arms around him briefly before we parted. We then settled at the table to have our first meal of the day. As always, all the dishes were my favorites. Ever since I returned, my family has been going out of their way to take care of me—and the baby. Every little thing is done to make me feel safe and loved, and I appreciate it… even if, deep down, I still feel hollow. I am also trying to have all my meals despite how I am feeling inside.I visited the doctor two days ago. The report she gave wasn’t reassuring. The baby… it’s weak. Too weak. I need to reduce my stress levels and ensure I take all my vitamins and meals on time if I want to keep them safe. Th
Suddenly, I heard a loud gunshot that shook me in my place. My heart pounded fast as the loud voice echoed from inside the mansion. I felt my heart come to my throat as I looked around. I couldn't stop myself from opening the door and stepping out of the car. The sound of another gunshot, followed by glass shattering, made me run inside the mansion. Because of my slippery feet, I almost slipped but managed to compose myself just in time. My surroundings blurred and turned dark as I ran toward the room where I had left Nikolai alone. The door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open to find Nikolai with a gun in his hand, pressed against his stomach, his back facing me. "Nikolai!" I shouted. Slowly, he turned around. His eyes were filled with pain, such a deep pain that it tore my soul apart. Tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes were bloodshot red, and his lower lip quivered. His shoulders slumped, and his face looked pale, almost lifeless. "Why are you here, Alessia?" he as
His body jolted slightly as the words left my mouth. It felt as if someone had struck him physically. "What?" He was completely surprised. His forehead wrinkled as his eyes flicked again between me and the divorce papers. "You are kidding me, right?" he asked in disbelief. "I am not kidding you, Nikolai. These are actually divorce papers. I asked Marco for help. He did and delivered them on time." I breathed; my chest felt heavy, "and let me tell you, Nikolai, it's my decision. No one has forced me into this. This is just to clear your misunderstanding." He licked his lips. His head cocked slightly as if he still couldn't believe his ears. For the moment, I shut off all the feelings of my heart. I was only listening to my brain. Slowly, he reached out for the papers in my hand. His fingers trembled slightly as he grabbed them. Silence spread between us as he slowly opened the file. His fingers trembled as they turned the first page. His eyes scanned the bold letters: P