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
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
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
Alessia Rossi The loud music beating in the large dressing room blended with the chatter and squeals of excited girls adjusting their costumes and practicing last-minute dance moves. I adjusted my outfit, checking myself in the mirror one last time. I saw the deep, long mark on my stomach, which was slightly visible under the sheer dress. My finger traced along it. No matter how much I try to escape my past from my fear, it chases me like a haunting dream. "I am envious of you, Alessia. You are performing in the center," Samantha, one of my co-dancers, interrupted my thoughts.I turned around to face her, forcing a smile on my lips, ignoring the uneasiness curling in my stomach. "You would have also gotten the chance to dance in the middle if you had practiced well. Her talent outshines all of you. Instead of getting envious, work harder," our choreographer interjected. Her sharp tone made Samantha huff and pout dramatically. "Don't worry, Samantha," I reassured her. "I’ll make s
"Princess, where are you?"My eyes shot open, and my body froze when his deep, velvety voice sliced through the heavy silence. No. No, no, no. My heart throbbed in my ears, and my breath became uneven as I pressed harder into the locker, silently praying for it to crack and melt me inside. I should have run or screamed for help, but my body didn't cooperate. I stopped breathing. Maybe if I stayed still enough, he would go back, thinking I was not here.But the next moment, my eyes widened when I heard a click as the door shut closed. He knows... He knows that I am here. He was just pretending to search for me. My stomach clenched, and thick beads of sweat burst on my entire body. I was with him. Alone. What if he attacked me again? No! He won’t. I need to stay strong. I have to fight him. I have to take a stand for myself.I swallowed down the fear, curling my trembling hands into fists. The way he took slow and deliberate steps toward me felt like he was purposely playing with
"I am engaged," I announced. Silence. Pin-drop silence. The air surrounding me became suffocating and dark. My throat went dry as I watched him put my costume back in place and slowly turn around to face me. My eyes widened, and my body pressed against the wall even more when I saw that terrifying beast unleashed in his eyes. The cold wall bit into my spine, but I barely felt it over the suffocating heat radiating from his body. The muscles in his neck flexed when he tightened his jaw. His fists clenched to his sides, fingers curling so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His emerald-green eyes no longer held amusement; they were now bloodshot red with rage. He rotated his neck anticlockwise, a gesture he often used to control his anger. My stomach twisted. I knew I had provoked the Devil himself. Lub, dub.Lub, dub.Lub, dub. My heart thudded violently with every step Nikolai took toward me. I shivered as chills ran down my spine. This was a mistake. I shoul
I paced back and forth in my room, biting my nails, waiting for my father and brother to return so that I could tell them about my encounter with Nikolai at the college.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the dangerous obsession I saw in his eyes. It is terrifying me to the core. The silence in my own home felt suffocating. Each tick of the clock only intensified my anxiety. There was this deep feeling in my stomach that something was about to happen. Something that would change everything. The soft knock on the door broke the chain of my thoughts. "Come in," I whispered. "Princess, the master is calling you to his study," the maid informed me."Father’s back?" I asked, surprised.She nodded.Without waiting for her to leave, I walked past her, heading straight to my father’s study. I just wanted to hug him, cry in his arms, and tell him how that man tried to scare me. People call me "Princess," but it’s not just for the title. I am, in every sense, my father and brothe
It has been two weeks since I moved here. I have not heard from my father or brother since then.My anxiety is increasing by the day, and loneliness is killing me. I've stopped myself several times from contacting my family. I just want them to ensure my safety as soon as possible so I can return to my normal life. Since this morning, I have been feeling very strange. The anxiety in my stomach is making me feel like vomiting. My heart is restless. I have been trying to keep myself engaged and distracted, but I cannot shake off the feeling that something is about to happen. Something bad.I flinched when my phone suddenly started ringing. I immediately rushed to it, believing that my father must be contacting me and asking me to come back, but instead, I was surprised to find the call from an unknown number. Before coming here, Dad gave me a different contact number. Only Dad, Marco, and Dimitri had that number. Who is calling me other than them? My first thought was to ignore it,
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