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Simona is born
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Married to the Villain Josephine was gone
Jude POVIt was awfully quiet in the house. Too silent. I was a man who enjoyed the quiet, but this kind of silence rang too loudly and bounced off the walls in ominous echoes.I found Sybil asleep on the sofa. Shaking her, she opened her eyes and remained unfocused. “I’m sorry, master. I must have fallen asleep.”“That’s not just sleep. I told you to be wary around Josephine!” I snarled, releasing her. “Where are Daniele and Simona?”Sybil blinked, then her eyes widened with fear. I began running up the stairs, then froze on the second-floor landing. Small, bloody paw prints covered the beige carpet.My heart clenched so tightly that, for a moment, I was sure I had a heart attack. It ran in our family, after all. I stormed toward Simona’s bedroom, ripping the door open, then stumbled toward the crib. Simona lay unmoving, and everything in me stilled. In the one second I considered her death, I understood why Josephine wanted to kill herself after losing Andrea. I wrenched Simona up s
Married to the Villain I'm ready to fight for us
JUDE POVMy breathing had slowed as I read Josephine’s letter to me. I couldn’t move; I could only stare down at her last words. I wasn’t sad about losing her. I’d never had her to begin with. She’d been Andrea’s, even after his death. I felt a deep sadness over what this meant for Daniele and Simona and a raging madness toward the people who were responsible for this mess. Toward her parents, who’d forced her into a marriage with me, even though they’d known the truth. It was incest. Their love had been doomed like ours, but her parents had let me run into an open knife and hadn’t warned me when I allowed Andrea to spend every day alone with my wife.A knock sounded, but I didn’t react. The door opened then. Faro slipped in and appeared beside me. He said something, but his words were muffled. He took the letter from me. I let him. It didn’t matter if he read it.“Jude!” He shook me hard, and finally my focus snapped to him. Behind him, my father leaned heavily on his walking stick,
Married to the Villain I don't deserve you.
Isadora POVI flushed. Not only had I almost declared my feelings for Jude, but I’d also let it slip that I wanted Simona and Daniele to be ours, not just his. I’d known them for only a month, but I’d been by their side for many years. Hopefully one day they’d be mine in theirs and everyone else’s opinion. “I know they are yours, not mine, not really, but it kind of hurts if you say they are your children as if I don’t care for them.” Jude jerked me toward him, kissing me fiercely. I clung to him, almost breathless, when he finally pulled away.“I don’t deserve you, Isadora, but my kids... our kids do.”“I really, really care about them. Even if you never want to have another child, I’ll be okay because I’m going to raise them as if they were my own.”“I know,” he said quietly. “It’s what I’d do too.”I searched his eyes. “Have you ever had a paternity test done?” I was fairly sure I knew the answer.“No,” Jude said.That one word encompassed so much emotion. Love for Simona and Danie
Married to the Villain Nothing I hate about you.
ISADORA POV“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to tell you that Daniele talked to Cherry today.”Silence. “You sure?” Every syllable rang with doubt.“Yes, I heard him say her name. Isn’t that great? We’re making progress.”“Why would he talk to a dog?”“Many children develop close bonds with their pets because they can share everything with them without judgment or punishment. They are their best friends.”“It doesn’t explain why he’s so obsessed with that dog.”And then it clicked. “For Josephine, it reminded her of Andrea, but for Daniele, it only reminds him of his mother, and that’s natural. If he finds comfort in Cherry, that’s good.”Jude sighed. “Maybe. I need to return to work now.”“All right. Will you still be home for dinner?”“I promised, so yes.”“Thank you. I enjoy having dinner with you.” I quickly hung up, not wanting to get too mushy.Jude asked me to put Daniele to bed that night. He looked exhausted and as if he couldn’t bear his son’s rejection one more time.After
Married to the Villain You sound guilty
ISADORA POVJude pulled out of me. I gasped, and my walls were constricted from the unexpected loss. I could feel the cold air hit my wet flesh. Then his tongue was against me, heating it up. He lapped at me carefully, knowing I was still overly sensitive. I became slack on top of the table, suspended by its edge, as my legs gave in.Soon the pleasure built again, and he became hungrier, the lapping turning to a thrashing. I lost all sense of time then, letting Jude take control, letting him give me pleasure and take his own until I felt almost delirious. We both ended up sprawled on the pool table afterward, breathing harshly. I was fairly sure I’d have a rug burn and a few bruises tomorrow, but I couldn’t care less.“Sometimes I wonder what I’ll tell Daniele once he’s older and demands answers. He’ll wonder why half his family died.”I turned toward him, then rolled over and propped myself up on his chest, my chin on my linked fingers. “You sound guilty.”“Sometimes I feel guilty.”
Married to the Villain Daniele's birthday
Isadora POVI didn’t have much experience baking, so I could only hope everything would work out. At least I had experience painting, so maybe food coloring would literally be a piece of cake.Simona sat in her high chair so she could watch me. Usually she preferred to stay mobile, but watching me bake a cake seemed to grab much of her attention. I split the dough into three parts and colored each differently. After covering it with buttercream, I sprinkled everything with funfetti.Simona was obviously fascinated by the colorful sprinkles and made grabby hands, but I didn’t want her to choke on the tiny pieces. I put the finished cake into the fridge then grabbed Simona, wrapped us both in a thick wool coat, and walked out onto the porch. Despite the blistering cold, Daniele played in the sand. Jude sat on the edge of a lounge chair right beside him, typing on his phone and darting the occasional glance at his son. Cherry perched right beside Daniele, her nose lifted into the breeze.
Married to the Villain Is Dad a bad man?
Jude POVIsadora lit three candles on top of a cake, which was sprinkled with what I learned was funfetti. Daniele’s eyes became wide as he took in the cake. I lifted him onto one of the chairs so he could get a good look at it. “You have to blow out the candles and make a wish.”Simona tried to lean away from Isadora to touch the candles, and her face scrunched up in frustration when she couldn’t. “Do you need help?” Isadora asked Daniele as he blew out only one candle with his first attempt.“You’re three, a big boy. You can do it,” I told him.He gave a small nod and blew even harder. Both candles were snuffed out this time.“Good.”Isadora beamed as she cut the first piece of the cake. When she pulled it out, its colorful layers became visible.“Wow,” Daniele breathed. I froze, unable to believe what I’d heard. One simple word—the first word Daniele had spoken in my presence in months.Wow, indeed.I had to agree with him, not just because of the rainbow funfetti cake. Isadora set
Married to the Villain Will she stay?
Isadora POVCherry sniffed at the door, but she kept running over the paper and through the paint pots, spreading colorful pawprints everywhere, so she wasn’t allowed inside anymore.Daniele dragged the brush over the sheet, creating blue lines as if he, too, were painting the ocean.I put down my brush and walked over to him. He didn’t look up as I sank down beside him. Simona hit the floor with her own paintbrush over and over again, splattering paint everywhere. My overalls and bare feet were already covered in a myriad of colors. Daniele had returned to his quiet self after our conversation this morning, pondering what I said. I wished I could glimpse into his head.“Your dad would love a painting of the ocean for Christmas. Why don’t you give it to him?”Daniele dipped the brush into the blue paint and continued drawing jerky lines. “Okay” was his soft reply.“Nothing would make your dad happier than spending time with you and hearing your voice again.”Kissing Daniele’s temple,
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