VALENTINO“Rose, that isn’t—”“I need an answer, Valentino,” she cut in calmly as he watched me intently.“I want to know where I stand so I will know how to fight back,” she stated as a frown started to creep on my face.“I’m not a rebound,” I said after a moment of silence.“No one said you are,” she said as I swallowed.“You chose Valerio,” I said again, trying hard to divert from the question, and as the smart person that she was, she quickly grabbed on.“It seems you don’t feel like answering the question,” she chuckled bitterly.“It’s not necessary,” I countered.“Let’s focus on you…” I paused and spoke again. “You and Valerio,” I said with so much difficulty as she watched me and sniffed.“Yeah. Right. We should,” she nodded, but it seemed to me she was saying something while her heart was saying another. How did we all get into this complicated situation... I thought in agony.“So what’s the plan?” she asked, and I suddenly realized I didn’t have one. But that didn’t kill my m
VALENTINO"Please stop this, Valentino, I beg you," Rose whispered desperately to me, but I didn’t bother to spare her a glance."I didn’t ask you questions when you came in here a few minutes ago, bargaining with my grandfather even after the deal we had to stay together," I said, observing the pain in her eyes. It seemed like she was coerced into this, but I was hurting too."You will have to step down from the position of president if you continue like this," my grandfather's voice cut into our conversation. Still, with that Sabatini pride running through both our veins, I turned to look at him with a challenging stare. "I thought it through. I don’t care," I said with a cocky grin, though I was actually lying. I had never imagined giving up my position as president for anything in my life."You will regret this, Valentino," my grandfather continued to threaten. He knew my soft spot and was banking on that, but there was something that fascinated me more, something I wanted more."
VALENTINO"Come on, Rose. Don’t do this. Let’s not do this to each other," I said, hating the fact that she might bring up believable lies to make me back off."You never seem to learn, Valentino. I thought you were the smartest," she said again as I watched her."The travels to find Bella, Vicente. I saw how crazy you were over me... then I thought, why not? Why don’t I use him as a means to an end since he’s willing to do my bidding," she said with a cocky smile, a sharp contrast to the Rose who stood before me a few minutes ago."Stop," I said absentmindedly, hating how much her words were getting to me."All this time, all I ever wanted was Valerio, and—""Don’t try to damn tell me you never cared about all of us all this time!" I interrupted sharply, now evidently angry. Her plan had worked."I did it for the money. I am a con artist, remember," she replied with a drawl."I get to have Valerio, the one my heart beats for. Get you to help me get Vicente on track, and you... you se
ROSEI stared uninterestedly at the TV series airing, seeing a sharp resemblance to the dynamic of the relationship between me and the Sabatini brothers.I sighed for the umpteenth time, realizing the overwhelming sense of loneliness. It had been two weeks, and the solitude seemed never-ending, deepening with each passing day, making me more miserable than ever. Yet, I couldn't shake off the guilt, thinking about what my presence would do to the brothers.“You deserved it, Rose. You deserved it,” I muttered to myself, sighing again.“It’s not our fault,” Arya cooed as I rested my head on the sofa I sat on.“Don’t try to pacify me, Arya. You are also hurt. Don’t pretend you’re fine,” I murmured, sensing her pain too.“I hope they are fine,” I fought back the tears, recalling the tense scene with Valentino, the clash with Grandfather, and the ensuing drama.A knock on the door cut through my thoughts as I walked over, wondering who it could be.Had the chairman found my location?Had he
VALENTINO"What do you mean? Stop speaking in riddles, Valentino. I beg you," I asked desperately."It seems your friend didn’t give you a heads up. I am supposed to occupy Marie’s place. I mean her room since she won’t be coming back anymore," he explained, as if I was supposed to take the news calmly."What did you say?" I asked, blinking in an attempt to make sense of what he was trying to convey."You heard me," he replied with a cocky smile, causing me to stagger, as if hit by a stray bullet."I’ll be right back," I said almost in a whisper, and I moved away, noticing him standing up. "Sit," I commanded through gritted teeth and a tight smile, and he obeyed, watching me as I rushed outside. I fumbled to retrieve my phone from the back pocket of my pants and dialed Marie."Start talking, Marie. Don’t make me ask," I said immediately upon hearing the beep signaling she had picked up."Oh… yeah. He asked me not to tell you and–""Are you kidding me right now?" I shouted angrily, try
ROSE"As I tasted her lips, it did nothing to calm the hunger, the burning need to have her. The urgency only intensified as I held her close, nibbling, then locking our lips in a passionate kiss.“I won’t let you out of my sight again. I won’t,” I murmured, almost entranced, as I kissed her neckline, her soft moan encouraging me to continue.“Princesa…” I whispered as I did unpredictable things to her.“Hmm…” she replied absentmindedly, focusing on giving me enough space to take her, her hands delving into the fullness of my hair, effortlessly guiding me to herself.“What’s your choice?” I asked as she mumbled something in Italian that sounded like, “God help me.”I didn’t bother to delve further because I knew it was a done deal before I even arrived. She wouldn’t be able to stay away from me, even though her feigned harshness felt like it was for my benefit.“I couldn’t even imagine how I survived without you all these days, Rose,” I murmured against her lips as they drew near agai
VALENTINO“Never,” I strained the words, held her shoulder, turned her towards the door, and pushed her out.“Excuse me now,” I smiled sheepishly and closed the door in her face. Turning back to look into the room, I muttered to myself, “How the hell am I going to survive in this place? Did Valerio set me up?”I fumbled with my phone, dialed Valerio while pacing to and fro the barely managed compact room.“Did you set me up, you brat?” I seethed under my breath, trying to control the loudness of my voice. I wouldn’t give Rose the satisfaction of knowing how dissatisfied I was.“You sound angry, brother,” Valerio replied as Valentino chuckled to himself.“You’re making fun of me now, yeah?” Valentino asked with an outraged voice.“I did it for your good. Staying over there with her is the best thing you would ever do,” he replied.“Do you bloody know the state of this place?” I asked through gritted teeth. “I won’t be able to survive.”“Ah… I forgot. You’re the golden grandson of the c
ROSEI was so immensed in the kiss that I forgot every words exchanged from our previous banter. All that mattered that moment was him in my embrace.As he pinned me to the wall in my room, he kissed and explored those places in my body that he knew turned me on. And like an insatiable fool, I surrendered all over again.He stopped abruptly and looked at my face, his hair tousled as he smiled. I could also see how his eyes glinted.“Say you want me.” I said as our breath both ragged rhymed with each other, both staring at each other but rather have the other person’s mouth in theirs.“I need you, Valentino.” I said shamelessly as I raised my hand to his face.I just couldn’t say no. I could never tell him no.Those times I did in the past, it was all a facade.At first when I saw him at the door, standing there like a package sent for me for my birthday wish, I was dumbfounded. But then reality dawned on me that same moment.We would have a rough future together. He would.And as if w