My mother turned to face me and Elliot as we both stood at the kitchen entrance and I said, "Surprise, mom!" I repeated the words I said earlier to her. The look of surprise on her face was clearly evident. "I miss you, mother." She became speechless for a few seconds, gauging whether she was really seeing us in front of her, then went on to say, "Ariella, you're here!" And as expected, she burst into tears as she placed the pan she had been holding back on the kitchen counter, wiped her hands on her apron, and rushed up to me, enveloping me in a bear hug the moment she got in front of me. "I miss you so much, my sweet little girl." Mainly because I managed to live independently during my college years, I have also grown accustomed to being apart from them. And because of that, I have never had the tendency to be overly dramatic when it comes to my family. However, in this particular moment, being here and hugging my mom causes my emotions to shoot up, and I can't stop the tears that
Ethan reads his text message with a wrinkled brow and creased forehead, and the further he reads, the more perplexed he appears to become about what the hell even that message means. Luke, seeing Ethan's reaction, can't help but ask his boss, "What's wrong? You seem to be completely off the mark after reading that message. Is it something about the shipments?" When Ethan received that message, they had just concluded their meeting and were en route home. He tried to figure out what the message meant while looking intently at his phone for quite a while before turning to look at Markus in the rearview mirror. "Hey, Markus, you have a story to tell Luke and I. Do you not have anything at all to reveal to us?" When pressed, Markus turned his attention to his boss in the back seat of the car and replied, "What? What are you talking about, boss? I have really no clue what you're referring to." He insisted, "What do I have to reveal to you?" The boss cannot help but snarl at his capo, "D
"You have indeed grown so astonished by the discovery of your past misdeeds that you cannot even refute any of them at this point. How in the world could you have even considered trying to get someone pregnant and then abandoning her in such a state? Markus, I expected you to be better than this one." Ethan continues to say And Markus finds it very difficult to fully understand what he heard and is still hearing from the boss. Who the fuck could drag her entire family there on their turf and try to convince the boss's mother that he was responsible for her pregnancy? Who the fucking hell seems to be the author of this version of the story about him, and exactly what in goddamn hell is going on for him to be caught in the scenario? He was just so caught off guard by what Ethan had just said that he found himself dumbfounded and staring in utter disbelief. Luke gasped, "What the bloody hell, Markus?" in shock. "If you've got a pregnant girlfriend, you brat, why did you even run away an
The three bosses decided to approach the mansion with trepidation, bracing themselves for whatever might possibly await them inside. Markus is now even more intrigued as to the identity of the woman Ethan's mother is making reference to. Would Ariella be there? Is the boss's mother alluding to Ari? He sincerely hoped, though, that it would be his pumpkin rather than someone else's. If it is not, he is not really completely and mentally prepared for that. But then again, who and why on earth would anyone be there at their home with Ari? Surely that will be no other than Elliot himself, not any other woman. And besides, Ariella never had any female friends, and even though Lexy is somewhat part of Allister's crew, he is sure that they can't be friends. And given the shared history between Ariella, him, Elliot, and Lexy, that most certainly won't be Lexy at all. As soon as they stepped into the main house, Ariella's enthusiastic voice greeted them, exclaiming, "It's really about time
The particular time Markus stepped outside to check on his men and Elliot's men, he could only breathe a sigh of relief. He was absolutely delighted to learn that, contrary to what the boss's mother may have said, there's not another woman who really is claiming to be either his girlfriend or his future bride. He is so relieved that it was just Ariella, his pumpkin, as he had hoped and anticipated it to be. He had already been jittery after they learned about the unlikely visitor because his mind cannot stop speculating about who that woman may be, but now that he's no longer thinking about it, he can relax and pay more attention to the more important challenge they have to undertake this weekend. They are unprepared for the arrival of Ariella and Elliot. Of course, his pumpkin would be fine, but Elliot's men could have come the following week instead, and what a truly amazing coincidence that they are there right now when a big transaction is coming up for them. One of his men app
The preparations for the deal that will take place tomorrow keep all of his men somewhat more occupied than ever. In order to keep the boss from losing his temper, everything must go according to plan. Even he keeps wanting this transaction to mark the culmination of their intelligence gathering and preparations for the impending major fight, which he hopes to happen really soon. And whenever a situation such as this rears its head, Mattias is very much the busiest among the rest. As the boss only orders them around, they cannot expect him to engage in the preparations. And that, in and of itself, frequently frustrates and annoys the junior boss. But, because he shares the same goal as the big boss in achieving this victory for their crew, he is compelled to follow him for the time being because the big boss appears to have more knowledge than him. "What do we really have here? It seems everyone is a tad busy, wouldn't that be?" Everyone's attention was drawn to the obnoxious voice,
Luke's disgruntled roar echoed throughout the room as Markus made the rookie mistake of tallying the weapons and ammunition that were scheduled to be handed in the trade tonight yet again. "Will you fucking grab your brain and try to keep your focus around here, Markus? What the hell is going on with you?" He doesn't want to be the one reprimanding everyone, but their capo appears to have gone insane for unknown reasons since yesterday. And Luke is not liking this scenario even a bit because of the critical issue that they have. "You've been acting strangely since Ari and Elliot arrived," he adds. Instead of spending the evening with the guests, which is customary for the bosses of Dragon Warriors, Markus chose otherwise, and he even drove out for field work the rest of the night. He asks again, "What the hell is wrong with you this time?" Markus sighs, obviously not prepared for yet another round of discussion about his relationship status with anyone else. "Nothing," he says. "I
As would have been expected, all of the Dragon Warriors members are on heightened alert as they make their way into that agreed-upon location. Especially in light of the call that Lucio made to the underboss and the capo earlier that day, every one of them was feeling anxious. Since they were just about to embark on a trade, they have been wary about what could possibly go wrong in connection with what Lucio is insinuating. But both the underboss and the capo consider Lucio's message to pertain to Elliot and his gang. It was not just a coincidence that they came to visit, right? But that doesn't give a valid explanation for why or how Lucio can even say those things. Elliot will not actually put Ariella in harm's way, and they are so sure of that, so maybe this is really just a coincidence that they are here. They would still have to move forward and finish this transaction, albeit with some reluctance. Markus glanced at Luke, while the underboss glanced at the boss, Ethan, as the
Finally, the story has come to an end. Apologies, as it took longer than I had expected because of a lot of circumstances and my busy schedule. This is not perfect as well, and I know that, but I really want to thank you all so much for the support and for giving this book a chance. I deeply appreciate all the readers and followers who are supporting my stories in GN. Please support and keep reading my other stories in GN: English: (On-going) The Dragster's Mafia Heiress The Runaways' Second Chance Mate Taglish: The Invisible Love of Billionaire (completed) Married to the Runaway Bride (completed) Falling for the Replacement Mistress (On-going) The Rise of the Fallen Ex-Wife (On-going) Entangled to the Hidden Mafia (On-going)
Two men could be seen discreetly bickering over something in the stillness of the night. And although what was happening was visible to the rest of the men on the ground with them, they all chose not to interfere at this moment. They know better than to meddle with something that is not their concern. No one can genuinely understand what the verbal hubbub that is occurring between the two is all about as well. But whatever it is, it begins to appear to be about something big and important for the two to face off on the grounds just like that. The two men exchanged dirty, mean looks as they awaited each other's next move. And it also seemed as if they were about to each draw their firearms and end this ordeal between them, but both of them subsequently changed their minds and thought better of their situation. It really shouldn't reach such an extent once more. They now behave more calmly and rationally with each other than they used to in the past as a result of the changes in their
The wedding ceremony is happening in a blur for both of them. They are just too focused on each other all the time, as they are both holding each other's hands. The couple is so overjoyed about everything that is happening that they were smiling all throughout. And why wouldn't they? They are getting married! "Now that you can, Elliot, you may now recite your vows." The priest directed him. Elliot wasn't accustomed to these situations, of course. He's never been kind to express how he really feels, especially about love topics, and most of all not in front of other people. Kyle and Brit are the only people who could possibly know everything about what his heart desires. Nevertheless, today, he is willing to voice his opinion openly about Ariella and take away all his inhibitions because he wants Ari to understand how important she is to him. Before actually beginning to say his vows, he even took a deep breath to compose himself. "Hey, you know how hard this is for me, Ari, sweetie.
As I stood beside Kyle, my heartbeat was thumping frantically in my chest. I am anxious and excited, and I can tell that every person in the hall is feeling the same way as I am. This is where it all ends now. This is the culmination of everything that we've worked so hard to achieve. Today is a very special day for me and Ari, and everyone present here today is going to celebrate this momentous occasion with us. And I've honestly been eagerly awaiting this moment as well for a very long time now. But, in addition to that, I am currently experiencing a wide range of emotions. And for the very first time in my life, I can feel my hands and legs trembling at the same time at just the thought of Ariella Gregory. A distinct kind of nervousness is what I am starting to experience because, even though I'm anxious as I stand here with my best man, my excitement for what today will bring outweighs my nervousness by a long shot. Today is my most anticipated day. I'm going to get married tod
"There may still be time for you to make up your mind and change the decisions that you made, so are you sure that this is exactly what you intended to be doing?" Markus is acting like an a-hole as usual at this moment. "Sure, everything else with the villains of your lives is done and over with, but are you absolutely able to say that you wanted to marry him, that douche? Just tell me, Ariella, and I am willing to save you from this misery that you are about to get yourself into." I scowled at him as I crossed my arms in front of my chest to just let him know that he was not in the least amusing me and that I was beginning to get upset and clearly annoyed with him. "Markus, are you done grating on my nerves? If you are, can you shut the hell up now?" "What the heck, pumpkin? Why are you being so rude and surly? I'm merely trying to provide some clarity to your muddled and disorganized thinking. And I just want to let you know there is still enough time to back out." "Shut the heck
"It’s alright, dear. It's actually a very sweet gesture from you. And it just shows how much you really love my daughter." "I really do love her." He said proudly. Ari is too pleased, and she can feel the butterflies in her stomach again just hearing Elliot's words of affection for her in front of her mother. "And I love him too, so much, mom." She said proudly as well, then turning her attention to her fiance she said. "And yeah, I'm actually making your breakfast, but I thought that something must have happened because you kept calling and shouting my name that I have to see you. Are you seriously missing me all that much?" He replied confidently, "I certainly do." Then he lowers his voice and whispers to Ari, "Let's go back up into our room and I'll show you how much I miss you and how much I love you." "I like that." Ari answered grinning. She then turned to face her mother asking her, "Mom, will you be an angel and take over in the kitchen? Elliot and I just need to discuss s
Elliot immediately woke up from his sleep when he dreamed about Ariella not being beside him. He tried to reach for her but was surprised to find out that she was really no longer lying next to him. "Ari!" He exclaimed in an instant. He's been so protective of her since the recent incident that the prospect of losing her again fills him with dread. He has lost her so many times in the past that he will not allow it to happen again. He jumped out of bed and briskly walked into the bathroom to look for her. "Baby?" He called out to her again but still got no response. He then tried looking for her in the walk-in closet, but still, she was nowhere to be seen. "Baby, where are you?" He says to himself. Instantly, he began to feel uneasy. How could she have gone anywhere without him? Did she abandon him? But why? What did he do to merit that from her? He tried reaching out to her all the time, but Ari is still finding it hard to get through the events of last time, and as he and Ethan d
It is extremely simple to fool this young man who thinks so highly of himself, and as Mattias nods his head in agreement with Lucio, the elderly man feels he has done an outstanding job. With that being said, he has to leave immediately before Mattias poses a lot of questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. After concluding his report, he said, "With all of that information revealed to you, I will put it to rest at that for the time being." He then grabbed the money and, having to put it in his bag, rose up from his seat and proceeded to go. "I need to leave right now because I have somewhere I need to be. Call me if your big boss has another assignment for me." He declared, turning to leave without waiting for Mattias to respond. "The Allisters—what's up with them then?" The moment Mattias posed that query, Lucio halted in his tracks. "What? What about the Allisters?" "Isn't it that you told me you have information concerning both Gregory and Allister?" Mattias inquired as he
Lucio was so excited about this meet-up that he greeted Mattias as soon as he came through the door, saying, "Mattias, it's been quite some time since I last heard from you. What surprises do you have in store for me now? Did the boss seem to like everything that I had to say about the Gregory and Allister families? I need details about what went through with your plans." The most recent incidents involving the Wilsons, Gregorys, and Allisters are still unknown to Lucio. He still doesn't know that Mattias and his men have been captured and are under direct orders from Elliot, nor does he know that Matthew is already dead. He made the decision to maintain a low profile after receiving numerous threats from an anonymous gang, and since he doesn't have anyone to back him up solidly, he decided to stay put and keep silent for a little while. And now he's overjoyed that Mattias has summoned him. He may not have information now, but Mattias won't know that, so it will be easy money for