Lyla practically sprinted back to her room, her steps unsteady, heart pounding with emotions she couldn’t calm. The moment she slammed the door shut, her bottled-up feelings surged forward. She collapsed onto the bed, burying her face deep into the pillows, and the tears came, silent but relentless, soaking through the fabric. She cried as if she could expel all the pain and confusion that had built up over the past few days.She never thought of herself as a weak person, but Carlo's words had struck her deeply, cutting through her defenses. Everything suddenly felt like a lie—his care for her, his relentless pursuit, and even the bite mark he had tattooed on his body as a symbol of their bond. Could it all have been just a facade?As the pain twisted inside her, Lyla realized that somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with Carlo. That was why seeing him with another woman hurt her so much—it was a wound that cut her deeper than she ever expected.Time passed in the silence
Lyla woke up in bed, her head throbbing from the hangover, leaving her feeling completely drained. Sunlight streamed through the balcony windows, bringing a hint of warmth to the room, but it did little to improve her mood. She glanced at the clock on the wall—already 3 p.m. The room was quiet, and Emma was nowhere to be seen. On the nightstand, there was a note and a call button. The note said that if Lyla needed anything, she could use the button to reach Emma at any time.Next to the note was an invitation-like card. Lyla instinctively reached for it, but the moment she saw the words "From: Mr. F" on the front, she quickly pulled her hand back. She silently vowed that no matter what the invitation was for, she would not be attending.The gnawing hunger from her hangover caused a burning sensation in her stomach. She knew she had to eat something; getting sick on a yacht would be a hassle. Although Emma had said she could call anytime, Lyla didn’t want to bother her. Besides, she wa
Lyla hurriedly pulled Emma along, making their way back to the room with quick, determined steps. Her pace was fast, as though she couldn’t bear to stay another moment with those women. “Thank you for standing up for me earlier,” she said between breaths, her voice slightly winded. Then, more seriously, she added, “But try not to do this next time. Those women are trouble. I’ll handle it myself. This ship has a lot going on beneath the surface, and it’s important you protect yourself.”“No need to thank me, Ms. Sinclair,” Emma replied, struggling to keep up, her own breathing labored and her face still set in defiance. “I just can’t stand how they act—like they’re royalty, but they’re really just gold diggers trying to bag a rich man.”"Ms. Sinclair, honestly, you should just let them know that you and Mr. F go way back, and that he personally invited you. You're nothing like them."Lyla came to a sudden stop, her expression dimming as she bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before sp
By the time they were ready, it was nearly 7 PM. Emma checked the time and quickly grabbed Lyla, hurrying them out of the room. They walked down the hallway to the elevator, and as it descended, the sounds of the banquet grew louder. When the doors opened, the noise hit them like a wave. The music was deafening—a pulsing rock beat that made the very floor beneath them tremble. Emma, excited like a girl heading to her first school dance, was about to pull Lyla inside when a senior staff member approached. "Emma, where have you been? Get back to the kitchen and help with the drinks!" Emma pouted, clearly disappointed, but then gestured toward the large doors. She whispered to Lyla, "Ms. Sinclair, this is the banquet hall. I have to help serve the drinks and snacks, so I can’t go in with you."Lyla nodded, watching Emma walk away. She stayed back for a moment, calming her nerves, before taking a deep breath and pushing open the grand, gold-trimmed crystal doors.The sight that greeted
"Stop it!" Lyla rushed forward and quickly helped Emma up from the ground. She immediately saw the swollen red imprint of five fingers on Emma's pale cheek. There were even nail scratches, leaving cruel red marks on her delicate skin.“Ms. Sinclair...” Emma's voice trembled with tears, which she could no longer hold back as they began to stream down her face. “I really didn’t lie…”Lyla cut her off, gently supporting Emma and grabbing a glass of iced drink from a nearby tray. Pressing the cool glass to Emma’s injured cheek, she said softly, “Don’t speak. Just hold this and ice your face.”Emma obediently nodded, taking the glass, her eyes filled with hurt and helplessness.As Lyla looked at the painful marks on Emma’s face and the sorrow in her eyes, a fire of anger ignited in her chest. She could tolerate insults directed at herself, but harming her student, her friend, had crossed the line.Standing tall, Lyla turned around slowly, her gaze sharp as a blade, locking onto Sienna.“Wha
Lyla, however, wasn’t in the same lighthearted mood. A wave of indignation surged through her once again, and this time, it reached its peak. Without thinking, she stormed forward and shoved Carlo hard in the chest. “What’s so funny?” she shouted, her voice a mix of anger and hurt. “Do you think we’re monkeys in a zoo, fighting each other for the scraps you toss at us? What’s there to be proud of? You’re nothing more than a heartless bastard who doesn’t even understand basic respect! Do you really think you’re any better than these women?”Her hand swept over to gesture at the lavishly dressed women around them, her pent-up frustration from the past month spilling out all at once. She was so worked up that her neatly styled hair became disheveled, with a few strands falling across her flushed face, oddly enhancing her striking beauty.Carlo’s attention was fixed on her. He raised an eyebrow, mesmerized, and without thinking, reached out to brush her hair aside. But before he could, sh
Lyla's body was rigid, her mind completely blank. She barely registered that Carlo was carrying her through the darkened deck, into an elevator, and all the way to the top floor.At the far end of the top floor was a luxury suite—different from the one he had been in with Sienna. Carlo headed straight for the bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed.The mattress was so soft that Lyla immediately sank into it, like falling into a gentle trap. The sudden feeling of weightlessness snapped her back to reality. Instinctively, she shrank into a corner of the bed, her wide eyes locked onto Carlo, filled with fear and confusion. She struggled to keep her emotions in check, her voice trembling as she asked, "Did you... did you just kill Sienna?"Carlo didn’t respond right away. Instead, he walked over to a nearby table, picked up a stack of newspaper clippings, and tossed them onto the bed.With shaking hands, Lyla picked up the clippings and began to read. Each one was an obituary of a Eu
Carlo held onto the hand Lyla had wrapped around his waist and continued, "My father's legal wife is also from a Mafia family, and she has a son, Blake Ferretti, the rightful heir to the family. To him, my existence is the greatest threat.""And so you and your mother..." Lyla's heart ached for him. She wanted to say, "It must have been difficult," but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she tightened her embrace around Carlo."That night, I didn’t mean to disappear without a word." Carlo's voice softened. "Hudson texted me about my father being shot and hospitalized. Blake, however, got the news before I did and sent hitmen to ambush me. As soon as I got home, my sports car was set on fire by his men."Lyla gasped, covering her mouth in shock. So Carlo hadn’t lied when she asked about that car back in the laundry room.Suddenly, everything clicked into place.Her father, gravely injured. His half-brother, Blake, determined to claim the family fortune and power, sent assassins aft
"Who the hell do you think you are to order me around?" Lucas stormed forward, grabbing Carlo by the collar, his voice shaking with fury. "I warned you—if you hurt her again, I’ll never forgive you.""What the hell does this have to do with you?!" Carlo snapped, shoving Lucas's hand away. He didn’t even know who he was truly angry with, but the storm of emotions raging inside him demanded release. "She’s carrying my baby! Of course, I’ll protect her and the baby. This is none of your fucking business!""Enough!" Lyla’s voice cut through the tension, low but sharp. She clutched her still-flat stomach, her eyes brimming with pain and despair. "This isn’t your baby, Carlo. And I will never let you see it. You don’t deserve to be a husband, a father, or to be loved!"Though she spoke quietly, afraid of being overheard, her words were like daggers. The raspy, restrained anguish in her tone sliced through the night, hitting Carlo like a blow to the chest. His voice trembled as he tried to p
"Who is this woman?!" Isabella quickly approached Carlo, her eyes sharp with suspicion as she examined the disheveled, tear-streaked woman before her. The stranger's casual attire was out of place for the elegant engagement party, and she clearly wasn’t one of the household staff either.Carlo clenched his fists tightly, avoiding Lyla's gaze and refusing to meet Isabella's eyes either. His voice was cold and detached as he replied, "I don’t know. Just some crazy woman. I found her acting suspicious, so I followed her out to check. No big deal. I'll call Hudson to handle this. Come on, babe, let’s head back. We shouldn’t keep the guests waiting."He grabbed Isabella’s arm, attempting to lead her away, but she jerked free. "A crazy woman?" she snapped, clearly irritated. "I won’t allow anyone to ruin our engagement party. There’s no need to bother Hudson over this."With a sharp snap of her fingers, two burly men stepped out from the shadows at her beckon. Speaking in Italian, one asked
The mansion was enormous, filled with laughter and brightly lit from corner to corner. Lyla fought back tears and nausea as she tried to navigate her way out, relying on her memory of how she had arrived. She was aware that Carlo was silently following her, but he dared not call out to her in front of the crowd, and she dared not stop. They weaved through the bustling throng of guests, Lyla quickening her pace with each step, until she finally reached the dark, desolate vineyard.“Stop following me!” Lyla couldn’t hold it in any longer. The emotions she had been suppressing erupted as she turned to Carlo and screamed, her voice raw and miserable. “Don’t you have more important things to do? Go back! Be a happy fiancé! Why should you care if I live or die? I don’t need you anymore! I never will!”Her screams were filled with such pain and despair that she seemed like a porcelain doll, covered in cracks and on the verge of shattering at any moment. Carlo’s instinct was to rush forward a
Lyla sat quietly at a secluded table, her gaze fixed on the center of the grand ballroom. There, Carlo, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, was recounting the story of how he and Isabella met and fell in love.Just minutes ago, Blake had escorted her to this dimly lit corner. He had placed her at an inconspicuous table, posted two men to keep an eye on her, and then disappeared.When she arrived, she caught the tail end of Leonardo’s announcement—Carlo being granted the family name and partial control of its power. Carlo stood proudly beside his father, with his mother on the other side, her arm looped around Leonardo’s, her smile radiant. They looked like the perfect family, united and unshakable. Carlo’s expression was brimming with triumph, his striking green eyes gleaming with ambition and a hunger for power—something Lyla had never seen in him before. In that moment, he felt like a stranger to her.Now, the spotlight had shifted to Carlo and Isabella. The stunning, confident
The mansion on the seaside cliff was unusually lively today. The engagement party of Carlo Ferretti and Isabella Cavalieri wasn’t just a union of two powerful Mafia families; it symbolized their collective expansion into international territories. The Cavalieri family had flown in hundreds of members from Europe, while the Ferretti family made an equally impressive show of force, gathering nearly all their key figures. Adding to the grandeur were representatives from other factions hoping to curry favor with the two Mafia dynasties.The whole thing felt like a royal wedding—lavish and over the top.For Carlo, this wasn’t just another party—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had spent over two decades fighting for recognition within his family. While his initial agreement to marry Isabella had been a strategy to save Lyla, recent developments had shifted his perspective. Just before the engagement, his father, Leonardo, had visited him in the hospital despite his failing hea
Lyla felt like she’d been hit over the head, her mind foggy and spinning. Stumbling, she grabbed onto the table for support, picking up the invitation and staring at it as if she didn’t recognize the words. She flipped it over, studying it again and again.“No… I don’t believe it,” she murmured, her voice trembling as if she were trying to convince herself. “He told me Isabella was only six. They… they can’t be getting engaged.”“Oh, so that’s what he told you?” Blake sneered. “No wonder. When you heard it yourself that day, I thought your temper would have you walking out on him for good. But looks like even a stupid lie like that was enough to fool you. Ah, poor girl. I almost feel sorry for you.”Lyla shook her head, unsure if she was rejecting Blake’s words or denying that Carlo had lied. Her eyes filled with tears, but she bit them back. “No, you’re lying. You’re just using me to hurt him!”Blake clicked his tongue, his expression laced with fake sympathy and disdain. “Why don’t
At Lucas’s suggestion, Lyla went to the hospital’s OB department, and the results confirmed it—she was almost two months pregnant.Overjoyed, she planned to call Carlo right away, but Lucas stopped her.“Better hold off on telling him,” he advised, looking uneasy. “You know him well, right? He’s still in the hospital, if he finds out you’re pregnant, he’ll check himself out just to be by your side.” Seeing Lyla’s hesitation, he added, “Besides, pregnancy isn’t very stable in the first three months. Why not wait until then? It would crush him if anything happened.”Reluctantly, Lyla agreed. She knew now wasn’t the best time. She decided to keep this a surprise, waiting until both Carlo and her mother were fully healed before sharing the news.For the next month, Lyla stayed by her mother’s side. Every weekend, Lucas would fly over from Westheaven, nearly convincing Camilla that he was Lyla’s mysterious boyfriend. To keep the truth from her mother, Lyla would only call Carlo late at ni
"Here you go Mom, have some orange." Lyla handed her mother a peeled slice of orange. Camilla Sinclair took it, her eyes drifting to the black-suited men standing outside the ward, her expression uneasy. She had lived a quiet and peaceful life, never imagining she’d one day see her once sweet, obedient daughter surrounded by bodyguards.It had been days now, and Lyla still hadn’t offered an explanation. Every time Camilla asked, Lyla would dodge with some excuse. But today, when one of the guards eyed a nurse suspiciously as she entered, Camilla couldn’t hold back any longer."Lyla, enough! Who are these people, and why are they here?"Lyla sighed. "Mom, I’ve told you—you need to focus on recovering. That’s what’s most important. They’re here to keep us safe. I promise, they’re good people."Camilla’s tone sharpened, “What kind of normal person needs this kind of protection?” Her voice raised, straining her already weakened body. Lyla quickly reached out to calm her mother, but Camil
The ward, a woman's soft, half-amused, half-irritated voice broke the silence."So, you're telling me there was never an Isabella Cavalieri?!" Lyla stood by Carlo’s bed, arms crossed, still a bit red-eyed from the earlier panic. Her face showed a mix of frustration and slight embarrassment after listening to Carlo’s full explanation.According to Carlo, Isabella was merely a fabrication, a lie he’d told to mislead Blake and rescue her. At first, Lyla wasn’t fully convinced. But when Carlo reminded her of the promises he’d made to her on the island, her last doubts melted away.A playful glint sparkled in Carlo's eyes as he grinned. "Oh, but Isabella does exist. And yes, she really is a Cavalieri."Lyla's gaze immediately turned suspicious until Carlo quickly clarified, "Though, she’s only six years old."Realizing how close she came to falling for another of his jokes, Lyla clenched her fist and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. Before she could pull her hand back, Carlo caught