Do you think Lyla will forgive Carlo this time? Leave a comment and let me know!
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
The cruise sailed along its course for four days until, at last, it docked at a small island under a clear sunset sky.During those days, Lyla and Carlo rarely left their cabin. Lost in the joy of their confessions, they spent each day wrapped up in one another, as if time and space had become meaningless.When they finally, reluctantly, separated and prepared to disembark, Lyla noticed the eerie quiet around them. The usual bustle on the cruise had vanished. Apart from the stern-faced guards standing nearby, there was no one else in sight. The stillness unsettled her, making it feel like the lively days on board had all been a dream.She paused, instinctively stopping in her tracks as she followed Carlo. “Where are all those women?” she asked quietly.Carlo turned, noticing her anxious expression, and, with a playful seriousness, replied, “Fed to the sharks.”“Really?!” She gasped, covering her mouth. For a moment, she seemed to believe him, running to the railing and looking around
"You don’t know anything," he retorted coldly. "My father married his wife purely for family alliances, for the sake of business. He met my mother long before that marriage; theirs was real love. As for his wife, there were no feelings between them—just a union of convenience."Lyla frowned. She’d heard of marriages like this before, from royal families in history to modern corporate empires. But she believed that in today's world, with all the freedoms people now have, marriage should be a choice—not something imposed by family obligations.“This isn’t fair!” Lyla’s voice was firm, frustration etched in her tone. “It’s unfair to your mother, and it’s equally unfair to Mrs. Ferretti! Your father used his wife and controlled your mother, all while basking in the benefits from his marriage and taking your mother’s love without giving her dignity in return. Both women were wronged, and yet he still takes pride in it. He should be ashamed of himself!”"What did you say?" Carlo’s interrupti
Lyla hurried back to the cruise, her thoughts tangled, unsure of what to do next. She wanted to find a quiet place, somewhere to calm her mind and sort out her complicated relationship with Carlo.Returning to their shared room was out of the question, and without a room key, she couldn’t access any other cabins either. With no other options, she began to pace along the deck, trying to steady her thoughts.Just then, her attention was drawn to the activity below the ship. A line of bodyguards and crew members were steadily disembarking, each holding a crate filled with supplies. Among them, Lyla recognized Emma and immediately called out to her. Emma turned, surprised, and, seeing Lyla, smiled warmly and hurried over after passing her load to another crew member.“Ms. Sinclair! What are you doing here?” Emma asked, breathless, her cheeks flushed with both exertion and excitement. “I thought you’d already gone ashore with Mr. Carlo.”Lyla shifted uncomfortably. “It’s… a bit complicated
Lyla sighed, knowing that these children were just another one of Carlo’s little schemes to bring her to him. He knew exactly how to push her buttons, leaving her with no choice but to nod helplessly and say, “Alright, lead the way.”The children cheered as if they’d just achieved something monumental, but their sudden burst of noise startled the youngest girl among them, who looked around with wide eyes and started to cry. Lyla’s heart softened immediately. She gently moved through the crowd of kids, knelt down, and picked up the little girl, patting her back and whispering soothing words. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You are fine.” she cooed, shielding her face with one hand and playing a little game of peek-a-boo to distract her.Having worked part-time as a babysitter during college, Lyla had become adept at comforting small children, and sure enough, her silly faces and gentle voice soon coaxed a smile out of the girl. The child wrapped her chubby arms around Lyla’s neck, giggling thr
"When I wanted to tell you yesterday, I just couldn’t,” Carlo began in a low, slightly raspy voice. “I’m not indifferent to my mother’s pain, you know. Quite the opposite—I’ve tried to find a way to get her out of here since I was very young. When I was six, my father sent for me to start school in the city. I poured everything into becoming the best at whatever I did. I thought that if I earned my father’s approval, he might finally bring my mother to live with us. I just wanted the three of us to be a real family.”“And did it work?” Lyla asked, her tone much softer now, no longer so accusatory.Carlo gave a bitter smile. “You can probably guess that my father’s wife and my half-brother didn’t welcome us. When I was sixteen, I killed two family traitors myself, and only then did my father finally agree to bring my mother into the U.S.”Lyla couldn’t hide her shock; she turned to Carlo, who continued to look out over the ocean, his face calm, as though he were retelling someone else’s
Amid the children's cheers and laughter, Carlo gently lifted Lyla into his arms, carrying her inland. After a few steps, a young man dressed in local attire zoomed over on a brand-new Harley, halting the bike precisely in front of them. He dismounted, retrieved two helmets from the back, and respectfully handed them to Carlo.Carlo set Lyla carefully on the back seat, fastening her helmet with a practiced touch before settling in the front. As he buckled his own helmet, he cast a playful glance over his shoulder and said, “Oh, right, I remember someone on the cruise saying she ‘doesn’t fight over scraps with dogs.’ So...was that your way of calling me a scrap?”Lyla paused, recollecting, and then let out a soft laugh—it was what she'd said during that heated exchange with the other women on the cruise. She wasn’t surprised Carlo knew about it; with his watchful eye, every moment on the ship was probably within his grasp. What amused her was his lingering irritation over the remark. Sm
"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