{EDMONDO'S POV}**The knock on the door is like salvation… for her, from me, and maybe even from myself. From my fingers. From the storm brewing inside me. Or was it?Perhaps, just perhaps, it was an escape for both of us. I wasn’t ready to tell her everything she needed to know. Not yet. The act of unraveling her in more ways than one had become my excuse. If there was no distraction, if she were just sitting there, raw and exposed, with only the weight of my words… she’d break.And, truthfully, I might too.The knock saved me from seeing her crumble.. and saved me from my own damn urges. I was getting hard from the way she responded, the way her body betrayed her anger, her questions, her doubts.I let go of her like she burned me. The shirt I’d discarded earlier was back in my hand, pulled over my torso with a speed born from years of training. My back turned to her, I faced the door as it swung open
{EDMONDO'S POV}**As the thought of Kara's flushed face burned into my mind, I glanced down at my boots. They sat in a neat row at the foot of the cupboard, polished and gleaming, waiting for me to choose. I wasn’t a goddamn girl, standing there debating over which pair to wear, so I grabbed the first ones my eyes landed on. A pair of snow boots.Not fluffy like some dainty princess shit, but a rugged kind of soft. The material was scaled, sturdy, and masculine, with an edge of tread sharp enough to leave marks if you stepped the wrong way. They weren’t my usual heavy-soled, leather boots, the ones that announced my presence with a rhythmic thud wherever I walked. These were quieter. Subtle. And tonight, subtlety was exactly what I needed.Sliding my feet into them, I felt the softness against my skin. But the weight of unfinished business still pressed against my thoughts.. and my pants. I adjust
{CARA'S POV}**“I hate how this place smells,” I mutter.My fingers trace the edge of the vanity and I feel the rough wood beneath my touch. The scent of blueberries clings to the air, mingling with the sharp tang of my own skin. Everything here is foreign, nothing but a reminder of how I don’t belong. Nothing is mine, not the bed I collapsed on, or the items scattered like careless whispers across the room. This is Edmondo’s world. And I’m just caught in its chaos.I draw the towel tighter around my body, suddenly conscious of the thinness of it, the way it clings to me with every shiver. I step into the bathroom, letting the steam from the shower wrap around me. I needed the steam to hide me from my own thoughts. The water roars, a force trying to drown out the memories of Edmondo’s voice, the way it cut through the space between us with a promise I’m not ready to admit. His eyes, those cold iceberg like eyes that were both cruel and beautiful, are now burned into my mind. He
{Edmondo’s POV}**I don’t like what I’m becoming.A devil.Mother had said this once, that I carried inside me a devilment that I shouldn't let rule me. Yet it seems like the devilment isn't what I carried inside but who I am.The silence in this estate used to ground me, used to remind me of what it meant to control. But now? Now it’s her voice. Her face. Her goddamn presence haunting me like a curse. Like a constant reminder of what I can’t have without completely destroying it.Fuck. Even my lowly soldato dare see her beauty in her face and dare speak of it. Now, they're topping up the list of reminders.I play with the knife in my pocket with my fingers as I step into the main hallway leading to my chamber. The sharp edge of the knife bit at my fingertips. Then, I feel the sensation of a drip of liquid. Damnit. The pain of hurting myself doesn’t soothe me like it used to. It’s just a foolish distraction now, a weak one at that. Cara.I grit my teeth.Her name circles in my mi
{Edmondo’s POV}**The corridor leading to the blue room was as silent as a graveyard, just as I like it. I swipe Cara and the thoughts of her away from my head. I need to focus now. I take a turn to the next wing. Everything about this wing was deliberate. Cold. Unforgiving. Blue.The doors are reinforced steel painted in shades of icy cerulean and as I approach, they loom ahead. They stood like sentinels, warning anyone without a purpose to turn back. But I wasn’t just anyone.I was the Don. Don Edmondo D’ Avi.I stepped through the door, and the temperature plummeted instantly. It was the kind of cold that crept under your skin and dug into your bones.The blue room.This place was my invention. Torture disguised as order. Every inch of it was drenched in varying shades of blue: the walls, the floor, the furniture, even the faint, buzzing glow from the overhead lights. The glass windows reflected an endless sea of muted azure, and the table in the center was translucent sapphi
{EDMONDO'S POV}**My blood’s running too hot and I can't even feel the cold and sharp air in the Blue Room biting at my skin. I stop just short of Massimo, dangling like the pathetic piece of shit he is. Sweat drips down his face, mixing with streaks of blood, and yet the bastard still has the nerve to smirk at me when Luigi says the words he said.“You look like shit, Massimo,” I say, tilting my head. My voice is calm, too calm. That’s how I know I’m about to snap.Massimo lets out this wheezy laugh, the kind that makes me want to cave his face in. “Still standing,” he rasps, his grin widening. “You didn’t expect that, did you? The good news of your shipment and brother.”I take a step closer. If the heel of my boot weren't so soft they'd be scraping against the floor. I can feel Luigi behind me, stiff as a board, waiting for my command. “You think this is standing?” I lean in, my voice dropping.
{EDMONDO'S POV}**I stand by the door, my hand resting on the frame as the voices behind me slice through the silence of the hallway. I don't leave fully as I wait to hear the remarks Massimo might make.Not like I don't trust Luigi to give me the full information of whatever Massimo blurts out.. I just waited, perhaps he'd tell Luigi which of my brothers killed my men.Massimo’s voice is low, venomous, dripping with malice when he says. “You still… you still have those affections for him, don’t you, Luigi? You’re shit.”I hear Luigi’s sharp intake of breath. There’s a taut pause, and then he answers with a rough and defensive voice. “It’s none of your business, you know.”The silence is broken by Massimo’s snort, a harsh, mocking sound. “None of my business? You don’t think it is? You’re still his little pet, his lapdog, his creature. He doesn’t even ask you. He just calls you his dog, Luigi. How does that feel? To be love
{CARA'S POV}**Sitting in his room is getting boring. It’s a constant reminder of the mark he just created on my face. I need to walk around.Blueberries.The faint scent of blueberries wafts through the air as I step into the grand sitting room. It’s everywhere in this estate, but here, it’s stronger.The smell is sweet yet overpowering—nothing like Edmondo, who smells exactly like it. It coats the space with a strange illusion that Edmondo is here. Here with me in this cold, towering estate.For a moment, I think I’m alone with just the illusion of Edmondo. Then I see her.She stands by the window, her back to me, gazing out at the dreary garden with a few bottles of… something in her hand.Her dark curls tumble down her back, catching the faint light seeping through the heavy curtains. Her posture is poised but casual. Every movement is deliberate, like she knows she’s being watched.My stomach tightens.There’s something about her—something disturbingly similar… similar to Agata
{BONUS × FINAL CHAPTER} * * The first time I hear the fridge open, I ignore it. The second time, I hear the unmistakable clatter of a spoon against a plate. I ignore it.. again. I roll over, reaching for Carina and as I suspected, her side of the bed is empty. It's warm but empty. The third time I hear noise, I sit up, groggy and blinking against the dim glow of the kitchen light spilling into our bedroom. “Carina?” With that follows an funny, guilty silence. Then, a crunch sound. I throw the covers off and shuffle to the kitchen, where I find my very pregnant wife sitting on the floor in one of my old shirts, surrounded by an assortment of food. A half empty tub of ice cream. A jar of pickles. A box of cereal. A slice of pizza on a napkin. And, God help me, a jar of peanut butter with a spoon sticking out of it. She looks up at me with those big brown ey
{EDMONDO'S POV}**Tomorrow comes fast. And it's morning again.The morning spills through the massive windows, drenching the room in soft gold. Outside, Vegas hums with life; cars weaving through the Strip, neon signs still flickering even in daylight, the distant sound of laughter and slot machines. But in here, in this bed, it's quiet. It's just us.Carina Morelli is curled beside me, wrapped in the sheets. Her bare shoulder is exposed and her hair is a dark tangle on the pillow. I reach out, brushing a strand away from her face. She stirs. Her lips part slightly and I pause, watching her. Before, love was brutal. It was a battle. But this… this is something else entirely.Her eyes flutter open, it's hazy with sleep."You're staring again," she murmurs, voice thick with drowsiness.I smirk, running a thumb over her cheek. "You're in my bed. What else am I supposed to do?"She shifts. She stretches her arms above her head, the sheet slipping lower. My gaze follows and she knows it
{EDMONDO'S POV}**I am wide awake……and the world is too bright.Or maybe it’s just this city: Las Vegas, with its neon lights and chaotic energy, its crowds of dreamers and gamblers. The world is too loud, too open, too free. I used to think freedom came with power, with control, with a gun in my hand and a city at my feet. But here, in a five bedroom condo that is too small compared to my estate back at Trento but too big for just the two of us, freedom tastes different.It tastes like her.Cara moves around the kitchen barefoot, wearing nothing but my shirt. The sleeves are too long, the hem brushing her thighs, and she looks like she belongs in a life I never imagined for myself. Her hair has all grown out, the soft waves are now framing her face. I remember when I forced her into dying it black, then she cut it short. She looked as untouchable as she tried to be. Now, she looks… happy.Happier than I have ever seen her. The woman who once lived in black, whose eyes carried
{INGRID'S POV}**The air in Italy is different when we arrive. It’s thick, suffocating, and all pressing down on me from all sides. From the moment we land and got into the car, I feel it in my bones.. like something is wrong.I step out of the car. The gravel crunches beneath my feet. My breath catches at the sight before me.Something is indeed wrong. Not because of the silence, not because of the way the sky hangs low and gray over Trento, Northern Italy, but because of them. Everywhere; black.I see a sea of black. Men and women standing in eerie silence with their heads bowed and their faces unreadable. The only sounds are the occasional rustle of fabric, a sniffle, the sharp bite of the wind against my skin. And then I see another; six men standing apart from the rest, wearing black suits but with blood-red hood capes.Blood-red. Is that a deliberate choice? Or is it a symbol?I swallow hard, glancing sideways at Mr. Giovanni, but his expression is unreadable. His gaze sweeps
{GIOVANNI'S POV}**The jet hums with a steady vibration, a soft, luxurious purr beneath us as we soar above the clouds. The private cabin is dimly lit, a golden glow casting soft shadows along the leather seats. Outside, the world is a stretch of endless dark, pinpricked with distant city lights below.I sit comfortably, my legs stretched out as a glass of whiskey rests in my palm. Across from me, Ingrid is curled up in her seat, het legs tucked beneath her. She's scrolling through something on the new phone I got her. She looks up, catching me watching her and arches an eyebrow. “You’re staring,” she murmurs.I take a slow sip of my drink. “Admiring, bambina. That's the word.”She huffs but doesn’t look away. “That’s new, uncle.”“Is it?” I smirk, tilting my head. “I seem to recall a certain young little lady throwing herself into my arms just hours ago. Was that not you?”She rolls her eyes but shifts slightly, uncoiling her legs. “You act like you didn’t force me onto this plane
{INGRID'S POV}**The swollen head of Mr. Giovanni's cock pushes just inside me, making me gasp and grab his shoulders. I can't tear my eyes away from the sight of his thick, veiny manhood held tight in his strong hand as it plays over my cute pink flesh.All the ways I imagined I’d give myself to man maybe in marriage or love relationships, it was never like this. Never like meeting Mr. Giovanni, losing my virginity while doing this with him, and doing it again.Actually, there was only ever one way I imagined loving a man for life. In a normal, average style, falling in love with a guy my age when I'm at least twenty one, kissing him, dating him, loving him and then we get into a relationship. The only way I believed my mother would want me to be happy.But with Mr. Giovanni, on his study desk, in Ireland not even Italy, in the light day evening of the day? This is better actually.This is sexier. Officially, I’ll lose myself to him even if not in the proper way. Even if he's actua
{GIOVANNI'S POV} * * Love her? Now, that's a funny one. Men like me don't fall in love so easily. But it is strange that I so much have this overflow of urge to control this little one. “Believe whatever you want.” I press my mouth over hers in a searing kiss, and this time, she doesn’t have time to pull away. She melts against me, and as I thrust my tongue into her mouth, her lips part for me. I feel her sharp inhale that pushes her little swollen breasts against my chest. I break the kiss and glare down at her. “Just in case you were thinking something foolish, I’ll make this clear now. I don't fall in love. Maybe obsessed with you but I'm not sure. What I'm sure of is that there are too many out there. I don’t want to see you around other men, not even someone you knew before me. Or I won’t be responsible for what I do to you and him.” She arches her eyebrow, her expression challenging me. As always. But I'm growing to hate her feistiness. “Oh, really?” But I will
{GIOVANNI'S POV}**I watch her from the doorway, unseen.Ingrid stands in front of the mirror, holding the dress against her frame, tilting her head as if trying to decide whether it suits her. The fabric spills over her arms like liquid, deep green, rich, the kind that makes her look older than she is. The gift had been deliberate. A test, maybe. Or just another way to remind her of who decides what she wears, where she goes, what she becomes.She turns slightly, checking the side of the dress, her expression unreadable. And yet, I know exactly what’s going through her mind. She wants to refuse it. Reject it on instinct because it’s too childish. But she doesn’t. Because, in some ways, she already understands that acceptance is easier. And Safer.I lean against the doorframe, waiting. She runs a hand down the silk one last time before exhaling sharply, setting the dress aside, and walking toward the door. I step away just before she opens it, making it seem like I just happened
{GIOVANNI'S POV}**I make sure the room is dimly lit so my little girl can be comfortable. The heavy curtains are drawn against the early evening sun. I sit across from my bambi, a bowl of fruit in my hand. My fingers peel a piece of orange with slow precision. She watches me with her expression unreadable, and I see the tension in her shoulders; the way her fingers tighten around the fabric of her big shirt."Eat," I say, holding out a slice. "I want you to be healthy for me. Soon, I will begin hand-working those tiny tits, I want them bigger."She rolls her eyes but takes the fruit from my fingers. Her lips brush against the tips in a way that is entirely too deliberate. I ignore it. For now I always ignore her petty advances.Silence stretches between us. I pick up another piece, twirl it between my fingers before offering it to her. She leans forward, her gaze locked onto mine. The game she plays is subtle, but I’ve always been good at seeing through people. Always."You want