Alexandra Dellarosa POV After Conti’s little remark that I still couldn't fathom or comprehend, I had heard his words loud and clear. He had asked Moose to drag us down to the venue with the help of the goons.“You see this one, make sure she's at the back of the line” Conti scoffed. There was no way I could tell who he had been referring to because I had a sack over my head. But I guessed it must have been me.Someone who I thought to be Moose because of the way they had aggressively pulled at me to a spot was in charge of guiding me towards wherever they were taking us.“Ladies!” Conti’s voice rang out, I couldn't mistake the voice even with my eyes closed.“Your time has come. Today you meet destiny, today you become women with owners, today the saints cheer you on, today you become free!” He continued, spewing gibberish which I still couldn't understand.I couldn't help but spot out his use of the word “saints” yet again. What exactly was going on?. “Don't forget to smile when
Alfredo Fabri POV Unlike most persons, I knew when and how to follow my gut. Not as a form of superstition or anything, but I'd always described it as a natural cyber security system. I never purchased it, but it had always been there. “84” I called out, stopping down to knee length to pick up a number tag.I wasn't wrong, someone definitely had been behind us. Had they been following us? Were we being watched?“What's that Fabri?” Gina question, trying to get a hold of the genesis of the puzzled look on my face.“Something's off G” I said cautiously, careful that no one asides Gina heard what I said.“And the tour guide?” I asked, referring to the average man who had been guiding us through the path.“The Moron didn't even know we'd stopped in our tracks, but I'm sure in no time he'd figure it out and come looking for us” She said in a breath, genuinely irritated by the Man's inability to spot out the disparities in the atmosphere.That was the first sign of every great Mafia. You
Alexandra Dellarosa POV The lady beside me had just dropped dead, it was the second time someone had been shot so close to me. Not just that, but dying in my stead. I didn't know how I was handling it, but I felt like retching and the blood littered everywhere didn't augur well with my stomach.“You shot the wrong person Vegas!” A man who I perceived to be in his 60’s informed the tall Man who had only made his way to the back of the room from the front.“Did I?” Vegas questioned, wearing a perplexed look on his face.“You didn't even ask a question, didn't think of the need to know the root where the issue stemed from!” the Man cried out, his voice a little bit raised.“You just got into the room, dragged the pistol from Conti, and pulled the trigger!”“Are you high on something?” the older man asked“Language Reece! Language!” Vegas yelled out in the Older Man's direction, his voice cloaked in a cologne of authority.If there was anything I had learned so far, it was that whoever t
Alfredo Fabri POV “How do you feel being the only lady in the room” I jokingly asked Gina, twirling the wine glass rhythmically.“How do you feel playing detective as a Mafia, while stealing the spotlight in the room” She replied, gulping down the contents of her glass.“Funny” I mumbled.“But seriously, how do you do it Fabri?” Gina question with a stern face, fixing her glance attentively, towards my direction.“Do what exactly?” I asked, unable to grasp what Gina was hinting towards.“You walk into a room, and it's as though no one else exists but you. You carry out your duties flawlessly, leaving no room for mistakes.” She said, taking a pause to attend to the Man who just walked up to our row.“Hello beautiful—” He said, a smirk glued to his face.“I'll pass” Gina said, without a second thought. He was the eighth guy tonight to be greeted with the same response from Gina.“You didn't even allow him to settle G” I said unable to hold back the laughter that had long been welling u
Alexandra Dellarosa POV “Certainly this is not your first Rodeo” Reece asked, sizing me up from head to toes. I said nothing because I was required to say nothing. I had long come to a conclusion not to try anything stupid just as Moose advised. So far, my defiance had gotten me no where but nearer to the claws of an uncertain end. In here, in this world where it seems as though Men call the shots, there was no room nor provision available for people like us to voice out our unfortunate thoughts.“I mean, it's not your first Auction right?” He questioned again, expecting an answer. Sincerely, I didn't know if the question was to be left as Rhetorical and nothing more. I didn't quite get it, were there Ladies in here who had been auctioned once before?I simply shook my head to signify that I had no idea what he was talking about. My reply had given him a food for thought. It was either of two things, he either didn't believe that this was my first auction or he had come to an abrupt
Alfredo Fabri POV It is often said that the only other thing that can kill a man aside himself is his past. I never believed that saying and had it been I didn't see Alexa on stage about to be auctioned off to some stranger, I'd have laughed you to scorn if you threw such a saying my way. “Gina!” I called out for the umpteenth time, but she didn't even care to look back. I had only just bidded on Alexa for a sum of $500,000, and Gina could wrap her head as to why I'd do such a thing, further dragging unwanted attention our way. There's a finite way Mafia dealings went down, and evidently, I'd brought a lot of things that had been locked up in the shadows, a chance at seeing the light once again. Alexa and I were a couple during our teenage years. She was my first love, as cliche as that sounds. But it was way before any of this happened. Before I got to understand the meaning of life in itself, before I understood that a man had to forge his path or otherwise risk losing every
Alexandra Dellarosa POV Fabri had changed a lot. He was no longer the cheerful, timid and shy lover I used to know. He no longer folded slit of his sleeves to be dunned as cool, rather he now wore it as his personality. There was this aura he effortlessly sashayed. He had grown into an extremely attractive man, not that he was any less attractive when we were still a thing, but you get where I'm coming from.I didn't know how to feel when he pull me into his embrace. As odd as it seems, it didn't seem alien to me. I was torn in between a rock and a hard place. I had totally forgotten the fears of being purchased by a stranger but rather I feared something more worse. As much as I was pleased to see Fabri and all, years after our unprecedented fall out, a lot obviously had changed about him. I couldn't place my hands on everything that didn't stay in place, but I knew because I'd known Fabri.“Let’s get moving Fabri” The lady who I later found out Fabri addressed by G, let out.I did
Alfredo Fabri POV What do they say about fate? What do they say about time and chance? It happens to the best of us, playing tricks and card games, beating acoustic drums as we dance impulsively to its rhythm. It was at it again, and as much as I didn't want to dance, I was compelled to.“How were you able to find him?” I asked Gina, trying to start out a conversation with Gina. The drive back to the Palatial seemed a little too bland. I knew Gina had her ways with things, and she didn't really fancy being interrogated when she got things done her way, and putting into consideration the way things went down, it wasn't the right move to make.“Are you now going to discuss family business in the presence of a stranger?” She asked, her glance still kept in a straight fix. Her use of the word “stranger” didn't really seem convincing. Gina was aware of some detail, she knew something and I was certain of it.I had kept my past hidden and buried for so long, negating the possibility of it
Alfredo Fabri's POV I smiled back at her lips, my gaze lingering a little too long, as if they held some unspoken promise. Without hesitation, I followed her up the stairs like a lost puppy, my thoughts consumed by her presence. Gina, once a sharp and persistent thought in the back of my mind, now felt like a fleeting whisper drowned out by the magnetic pull of the woman before me.The sound of the door clicking shut behind me felt louder than it should have, a sharp punctuation that seemed to close me off from the rest of the world. She stood in front of it, her back against the wood, her smile curling at the corners like smoke rising from a flame. There was something unsettling about it, yet I found myself unable to look away. My pulse quickened, a dull thud echoing in my ears.“Kiss me.”The words poured from her lips like silk, soft and smooth, yet heavy with intent. Each syllable seemed to hang in the air, wrapping around me like a warm breath against my skin. It wasn’t a reques
Alexandra Dellarosa's POVI got up slowly, feeling the stiffness in my limbs as though I were waking from a year-long slumber. Each movement was slow and deliberate, the dull ache spreading through my body like an unwelcome guest that refused to leave. My muscles throbbed, my joints cracked quietly, but I kept going — stretching my arms, rolling my neck, coaxing my body to life. It hurt, but I welcomed the pain. It felt grounding, something real to hold onto when everything else felt unsteady.I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the stale air of the room, air that had grown heavy and lifeless over the past few days. Turning toward the large curtains at the far end of the room, I walked over with careful steps. That small corner, tucked away in quiet isolation, had become more familiar to me than the bed I was meant to recover in. The window was my escape, my reminder that there was still a world outside, a world still spinning even as I lay trapped in my own silence.The thoug
Alfredo Fabri's POV I sat in her room, watching over her as she slept. The air was thick with silence, save for the faint rustle of the curtains shifting against the breeze. Roseville had left just moments ago, her presence lingering like the faint scent of her perfume. The room still carried an odd warmth from her fussing about, adjusting pillows, refilling water, reminding me repeatedly that Lex needed rest and nothing else.“She doesn’t need you hovering,” Roseville had added before leaving, her tone firm. “Just give her space.”But I couldn’t.I stayed in that chair, back stiff and muscles aching, unable to leave. Every few minutes I’d glance at her — Lex — studying the delicate rise and fall of her chest, half-convinced she might stop breathing if I looked away for too long. The purple bruising still lingered around her throat, an ugly reminder of what I’d done.My fault.The guilt gnawed at me, making me restless. I'd tried apologizing, muttered words, choked promises that I'd
Alexandra Dellarosa's POV My eyes fluttered open to reveal the room ceiling, pushing themselves closed almost immediately after. I felt a sharp pinch on my forearm, stretching to find a line, fluid running through it into my arm. Something felt cool against my forehead, like soft, damp cloth pressing gently to my skin. My throat ached, raw and tight, and breathing felt like dragging air through broken glass. My body felt weak, almost like I’d been wrung out, every limb heavy and useless.The room swam in and out of focus, the ceiling blurring again, the faint flicker of a lamp making shadows dance along the walls. My head throbbed, and my chest burned with each breath.“You’re awake,” a soft voice whispered.I turned my head slightly, looking in the direction of the voice, just enough to see Roseville sitting beside me, her face lined with worry. She was holding the cloth, her hand steady despite the concern written across her features.“Don’t try to move. It'll only hurt more. You'v
Alfredo Fabri's POV The warmth of her neck seared against my fingers as I wrapped them tighter and tighter still, my grip like a vice, unrelenting. My stance was firm, feet planted as though cemented to the floor. She squirmed beneath my hold, her body twisting and straining, but I barely noticed. My gaze was locked on the back of her head, my mind clouded with a boiling rage that swallowed everything else.She wouldn’t walk out on me like that again, not like I was nothing. Not like she could just turn her back and leave without consequence. If she thought she could ignore me, then most definitely, she'd learn the hard way.“Alexandra, you do not walk out on me in that manner. Is that clear?” I growled through clenched teeth, my voice low and ragged. Her body jerked, her shoulders trembling violently as she fought to breathe. They were deep, desperate gasps that barely seemed to fill her lungs. The sound of her strangled breaths clawed at my ears, sharp and uneven, yet I didn’t ease
The sharp click of the door latch snapped through the air, freezing us both in place. The sound alone was enough to send a jolt of panic racing down my spine, but it was nothing compared to what followed. He stepped inside, the sight of him hitting like a punch to the chest, cold, sudden, and impossible to ignore.We stood there, rooted in place, too stunned to move. His gaze locked onto us, eyes narrowing in confusion as he tried to piece together what he was seeing. For a moment, no one spoke — no one even breathed — as if the entire room were holding itself still. My pulse thundered in my ears, my skin cold and clammy.Roseville reacted first, her panic evident in the way she scrambled to free herself from the mess of sheets. She moved in a blur, hastily straightening her clothes before stepping beside the bed, her head bowed low like she could will herself invisible. But nothing could erase the tension that clung to the room, thick and stifling, suffocating every second that passe
I stood up as though to meet him, my muscles coiled with tension. Each step I took toward him felt heavier than the last, dread curling in my stomach like smoke. But I couldn’t back down. Not now. If he wanted a fight a fight he would get. “That’s not happening,” I said firmly, my voice harder than I expected. I looked over him, what use to be cordial acknowledgement now anger and disgust. His eyes sparked with amusement, almost like he knew something I didn’t. He tilted his head slightly, a smug grin creeping across his face.“I don’t think you understand how this works, Fabri,” he replied, his tone low and almost playful. His gaze glinted with something dangerous, something sinister. He was enjoying this a little too much. I did understand. All too well, in fact, which was exactly why I couldn’t waste another second. Before he even had a chance to move, I lunged forward, driving my fist hard into his stomach with everything I had. My knuckles sank deep into muscle, and he stagger
“You can't possibly be serious, Roseville. You're joking, right?” I turned to her, a maelstrom of emotions building within me. Was she actually being serious? She had to be joking, right?I just stood there, frozen, my mouth slightly open as I gaped at her. My mind raced, trying to process what she had just asked of me, some outrageous demand that seemed impossible to pull off. I felt like I was being asked to conjure a storm out of clear skies, to twist reality itself to fit her impossible request.Yet there she was, calm as ever. She smiled, a knowing smile, one that carried a silent message I couldn’t quite decipher but knew I wouldn’t like. Without breaking eye contact, she reached for a nearby chair, dragged it closer with an agonizing scrape against the floor, and lowered herself into it. Slowly, she crossed her legs, folded her hands in her lap, and stared at me expectantly, her smile never faltering. She wasn’t just waiting for my answer, she was daring me to give the wrong on
Alfredo Fabri's POV I paused, taking the situation in, silence falling over the space, as I calculated my next move with speed and accuracy. I looked around, seeking an opening to plan my escape. I needed to get out of here and fast. “What do you want?” I asked, spreading my legs in a stance I knew all too well. It had proven a little too useful in recent times. I stood, hands behind me, legs apart, preparing myself for whatever lay ahead. I stared at him, his eyes sparkling with malicious excitement at me. I wondered what was going through his head at the moment, what he expected of me. If it was money, that, I had, and I would give him double of whatever his asking price. Favours differed a little too much to be jumping heavily into conclusions. He smiled, sitting at the table and picking the stack of cards. He played around with it, taking it apart and shuffling. Again and again and again. He held the card in one hand, beckoning me to the table. Pushing aside my weariness of th