MIRAI nearly sag from the force of relief that spirals through my veins.My lips stretch in a smile and before long, my pregnancy hormones kick into action and I’m crying all over the place. “Mira!” I hear my sister scream behind me. “He’s awake! Mason has finally woken up!”She wraps her arms around me from behind and I lean into her and shut my eyes, soaking in her love and relief as I sob against her chest.Before long, Vanessa also wraps her arms around us and we stay like that for a long, long time. Anna pats my hair and whispers.“I knew he’d wake up. I just knew it.”I lift my head slowly and stare at her through my tears.“How did you know?”She shrugs.“After he rescued Dutch and I from Halloway and her evil sister, he promised that he’ll always protect us. Mason always keeps his promises.”My tears fall faster and I cup her cheek, trying to smile.“He does, doesn’t he?”“Come on, pregnant lady. You need to sit down.” Vanessa chirps in.With Anna and Vanessa on both my side
THREE YEARS LATER... MIRA “Hello, beautiful.” I look up from the cake batter before me and my heart literally sings with joy as I watch my husband come in through the back door of our Victorian home. His handsome face breaks into a full blown smile and those smoky gray orbs shine as bright as the midday sun. I drop the whisk in my hand into the bowl and open my arms wide, beckoning at him with a grin of my own. Without hesitation, Mason covers the distance between us and wraps his strong arms around my waist. He lifts me off the floor and twirls in a half circle, eliciting giggles of delight from my throat. He finally puts me down and buries his face in my neck. “Mmm, you smell delicious. Did you miss me?” I whisper against his chest. “Yes, baby. I missed you so, so much.” My heart warms at those words, but I can’t help but tease him. “You saw me just twenty minutes ago.” He holds me tighter and breathes in the scent of my hair. “It doesn’t matter. The last twenty minut
SNEAK PEAK OF MY UPCOMING DARK ROMANCE NOVELTITLE: AUCTIONED TO THE RUTHLESS, ITALIAN DAREDEVIL.***He is Edoardo Vicenzo, son of Dante Vicenzo.They called him the most dangerous man in Italy, the boss of all bosses, the leader and owner of men.He had everything he could ever want… money, cars, women. Everything. While I, on the other hand, had absolutely nothing to my name.All I had was my pride. And my beloved sister.When my sister came home from school one day, crying that she was almost raped by one of his men, I lost it. I ran crazy. I became unhinged.My father warned us to keep quiet about it because he was obviously benefiting from the evil reign of Edoardo’s father in the city, but my name is Annachiara Giovanni, and I’ve never been known to keep silent.My blood boiling with rage, I went to fight for my sister that night and ended up nearly being forced into a sex battle. One thing I did not realise was that my sister wasn’t just assaulted by one of Edoardo’s men… she
MIRA (TWENTY YEARS OLD) – NEW YORK UNDERGROUND BROTHEL“Whip her.” I freeze as the master’s harsh voice reverberates around the walls of my cell. Within seconds, one of the brothel’s guards rattles the padlock, sending cold fear through my thumping heart.I press myself harder against the cell’s dirty walls, praying that he never gets the padlock open. If wishes were horses…The sound of the metal doors slamming against the wall snaps me back to the horrible reality of my situation. The tall, thickly muscled guard, I think Cody is his name, advances towards me, his lips curled in a sneer.“Come on, you little whore. It’s time for your punishment.”“No! No, please…”I cry and beg, but the guard grabs my arm and yanks me against him, squashing my aching breasts against his chest. When his disgusting hands reach behind to grab my arse, I begin to lash out. Panic and fear fight for dominance within me and I struggle in his grip, hitting him over and over.“Stay still, you bitch!” He gr
MIRA (PRESENT)I love the endless sunshine of New York City. There’s just something about it that adds an extra glow to my cheeks and lifts my spirits — Or maybe it’s all the orgasms I’ve been receiving lately, but let’s not go into that on my very first day at work. I look through my résumé once more and memorize answers to likely interview questions. I will forever be indebted to Mason for giving me the opportunity to work in his establishment, but I hope this does not complicate our already complicated relationship.I’m seated in the SUV on my way to Mason’s office complex when my phone buzzes with an incoming call. I look down quickly and when I see “Mason” written across the screen, my heart practically sings.“You left like five minutes ago. Missing me already?” I ask cheerily when I answer the call.For a moment, the only sounds that come from the speakers are his harsh, troubled breathing.“Something’s wrong, Mira.” His voice is hoarse.My stomach nearly turns to ice and pani
MIRAAt the sound of my voice, Mason and Halloway come apart immediately. Upon seeing me, Halloway’s catty green eyes light like the cat that got the cream. Mason’s fiery gray gaze pins me in place by the door.“I asked a question.” I insist as I grab the door to maintain my balance.Halloway’s fingers find their way back to Mason’s shoulders and she stares me down.“Mason and I are working. Why don’t you wait until you actually get invited in.”I stare at her incredulously. The conniving bitch.“It didn’t look like you were working when half your boobs were in his face.”Halloway opens her mouth, no doubt to reply with an aggressive come back, but Mason’s authoritative voice fills the room.“Shut up, both of you.”My body literally trembles with rage and jealousy, so I do the only logical thing that comes to mind. I walk out…or at least I try to. I don’t even get to the door when Mason’s voice stops me.“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Mira?”I whip my head in his directi
LILY“You’re late.” She sneers.I look around the room, hoping fo find something that assures me that this office does not belong to her, but the high class blue curtains, luxurious paintings on the walls and even the Diamond studded mahogany desk all scream Halloway. I have no doubt that those are real diamonds and only a bitch like Halloway Stephens would have real diamonds drilled into her office desk.“Sorry.” I say with a saccharine sweet tone. “I was caught up with important things.”She rocks on her swivel chair, her eyes almost burning a hole into my forehead.“In this company, we do not tolerate insubordination of any kind. Coming for your first interview almost an hour late automatically reduces your qualifications. We do not hire incompetent people.” She says with contempt.I begin to feel a stirring of annoyance but I tamp it down. Instead, I walk towards her and take the empty visitor’s seat.“Please accept my sincere apologies.” My voice lowers with “sincere” mockery.H
MIRAI watch with a rapidly beating heart as Darth produces the CCTV footage and a computer. Meanwhile, crocodile tears are still crawling down Halloway’s cheeks. I do not miss the evil looks she sends my way when Mason is not looking, of course. The bitch is suffering from some kind of mental psychopathy issues. I can swear it.The tension in the room is nerve wracking as the footage begins to play out on the screen. When it gets to the point where I begin speaking, I lean in closer.“Go slower right here.” I tell Mason and he sets the video to play in slow motion.I can already see Halloway sweating in her designer outfit as the video gets closer and closer to the point where she nearly choked me to death.“Mason, I honestly don’t see the p-point of this. I didn’t do anything.” She stutters nervously.Mason glances at her.“Mira insists you did. I want to give her the benefit of doubt.”The video finally pinpoints on the scene where Halloway began to look upset. My fingers on the t
SNEAK PEAK OF MY UPCOMING DARK ROMANCE NOVELTITLE: AUCTIONED TO THE RUTHLESS, ITALIAN DAREDEVIL.***He is Edoardo Vicenzo, son of Dante Vicenzo.They called him the most dangerous man in Italy, the boss of all bosses, the leader and owner of men.He had everything he could ever want… money, cars, women. Everything. While I, on the other hand, had absolutely nothing to my name.All I had was my pride. And my beloved sister.When my sister came home from school one day, crying that she was almost raped by one of his men, I lost it. I ran crazy. I became unhinged.My father warned us to keep quiet about it because he was obviously benefiting from the evil reign of Edoardo’s father in the city, but my name is Annachiara Giovanni, and I’ve never been known to keep silent.My blood boiling with rage, I went to fight for my sister that night and ended up nearly being forced into a sex battle. One thing I did not realise was that my sister wasn’t just assaulted by one of Edoardo’s men… she
THREE YEARS LATER... MIRA “Hello, beautiful.” I look up from the cake batter before me and my heart literally sings with joy as I watch my husband come in through the back door of our Victorian home. His handsome face breaks into a full blown smile and those smoky gray orbs shine as bright as the midday sun. I drop the whisk in my hand into the bowl and open my arms wide, beckoning at him with a grin of my own. Without hesitation, Mason covers the distance between us and wraps his strong arms around my waist. He lifts me off the floor and twirls in a half circle, eliciting giggles of delight from my throat. He finally puts me down and buries his face in my neck. “Mmm, you smell delicious. Did you miss me?” I whisper against his chest. “Yes, baby. I missed you so, so much.” My heart warms at those words, but I can’t help but tease him. “You saw me just twenty minutes ago.” He holds me tighter and breathes in the scent of my hair. “It doesn’t matter. The last twenty minut
MIRAI nearly sag from the force of relief that spirals through my veins.My lips stretch in a smile and before long, my pregnancy hormones kick into action and I’m crying all over the place. “Mira!” I hear my sister scream behind me. “He’s awake! Mason has finally woken up!”She wraps her arms around me from behind and I lean into her and shut my eyes, soaking in her love and relief as I sob against her chest.Before long, Vanessa also wraps her arms around us and we stay like that for a long, long time. Anna pats my hair and whispers.“I knew he’d wake up. I just knew it.”I lift my head slowly and stare at her through my tears.“How did you know?”She shrugs.“After he rescued Dutch and I from Halloway and her evil sister, he promised that he’ll always protect us. Mason always keeps his promises.”My tears fall faster and I cup her cheek, trying to smile.“He does, doesn’t he?”“Come on, pregnant lady. You need to sit down.” Vanessa chirps in.With Anna and Vanessa on both my side
LILYTHREE WEEKS LATER…“So, Mrs. Lachlan, what do you plan on doing with your husband’s ashes? Have you thought about that yet?”I sit before the therapist, totally swathed in a feeling of numbness. I’ve felt numb for the past three weeks. The only emotion that has kept me company during this dark time is pain… venomous, excruciating pain. “I don’t know yet.” I whisper, patting my swollen tummy absentmindedly.I don’t want to be here but Vanessa and Damon forced me to come after my third failed suicide attempt. They don’t understand. How can they? How can they understand that I might’ve lost my reason to wake up every morning? How can they understand that Mason is gone and I cannot live without him?How will they understand that I do not believe I have the strength to raise these children on my own?How will they understand that when the doctors pronounced him dead, I wanted to die, too?The therapist, a petite Korean lady, clears her throat and shifts closer.“Mrs. Lachlan, don’t
MASONWhile I’m still trying to deal with my shock, Scuderi’s hold on my neck tightens, blocking out any form of air from passing through my windpipe. My vision becomes increasingly blurry and my head starts to spin.“Get a hold of yourself!” My subconscious screams when I’m on the verge of passing out.At the last minute, I decide that I’m not gonna die like this. I promised Mira that I’ll come home. And I always keep my promises.Just when my uncle thinks he’s winning, I muster the last dregs of my energy and shoot up my free arm, striking him square on the jaw and dislodging him from my body immediately.“Fuck!” He snarls, falling to the side with a pained grunt. A greater part of me just wants to lie there and catch my breath, but deep down, I know that if I waste even a second here, I might not make it out alive.I quickly jump to my feet and pick up the nearest object I can use as a weapon — a baseball bat. When I turn to my uncle, he’s trying to crawl away like the coward he
MIRAThe moment I open my eyes in the morning, I know something has gone horribly wrong. I feel Mason’s side of the bed and it’s cold. Very, very cold. Dread crawls up my spine as I hurriedly sit up, trying to understand what the hell is going on.“Mason?” I call, pulling the covers aside and getting to my feet. “Mason, where are you? Are you in the bathroom?” Silence greets me. Stone cold silence.I pad barefoot to the bathroom, my stomach tightening with fear as I go. Ten minutes later, I’ve searched the entire room and even the closet, but he’s still nowhere to be seen. Now, I really begin to panic.I pull the door open with the intention of searching the rest of the house for him and standing just outside with two papers in her hand and tears streaming down her cheeks is Vanessa.I freeze, horrific images already swirling through my tired brain.“Nessa, what happened? Why are you crying? What are these papers?”She walks past me and climbs onto the bed, her shoulders tremblin
MIRAMy cheeks redden in embarrassment as I quickly look down at my bare feet. I raise my head slowly, already dreading the anger I’ll see in Mason’s eyes.However, when our gazes meet, all I see is worry and concern. He cups my heated cheeks with his palm and murmurs;“What happened, baby? Did you need something?”I’m about to reply when someone slams the table behind us and sneers.“What is this, Mason? Can’t your wife see that we’re in a meeting? How dare she interrupt us? And you’re just going to stand there and do absolutely nothing about it?”I whirl in the direction of the voice to find a stout, middle aged man glaring at us with fire in his eyes. Mason stiffens against me moments before he growls.“What did you just say to me?”The man tries to repeat himself but Damon places a hand on his arm and tries to force him back into his seat.“You do not want to get on his bad side, my friend. Especially when it comes to his wife.”The man looks from Damon to Mason and finally lowe
MIRAWe’ve been back in New York for a week now and Mason seems to grow more overprotective with every passing second. He doesn’t let me do anything… and I mean, anything at all. Sometimes, it’s a real struggle to convince him that I can brush my teeth on my own. Sheesh.I swear, if I didn’t love him too much, I’d have dumped his overbearing arse down the Himalayas mountain by now. Today is one of those days I dread very, very much. It’s one of those days when I have to convince Mason to let me step a foot outside.“But please, oh please…” I beg. “I promise we’re just going skinny dipping in the pool. We’ll be back before you know it.”“Absolutely not.” He says firmly as he knots his immaculate blue tie.I huff and flop on the bed.“Be careful.” He calls from his position in front of the mirror.I finally snap. “What?!”He turns to me, looking gorgeous and edible as ever.“Don’t hit yourself on the bed too hard. Lie down softly.”A incredulous laugh escapes me.“I shouldn’t hit mys
MIRAMason and I hurry through our bathroom niceties and five minutes later, we’re walking into the living room.“Wait for me here.” He says, motioning at a sofa. “I’ll handle them.”“No.” I retort as gently as I can. “I’m coming with you.”He lifts a brow.“There might be a possible threat out there, baby girl. Sit still while I handle it.”In response, I walk past him and gesture at the door.“Isn’t it great that I have you here in case of such threats?” I argue coyly. “Besides, haven’t you been taught never to argue with a pregnant woman?”His face is hard and unyielding for a second and I fear that he might force me to remain inside. To my surprise, his lips tilt in one of those sexy half smiles and he covers the distance between us with two long strides. Mason leans forward and places a soft kiss on my forehead.“I didn’t know stubbornness came with pregnancy as well. Fine, you can come. But you’ll stay behind me at all times. Understood?”I nod eagerly. I even salute and everyt