ALONSO POV My hands are shaking uncontrollably, and I squeeze them between my legs to make it stop. Adrenaline pumps through my system, both from the game and from seeing Fly-girl being hit by that SUV and flying through the air. She's alive, though, so I'm clinging onto that, even though things aren't looking good for her. The doors to the emergency room open, and Arc runs through them with a panicked look in his eyes with my parents close on his heels. I stand up, and his arms come around me in a stifling hug. "What happened?" My father asks in that authoritative tone of his that makes things happen. I shake my head when Arc releases me. "Fuck. She was just standing on the sidewalk ready to cross, but this white SUV came straight for her." My father frowns. "Police?" "The asshole drove off." My father nods. "I'll look into it." I don't miss the look my parents share. It is quite odd. Why would a car just come straight for Juliet? That was definitely no fucking a
JULIET POV There's an incessant pounding in my head, and my eyes feel as if it was glued together. My throat is sore and parched, and panic washes over me. What the hell happened? Was I back in the clutches of my father? I can't breathe. I CAN'T BREATHE! My eyes fly open, and my hands scratch at my throat, willing air to come past my constricted windpipe, but it's like I'm a fish out of water. "Juliet!" My head flies to the man standing next to me, and I'm for sure going to die now. This is the end for me. After everything, this is how I'm going out. "Nurse!" He shouts frantically, pressing a button repeatedly next to my bed. Darkness blurs my vision as I lose oxygen, but then there's a lady putting a mask on my face, her hand soothingly stroking my hair. "Breathe angel." Her voice is soft and gentle, her smile warm and welcoming, making me take in a huge gulp of air that I almost choke on it. "That's it, girl. You're okay. You're going to be just fine. Just breathe." S
ALESSI POV I've been walking around with a heavy chest ever since finding out that Juliet was run over. I don't know what the hell it is, but I haven't been able to shake the feeling. "This is your career we're talking about, boy!" My father frowns down at Alonso, who is sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. "If you miss a game, it will show the NFL that you're not able to work under pressure." I run my hand through my hair. Fuck, I understand both my dad and my brother. Juliet only came out of her coma a day before, he doesn't want to leave her side. But he also worked most of his life for the opportunities he's getting now. Some people would say we don't need to work as hard as we do. We already have enough money for generations, but that's not what my family is about. We were raised that we work for what we want and for what is important to us. Right now, the number one thing that is important to my brothers and I is Juliet's well-being. And that means Alonso
JULIET POV "You're one lucky girl." The middle-aged nurse winks at me. "And I'm not just talking about the handsome guys either." I try to muster a smile, but I fail dismally. I don't feel all too lucky. I've denied seeing my father, who was probably contacted by the insurance company, now he's constantly outside the door like the creep he is. Not one of the guys has come to see me for two days, yet the security guards outside my door are still there twenty-four-seven, only leaving when there's a change of shift. I don't know how to feel about that. It's obviously the Moretti money paying for it all, but does that mean the threat to my life is real? Who the hell would do something like that? It has me feeling scared. When I first got here, I had no regard for my own life, I simply didn't care about the consequences of my actions, but now I do. I don't want to hurt anyone. Least of all the triplets. I can feel something is wrong. The nurses told me that they were forced
JULIET POV There are a lot of monumental moments in one's life. The day you are born, when you fall in love, when you do what you love. And when you find out that your father isn't really your father. Everything makes so much more sense now. The way he never really bothered to connect with me, the way he treated my mother. And ultimately, the way he treated me, the no remorse in choking me and leaving bruises for the world to see. In the back of my mind, I tell myself that at least he never tried to rape me. If that's any consolation at all. The question now is, who the hell is my real father? I feel a strange sense of relief at his admission. I always wondered how you could do that to your own child. But I wasn't his. I wish I could dissect my mother's brain and find out exactly what she was thinking when she made all these decisions that not only influenced her life but mine as well. I'm starting to resent her a little bit, to be honest. How could she do this
JULIET POV The amount of tears I have shed in the last twenty-four hours is shameful. I don't even know who I am anymore. I'm a stranger in my own body, and all I want to do is escape. I'm certainly not the blabbering mess I've been ever since Farrah Moretti paid me a visit. I want to hate her. But I can't. She's only protecting her family, and right now, they need protection from me. I have the power to break their hearts the way mine is breaking right now. If only things were different. If only I was just a normal girl without any grudges and parents who weren't royally screwed up, we could have had a life together. I know it sounds crazy to think that I could have had a relationship with all three Morettis at once, but somehow, the idea doesn't feel bizarre to me. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Mai's eyes are downcast as I zip up my suitcase. "Maybe one day I can explain to you why I'm doing what I'm doing." I lift her chin, and the solemn look in
JULIET POV When I was on the West Coast for summer cheerleading camp, I'd walk on the beach and wonder what it would feel like if I just flung myself into the vast ocean. I've never swam in the ocean before, I've only been to the ocean once with the Millers on vacation, and I only ever put my feet in. So, one day, I mustered up the courage and walked into the water that had the power to extinguish my existence. I felt scared but free. I just stood there in the water waist-deep, and when a huge wave came, I did nothing. The wave washed over me and spun me around like I was nothing, the sound of being under water rumbling in my ears. That's what I feel like now. I don't hear anything. I'm underwater being tossed around like I'm nothing. "She's in shock." I hear someone say as if they're far in the distance, but they're standing right next to yet another hospital bed. Only this time, I'm not hurt apart from my previous injuries. "That is quite understandable."
JULIET POV Who the fuck am I? The agents asking questions about the shooting has left the room, leaving me with Henry and the other two from missing persons. And according to them, I'm a missing person. "I don't understand." I shake my head in confusion. I only found out recently that my father isn't actually my father, which means I'm not a real Monroe. I was even thinking of changing my surname to Whittle now that the triplets know of my true identity. I had nothing left to hide, but now I'm missing? Have I gone into a universe where everything I've ever known was a lie? The agent's eyes are kind as she nods at me. "When you came into the hospital after the hit and run, your blood tests went through the system, and it matched the DNA of two people who never gave up hope that their daughter was out there somewhere." My mouth drops open in shock, and I'm glad for Henry's reassuring hand on my shoulder because it's keeping me grounded. "But my mother...." I t
ALESSI POV In my life, I have never seen something more perfect than my twin daughters. Love like I've never experienced before took a hold of me when these two tiny little girls were born. I've always been my brothers' keeper, the one with the solid head on his shoulders. I think those titles were just preparing me for this role. A father. "Are they supposed to be that small?" Alonso peers through the glass of the incubator. "Are they sick? Why are they in the baby growing thing?" Arc joins Alonso to peer through the glass to the perfection that is my daughters. "It's just procedure." I enlighten them. "They were born on thirty-seven weeks, but they're healthy and perfect." Utterly perfect. They look like their mom, but babies' faces change every single day. "Dude, you have to tell me how do I get Summer to marry me."I tell Alonso. He managed to bag Amelia, even with all the shit that was going on at the time. "You just ask her." He tells me without
AMELIA POV What was supposed to be the happiest time in my life has become one of the worst. Alonso is lying with his head in my lap, my fingers running through his hair as we're waiting for news from the doctors who are operating on Arcangelo. Bailey striked again. This time, she got caught, and her fucking parents can't get her out of this one this time. The shooting is on every social media site, it's trending on the internet. Videos are circulating around from fans. I feel so sorry for Lola. She's still wearing the dress she performed in, clutching Cassie to her chest as if she might lose her, too. They gave her something to wipe the blood from her arms, but there's a faint streak of it left on her cheek. The world would be a worse place if Arcangelo died. I kiss Alonso's cheek, and his eyes flutter open, sorrow in the swirl of green and brown. Alonso would not be the same person if he had to lose one of his brothers. They're all an extension of each other, and I pra
ALONSO POV I'm in seventh heaven. I know the bomb will explode very soon, but right now, I'm blissfully holding my wife in my arms as she's coming down from another orgasm. My wife. I fucking love the sound of that. It's not the way I wanted to do it. She deserves a big wedding with a designer dress and a big, fat diamond ring, and I promised her that I would give her all of that, but she said our wedding was the best. I thread my fingers through hers and kiss the diamond wedding band on her finger. I've already arranged appointments with jewelry designers for her engagement ring, and then I will do it the right way. "I fly out tomorrow afternoon with the team." I reluctantly tell her. "I want you there, but I also don't want you in the open where Bailey can easily get to you." She sighs and nuzzles her face in my neck. "I know. Maybe I'll arrange to see my parents while you're not here." "No!" I say definitely. "We face them together, I'm not sending you into the lion
ARCANGELO POV I must have died and gone to heaven. I have the girl I've been pining over up against a wall with her full, succulent lips eagerly moving under mine. She was a vision tonight in the elegant black dress with her dark curls spilling everywhere. Her lips were painted a fiery red that enticed me the entire time, and I just couldn't stop myself anymore. I tried being respectful because she has a child. My plan was to make her fall so irrevocably in love with me that by the time I did kiss her, she wouldn't be able to resist me. I wanted her to trust me implicitly, to make her feel that I would never let her down, that I'm solid. I hope I did enough because just this one taste of her is making me addicted, and I don't think I would be able to stop touching her now. She groans underneath my mouth, opening those lips like a flower, and I take that opportunity to plunge my tongue inside. She tastes like mint and desire, and a groan rumbles from my chest. I think I might
LOLA POV I don't exactly know what is going on with my life right now. It's like I'm in a twilight zone, part of a family in an instant. Arcangelo refuses to let me and Cassie go back to the label's apartment, and at first, I felt slightly awkward being at his parents' house, but everyone else handled it like it was completely normal. I understand that Alessi's ex-girlfriend apparently almost killed Alonso's girlfriend a few years back, so everyone who might be in danger right now has to stay here. But I'm not even his girlfriend. I'm just one of the artists he signed. Right? Wrong. I've never experienced anything that I feel for Arcangelo. The sexual tension is brewing underneath the surface whenever we touch. It's in the songs that we write together, in the way we gaze into each other's eyes when we think nobody is watching. Every night, after a big dinner, and I've given Cassie her bath and taken a shower, we climb into his bed. About an hour after when Cassie is f
ALONSO POV I can't believe one girl has the power to have all of us on our toes. I, for sure, never thought the sweet girl that we grew up with would turn out to be some obsessed psychopath. Apparently, Evan and Sammy Micheals have Bailey's son. They took her son from her when she was starting to talk about us again over the phone. My parents are pissed because they weren't even warned. Let's just say that the friendship between the Morettis and the Micheals would never be salvaged again. "What's with the security?" One of my teammates asks as we finish up at the stadium. "You good man?" Fuck, I love this team. We're new, and certainly the underdogs, but we're becoming a family. They've been concerned about me ever since the allegations of sexual assault. It's dfficult being in the public eye, and they all know how it feels to be under such scrutiny. "I'm good, but there's someone who's a bit too obsessed, just being cautious." "Be careful out there." He claps me on the s
AMELIA POV "Bailey Micheals has been sighted by Alessi Moretti yesterday." I hear the words coming out of my father's mouth, but it's like it doesn't register at first. I blink rapidly, trying to make sense of what he just said. "You said she would never set foot in this country again!" My mother jumps from her chair in front of my father's desk. "You promised!" "She didn't come in with her real passport. We're scouring security footage to try and see which airport she came through." My heart starts beating rapidly after it missed a few beats. Fear rushes through me in an instant. Bailey is going to kill me. "You don't have to worry about anything." Dad looks at me. "There's no way she'll be able to get to you here." Just another reason to keep me locked up in my gilded cage. I can't do this anymore. It feels like I'm going fucking insane. Even when I'm strolling in the garden, I can feel eyes on me like a hawk. I know I said that this is what I have to
ARCANGELO POV I'm in bed, and Bach is playing softly through the surround sound, but I can't fall asleep, my mind on the dark-haired petite beauty that is in my building. Lola is on my mind twenty-four-seven. She's the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last person in my thoughts before I close my eyes. Working with her has been nothing but astonishing. We've been writing music about love, loss, happiness, hurt, and so entwined in our own little bubble that the assistants have to remind us to eat. I have never met someone who understands how I make music like she does. It's like she was always tethered to my soul, and I just had to find her in the cosmos. Even Cassie crept under my skin. She calls me her prince charming, and I'm not mad about it. I wonder what they're doing right now. Cassie is probably asleep already, maybe Lola, too. What would it feel like if they were here? Would Lola listen to classical music with me while I run my finge
ALESSI POV I feel slightly guilty for being this happy, but fuck, I can't help it. My internship is coming to an end. I still have the two-day assessment coming up before I'm officially a resident, but I've been working for this all my life. I'm prepared and ready. Then I have this gorgeous woman roaming my apartment with my babies in her belly. Granted, she's currently shooting lasers at me while I'm calmly sipping my coffee before I have to leave for my shift. "You don't get to decide if I work or not, Alessi!" Summer shouts at me, pink blotches appearing on her cheeks. "You're completely taking over my life! First my apartment, and now this!" I might have told her supervising nurse that she will probably have to hire another nurse soon, seeing that Summer might quit her job. "I was just thinking about the future." I shrug. "You're mine, and I have to take care of you. Carrying twins is not going to be easy on your body, you think you can work the shifts you do being se