(Anastasia's Point of View)I regret not listening to Khione's advice to stay in the closet.I spent twenty minutes in the closet.20 minutes of unrelenting torture consisting of the constant sound of gunshots and the cries and screams of people as they either died or fled for their lives. But then, the cries and gunfire abruptly stopped after 2 minutes. Curiously, I peeked my head out of the closet and nearly vomited at the number of bodies on the floor, soaked in their blood while their eyes were wide and they stared into nothing.They were all dead!I clapped my hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to gag as I stepped out of the closet, tiptoeing to avoid stepping on the blood.I walked as quietly as I could, letting my legs move without a sense of direction. The building was so quiet, almost too quiet, that I felt like I was the only living soul. Did this mean the Mezzesalmas were also dead or had they escaped and left me here? I gulped as my mind raced with ideas.Did Enzo fo
[Anasatsia’s Point Of View] I peered at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, the vivid red line on my neck was blood-curdling. It had only been a day, but it was already fierce as fuck; it seemed as though it had no intention of leaving any time soon as I stared at it in dread. I sighed, took a moment to look away from the mirror, and when I stared back I was met with the fierce, noxious red eyes of Enzo staring back at me with his hand firmly around my neck. I gasped and the image cleared but I felt like my breaths had been knocked out, inhaling and exhaling like I had galloped for an hour. I rested my head over my chest and aimed to steady my breathing. When was this vision going to fade out? And how long was I going to withstand it? His eyes were not blue; they were bloodshot and filled with animosity and looked like they wanted the entire world to bleed while they grazed it on. He looked insane. Enzo was crazy and he nearly killed me! The thought made me quaver. The rest
(ANASTASIA'S POINT OF VIEW)A few days passed and the awful near-death experience was put behind me or I tried to sleep without letting a glimpse of those malignant eyes gawking back at me. I stepped into the training room and instantly my eyes dropped anchor on Enzo at the corner of the room, with boxing gloves and punching a bag, wearing nothing but a pair of pants while his upper body was naked.I halted and with a tilt of my head, I watched him, drinking him in. I watched the way his muscles flexed with each powerful hit of the bag. I watched the way sweat trickled down the inks on his back and arm like water. Delicious.I tilted my head to the other side and watched the straight v-line that went straight to his pants. He looked mouth-watering, I could barely look away.Suddenly he stopped and turned to face me. I flinched and straightened my head and nervously ran my fingers through my hair. He smirked and began taking off his boxing gloves, putting them away. "Come here, Doll
[ANASTASIA’S POINT OF VIEW]It was a Saturday. And the sun was blazing up in the sky, liberated, but I should have known that the last part of my day wouldn't be so brilliant. The day, too, gave way to the night. Except for the soldiers that waited at almost every corner one turned with their hawk-like eyes, the mansion seemed deserted. I ignored them as I made my way to the bottom floor, continuing straight until I strolled into an open pool. I realized I'd never gone to this side of the mansion before. The pool is surrounded by grey, brown, and black walls and flooring with a blue accent hue. There was a white pole in the center that stood out against the dark surface. On the other side of the room, there was a window with a houseplant placed in front of it for decoration and there were chairs around the edge of the pool as well as other furniture pieces scattered throughout the area. It was stunning. I went to the pool's edge, the desire to jump in was as high as a fan as the
(Anastasia's Point of View)I didn't even need to look in the mirror to know that I was incredibly pale because I still felt like I was under water, helplessly drowning.My lips trembled and my fingers twitched as I brought my knees to my chest. It has been an hour since I was saved, and even though I was wearing Enzo's thick sweater, my body was still trembling, and the gentle breeze that was peeping in through the glass windows was also not doing any good, but I was too weak to get out of bed and slam the windows shut.However, I realized I wasn't trembling because of the cold; it was the second near-death experience. Rue.That bitch! She must have known I knew nothing about swimming. She was out to get me! I firmly bit my bottom lip as I realized how cruel she was, but if she thought this sh*t was over, she was in for another surprise. I was going to exact my revenge on her and damn the consequences if Enzo found out about my plans; We would both pay the price because nobody stab
(Anastasia's Point of View)I should have known there were repercussions for every action, but I am to blame for this. I experienced the worst kind of cruelty in life. I was just a victim, but nobody cared that I had no other options, and neither were they listening.I knelt there in front of the Mezzelsalmas like some common criminal, hands bound behind my back and head bowed, covered in the blood of the man I would just kill.I was being evaluated, and my fate was being decided. All of them, minus Enzo, were present.He would come to my rescue like he always did, right?"Lift your head," came the order I could not ignore, and I slowly lifted my head.They looked at me as though I were the world's most difficult puzzle, one that they were desperately attempting to crack. I studied each person's face in turn.Galileo watched me with one leg crossed over the other and a smirk on his lips and an odious gleam in his eyes. Giovanni also flaunted the same luminesce in his eyes that scream
(ANASTASIA'S POINT OF VIEW)I did not notice when I became numb from crying, or when I stopped crying whenever the whip passed across my back, or when my body finally gave out and I collapsed on the floor, with little puddles of blood forming around me.As I lay on the floor, every sound that came to my ears was distant and fading, and the world around me blurred, but then I felt it, the feeling of warm and gentle hands lifting me off the floor after untying my hands and holding me to his chest, and with the last inhale of his addictive cologne, I finally gave in the darkness.*~*The next time I opened my eyes, I was met with unfamiliarity. I blinked at the sheets since my face was pressed against the mattress. I tried to turn but was met with pain that made me wish I was dead, but I managed to sit on my ass and scan my surroundings with my lazy gaze. I was surrounded by the painted grey walls of a cozy bedroom with a large bed in the center. On my right were shelves with books an
[Anastasia’s Point of View]When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry, and there was a constant ache in the back of my neck. I groaned, and when my vision returned, I took a moment to scan my surroundings. It was a dark, empty room with little light; it had an old door and no window. The room had concrete and plaster walls, a tall ceiling above my head, and a foul vomit odor permeated the room. The ceiling had several surface cracks from aging and decay. Where was this?I tried to get up, but I could not because my legs were tied to the chair I was sitting on and my wrists were bound behind me.I almost let out an exasperated groan until my gaze was drawn to Enzo, who was equally tied to a chair with both hands and legs. His head was lowered, indicating that he was still unconscious. “Enzo," I called, hoping he would wake up, but I got no response. "Enz-" I began again but was cut off when the door slammed open with a loud cracking sound, revealing a man in a suit walking in with