DANTE'S POVThe door softly shut behind us, nestling us into the silence of the hotel room. There was still friction from tonight hanging in the air, but at least some of the weight was off my shoulders at any rate. It was huge, and Rocco agreeing to go to Chicago was just a major first hurdle of many different obstacles going forward. Twenty years of hate and all the reasons that it had created were never going to get solved overnight.Camilla stood at the window, staring out at the Italian city below, where the lights sparked on like diamonds in a polished velvet case. That soft glow came alive in her silhouette, and for a moment, I simply looked at her. There was something about Camilla where convoluted situations seemed doable.She muttered to herself, in the otherwise silent room: "I just can't believe it. Rocco actually agreed to meet your father. It is not real."I crossed the room, leaning against the edge of the bed and folding my arms as I watched her. "Wouldn't have happene
*CAMILLA’S POV* I sat on the edge of the bed, my hand resting lightly on my stomach. The small swell of life beneath my palm and Jasper my seven year old son from another man, were the only things keeping me going these days. Three months pregnant. I could hardly believe it myself. I thought that maybe this could be my second chance. Maybe with the arrival of his baby, Tom would change. And just maybe he would look at me differently, treat me differently. But the hope I clung onto was fragile like a thread that could snap at any time.I’ve been locked up for three months now and Tom has refused to tell me how Jasper was doing since I tried escaping with him. I’ve tried to talk to him but he has paid me no mind. His actions were all too familiar. I knew if I wanted to see Jasper I would have to do as I was told. I had endured so much pain from Tom and being married to him for 7 years, I had finally reached my limits. I didn’t want to fight anymore.I was tired of the constant beatin
*CAMILLA’S POV*Everything was pitch black. I couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. It was as though I had been swallowed by the abyss. Was this the afterlife? Was this what death felt like? I floated in that darkness, wondering if this was how it all ended if this was my eternal punishment. Life had been nothing but misery and I had done nothing to deserve such ill fate.A sound. Faint at first, like a distant hum, but it grew louder. I strained to listen, focusing on the noise, hoping for something, anything, to pull me out of the void. It sounded familiar, like the rhythmic beeping of a machine. The more I focused, the more I realized… it sounded like beeps you’d hear in a hospital.I became more aware of my surroundings. My eyes fluttered open, my lids feeling impossibly heavy. The harsh, fluorescent lights blinded my vision, making me squint as I tried to adjust. The sterile smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils. It was a hospital, but something about it felt too familiar, like I had bee
*CAMILLA’S POV*Today was the day I was to be discharged from the hospital, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. I lay there, staring at the white ceiling, Jasper peacefully sleeping in the crib beside me. I remembered this day all too well. In my past life, this was the day I met Dante again. Our encounter had been brief, barely memorable. The conversation we had was cut short by my father, who had come to help me back home. This time I needed to take advantage of our encounter. “ He should be out in the next two minutes,” I mumbled looking at the clock hanging on the wall.I disheveled my tied-up curly ginger hair. So I looked as sick as I could. He had asked about my health and looked slightly worried about me in my first life and I was going to take advantage of that now. “I will inflict times two of the pain I received on those who hurt us,” I whispered to sleeping Jasper. I had a second chance, and I would be damned if I didn’t use it. I took a deep breath and stepped out
*CAMILLA’S POV*“Not at all,” I responded quickly, as his eyes stared intensely at me.“I got pregnant,” I said expecting a reaction out of him but nothing.“We haven’t seen for seven months and now you come telling me you’re pregnant.”‘was he keeping track of the time we spent apart?’ I wondered to myself.“I said I GOT pregnant. I was discharged the day we met at the hospital.”He was now looking at me attentively. “We’ve got a kid together Dante,” I added.“We have a son. And his name is Jas—.” I said before he cut me off with a look of distrust on his face.“You expect me to just believe you?” He questioned.“You’re a smart and attentive man. I’m pretty sure you already made inquiries about why I was admitted to the hospital,” I responded putting on a brave face.I could see a smile curl up on his lips. “So you think you know me now?”“I don’t want to have to argue with you, Dante. And to answer your question… Yes I know you to some extent and that’s why I brought this,” I said p
*CAMILLA'S POV*I finally reached home after my meeting with Dante, my mind buzzing with everything that had transpired. The moment I stepped out of the car, I heard a rustling sound from the bushes nearby. My pulse quickened, and I scanned the area, wondering if someone was watching me. My mind immediately went to John. Keeping tabs on me wouldn’t pass him. Had he figured out my plan? Was this his way of trying to keep me in check? The feeling of being watched gnawed at me, but I tried to brush it off as paranoia. With Dante’s actions still lingering in my thoughts, I walked up the path to the front door and headed inside, locking it behind me. I made my way quietly to Jasper’s room, wanting to check on him. My sweet boy was sound asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.I stood at the door for a moment, taking in his features. He looked so much like Dante—the sharp, defined jawline and dark black hair that framed his angelic face. But his eyes, when they were o
*CAMILLA’S POV*“You can’t imagine how long I waited to have you back and to be your father again,” John said, holding my hand gently. “To have you in my arms, referring to me as your Dad. This makes this old man happy.”“Dad you’ve told me this countless times, it’s been months already,” I replied, giggling.“Now I can die easy,” he added with a light laugh.“Don’t say such things, you still have many more years to live.”I smiled at him, playing along with his charade. But as I looked into his eyes, I noticed something—he was watching me carefully, as if trying to gauge my actions. Had he caught wind of my meeting with Dante? Was this all part of his attempt to reel me back under his control and delusion?No. He couldn’t know. There was no way he had figured out the truth about me coming back in time. I was sure of that.“I’ve prepared a little gift for you,” he continued, his tone overly sweet. "But first, let’s have breakfast. I’m sure you’re starving."“Yes I am, let me go get Ja
*The same day**DANTE’S POV*My mother’s funeral had been a blur of grief and alcohol, a cocktail of emotions that had left me feeling more hollow than I had ever felt before. It was in a haze of despair that I had crossed the line with Camilla. I had no time for relationships. They were draining and a liability.Her presence, though innocent at first, became a source of comfort that I sought out Like it was a norm. I chose to act oblivious to the night we shared because I didn’t want her to get involved in my world. The darkness of my dealings and the dangers that lurked in every corner of my life were not things I wanted to expose her to. “She was too good for that”. But now it was too late. As much as I didn’t want to believe the words she spoke I could tell she wasn’t lying about our child. And it would only be a matter of time for her to step right into the world I wanted her to have nothing to do with. I leaned back in my chair, the weight of the week settling heavily on my
DANTE'S POVThe door softly shut behind us, nestling us into the silence of the hotel room. There was still friction from tonight hanging in the air, but at least some of the weight was off my shoulders at any rate. It was huge, and Rocco agreeing to go to Chicago was just a major first hurdle of many different obstacles going forward. Twenty years of hate and all the reasons that it had created were never going to get solved overnight.Camilla stood at the window, staring out at the Italian city below, where the lights sparked on like diamonds in a polished velvet case. That soft glow came alive in her silhouette, and for a moment, I simply looked at her. There was something about Camilla where convoluted situations seemed doable.She muttered to herself, in the otherwise silent room: "I just can't believe it. Rocco actually agreed to meet your father. It is not real."I crossed the room, leaning against the edge of the bed and folding my arms as I watched her. "Wouldn't have happene
CAMILLA'S POVI heard the sharp shatter of glass as the room froze in place; it was as if the air formed into ice. My pulse thundered in my chest as instinctively, I pulled Annie's arm back from this stumbling man and his predicted random movements. He sneered, his frame unsteadily swaying, but a dangerous mixture of arrogance and intoxication gleamed in his eyes.The scrape of a chair leg across the floor cut through the silence before I could get another word out. I whirled to see Dante storming toward us, an expression blacker than I'd ever seen on his face. Every step he took was deliberate, as if some sort of predator closing in on his prey."Dante…" I started, but the words died in my throat.In an instant, he was beside us, his towering figure completely blocking me from the man's line of vision. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Dante said in a low, controlled voice full of threat.The man was either utterly unaware of the serious peril he found himself in or simply
CAMILLA'S POVThe bar was in twilight, heavy with the smell of ages of whiskey and cigar smoke. The low murmurs of conversations and clinking glasses alike seemed to fade into the background, my attention was on Dante and Rocco - they sat at a corner table, but a single lamp cast sharp shadows across their faces. The tension between them was palpable from my seat: Dante hunched forward, his knuckles grazing the table; Rocco leaned back, his face impassive, save for the gleam of ice in his eyes.I sipped my wine slowly, the coolness of the glass a balm against the palm of my hand, but doing little to settle the queasy twist of my belly. Next to me, Annie seemed placid, but I noticed how her fingers gripped the stem of her glass just that little bit too tightly.“Why do they always look like they're about to kill each other?" I asked, trying to sound light.Annie smirked. "You're witnessing history in the making. Rocco doesn't listen to anyone-except me, sometimes. If he's even conside
CAMILLA'S POVThe moment the door to our room clicked shut, I blew out a very long, deep breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Dante sprawled across the room, yanking off his jacket to toss it onto the armchair in a spiky movement. His silence was deafening; the tension crackled between us in the air."Dante—" I began, but he sliced the word off.He whirled on me now, his eyes seething with anger and disbelief. "So you're saying she's the same woman" he snarled. "The Annie you practically threw yourself in front of a bullet for.” I crossed my arms over my chest and met his glare. "I didn't know who she was. She was just a woman in danger. I did what anybody with a conscience would have done."Dante snorted, passing a hand through his hair. "Anyone with a conscience wouldn't have flung themselves in front of a bullet!"The memory of that night tumbled back into my mind in a rush. "I didn't think," I whispered. "I just acted." Those words, like a threat of a storm, seemed to set
CAMILLA'S POVBefore us was the stretched Italian countryside-endless rolling hills of vineyards bathed in shades of gold by the afternoon sun. If anything, the villa where the wedding was held wasn't less than magnificent, a true melting pot of old-world charm and modern-day elegance. Marble columns framed the entrance, while a string quartet floated its music across the open courtyard.I really should have been utterly mesmerized by the view, but Dante's tense attitude was impossible to overlook."Relax," I whispered, tugging at the hem of my silk dress as I leaned in toward him. "Why are you so tense over a wedding?"Dante's jaw clenched, his sharp features lit for a moment by a flash of annoyance. "This isn't just some random wedding.""What do you mean?" I pressed, my curiosity getting the better of me as far as letting him stew in silence went.He said nothing for a second or two, his dark eyes scouring the crowd ahead of us. "This is Rocco Cafaro's domain." he finally said; his
TOM'S POV.I had been confined to a wheelchair for weeks, because of these symptoms. Whereas earlier I used to tower above all others because of my unbridled force, now I sat in this damned chair, legs useless weights, arms losing strength day by day. Irony indeed was bitter. People feared my dominance; now they pitied me. I hated it. Hated them.My fists knotted, my nails digging into my palms. The pain anchored me in the now. It wasn't some random event that had happened. My body hadn't betrayed me of its own volition. There'd been a puppet master yanking on strings, and I knew full well who was on the other side of them.That afternoon, My assistant wheeled me into my office, her soft footfalls barely audible over the dull roar in my head. Now she treated me as if I were glass, her voice perpetually soft, and guarded, as if some wrong word might shatter me."Anything else for you, Mr. Lockwood?" she asked, honey dripping with pity from her tone. She jerked at the blanket on my lap
TOM'S POVIt had started as no more than a whispered unease, a faint haze across my sight that cleaned itself a second later, and I'd been sure I'd just imagined it. But as days slid by, that haze grew darker, creeping into my mind, weaving itself into my body like a parasite.I sat in my office, staring down at the contract I'd spent the last hour trying to read; words on the page blurring and swimming before me until they finally dissolved into nonsense. Frustration prickled along my spine, and I closed my eyes, pressing my fingers into my temples. "Mr Lockwood?" I jerked my head up, to find my assistant, standing in the doorway with a look of concern."What?" I growled, sharper than I meant to, but I didn't care. There was just something wrong, off-the-charts disturbingly wrong-and I wasn't in the mood for questions.She stepped back, her hand releasing the door as she took a second to recompose herself. "You asked for the quarterly reports by this afternoon. I wanted to check to
Camilla's POVSoft light from the chandelier bathed the sitting room in a warmth that casts a gold sheen over plush furniture and polished hardwood floors. Jasper sat center of it all, his tiny fingers digging into the edge of the coffee table for balance as his eyes locked onto Dante and me with that determined glint I was starting to recognize as pure Draven spirit. My heart swelled as I looked at him-my beautiful boy.“Come on, Jasper," I cooed, holding my hands out to him. "You can do it, baby. Just one step."Dante knelt beside me and set his gaze in the middle of our son. "Just one, little man," he said softly, filled with excitement and warmth. "One step, and your mom and I will give you the biggest cheer of your life.”Jasper wobbled, holding onto the edge of the table with chubby hands and a fierce grasp that spoke volumes to someone who was determined not to fall. His great big grey eyes, mirrors of his father's, stared at us with such concentration and excitement. He wanted
ELLA'S POVI slammed my glass down, the echo slicing through the silence of my apartment. Red wine splashed onto my fingers, but I didn't bother wiping it off. All that lined my vision was Tom's face, his smug expression, as if he held the upper hand—as if I was the one failing. As if I was the problem.How dare he.My phone buzzed on the coffee table, lighting up Tom's name. A single word text: "Meet me. Now!"I rolled my eyes and took another gulp of wine, reaching for my coat, the cabernet tasted bitter like the failure. If Tom wanted to talk, he better come prepared. Because I wasn't letting him brush off his failures on me.I found him waiting in the shaded corner booth of his favorite club, fingers drumming impatiently on the table. The sound of my footsteps made his head snap up. Dark eyes locked onto mine with that far-too-familiar spark of control he seemed to think he had over everybody. But tonight, I wasn't here to play nice."Ella," he greeted without preamble, the tensio