“And what job does your husband do that scares you so much?” Dr. Payne asked one afternoon during our sessions.My head snapped up so I could meet her gaze. “What are you talking about?”“You mentioned that you're scared of your child's life because of the nature of your husband's job,” she said with a slight frown. “Can't you remember that?”I racked my brain, but I couldn't remember saying anything like that. Shaking my head slowly, I spoke again. “I can't remember saying something like that.”“So I'm wrong then, that's not the case?” She asked, crossing one leg over the other in her usual fashion, then pushing her large framed glasses further up her nose. I fiddled with my wedding band on my finger, wondering what the best response to that question was. “No, you're not wrong,” I whispered.“So that means you're scared of getting hurt and endangering your child because of your husband's work. Has he put you in harm's way recently? Do you think that might be contributing to your r
As you may have already guessed, Luca and I were back to our most stable phase. We were a lot warmer towards each other. It might have been the sex, who knows. As for the sex, we were having lots of it.“Glad to see you're in a better mood than the last time we saw you,” Elena said when she saw me.Luca had convinced me not to ruin a perfectly good friendship with my in-laws by being stubborn so he drove me to the house himself and said he wouldn't leave until he confirms that I and the girls were fine.I walked further into the house where Elena was with Sabrina and José. Great, Luca had this all planned out. How cunning.“I owe you girls a big apology, you too José. I shouldn't have treated you three in that manner. I have no idea what had come over me,Neither of them said anything for a while. They just stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, secretly wishing there were rocks there so I could kick them.“I've been experiencing a couple of things that have been affectin
My sleep schedule has been exceptionally fucked within the past few weeks. The nightmares had stopped, courtesy of my sessions with Dr Payne but now, I had doubts about my safety. That and sleepless nights because I couldn't find the right position to sleep in without feeling like I was crushing my baby's head.One night, I glared at the back of Luca's head for hours while he slept comfortably. He was the reason I was in that situation and there he was, sleeping like everyone was okay. I wanted to crush his head.Alice still didn't respond to my texts. I felt really bad about not being able to reach her at all. I couldn't even ask for help because nobody knew about her existence on my phone.“Nazlynn?” I heard someone call out from behind the door, followed by two successful rants on the surface.“Who is it?” I asked, waddling towards the door.“Mathias?” I asked, my voice portraying the shock I felt to see him there. “What's up?”The first answer that I had to my question was not e
Luca's POVMy clothes crinkled as I leaned forward on the leather chair. Five pairs of eyes watched my every move, waiting for me to speak. I drummed my fingers against the polished mahogany. The air reeked of expensive cigars and tension.“With all due respect, Don Luca…” Emanno adjusted his silk tie. “...the Irish aren't going to wait forever for an answer. We have to know what we're saying before they get here.”I shot him a look that made him shrink back slightly into his seat. “And neither will I wait forever to be provided with better terms. Twenty per cent is insulting.”“They control the ports,” another one of the five men said, cutting in, his weathered face betraying nothing. “We need…”A sharp knock interrupted him. José burst in without waiting for a response, his face ashen. He crossed to the other side of the room where I was in three strides, bending to whisper in my ear.“My apologies,” I said on his behalf as he approached me.“Don Luca, it's about your wife. The cl
The high, thin wail that pierced the air seemed to make everything freeze in place. It was like the earth had stopped rotating at that moment. Nazlynn collapsed back against the pillows with her chest heaving. Dr. Martin smiled, carefully placing a tiny, squirming bundle into Nazlynn's arms."Congratulations. It's a girl."Nazlynn's eyes overflowed with tears as she gazed down at our daughter that lay in her arms.“You did so good, baby,” I whispered into Nazlynn’s ear, kissing her temples. I brushed a trembling finger along the baby's flushed cheek, utterly transfixed. "She's... she's perfect," Nazlynn murmured, her voice thick with emotion.I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. In that moment, watching this tiny, miraculous life, I knew with absolute certainty that I would move heaven and earth to protect her. To protect them both.The nurse took the baby off Nazlynn’s arms, and I took the opportunity to rain kisses on my wife.“We did it, Luca. We brought a child
Nazlynn’s POVMy eyes were heavy with exhaustion from having stayed up most of the night because Hailey was being a little fussy, and I couldn't leave her.I closed my eyes for just a millisecond before I was interrupted.“If it isn't my favourite niece!” Elena's voice rang through the nursery as she swept in with Sabrina in tow, arms already reaching out to pick Hailey up from her rocker.I watched from the couch as she scooped up my daughter, who immediately broke into a fit of delighted giggles.At four months old, Hailey's personality was already shining through. She was all smiles and had curious eyes, just like I did.“She's your only niece,” I said pointedly, standing up so I could give her a peck on the cheek.“Tomato, tomato.” Elena twirled around with Hailey, making airplane noises that made her squeal. “She has gotten so big! I have such clear memories of when she was barely bigger than a loaf of bread.”I laughed. “One would think you haven't seen her in weeks. You were
It was a picture of me and my mother from ten years ago, when I was a lot younger. My mother's face had the word ‘liar’ written in red over her forehead. The picture was sent from a number that I couldn't recognize.“Babe?” Luca called out from behind me, making me snap out of the mini trance I was in. “What's wrong?”I quickly shoved the phone into my pocket and plastered a fake smile on my face. “Oh no it's nothing, Enzo was just checking in,” I said in an attempt to convince them.The conversation carried on as normal but I was no longer mentally present with them. My phone felt like a hot rock in my pockets. I wanted to fish it out and call whoever it is that's on the other side of the phone.“Why the hell would anyone do that?” I asked myself.“What?” Elena asked with a frown.I gasped. I hadn't realized I said it out loud.“You ladies just excuse me for one minute. I'll be right back,” I said before scurrying out and into the library.I dialed the number once I had shut the doo
I jumped back in fear, dropping the flashlight in the process.“Woah, are you okay ma'am?” I heard Gabriel ask me. When I looked back up, the figure was gone, and it was just Gabriel hovering above me with a confused look in his eyes.“What the hell are you doing here? I thought I asked you both to stay outside,” I said angrily.Gabriel looked taken aback by my tone. “I'm sorry ma'am, but we heard a crash, and I had to come in to see what it was. I am solely responsible for your safety,” he said with his head bowed.My thoughts travelled to the object that fell off when I opened the door. I hadn't paid any attention to it, but I guess it was loud enough to cause a panic.I nodded, apologizing for raising my voice at him.“I think we can go now,” I told him, holding the journal in my hands.“Are you sure ma'am? We only just got here,” he said with a slight frown.“Hold on for one minute. You can wait for me outside,” I said before dashing out of the study and into my room. I swallowed
She scrunched up her nose, and her eyebrows pulled together in a manner that screamed confusion. “You mentioned it when you told me about your nightmares some time ago,” she said.I nodded. “I think you should do what you think is best for your child. You know it's not just yourself that you have to take care of or look out for,” she said, giving me a look that my mother would give me when she was trying to make me see a point that I am intentionally blind to.We talked some more, and I told her everything about everything, going into more details than I did when I sent that long text message. For some odd reason, I felt really calm around her, like I could tell her anything at all. Which was surprising considering how much I was freaking out when I got here.I had come to meet with her to get some advice on what I should do and how I should do it, but here she was telling me that the decision was all mine to make. Just sitting down and talking to her did help me feel better, thou
I agreed to meet up with Alice two days after she had sent that text. Coincidentally, we were in the same city, so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle. She said it was important we met up, and I was curious as to why.“I already fed her, but in case she gets whiny again, give her water in her bottle,” I said to Tracy, crouching down so I could give Hailey a big kiss.The only thing I hated more than being away from my baby was being away from my baby.“I'm going out,” I said to Luca when I saw him in the hallway. He was speaking to some of the members of our security team. He frowned, giving me a once over. “Where are you off to?” “I'm going to meet with someone,” I responded briefly, checking my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. Luca dismissed the small gathering of men before turning his attention to me. “Who? You don't have any friends. You're not exactly the most social person,” Luca pointed out. I froze. He had a point. Considering everything that has
Luca walked towards me in a predatory type of way. “Hi princess,” he greeted Hailey before taking her off of me. I stilled as he passed by me, keeping my eyes on Enzo at the other side of the room, who looked half as uncomfortable as I did. “Judging by the fact we've been married for almost two years, you should know that I know you better than yourself,” I heard Luca say from behind me before hearing the door shut and then the sound of a luck turning.I whipped around and was shocked to see an empty space behind me. “What just happened?” I asked Enzo, who was just staring at me.“Your husband just locked us in,” he stated simply.“Yes, I can see that. But why?” I asked as my panic level started rising. Enzo hopped off the chair he was sitting on and started walking towards me. “I asked him how I could get you to talk to me. He said you have a thing for eavesdropping on his conversations, so we decided to see if it'll work. We left the door open a bit, sprinkled your name into the
You're really not going to talk to me at all?” I heard Enzo ask, making me sigh.I had come down the staircase the next morning only to almost bump into him at the bottom. I increased my pace so I could disappear from him as quickly as possible, but Enzo just wouldn't let me be.“I thought I made that clear enough, but apparently I didn't, seeing how you're currently trying to talk to me,” I replied with a fake smile.“Nazlynn,” he called out softly, taking a step in my direction.My eyes searched his. I could still see fragments of the little boy who had left for Atlanta years back, but I could also see something darker. The kind of darkness that you are bound to be exposed to while working with the mafia.I was one to talk, considering how I'm married to a mafia don who is the rival to my biological father who is also a mafia don.“I'm not ready for the conversation you're trying to have, Enzo. I would like to get through one day without reminding myself of how I failed you as a si
I was going to respond to the message Alice sent, but then I got distracted by something that Gabriel said, and I kind of zoned out from everything until we got to the house.I knew when Enzo arrived because half of the staff went into a frenzy, trying to prepare a room for the guest. I wonder what he would be referred to as someone who works for the boss or the boss’ wife's brother. Either way, he's getting a wonderful welcome party.Once I got home, I picked up a sleepy Hailey from her nursery and headed to my room. I wanted to take a nap, and I always slept better when I was smothering Hailey in my arms.Some hours later, a knock woke me up. I saw that my girl was already up before me and was staring at me with her eyes that were an exact copy of mine.I swung the door open with a scowl on my face, ready to have a go at the person who has just interrupted my sleep and possibly, Hailey’s. I was certainly not expecting to be met with Luca's expectant face.My face softened visibly.
“Enzo,” I breathed out without turning back.“I'm home, sis. Not at the best of times, but I'm home,” he said, taking steps closer to me.I pressed a hand to my lips to conceal the sob that was threatening to break out. Slowly, I turned back to see a face that I had not seen physically in about eight years. Enzo was right there, standing in front of me.“How did you….?” I said, making a beeline for him, but then I stopped. Memories of the events from the past few weeks came flooding back into my head at once.“Nazi, please, don't turn away from me. I just want to give my big sister a hug after all these days,” he said, his eyes searching mine for any form of forgiveness. I made sure he wouldn't see any.He took a step closer to me, but I held a hand up to stop him. “How did you know where to find me?” I asked.“I called the boss when I landed at the airport. He told me you had just left the house and were headed here. Turns out, the trip from the airport here takes less time than fro
“Thrilling isn't it? To have found out that everybody had been lying to you,” the message read.“Who are you?” I typed in a frenzy. “Why are you doing this?”“Just a concerned citizen who doesn't like getting lied to. Something I figured you and I have in common.”My nostrils flared. Whoever this was, the person clearly knew a whole lot about me, and I didn't know anything about them. “I want to know who you are. Do you want to meet up?” I asked, biting down on my fingernails.“Making friends is not a part of my job description, sweet pea.”I kissed my teeth in irritation. “What job description?”“You.”That one word chilled me to the bone. I swiped away from the chat and quickly blocked the number from calling or texting me before I could allow myself to give it an extra thought. And that was the end of that chapter for me. I completely closed my mind to everything the person had said to me.It's been almost three weeks since Luca and I had the biggest and most emotional argument t
It took me a few minutes of staring at the screen before I decided to turn off my phone and ignore it. I left Hailey under Tracy's care and headed for the gym without taking the bath that Maria had already prepared for me.Between the music blasting through my earphones and how fast the treadmill was, I was in my own world.The treadmill was on the highest speed it has ever been on. Somehow, it felt like I was running away from all my problems and for just that moment, I felt better. I felt hopeful like I could forgive Luca, forgive Enzo, forgive my mother, forgive Vincent, and lastly, forgive myself.I wasn't sure how long I was on the treadmill, running on a spot until Mathias appeared out of nowhere and turned down the speed of the treadmill.“Hey, hey, hey,” he said as I turned to glare at him. “Don't kill the messenger. I'm just here to check up on you.”“Why did you turn it down? I didn't ask for anyone's help,” I said with a scowl on my face as I took off my earphones that were
It had been two weeks since Luca dropped those bombs on me. Enzo had been blowing my phone up nonstop. A part of me was hoping and praying that Luca was lying about the whole Enzo thing, but barely twenty minutes after I asked him to leave me alone, Enzo started calling me.My brother wasn't playing football in Atlanta like I thought. Instead, he was a member of my husband's mafia. How much crazier can this get? At least it made sense now why Enzo did not mention anything about getting threatened by Luca's people or the time when they made me believe he was shot. It was all part of their ploy to get me to stay here and what better way to do so than to threaten my brother? I couldn't even speak to Elena or Sabrina. What would I say? How does a person even start a conversation like that with her friends?I had told Luca to give me space to process things and I clearly needed a lot of that space. He didn't agree too easily though.“You'll need to leave. This room, this wing, maybe even