"Happy Thanksgiving, pregnant bestie!" I open my arms to a very beaming Sammy rushing towards me with her very pretty baby bump. We've been invited to her and Evan's home, and I'm literally in awe of the splendors of the house. My apartment screams old money and extravagance, in my opinion, but it still gives off the vibe of being down to earth even though I know what it costs. Evan's home, however, has all the AI features I didn't even know existed. The door literally greeted us when we rang the doorbell. By our names! "Wow, your house is huge." Is all I can say as I hug her to me. "I know, right?" She beams as she touches my stomach, but I take a step back. Nobody has touched my stomach apart from medical professionals, Alessandro, Phoebe, and myself. There's not much of a stomach to touch either, I can still hide the very small bump underneath my clothes. Sammy blinks and looks unsure, but the angel that my sister is steps next to me and looks around the grandeur of the foye
I look skeptically at the doctor in front of us. I don't know if she's going to be a good fit for us. She literally looks like she could be my age. Her eyes dart from us to Thomas, who is standing guard inside the door. Enzo is stationed on the outside. I was surprised this morning, too, when security seems to be amped up again. This is the first time Thomas is actually inside the room at an appointment. The doctor nervously clears her throat and clicks on something on her computer screen. "Okay, uhm, I received your previous scans and bloodwork from Dr.Pesci. It seems that you're doing well on the medication he prescribed. Are you having any other severe symptoms? Nausea, maybe? Dizziness?" "No." I shake my head. " I'm just super sleepy. I sleep like ten, eleven hours a day." She nods and makes a note on what I assume is my file. "Your body is working really hard right now, so I would say rest as much as you'd like. Listening to what your body wants is the most important thing he
Alessandro is icing me out. This is a time when we're supposed to celebrate that we made it to twelve weeks in the pregnancy. That one of the babies is a boy and he was happy when we found that out. I wasn't even home for an hour after the hospital when a whole tech team with super gadgets appeared at the apartment. Security was already top-notch, but this apartment probably rivals the president's. I never intended for Kaito to become obsessed with me when we met, geez! I never let the guy on even. The only reason I became friends with him was to make Alessandro jealous so I could go home earlier. Who said the guy is even coming after me? Maybe he just needed a break from his family. Me: Are you pissed at me? I wait and wait for Alessandro to reply to my text, but he never does, so I go to the home gym and start a slow walk on the treadmill. I'm prohibited from going outside without a full security detail, so I figured it's not worth all the trouble. "Why didn't you wait for me
It's been two fucking days of me holed up in the apartment. Even the small outside area that is very beautifully decorated feels stifling. I want to feel the energy of the city beneath my feet, I want to inhale the sweat and tears of everyone dreaming and working to survive in the concrete jungle. I transitioned from a small town girl to a city girl, and I've never felt more at ease being surrounded by people who couldn't care less who the hell you are. And Alessandro is still being a dick. He's now moved into the spare bedroom, I don't know why he can't just go to his own apartment if he's going to be so extremely pissed off. I'm lying on the lounger outside, trying to catch some of the winter sun when I feel the flutter in my belly. I quickly sit up straight and hold my hand over my stomach, and there it is again. I quickly get up and rush inside the apartment. "I think something is wrong!" I'm close to tears as panic rushes to my head. The knife Alma was busy with fall from
"Im gonna die." Alma's dark eyes peer down at me where I'm lying on the floor. "You are not going to die." I close my eyes on a dramatic sigh. "I'm dying of fucking boredom." I was clearly never created to just stay indoors twenty-four-seven. It has become literal torture. Sure, my goal now is to make sure I'm healthy and carry the triplets as far along in the pregnancy as possible, but I've never been this idle before. "I need something to occupy my mind." "What about the Christmas tree? It arrived a week ago, or what about starting to test those meal ideas you sent me?" I'm turning into a fucking housewife. Yesterday, I spring cleaned the whole open plan area. Now, I'm contemplating learning how to cook intricate recipes. When I complain, Phoebe likes to remind me it's my own damn fault for allowing Kaito in my life. I'm never making friends with another guy ever again. Plus, Alessandro and I are still not speaking. Every night after he has dinner, he joins me in bed, but I
"So what's up with you and Allesandro?" Thomas asks me in a bored tone. "Did you break up?" "Why, is that what he said?" I haven't seen him in days, and my withdrawal symptoms have been through the roof. Everyone is steering clear of me because I've been exploding over the tiniest things. "He's not really talking to anyone other than shouting." There's mirth in Thomas's eyes. He always seems to be entertained when I'm troubled. At least both me and Alessandro are acting out. That means he's just as upset as I am. Meanwhile, Phoebe is going ahead with arranging a wedding for a bride and groom who can't stand each other right now. "He's pissed because of Kaito, I think he blames me for making friends with the guy." I huff out. Thomas frowns and seems to contemplate what I said. "You think that's the reason he's pissed?" I sigh. "What other reason could there be Thomas? It's not like I did anything else apart from antagonizing Raquel, and if he's pissed about that, he can shove i
I feel slightly stupid as I look at myself in the mirror. Alessandro has never cared about what underwear I wear in the past. Underwear doesn't matter if you intend on ending up naked. But here I am in some scandalous red lace that leaves nothing to the imagination, Phoebe's idea of course. She said I have to apologize and starting with sex is the best way to do that. I pull on my robe and go to the living room area. I don't even know if he's going to come home tonight, we didn't talk about that after we just stood in his office and kissed. I hope Kaito's family finds him, for his sake. My heart pings when I hear the front door open and I rush to watch Alessandro walk through. He stops when he sees me. "Hey." "You came home." He eats up the strides until he reaches me and takes my face in his hand, his lips slamming against mine. Oh, what a way to come home. I moan under his mouth as I clutch his jacket in my arms. He feels like all my desires wrapped up in one. He walks us b
"I'm so glad you and Alessandro finally made up. You were just a terrible person to be around." Phoebe looks at me from the corner of her eye, wary that I might throw her with my teacup. I might still do it, too. "Fuck you." I give her the middle finger. "You know, in a few months you are going to be a mother, maybe you should start practicing using better language." It looks like my sister really has a death wish today. "I'm only saying this out of concern for my nephew and the other two who we are yet to find out." She claps her hands together in glee. "I'm so excited, do you like my outfit?" She looks like something straight out of a Barbie commercial. "You don't think it's too much pink?" I ask sweetly. "No!" She exclaims like I'm insane. " I'm channeling all female energy. I can do with one boy, I'm holding all fingers and toes that the other two are girls." "You do know that we don't know if they're identical or not, right? Because if they are identical, all three of t
I look down at my three babies, where they're all bundled in the same incubator. They were born on thirty-three weeks, but none of them had to be incubated. I'm so proud of them, all of them able to breathe on their own. I was so worried, but they did it. I've never cried so much as I've been crying in the last week. The pediatrician said they should stay in the incubator for at least two weeks, and they were each placed in their own one. But the nurses said when they're apart, they cry, and when they're together, they don't. It's the cutest thing ever. Alessandro can't tell them apart because they look exactly alike. I don't know how, but I know who is who. Their father proudly named them, and right now, Arcangelo's mouth cutely yawns, even though they're sleeping. One week until we can take them home. Right now, they've wearing onesies courtesy of their aunt saying Thing One, Thing Two, and Thing Three. I miss Phoebe in the house, but she has to follow her own path, and she
FARRAH "I'm so sorry, Thomas." My bodyguard is a lone figure at the grave of his wife. "Me too." He says softly with his head bowed. "I was so busy with..." He doesn't complete the sentence, so I take his hand in mine and squeeze his. "It's okay to say it." "I was so busy protecting others, I didn't take care of my own family." He completes the sentence on a sob. "You know that's not true." I tell him. "You were looking after all of us. You just didn't think her past would catch up to you." "But I should have!" He turns guilty eyes to mine where I'm sitting in a wheelchair next to him. "That's what I was trained to do, and I failed my own wife." He's going to feel guilty for a while, probably forever, so I don't say a word. Alma's killer was from a religious society who has been following her and Thomas's lives for a while now. They believe that she betrayed her country and her religion. She would have been stoned to death if she was in her own country. The government has tak
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Trey looks worriedly at me, his eyes darting back and forth in the dark street. "This ends tonight." I go over my body again, making sure for what seems like the hundredth time that I have all my guns and hand grenades in place. It seems like the fuckers are playing right into my hands. Thanks to Enzo's intel, I have the remaining four elders all under one roof in one night. By now, they must know that Fabiono is dead, but they still think I'm inside that jail. They probably know it was me, too, so they're most likely having a meeting to decide what they're doing next. Little do they know, I'm striking while the iron is still hot. Trey shakes his head, his eyes on the surveillance footage on his phone, all courtesy of Evan. Farrah was right, I did orchestrate Evan's bullying so I could be his savior. It was one of the best things I ever did, too, because I now have access to a satellite that gives me vision all over the world. And I have a gre
ALESSANDRO As soon as I stop in front of the quaint cottage, a shot gets fired from me from somewhere in the house, and I duck. I slowly get out of the driver's seat with my hands in the air. If this guy is as dangerous as Thomas said he is, I will be dead in the next second. "My name is Alessandro Moretti, I believe my wife is in there." I shout, hoping they can hear me. I take it as a good sign when I don't get shot at again. The front door opens, and a sight for sore eyes greets me. I run to that door as fast as I can, and then I scoop Farrah in my arms, her smell that is uniquely hers enveloping me. "What the fuck did you do, asshole." She sobs in my neck. "Are you okay? I thought you were in jail." I pull back so I can look at her. There are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks tired, but she's always the best thing I will ever see. "What are you doing on your feet?" I ask her. "You're not supposed to be walking around. You're supposed to be still." She hugs me ag
ALESSANDRO Dario is waiting for me when I walk out of jail the next morning. I don't like the look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" I want to know immediately. He holds the keys to his car out for me, and I grab it. I may be the younger of the two of us, but I've always been the one that was in control. He's never seemed to mind. It's just how our personalities work. "Farrah is gone." The earth drops from beneath my feet for a moment, but I take a deep breath. With Farrah, I've found that there's always an explanation. I get behind the wheel and wait for him to get in beside me. "What happened?" "One of her bodyguards was found with a single stab wound. Luckily, he's not dead." Dario sounds worried. "The hospital's cameras were conveniently out of order for about two hours, but both her and Phoebe are gone. And the other bodyguard." "What about Thomas?" "Still missing." I'm trying to keep my cool, but I bang on the steering wheel. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" Thomas has a few numbers I
FARRAH "Oh my God!" I scream. "T.J!" Damian doesn't even stay at the crash. He just swerves his car and goes around the wreck. "What are you doing?" Kevin shouts at him. "You have to stop, we have to help her!" "Are you okay? "Damian looks at me in the rearview mirror. "I'm fucking fine!" I'm about to lose it. We just left a kid there in a crashed car. "We have to go back and help her." Damian is still calm as he grabs his phone from the console and dials 911. He calmly tells the operator that there was a crash with the address, and then he disconnects before the operator can ask any questions. Phoebe is sobbing next to me, and I feel my own tears wetting my cheeks. We just left Alma there. What if she was badly hurt? Who was that behind the wheel of the truck, and why did he crash into her? The windows weren't even tinted of the car. If they were looking for me, they would've been able to see I wasn't in that car. "The three of you better listen to me and listen to me carefu
FARRAH "Is something going on here that I should know about?" Damian looks accusingly at me in Dr. Sanchez's office. "I've been calling Abe with no luck." Abe is the other bodyguard who's currently on shift. "I think that was my husband's uncle on the way to my room." I gulp, my heart rate skyrocketing. "I'm not sure, but with everything going on with my husband right now, I think he might be trying to hurt me." Hurt is a mild word, but Dr. Sanchez is in the room, and she already looks freaked out. I don't want to worry her any more than she already is. "And you were planning to do what exactly?" Damian wants to know. "I need to get out of here." "Against my advice!" Dr. Sanchez looks at me like I'm crazy. "What if you need blood? You do realize how serious your condition is, right? You are not just risking the lives of the babies, but yours, too." "I'm a sitting duck in the hospital." I shake my head at her. "And if someone kills me, there will be no babies or me anyway. Trus
ALESSANDRO Edward Whittle looks like I'm going to jump him any minute. But like I told him, I'm not here for him. He deserves to go to trial for what he's done, to be torn apart by the public and sentenced. Killing him would be a mercy he doesn't deserve. The asshole starts crying after I don't give him any attention, and I look at him in utter disgust. Those girls in that container were crying, too. I wonder how many girls he's smuggled in containers over the years. What has happened to those girls, were they still alive? Edward Whittle should get life in prison and become the bitch of a thousand men. And even that punishment won't be enough. He follows me around like a little puppy when it's dinner time. The dude jumps at the tiniest noise. That's what you get when you play on the wrong side of the law, and you don't think of the consequences. The inmates seem to know who I am and avoid me, so I get my food that looks like someone puked on it in peace, with my entourage of o
FARRAH "You can't leave the hospital." Phoebe drags both her hands through her hair. "We have to come up with something else. Plus, I think you're being paranoid." I don't know how to explain it to her. All I know is that my gut is never wrong, and I can feel that impending gloom. Nobody is hurting my babies, I would kill them first. Even if I have to do it kicking and bleeding. "I'm not paranoid." I sigh. I wish Alessandro would let me in on his damn plans and stop leaving me blindsided. "Call in one of the bodyguards." Phoebe looks at me skeptically, but do as I ask. The guy is well-built and looks like he belongs on a magazine cover and not outside my hospital room. He nods his head at me. "Mrs. Moretti." I'm still not used to being called that, but I do like the ring to it. "Do you know where Thomas is?" I ask. There's no way he just dropped off the face of the earth. "No ma'am. Thomas just gave us strict instructions that the door should be guarded at all times and that