Giulia's POVI wanted to scream but the wide palm of the slender being prevented me from doing so. My back was pressed against his hard chest.His grip on me was firm, making it difficult for me to move away, but I struggled anyway.The figure leaned closer and I could feel his rusty breath against my ears.He whispered. “Antonio sent me.”I stopped struggling and stood still while I tried to process what he had just said.Antonio sent him? How did he get in, then?“I guess you'll stay quiet now so that we can talk; I have limited time,” he whispered again.I nodded.He turned me to face him as he placed both hands on my shoulders. He let his eyes roam around me like a father examining his child.He opened his mouth to say something but shut it.“Is something wrong?” I asked with raised brows.“My name is Fred and as I said earlier, Antonio sent me as a spy to come check on you and get information which would be written in circolo.”His face was straight, but his eyes had a show of em
Antonio's POV“Don't tell me you are going to attend,” Vincenzo said.A bodyguard had come into my study where Vincenzo and I sat with an envelope.After reading through, I passed it to Vincenzo to take a look. It was an invitation from Leonardo to attend a ball he was hosting.“I am.”“Why should you honour his invitation? He has done enough already, who knows what plans he has next?”I smiled dryly. “You still don't understand, Vincenzo... I'm honoring the invitation and you are coming with me.”I appreciated the fact that Vincenzo was concerned but he still didn't understand yet.“You are insane…” Vincenzo spat angrily. “Make me understand.”“There's no time to start making explanations; we are going.”I picked up my cellphone and put a call across to Lorenzo who picked up immediately.“Make preparations, we are attending the ball.”“We are?” he asked in surprise.“Yes, we are.”“Okay,” he answered, his voice lingering with hesitation and I hung up.Vincenzo stood up angrily and t
Vincenzo's POV “Antonio, what are you doing?” I yelled.Antonio had called Lorenzo, Franco, Mario, Alessandro, Roberto and I for a meeting.He had been sour since the ball yesterday, not that he was any different but he was still sour and refused to talk to me.I had wondered why he called for the meeting up until now.The moment he entered, he pounced on Franco without uttering a word.His eyes were filled with rage as he pulled Franco from the chair where he sat.“What did you do?” He roared.Franco's eyes were filled with confusion as he stammered. “I… didn't…do…do…anything.”“Shut up,” Antonio's eyes were dark with anger; it seemed like nothing could stop him from doing whatever he had in mind.“You should at least tell him what he did before killing him,” I chipped in.Antonio threw me a deadly glare; if looks could kill, I'd be sixteen feet under.“Stay out of this Vincenzo.”He threw Franco to the ground. “I'm going to kill you,” Antonio said as he walked towards Franco.Franc
Giulia's POV“You'll be fine,” Maria encouraged as she placed her hand gently on my shoulders.She had become more than a mere maid; she was now a friend.It was already two weeks and I still hadn't recovered from the shock of what happened at the ball.Antonio could have been killed or severely injured. I would not have escaped a scratch either.That was why Sophia was in a good mood. She thought they would be able to get him killed at the ball.Since then, I've gone through brutal and ill treatment from Leonardo and Sophia.Oh! My Antonio.To my greatest surprise, after the attack which led to Antonio leaving immediately ended, the event went back to normal.It must have been planned by every one of them and there's no way Maria could not have heard.I was dying in silence and the best option was to speak to her.“Did you know that an attack was being planned against Don Antonio?” I asked as I sat facing her.“No,” she answered curtly with a surprised look on her face. “Not all word
Giulia's POV I opened the door and walked in. It was his conference room, a beautiful room with an ugly scenario.Leonardo held a gun in one hand while three men knelt in front of him trembling and a pipe which he smoked on the other hand.I never for once thought that Leonardo smoked, and from the look of things, I couldn't tell if I was to join the men or watch them get killed.“Giulia!” Leonardo called when he noticed my presence. “Join them.”“What?” I was surprised.“Join them, Giulia,” he roared.“What did I do?” I asked. “There should be a reason why I should join them.”If I had to join them there should be a reason why.One of the men who knelt before Leonardo locked eyes with me and shook his head in what seemed like pity.I soon had a bad feeling about this, maybe I should have just done as he had asked without asking questions.Leonardo didn't utter another word. He sucked on his pipe a little longer and released the smoke from his nose.He did a little hand movement and
Giulia's POV“Sometimes, I wish there was something I could do to help Don Antonio.”I paced my room to and fro while Maria sat on the sofa watching me.“You seem to care about him a great deal; he's a ruthless mafia,” Maria said.“You know that too?... I mean the fact that he's ruthless,” I was surprised.“Who doesn't know Don Antonio?” She laughed. “He's a wild beast.”I raised my brows speechless. Maria was so bold to say these things; she wasn't as timid as the other maids.“How about Leonardo?”“He's ruthless too but he cannot be compared to Antonio who kills for a living.”“So, Leonardo is nicer?”“Not at all,” Maria laughed. “I didn't say so. Leonardo is ruthless as well.”“Fair enough,” I answered.“But ma'am,” Maria started. “Why do you care so much about helping Don Antonio?” she asked, not taking her gaze off me.“If I'm helping him, I'm helping myself,” I looked away from her. “This place is killing me.”“I get it,” Maria said. Her voice was steady and soothing.For a mome
Giulia's POV “Giulia,” he called and I almost fainted.How did he know I was here? I didn't tell anybody I was coming here. Not even Maria.“Come out now,” he ordered.I still stood behind the curtain. Maybe he wasn't so sure that I was here, he must be playing along with his instincts.Leonardo turned with a big frown. “Come out, Giulia.”Oh! He was fully aware of my presence, so I was caught. I walked out shakily from behind the curtain soaked in panic sweat.I couldn't breathe properly as I stood before Leonardo. This was going to be the worst day of my life.“You know,” he started as he walked back to his desk. “If any of my men saw you first, they'd have beaten you to stupor before coming to me.”I swallowed hard. The room was cold but my sweat pores could only produce more sweat.“What were you doing here?” he asked as he rested his back on his swirling chair.“I… I um…” I stuttered.“Speak now,” he ordered and I shook.“I came to…” I started again and stopped.There was no val
Giulia's POVI rolled to the other side of the bed as my abdomen ached.It was my fourth month here and I was beginning to get a hang of everything except for Leonardo's brutality.Maria had come in earlier to check up on me but left immediately to attend to something and I knew just where she went.I hadn't heard a word from Antonio since I sent that message and I never had the chance to speak to Frank. He was almost like the wind.Maria walked in with a smile that disappeared almost immediately when she saw the surprised look on my face.“What's the occasion, Maria?” I asked as I sat up.“It's nothing,” she answered. “So, how are you feeling?” She was trying to divert the conversation, but I knew better.“Maria, I'm fine and nothing wouldn't make you smile like that, it's something.”“Okay, fine.”She went to shut the door and came to sit next to me.“Gabriele and I are planning an escape,” she spoke in whispers.“Gabriele? Who's Gabriele?” I asked with raised brows.“Yes, he's my bo
Giulia's POV"You are quite the sleepy head," Lucien said as I took my head off his shoulder.I yawned as I rubbed my eyes with the back of my palm."Are we there yet?" I asked, looking out the window."We'll be there in thirty minutes, ma'am," the driver answered.The plane had landed in Rome and from there we took a rental car which was headed for Viterbo.I had never been there but I heard it was a great place to start a life; the crime rates were lesser here compared to Sicily."I'm so hungry," I said and yawned again.Lucien looked at me, disgusted. Why the heck was he even here with me?I had the address of the place which Vincenzo had sent to me once so we alighted the plane. I could find my way and put things in order without his help."Once we are settled in, we'll find a restaurant to get food," he said when he noticed my disdain.We?The word sounded so cringe coming from him.I didn't care how good looking he was, I just wanted him to be off my neck as soon as possible.On
Antonio's POVI sipped on a cup of coffee as I flipped through the files on my desk.I had my eyes on the files but my mind wasn't there. It kept drifting away.For every line I read, Giulia's name kept appearing.I could have said something to her last night before I walked away. I could have told her how I really felt about her because it seemed to me that she was willing to listen to all I had to say.And even if I couldn't say anything to her, I could have waited to listen to what she had to say.Although I felt betrayed that she chose Vincenzo over me, I also felt a pang of guilt that clung to my chest.I had remained indoors as they left for the airport so that I wouldn't see them.If I did, I would have died of chronic heart attack from seeing the girl I had grown to love leaving with my brother.I thought Giulia had felt things for me too, although we never spoke about our feelings due to the numerous events. Maybe it wasn't my fault that she left me or maybe it was.Yet, a pa
Giulia's POV“I'm not coming with you.”Alessandra's arm dropped from mine in shock. “Why? What's wrong?”“Is it Antonio?” Vincenzo asked. “Are you now bailing on me for him?”Vincenzo had become angry. He must be thinking that I had finally changed my mind to be with Antonio.I shook my head. “No, not at all; it's not Antonio.”“Then what is it?” He asked, it was obvious he was trying to contain his anger.“I want you to be happy,” I said.“What do you mean?” He asked.“I don't want to be with you, neither do I want to be with Antonio… I want to live an extremely normal life.”“Are you being serious right now?” He asked.Alessandra could only watch in awe. I suppose she didn't know what to say.“Yes, I am.”“Why are you saying this now?” Vincenzo asked, his eyes boring into mine.“If I stayed back, you would think I was staying for Antonio and if I didn't come, you would never know how much Alessandra cared about you.”“What are you doing?” Alessandra was surprised.Vincenzo turned t
Giulia's POV I sighed as I put the dishes away, I had lunch in my room as I had expected. My palms were sweaty. I hadn't seen Vincenzo nor Antonio since I left the study and I was glad we didn't have lunch together. Never have i felt this much tension before. I didn't know if I did the right thing by choosing Vincenzo. I may not like him as much as I liked Antonio but I needed a life of peace and quiet, there's been too much chaos in my life these past years. I wanted to live a normal life, a life free from crimes and only Vincenzo could give me that. Soon, there was a knock on the door. I couldn't help but think that it could either be Antonio or Vincenzo. I wanted to be alone, and seeing them wasn't going to help the chaos in my head. Especially Antonio. I was so rude to him earlier, something even the dead could not do except they wanted to die again. I went to the door to open it and I saw Alessandra. I didn't notice that I had been holding my breath until I exhaled. “Oh
Vincenzo's POV"Vincenzo," she said. "I choose Vincenzo."I couldn't believe my ears. She had looked Antonio in the eyes as she spoke so how did she mention my name?I turned to Antonio who stood there expressionless. It looked like he had seen this coming.I was utterly speechless. She walked closer to me and smiled. "I'm choosing to be a part of your world of strategy and finesse.""Is that what you really want?" Antonio asked."Yes, it is," she answered.For some reason, I wasn't happy as I ought to when she picked me. It was so obvious she had made her choice out of anger.She was still pissed about what had happened with Antonio.I knew this was going to happen. That was why I had asked him to apologize to her but as expected he had refused.Looking at Antonio's made it worse. He was so hurt and he didn't hide it."If that is what you want, then good luck with that... You should know better," he said and walked back to his desk."I think it's enough with the 'you should know bett
Antonio's POV “How did you know that Giulia was having nightmares?” I asked as Vincenzo walked into my room.I still had my eyes glued to the book I was reading.I was a bit surprised that he had come to see me after the fight Giulia and I had.Or maybe he was here to ridicule me and reassure me that I had no hope of having Giulia for myself.I didn't want to give him room for that so I asked him the question that had bothered me since I entered my room.“Is that what you really want to ask me now?”“Yes,” I answered. “How did you know Giulia was having nightmares?” I asked again.“I cared enough to know,” he answered.“Good for you,” I answered, ignoring the rage that welled up inside.I would have loved to strangle him to death but I remained seated with my eyes still glued to the book.I didn't want to start what wouldn't end well.And if I should kill my brother, it shouldn't be over a woman who sees me as a beast.“Why are you here?” I raised my head to look at him for the first
Giulia's POV“You shouldn't use things like this so carelessly,” a familiar voice said from behind, referring to the gun I held.I turned to look at him, and watched as he came to stand beside me. It was my father.“I did not use it carelessly,” I argued.“Oh child, yes you did… you've got blood on your hands,” he said, his eyes focused on my hand.I looked down at my hand and it was soaked in blood, which dripped little by little and I threw the gun to the ground.Lorenzo's body lay lifeless in front of me. “No,” I whispered.“Yes, Giulia, there's blood on your hands,” he took a step closer. “You are a murderer.”“This wasn't my fault,” I cried. “I was made to do it, I didn't want to.”“But you did,” he taunted.“I promise I'm not a murderer,” I cried even louder.I couldn't be blamed out of nowhere for something I was forced to do.“You had a choice,” he continued.His voice had changed and when I looked beside me again, it was Vincenzo; my father was no longer there.“You saw it, h
Antonio's POV“You have visitors,” said the bodyguard I had asked to come in.“I'll be there in a minute. Let them wait in my study,” I replied.He gave a slight bow and walked out.I quickly got dressed and left my room.As I entered my study, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Moretti, Sophia's parents, standing nervously by the window, their eyes fixed on me.“Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Moretti,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. “What brings you here today?”Mr. Moretti, a portly man with a sweaty brow, stepped forward. “Antonio, please... we've come to beg for our daughter's freedom.”I laughed; I had expected this the moment I saw them, but it still amused me.“We know she made a mistake, but we're willing to do whatever it takes to make it right,” he continued.I raised an eyebrow. “Whatever it takes?” I echoed.Mrs Moretti, a petite woman with a pinched face, spoke up. “Y-yes, Antonio.”“What can you offer?” I asked, my brows raised. I was curious about what the couple might have to offer.“We're willi
Antonio's POV"No," I said almost immediately. "Giulia will... she'll do it."A part of me felt like I was making a mistake but I really wanted her to do this.If I was a murderer, then she needed to see what it takes to become one.As much as I wanted to have all the fun torturing and toying with Lorenzo, I had to let her do this one.Giulia looked at me with rage in her eyes. She took one last look at the gun which Roberto held in an extended arm.She then turned to look at me and walked past. I turned to look and saw that she was walking to the door.The guards at the door looked to me for approval to hold her and I responded with a nod.They held her as soon as she got to the door."Let go of me," she screamed as she struggled.Vincenzo stood up to speak but I held up my fingers."You cannot keep-""Shut up Vincenzo, your opinion is not needed."Vincenzo and I held eye contact for a while before he looked away and sat down.His veins were already popping out in anger.I walked to