MANUEL'S POV As Massimo broke down the door, I was worried for a moment. I hoped she wasn't going to be hurt. When I walked in after my men to see her fine and unscathed, I released a breathe. This was the first time I was seeing her after months, and I couldn't really explain how I felt. Angry? Disappointed? Lowkey excited? Whatever it was, I knew the predominant feeling was anger. She looked to be on the phone with someone before we had come in, because the person on the line was still talking and probably asking if she was okay. Bianca just looked at the phone in silence, without saying a word in response. "Bianca." I muttered. "Manuel." She replied, avoiding any form of eye contact with me. "What do you want?" "What I want?" I chuckled humourlessly, playing with my beards. "If you came breaking into my house just to stroke your beards, then you might as well leave." She spat, making my anger rise all the more. So even after seeing me, she failed to let me know what was
BIANCA'S POV He didn't want my boyfriend fathering his child. Those were the only words that kept ringing in my brain even after he left the room. I nestled my head in between my knees as I thought about how nerve racking it was all gonna be in a matter of days. Did Manuel know that the boyfriend in question was none other than his cousin? Finally getting the opportunity to think of Anthonio, I began crying. Through out the time Manuel had been around, I tried not to let a single tear drop. It wasn't because I didn't feel worried or scared, it was because I didn't want to look weak before him. Before them all. Manuel came from an extremely powerful family. Once they realized I was scared and weak, they'd leverage on that to snatch what mattered most to me. My child. What bothered me the most was hearing Manuel say he had taken me, under the instructions of his Nonno. God! Their grandpa was already involved in this matter? This wasn't good for me. Now that Manuel had literally pul
MANUEL'S POV The moment I stepped into the study after Nonno, I closed the door shut. What was I supposed to expect now? He sounded really angry. To be very honest, I couldn't remember when last Nonno spoke affectionately to me. He was either indifferent, or plainly angry. Lately, he had been indifferent. I guess this was the first time he was so mad at me again after several years. I looked at the man, expecting screams and threats, but was shocked to hear him say what he said next. "On your knees." The man stated so calmly. What?! I watched in shock as he walked to the seat behind my desk, and made himself comfortable. "I wouldn't repeat myself." Knowing better than to go against him, I went on my knees, feeling so humiliated in my current position. No one could really humiliate me this much. Not even my parents! To others, I was 'The Manuel Russo'. But to my Nonno and a certain stubborn lady, I was just Manuel or the 'infuriating bastard'. I was shocked that he wasn't saying
BIANCA'S POV Oh God! This was all too much for me to take in at once. I was still dealing with the appearance of my parents, only for Anthonio to show up. When did he return? "Baby?" He called, and I shivered with fear and remorse. "Babe." He called again, and I couldn't help the fresh tears that fell from my eyes. "Ohh..." I let out an almost inaudible whimper. "Anthonio." I fell to the ground in the pretty dress that Manuel's mom had gotten for me. "What's going on?" He asked, looking into my eyes as he walked closer to me. "I just came back last night, and had to show up for my cousin's...." He trailed off, looking at everyone, before looking back at me. "Your parents are here too. We've both been trying to reach you. Where have you been? What has been going on? You got us really worried." I watched as his emotions fluctuated by the second. From suprised, to worried, to confused, and then to being curious. "What happened? You have not spoken to me or taken my calls in w
BIANCA'S POV I opened my eyes to see the space beside me on the bed, empty. That was best for us. His family had successfully forced us to share a room, and I was glad I didn't have to wake up to see his face every day. I couldn't be angry first thing in the morning. Cleaning off the sleep from my eyes, I stepped down the bed in my silky night robe, and walked into the bathroom. I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, and I was glad I looked better. I also felt better. It was the fourth day after the Russo's traditional family dinner and after party. I had not seen or heard a word from Anthonio, and to be very honest, all I could tell him was that I was sorry. I always dropped a new message for him every day, but he never replied any. It got me worried because more than any other thing, I could not bear to go ahead with this wedding, knowing I hurt another man. The day of the wedding was fast approaching and if I had what it took to delay it or make time go still, I wou
MANUEL'S POV "Manuel, hope you are ready?" "Yes Nonno." I replied the old man who poked his head through my door for the tenth time this morning. "Good. The priest should be here any time from now." He said. Yes, today was my wedding to Bianca, and so far, our relationship with each other still wasn't the best. We literally avoided each other like a plague, regardless of the fact that we shared a room. But then, I honestly loved the feeling of her warm body against mine at night. She probably didn't know, but she always snuggled into my side while she slept at night. I wasn't going to tell her though. I kinda liked the feeling, and I didn't want her to become more conscious of herself while she slept. "What has you smiling?" Alexander asked. "Nothing." I shrugged. "Or am I supposed to remain sad because I'm getting married to your assistant?" I rolled my eyes. "First of all," He started. "Bianca is no longer my assistant, but my sister in law. Secondly, you don't part
BIANCA'S POV Emilio had successfully sent Anthonio home, just after the fight ensued between he and Manuel. I couldn't believe Manuel had actually thought it cool to behave so cave manly in the presence of our guests. Where had he gone off to now? I walked towards a corner of the hall, where I could easily see everyone. "I guess you were so busy supporting the one who isn't your husband, in the presence of others. Now you can't tell where your husband is." I turned in shock, hearing the voice of the person who had just spoken in my ears. "Amara?" "Yes, Bibi." She nodded as she burped a sleepy Annalise on her waist. "I would tell you this, and as quickly as I can." She began. "I know you had a growing relationship with Anthonio, but the moment you chose to go ahead with your marriage to Manuel, that became past. Keep your eyes fixed on the one you have chosen to be with." She smiled. "You should go look for him now." "Amara." I muttered, unable to say any other word that
MANUEL'S POV It's been a while I actually sat to watch the television. It had also been a while I cooked for myself. It had also been a while I did my own laundry. "When did you say you were gonna get a help again?" Alexander asked as he walked out of the kitchen, holding a pack of juice in his hand. "Don't know." I shrugged. "Oh, so you plan on getting a help?" He asked incredulously, making me scoff at his gimmicks. "Why not?" I asked. "I can't continue to do all the work myself." "It's two weeks already. You promised you'd return home to Bianca today." "Stop saying it that way. It makes it seem like she actually anticipates my return. I know all she's thinking of right now, is Anthonio." "Just stop with all the Anthonio thing already. You are Manuel. And have you forgotten no one can take what is yours? It shouldn't be allowed. Instead of remaining here, why not go back home and fix things with your wife?" "Can it even work? I truly want to make things work w
MANUEL'S POV I watched as she played in the soft sand, turning around so fast that I feared she was gonna get dizzy. Her hair shone so beautifully under the sun, making me want to run my hand through it. Oh, my wife was beautiful. I noticed she gently sat on the sand, but I couldn't really see her face. She was probably exhausted from all the fun. "Baby!!" She called out to me, signaling me with her hand, to come over to where she sat. I stood up from the soft sand where I had been lying on, and lazily walked up to her. My shirt was completely unbuttoned and my abs were pretty much on full display for her to see. I hoped she was going to see it though. The whole day, I had been trying to get her to notice me, but it didn't seem like she was. Instead she had been busy with the rest of my family, talking about God knows what. Now that she had come to this secluded part of the beach, I was hoping she'd noticed me and we could run into one of these beach houses for a quickie, but
MANUEL'S POV We came back from the hospital, and I found it difficult to smile. That witch doctor; Luigi, just ruined our plans. What did he mean by 'she is not in the right state to travel long distance'? "Baby stop frowning. I'm also not happy that our plans were spoilt." Bianca pouted. "So, we wouldn't be able to..." "Is that trip more important than my health?" She cut me off, and I shook my head in negation. "Exactly." She sighed. "We have to be more careful for the sake of our baby. After this baby is born, we would have many more weeks to elope together and spend some quality time alone. For now, we have to remain home with the rest of the family, taking care of this little angel." She pouted, rubbing her belly lazily. I released a sigh and nodded in agreement. She was right after all. Our baby came first. After I got discharged from the hospital, we decided to wait two more weeks for the shock of uncle Dante's death to get lighter, before we travel to Moscow. When
BIANCA'S POV We were all silent for the next couple of seconds, everyone looking at each other. What the fuck did we just hear? We heard it all, and I couldn't for the life of me, understand how one person could be so evil. This was outright wickedness! I looked at Francesca and her face was as blank as sheet. I wasn't suprised. The poor lady had been suffering in silence all these while. Meanwhile, the same man she called 'father', was responsible for her mother's death. How could a human being even have the heart to do such? To perpetrate such evil? "There is no time to waste!" Alexander suddenly called our attention. "The men I sent, would have probably gotten to the warehouse already. But as we can all see, there are more people we have to save. Please, we need to get to uncle Dante and his family right now." "Call him already." I rushed out, sweat breaking out on my forehead. "On it!" We all looked up to see Matteo and Tommaso by the doorstep. Tell me they had been he
MANUEL'S POV I blinked furiously as I came back to consciousness. I looked around the dark room and frowned. Where was I? The next minute, I tried to get up and walk, but nothing. Rather, no movement. Why the hell couldn't I move my body?! I wanted to talk, but realized I couldn't. Nothing was shutting my lips, I could feel it. So why then, couldn't I talk? Slowly, the events of earlier flooded my mind, and I found my anger intensifying. What the fuck was this about? Who had taken me, and what did they want? I continued trying to struggle in the dark room, but to no avail. I literally couldn't even move my muscles, I felt like a vegetable. Fuck! I was in deep shit, because that was when I realized what was going on with my body. I may have been shot a high dose of sedative, now I couldn't feel my body. The moment I realized what situation I found myself, I quit struggling and waited for whomever had taken me, to show up. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, waiting for th
BIANCA'S POV "Massimo." I muttered in disbelief. How??? How was all he just told me possible? I thought he... I never knew that the lady he talked about was Francesca. Oh, my world! I felt soooo sorry for him. How could a human being be so unfeeling and selfish? How could she think to keep Massimo's baby away from him and try to pin it on my own man?! I was literally going crazy here. "I know! I messed up and I'm sorry. But I couldn't keep it inside anymore. The guilt was eating me up, and after the attack on my life yesterday, I..." "Massimo, you are not guilty of anything!" I yelled out, hoping I would be able to put that deep into his senses. "You are not guilty!" I repeated. "You fell in love with a woman who doesn't value love or bond. For all we care, Manuel was no longer with her when you finally acted on your feelings for her, and that was only because she seduced you. And what is this attack you just spoke of? Massimo, is all well?" "How can all be well?" He looke
FRANCESCA'S POV 5 YEARS AGO "I miss you mom." I sighed deeply, my hands on the gravestone that had her name boldly encrusted on it. "I miss you so much, even if it's been so many years already. I feel so alone all the time, hoping someone would finally fill that space." I sighed hopefully. Maybe one day, I would finally have such a person in my life. That person who would never be okay seeing me shed a tear. That person who would always be there for me, no matter what. That person who would love me unconditionally. Seeing that I was already thinking far off, I sighed and gave an apology. "I'm sorry mom." I smiled. "I know that today is just supposed to be for us to spend quality time together. Here." I dropped the chrysanthemums on her gravestone. "I brought your favourite flowers, freshly picked by the florist just this morning. It's afternoon already, so it is not soooo fresh anymore." I chuckled at my own words. This felt lonely, but satisfying at the same time. I sighed and
MASSIMO'S POV I woke up so late in the morning, feeling extremely tired. There wasn't a doubt that the recent happenings had really drained a lot of strength from me. I hadn't even had the time to see Francesca lately. We last saw each other about a week ago, when she said she was going to be at her father's place for the next week. That simply meant seeing her was going to be much difficult. I groaned in frustration, realizing she was the first person I thought about after waking up. And it drove me crazy because, I couldn't even tell what we were doing! Our relationship wasn't defined and I didn't want to complain about the fact that she was showing me any form of commitment, because I was scared I would lose her completely. If being in this undefined relationship was what worked best for her, I'd try to work with it. But for how long? I didn't know how long I was gonna be able to keep hiding what we shared. I knew we both shared something, we were beginning connect with each o
THIRD PERSON'S POV He spotted her the moment she stepped out of the gigantic gates of the Ferrari mansion, walking towards his car in that skimpy skirt that didn't go lower than her mid thighs. The designers crop top she had been putting on, did little to hide the slender curves of her waist. He hated that other men had to see her this way as well, but could do nothing about it. He wasn't her fiancee, neither did he have any right to question her dress sense. He had been pretty much swallowed by his thoughts that he failed to realize when she had gotten to the car. Her tap on the window glass had pulled him back to the present. He quickly unlocked the car doors, making it possible for her to pull open the front passenger's seat and hop in. "Good afternoon Miss Francesca." He greeted. "Hello Massimo." She gave him a small smile that made his heart do a silly flip. He quickly pulled his eyes away from her and focused back on the road as he drove off. The Don had asked him to br
MANUEL'S POV "Don't goooo!!" She whined, making me smile. "I miss you alreadyyyy." My wife could be a big baby sometimes. "I would be back before you know it." I smiled. "Come here and give me a kiss." I walked closer to the bed and bent down for a kiss. She pouted in mock annoyance, before finally giving in and kissing me. While she kissed me, her hands snaked around my neck, holding me very close to her. We broke off the kiss and she still refused to let go. "Babe?" I muttered. "I need to leave now, don't want to keep my men waiting." "I'm sorry." She pulled away, looking a bit distraught. "I don't even know what is wrong with me. Crazy hormones." She sighed. "But I do not like the way you look. If you insist I should remain home, then I would." "No no no!" She rushed out. "Not at all. You don't need to do that. All you just have to do is go and come back to me in one piece. I'm just naturally worried because nowhere seems safe for us anymore, and my senses feel more he