Okay, big boy π
The way he says it with so much disdain has me pulling back to stare at him. It's adorable how he hates Padre as much as I do. This is why I like him. Despite being dumb sometimes, he's supportive in so many ways. Stretching up, I kiss him. He moans, pushing me back on the bed, and I let him because I need this. I need to feel something that isn't anger, revenge, or jealousy. Of course, I'm not jealous of Marianna. Just jealous of the people she has beside her. Aside from her minions, now she has De Luca, too. It's so unfair that people end up liking her even if she's the bad guy. But then again, life isn't fair, is it? All I have is this man, and that's close to no one. We are a couple, but I know he doesn't love me, and never will because he's not the sort to fall in love. He's after money. Even if we ran away together, I doubt we'd be together for more than two years. But isn't that what I want? To have money and get any man I want without the burden of feelings. As Damian thrusts
A few day's rest is exactly what I needed. Paulo still hasn't found out who poisoned my food. It wasn't exactly poison though. The doctor said it was an illegal drug normally sold on the black market. A small amount, like the one I was subjected to, was harmless and would only make me puke my guts out. If they'd used more, it would have led to organ failure and I would have died. It's funny how the culprit knew the right amount. De Luca won't bother investigating because I'm fine and he has too much on his plate. The ass. I have a feeling this has something to do with Carina but I haven't done anything about it. She thinks she's too clever. Ever since we were young, she thought she was more clever than me even though I've shown her time and again that she can't beat me. If I find out she was behind this I will definitely give her a taste of her own medicine. Getting out of bed I move to stand in front of the closet mirror and look at myself. Although I feel better today, I don't look
"Fuck, can I come along?" Nev asks as I walk past him. His question makes me laugh and some of the anticipation I feel, dissipates. Not all, but some. "Sure. Grab your purse and let's go" "Great. Let me just tell Cris..." "No" De Luca says from somewhere behind me. I can't look at him or I'll end up falling on my knees and begging him. It doesn't escape me that he didn't go upstairs but that doesn't matter. He'd never help me. "Sorry, Nev" I pat his shoulder leaving. He looks like a kid who's been grounded. Which reminds me of his son Tommaso. I haven't seen him around for a while. Where did he go? That question is erased from my mind together with everything else when I see Carina standing at the front door with her boyfriend. She's in a white knee-length dress. I'm sure others think it looks good on her but all I see is how ugly it makes her look. With her pale skin, why the hell would she go for white of all the colors? "Well isn't this lovely. Light and dark going head t
Trigger Warning : Attempted sexual assault. I feel dizzy and my body has frozen. This isn't happening. Not now. All these years I feared Padre would do this. Force me to be with some asshole just to make a point. It was the reason I slept with Paulo. Somehow I wanted to be in control of at least one thing in my life. Who I gave my virginity to mattered. I didn't want one of Padre's guys to take it forcefully because there was no way I would ever be with anyone who worked for him. When he found out -I don't know how he did- he raised hell, but it was already done. There was nothing he could do about it. And with that stupid thought came the realization that he could never hurt me that way. How wrong I'd been. Now as I'm standing here while this guy rips my dress, it occurs to me how I was delusional. There are so many ways this man could hurt me and not just physically. The world might know me as his daughter but he doesn't give a crap about that. What father out there sits in a corn
One of my eyes is too swollen to see so I open the other one, just as something warm flows down into my hair. And then his weight is gone and Paulo is standing over me. Even through my one eye, I can see how furious he is. Relief floods me but I'm also angry. At him, at the dead asshole, fucking Padre, and even De Luca. Why didn't he stop me and demand to know where we were going? Wasn't he holding us hostage? I'm furious but as I lie there with a swollen face and blood in my hair, a sort of calm washes over me. This is the push I needed. "You move and I won't hesitate to put one in you," Paulo says and I assume he's talking to Padre. I'm lying on the ground naked, with blood all over my face and hair and Padre has the audacity to laugh. Not chuckle but a full blown out belly laugh. I guess this is one of his hobbies. Inflicting pain and watching people suffer. Paulo slips a T-shirt over my head, I assume his, then carries me out. I feel like I'm floating and all too soon I black
I'm coming out of the kitchen with a beer when Carina comes back. She looks happy and is smiling, an expression I haven't seen on her face for a while. I'm thinking I made a good call by letting them go out. Is it a wonder they're always fighting? They've been cooped up in this house for weeks, throwing glares at each other. Maybe unwinding and coming back with hangovers will give me one day of peace. "Hey," she says surprising me. After letting Paulo punish her for the whole Fausto incident, she's been ignoring me. I wonder why she decided to talk to me again. "Where's Marianna?" "Still partying. I think she needs to dance off her bad attitude. Don't you?" The thought of her grinding on some guy all night doesn't sit well with me but then again I have better things to do. Carina is right about Marianna letting loose. When she left earlier I got the feeling she was scared. I've been living with her for a month and I think I'm starting to understand the mystery that is Marianna
That's why she called. Because she already has another candidate lined up. Maybe I should just invite her over so she can meet Marianna. I wonder how she would react when she finds out the person I have a crush on is Lombardi's daughter. That won't go well at all. If there's someone else who hates that asshole more than I do, it is my mother. She didn't raise me to be a vengeful machine but she also never let me forget what happened. It was important for me to know who my enemies were and what they were capable of. "I have a call on my cellphone. I'll call you later. Goodnight, Mama" I lie hanging up. She's probably going to call Nev and bother him about finding a mother for Tommaso. Sometimes she can be so pushy but then again, aren't all mothers wired the same way? Running a hand through my hair, I get up. Thinking I should close my eyes for an hour before starting the day. I'm halfway up the stairs when the front door opens and Paulo walks in, supporting an injured Marianna. Bat
I didn't think I could actually sleep after everything. Despite the painkillers the doctor gave me, my face still hurt and my mind wouldn't shut down. The scene from the club kept repeating itself over and over again as if it were in a loop in my head. While I always expected something like that to happen, I never thought it would affect me like this. I'm a strong woman, one that doesn't scare easily. But I've learned that strong or not, I'm still a woman, who needs to feel protected once in a while. That's why I turned to De Luca. For some reason, I feel safe in his hands. He's physically bigger than that asshole but with him, I know he'll never hurt me like that. We argue a lot, over stupid stuff mostly, but the second his lips touch mine, I forget everything. I know it won't always be like this and I'm not expecting anything from him. I just need his arms for one night. To erase the bad memories and give me comfort. I promise myself that come tomorrow, he might not want to see my
This doesn't look like a funeral at all. I haven't seen a single person shed a tear or even look sad. Then again, this was to be expected. Everyone is dressed in black as is custom but instead of crying they're holding glasses of champagne and wine, toasting each other. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a party, which works for me. I can take people's condolences but they shouldn't expect me to act like a grief-stricken daughter. Deep down I'm happy Padre is dead. I hope he rots in hell. "My condolences, Miss Lombardi. Your father was a great man and he will remain in our hearts forever" a man says. We both know he's full of shit but since he is one of the men in the file Giovanni gave me, I just nod and offer him my thanks. "Thank you, Signor Conti" "Ah so you do know me" "Yes, Padre told me everything about his business partners. I hope to continue working with you in the future" "The rumor is true then? You will be taking over?" "No, I won't be taking over" I look h
I blink my eyes open. It takes a few seconds for me to recognize my surroundings which is funny because I'm home. At least that's what this house is supposed to be. My home. The place I grew up in and which should have a lot of memories. But the ones I have are those I'd rather forget. Growing up here hadn't been easy. Many are the times I wished for a family that would at least care for me. A mother that would tell me everything would be okay. I always imagined her taking my side every time Padre got mad and took his anger out on me. I try not to hold a grudge against my birth mother. I've never met her but there had to be a reason she couldn't be with me.Maybe now that Padre is dead...No. I'm not going down that road. Not when I have so much to do. I managed to get Giovanni to leave me alone yesterday but I know he's going to barge in here any minute now. I still can't believe he's dead. It all seems so surreal, like I'm dreaming and someone is going to wake me up soon. I
I take a bullet for her and this is the thanks I get. Why the hell do I still like her? I've met and been with a lot of women. I guess I'm drawn to her because I've never met anyone like her. She knows she's beautiful so flaunts it. She's unapologetic about what she did even though she should be asking for my forgiveness. Lombardi and De Luca organizations have been on opposite sides for a long time. I could easily take advantage of our rivalry and wipe her out. Even with Giovanni by her side, she's no match for me. All I have to do is convince their clients and business partners to join me. Seeing as Lombardi is dead, who would want to put their money in the hands of a woman? It wouldn't take much to convince them. But there's a part of me that hopes she succeeds so she doesn't have to be under anyone's control anymore. Lombardi never cared about any of his daughters. I'm glad Marianna has finally gotten her freedom. "How long until Nev gets here?" I ask following her into the hou
The appearance of Giovanni makes perfect sense. Every piece fits into the puzzle perfectly now. On my way here I kept wondering how she could have done it on her own. She only had Paulo and those two girls. Alone, they wouldn't have accomplished anything. Stealing merchandise from me required them to have a lot of money to begin with. They'd need trucks, a place to store the stolen goods and men. The kind that are trained and won't make mistakes. She would have also needed to pay them a good sum to work for her. I know she's Lombardi's daughter, but there's no way she would have had the money to do all that. Unless she'd been in cahoots with Carina. Now if they had my five million dollars, this could have been done easily. It wouldn't have been a problem. Except I've seen just how much Marianna hated her sister. She didn't want to live in the same house with her. Let alone striking deals with each other, I think they'd rather die than work together. But having Giovanni Balistreri on
So Padre is dead. Which means whoever gets to the house first, will have the upper hand. Most of the documents about shipments and deals are in a safe at the mansion. Everyone who knows that Padre is dead will try to get there before anyone so they can take over. The men that worked for Padre can easily be turned once they find out he's dead. They need jobs and would work for anyone who offers to pay them. Besides, anyone who refuses is bound to die. You can't be loyal to a dead man. Unless we're talking about Giovanni. He was Padre's right-hand so maybe he'll resist? Who will he pick? Right now he's the only one who can sway Padre's men. "How long until we get there?" I ask smoothing my hair back. I have absolutely no idea what I'm walking into. I don't know what I'll do if I actually get there first. Padre didn't exactly teach me anything about running an organization as big as this one. We all know how he looked down on women especially me. I would really like to give him the mi
I think I'm still in shock. Padre shot Carina. I shot him. He killed Carina. She's dead. I don't know why that is so unbelievable when this is what I was hoping for. Ever since she showed up at the house, she's been nothing but a pain in my ass. She even tried to kill me once, and I promised myself I would kill her instead. Why then can't I believe that she's dead? Before we left, I saw the light go out of her eyes. She was looking right at me when she took her last breath. It's the kind of look that will forever remain in my mind.We grew up hating each other. It was so natural to hate her because I thought she got the better end of the deal. While I was busy running around doing Padre's bidding, she was in New York, living the life I wanted. Doing what I wanted to do but couldn't. She had everything I wanted, which is funny because she thought the same thing. Carina wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. Whenever she wanted something, she came right out and said it. I know just how much
"He just shot her. He killed her" she says referring to Carina. Damiano is kneeling beside her putting pressure on her wound but she's losing a lot of blood. I don't think she's going to make it. Even so, I still ask Fabian to ask around for a doctor. "Stay out of this, De Luca. None of this is your concern" Lombardi barks. He's bleeding too because Marianna shot him in the arm but I couldn't give a flying fuck. He could drop dead for all I care. I'm afraid for Marianna. If Marino and Russo decide to retaliate, she won't walk out of this room alive. Lucky for her, those assholes have moved to a corner, separating themselves from Lombardi. "I've always known what a bastard you are and this just serves to prove how right I was. How could you shoot your fucking daughter?" "Please, let's not pretend that she's related to me in any way" he scoffs and I want to finish what Marianna started. It would be so easy to kill him right now. He's not some kind of immortal being, if he bleeds th
Stepping out of the car, I button my suit jacket and look at Fabian who nods, understanding my silent message. I don't have to tell him to be alert. We're walking into a house we've never been to before and since I sent most of my guys to go look for Nev, we're kind of at a disadvantage here. Not that I expect a war to break out here or something but it doesn't hurt to be careful. The party is well underway. I don't know why Marco went to the trouble of throwing one when he rarely does that. Something's fishy and I'm hoping I'll find out what it is before it's too late. I still haven't figured out why he met with Marianna. Did Lombardi send her? If so, why? Marco only gets involved when there is a conflict that needs resolving. We try to avoid fighting because the aftermath isn't pretty but sometimes it can't be avoided. Like now, the only reason I'm here is to ask him to stay put when I go after Lombardi. I don't want anyone getting in the middle trying to defend that bastard. It's
Later as I'm applying my makeup, I wonder how this night will end. Padre left for a business trip earlier this week which makes me feel at ease somehow. Although Marco had promised not to invite him, he still has loyal men in the circle. To avoid a heads-up, everyone's invitation was sent this morning. It gives them enough time to prepare but not enough to call Padre back. Even if they do tell him, he'll arrive there when it's already too late. At least that's what I hope. I also refrained from telling Carina anything because I know what a blabber mouth she is. Her locations were a bust which means Padre isn't happy with her. She'd do anything to get back on his good side. I'd call her a people pleaser if I didn't know she was only trying to survive. At the end of the day, she didn't ask for this. None of us did. I pick red lipstick because it's hot and I like it. Looking at myself in the mirror, I wonder if Paulo was right. Is it too much? Would it be enough to convince those bast