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2025-04-28 14:06:14
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The Don's bargain 1
BellaBy now I should have been tying the knot with the love of my life, but life has other plans. Plans that led me farther away from my wishes. Just a few months ago, Robin was diagnosed with cancer, which worsened afterwards. It seemed like the pronouncement gave the cancer the right to manifest aggressively. Each time I thought about my boyfriend, my chest ached even more because, as a medical practitioner, I was powerless in the situation.During my break, I decided to check in on Robin in the next ward. Having finished his first lap of the chemotherapy session, he was still under monitoring. Although he didn't have enough strength to talk for now, I enjoyed talking to him. I pushed through the door, and my lips started to spread into a smile."Hey, baby—" I started to say as I closed the door behind me, but my lips shut halfway. My brows furrowed, and then my eyes started to scan around the empty room. Slowly at first, then desperately in search of my boyfriend. Maybe he had be
Last Updated : 2024-12-24The Don's bargain 2
Stefano stayed quiet during the process of removing the bullet although I could see the stress lines on his forehead. He still hasn't changed over the years, he hated showing any hint of vulnerability. "Okay, so we're done here," I said to another man who had been pacing around the room when I finished bandaging Stefano's arm."Thank the heavens." He breathed out and moved closer. "I'm glad you're fine, I swear I could have blown off his head if you hadn't asked me to stop." They were dangerous men, I thought. I stood up from my kneeling position. The man quickly dipped his hand in his pocket and handed me a wad of cash. "Here.""Thank you," My eyes lit up before making my way to leave but I turned back. "Make sure you give him some antibiotics."I was leaving Stefano again, and my stomach was twisting into a painful knot. I was weak and needed to rest. "Matteo," I heard Stefano's firm voice, "Tell the nurse to stay. Leave now, you have to fill in the gap."On hearing that, I paus
Last Updated : 2024-12-24The Don's bargain 3
My heart jackrabbitted as I blinked my eyes, hoping I had seen wrongly. I have just been relieved of my duties at work. I had held on to hope, like a treasure, hoping this day wouldn't come so soon.I quickly rushed down to the nearest pharmacy, got the antibiotics, and came back to the hotel. Before I entered the room, I made sure to wipe every trace of tears from my eyes.I stretched a tablet towards Stefano without speaking once I got into the room. "Thank you..." he muttered, his eyes following me with concern as I sat on the sofa. I retrieved my phone and stared at the notification once more, as though the weight of my gaze could alter my reality. My chest constricted as I thought about how to get more money. I had inherited a debt I knew nothing of, and with what Papa told me, they wouldn't hesitate to kill us if we defaulted. So, a large part of my salary went into there every month. Also, Papa's bills were heaping up with every minute he spent in the hospital. Sometimes I w
Last Updated : 2024-12-24The Don's bargain 4
In the next weeks that followed, money plagued my mind. With the job applications being unsuccessful, I was beginning to panic. Although I didn't relent, I plunged myself deeper into a more frenzied search. I had no choice; the bills were piling up by the day: house rent, father's debt, and his hospital bills. As I typed away on my laptop, I got a call from the hospital my father was admitted to.The nurse in charge of the case was on the line.I knew why she was calling, so I almost didn't want to take the call, but I did anyways."Hey Bella, I'm calling from St. Thomas's hospital." She introduced herself in a professional tone."Yeah, I can tell.""I'm wondering if you could visit the hospital; we need to have an important discussion concerning your father."My heart picked up an irregular pace. "Yeah, sure," I stuttered. "What's it about?""Kindly visit the hospital for further inquiries."I hissed the moment I ended the call. Did it even make sense to her to disrupt my daily act
Last Updated : 2024-12-24The Don's bargain 5
What the hell was Stefano doing here? Seemed like his recovery had been so great that he had to party over it. Stefano stood on the staircase, holding the handrail with an impassive expression on his face, so I couldn't detect what was running through his mind. Although, one thing was certain — he wasn't surprised to see me. I lowered my gaze till I got in front of him. I took a deep breath and raised my gaze. We were just inches apart, so my face was in the same region as his chest. A smirk crossed his lips. He reached forward, his mouth directly near my ears. "Bella, we finally meet again." "How coincidental." I replied, unsure if he had heard me. In a swift motion, Stefano held my wrist and dragged me somewhere else. As my feet gilded behind me, I wondered where all this was leading to. Where was he going in the first place? What was all this about? How did applying for the Job of stripper lead me to Stefano's hold? "What are you doing here?" I asked the moment we got into a r
Last Updated : 2025-01-05The Don's bargain 6
I was beginning to think it would be impossible to work as a nurse. With each application that got declined, my faith weakened. I had enough money to cater for my needs for the next five months but I couldn't find joy around me. I needed more to be happy, I needed my job back as a nurse. Apart from the fact I obviously loved working at the hospital, part of Father's incurred debt was due to catering for my schooling expenses so I couldn't let him down by just accepting menial jobs without seeking for more. Later that day, I was informed of a party happening in the evening. Before I could text Katrina with the intent of malingering, she beat me to the game. The thought of having to conquer another unknown experience made my heart beat faster and I had not fully recovered from my experience with Stefano. Heck, I didn't even want to think about what happened that night. A sigh escaped my lips as my fingers hovered on the screen of my phone. I decided against not viewing the message an
Last Updated : 2025-01-07The Don's bargain 7
My eyes widened at the gigantic building in front of me as I stood in front of the car, waiting for my luggage to be brought near me. My eyes roamed around my surroundings, first capturing the fleet of cars and then the flowers. "You don't have to worry, he'll bring it in." Matteo's voice cut through my thoughts. "Let's go.""Sure," I nodded with a tight-lipped smile, my heart racing. All the anticipation to see Stefano had disappeared, what was left with me could be considered as dread. It was fear of the unknown.The moment we stepped in. A woman, probably around age fifty with grey streaked black hair bounded towards us."Good to you see, Matteo," she bowed slightly."Good to see you too, Marianna," Matteo replied. "So this is Bella, I'm sure your boss has told you about her.""Yes," she wiped her hands with a napkin and her eyes looked ahead of me. "I'm sure that's her luggage." She reached foward to take it from the driver's hold and started walking up the stairs.The driver dis
Last Updated : 2025-01-09The Don's bargain 8
I suddenly lost my ability to speak. Why does Stefano have this effect on me?"Uhm…yay." I stuttered, tucking a lone strand of my hair behind my ears and looked away."Had a good meal?" He asked, putting away the cigarette.I nodded because my mouth chose to be silent on its accord. Stefano acknowledged my answer with a nod and he started walking up the stairs. I ran towards the direction and he halted, looking down at me and raising his eyebrows as if saying yes?"What about the party?" I asked, my voice low. "Isn't that why I'm here?""Guess?" He winked at me. Typical Stefano was at it again with his antics.I sighed and glared at him. I shook my head as if to shove the thought away. I was beginning to think that he had brought me here for another reason."What do you mean?" I asked, my brows furrowed."I said take a random guess."I shook my head. "Nah, you're not going to do this right now." With the mischievous glint in his eyes, it looked like he was taking me for a fool. I mea
Last Updated : 2025-01-10
Latest chapter
The Don's bargain 96
Getting there, we were immediately shown the room father had been moved to and as as we got there, my brain couldn't stop conjuring the worst memories.The moment my father saw, his eyes lit up in the most sweetest way. Then he looked over to Marco with a suprised look on his face before his lips stressed into a small smile.“I knew Stefano didn't just come here on his home.” He observed, then tried to sit upright. Seeing how he struggled with that single line of action, my brother and I rushed over to his direction to help me out.My father raised a finger at us. “”Wait, I actually don't need help.”Marco and I glanced at each other. What was he talking about?We ignored him without saying a word about his previous statement.“I just missed being able to do things on my own.” He shook his head, confessing, before placing both hands in front of him.“You don't have to worry about that father, you'll be fine soon.” I encouraged him, and glanced at my brother for more supportive words.
The Don's bargain 95
Matteo was pacing around now after hearing eveything. I didn't blame him. What he heard was probably too much for him to handle and I didn't blame him. “So what are we going to do?” He asked and I shook my head.Frankly I had no idea on what we supposed to do and it irked me that for the first time in a while, I felt out of control.He paused and stared at me. “So firstly, we have to calm down.” He gestured with his hands and I stared at me, my face twisting with suprise .“Who says I'm not calm.” I shrugged.He snapped his fingers at me. “You've started with this thing that you always do huh?”I tsked. “So what exactly are we supposed to do?”“I think firstly you went about this whole thing the wrong way. I arched my brows at him. “What did he mean?”“I think it was crazy for you to have involved the police.” He Chided softly and I could reason with him. “You know it's the Mafia, we deal with our beef our own way. Involving the police shows how weak you are and you've given them so
The Don's bargain 94
Just as I was driving, I had a searing thoughts cut through my focus. I had just one thought in my mind that I was being a fucking inconsiderate selfish…My heart started thumping fast against my ribcage. I didn't even know where I was heading to anymore. I had lost a sense of a direction, I kept on Listening to eveything he was saying to me.How had I let everything he had to say to me get to me this way. This was crazy, I slammed my hand on the steering wheel and released a groan. I stopped the car and parked by the corner of the road. I was pretty sure he had gotten what he wanted. An opportunity for me to sit in silence and reflect.He was right. I was just being mean and sarcastic. I hated the way his questions made me dig digger into my heart. I wanted some answers buried deeper into my chest without anyone knowing them. I needed to go back the hotel and apologize to him. I made a Uturn, deciding to offer him a befitting apology.When I entered the room, I found stuffed in his
The Don's bargain 93
Stefanos's POVThe past few days have been hetic. I knew I needed some sort of help and strategizing so I called my brother Matteo to fly down to Italy so we could talk. I let him know how much of a deep shit I was in… I had told him to focus on his marriage and not care too much about the mafia activities. He had been doing just that. This time, I needed his help more than ever.He swiftly agreed without hesitation.While I was patting my wife's hair as she slept, my phone rang cutting through the silence.My wife stirred and I whispered. “Sorry baby.”Then I walked away stealthily carrying my phone beside me.“I just landed.” Matteo informed. “Do I come over?”I thought about the question for a while. I had the belief that if Matteo should come home Bella would have a clue that I was worried and she would definitely ask me to share my worries with her. I didn't want to have either of those conversations with her. I was the man who was supposed to stay strong for her and not have he
The Don's bargain 92
Tomasso's situation was proving to be layered with each day that passes by. What were the old that Tomssso may have been friends or cordial with Rosa. That was another puzzle I had to fix if I really wanted to know what was going on.Just after a few minutes later, I headed to his room and knocked at his dooor. I held my heart into my mouth as I knocked at his door, hoping for a response. If there was one thing this new Tomasso was good at was ignoring someone.“Who's there?” He groaned, as though he was feeling disturbed.“It's me.” I stuttered.“Okay?” He asked.I scrunched my face. Isn't he supposed to say come in or something?“Come in.” He said as though it was am afterthought.The moment I stepped inside the room, I stood beside the bed, staring at him.He crossed his legs by the ankle as he held the remote control in front of the television.“Wanted to ask if you knew Rosa.”He regarded me briefly. “I'm yet to remember every part of it but I know she was nice to me at some poi
The Don's bargain 91
Feeling tired of bed rotting, I found myself in the kitchen to eat. Afterwards, I stayed in the sitting room. I found myself wishing that Tomasso wouldn't come to the sitting room. As much as I loved him, I was growing tired of his incessant questions and nonchalant attitude.In a few minutes the door opened. My head jerked towards the direction of the door, had stefano come so quickly?I thought he had texted to inform me that he would spending so much tjme at the office today? What happened? Maybe he had forgotten an important file, I thought to myself.The door opened revealing someone I thought I would see. Maybe I had imagined seeing her in real life a few times but I never thought the day would come so soon.I opened my mouth to say something but the words died in my throat.“What are you doing here?” I said when I finally gathered the courage to say something.She took off her glasses. oh my gosh, I see the mirror of myself. I see myself standing in front of me. The resemblance
The Don's bargain 90
I held my breath the moment I picked up the call.I had no idea of what he wanted to say to me and that made me extremely mad.“Hey dad.” I started.“Hi Bella.” His deep voice came through. “How are you doing?”Not again. Could he just go straight to the point and tell me why he was calling?“Eveything is fine I guess.” I replied.“Are you sure?” He asked.“Hmm why?” I asked him, suprised.“You said I guess. It seems like you're not fine to me but okay I'll let it slide.” He observed.“Well thank you but I'm okay.” I added, not ready for any sort of long conversation with him.I needed to get back to bed. The reason I left the bed while having this conversation was because I was sure that Stefano wouldn't like the idea of me talking to my father. He had the mindset that anytime I spoke to him, I ended being sad. He wasn't actually far from the truth if we're being real.“So I called because of something.” Thank the heavens, he was finally saying why he called me.“I called because I w
The Don's bargain 89
A flicker of suprise crossed his eyes. “What now huh?”I sucked in a deep breath. I was about to launch into a full fledged rant and my look like a fucking lunatic… but I didn't care at this point.“Tomasso, look into me and tell me you don't remember a fucking thing.”He cackled. When he recovered from the laughter, he let go of my hold. “Hell naw I didn't even remember my name. Marco show me a few videos so I believe we're friends.”“You remember nothing from those video?” I probed, a part of me believed he was choosing to suppress his memories that's why the drugs are not being as effective as we want them.He hesistated. “No. And stop being pushy. This whole theatrics is old already.” He said with an irritated look on his face and started walking towards towards him room.“Whatever you call it.” I muttered and pinched my wrist. How long were we going to continue with this. I was growing impatient by the day. He had to remember. He needed to know we see siblings, he had to tell us
The Don's bargain 88
The next morning Tomasso insisted on sitting on the parlour with me while stefano had gone to the office. We didn't say anything, just glancing at each other from time to time.I texted Stefano to inform him of what was happening.S: Maybe you could engage him in a conversation, who knows if he might begin to remember somethings…I think he was right. One of the mistakes we were making was avoiding certain questions he was asking.Me: I'll try, I miss going to work.Stefano replied immediately.Do you wanna go back? We could employ someone to baybsit him.Then how is he going to recall faster?It could still happen. He just needs his drugs and need to be in contact with his environment that way he'll continue to have flashbacks.Thank you captain obvious. I teased.“So y'all said you are my guardians.” Tomasso asked and I paused midway the sentence I was typing on my phone.I raised my head slowly. “Yes you've been living with us.”“For how long?” He asked.I told him the accurate dat
