FABIANO “They’re not nightmares.” He sneered, “They are memories that try to haunt me when I am asleep.” Nono sighed, shaking her head. A picture of despair. “Do you want to talk about it, son?” She asked, rubbing his cheek lovingly but he shook his head. Nono knew how stubborn he was. But she also knew that he needed to face his demons so she left the topic. “When are you going back?” She asked, changing the topic but he tensed and graced her with a sarcastic smile. “Eager to get rid of me.” She raised her brows at him, “You know you can stay as long as you want.” His eyes softened, a rare occurrence. “You need something?” He asked her, taking her hand off hi cheek and kissed her meaty palm. “You already sent supplies for Venus.” “I asked if you need anything.” He rolled his eyes, “I know that Venus has everything but I asked about you.” “No.” She smiled at him, “I have everything, thanks to you.” Fabiano nodded. He made sure his Nono had everything because she was the
ARIA That night; Soft touches on my bare thigh drew me from my slumber. In my state of half-consciousness, I brushed them away thinking that it was Fabiano touching me. But my mind knew it wasn’t him. His touch wasn’t soft or gentle. It was rough and brutal. So, who was it touching me? I groaned in my state, kicking my legs to get rid of the touch and sighed into the pillow when the touch was gone. But it wasn’t actually gone. It was on my stomach now, creeping up to my breasts. My eyes clenched, I exhaled, slowly waking up when a sharp pain on my breast woke up completely. I jerked, gasping at the attack, eyes snapping open when they connected with so familiar ones. Grey. They were so similar to Fabiano’s but they weren’t his. Before I could scream, something sharp pricked my neck, like a needle. Through my blurry eyes, I watched the person in front of me, trying to get a vivid look but failed. Before my eyes rolled into the back, I heard the words that gave me chills of f
ARIAA sharp sting on my cheek yanked me out of unconsciousness. My tongue felt heavy, and my mouth dry like a sandpaper. I groaned, wanting to open my eyes but it was like someone had glued my lids together. Sharp, stinging pain bloomed over my cheek again, making me force myself to open my eyes.I blinked my eyes to adjust them to the light around me. It was a moment later that I realized I was tied. A shiver creped up my spine, fear danced over my skin as the horrifying realization sank inside me.I was tied.My eyes were wide open, scanning my surroundings in a second, trying to take everything in as panic started to sink its ugly claws in my core.My breathing deepened when I looked down at myself.I was naked.Utterly and completely bare.I was trying to coerce myself not to panic when suddenly, a hand landed on bare breast, making me scream in fright.“Hush.” A voice hissed to my left, “Hush, you slut.”I tensed, the terrifying mixture of shock, panic and throat-constricting fe
ARIA“Alara will pay for your foolishness.”I thought I was dying when my heart skipped a beat or two.Alara.My little sister.A person I hadn’t spoken to in so long.A girl I cared about. But she was not a girl anymore. She was a woman.A woman I hadn’t thought about in months.My blood.With a dark smile that told me that she would do what she had said, I watched in utter shock as she stepped back and vanished behind a wall.What was happening?I looked down, my eyes falling on the pictures that were lying around me. I crawled forward, picking one of them and acid rose in my throat, burning me.The picture showed Alara.She was in the garden, her eyes crinkling as she was laughing at something. Her head was fallen back, she was dressed in a red dress, three small figures around her.I recognized the two of them after a moment.The dark-haired twins.My nephew and niece.Leona and Konstantin.But there was another baby, probably a boy, clinging to my sister’s legs, peering up at her
ARIA“Why did you do it?”Why did you fool me?His metallic grey eyes were glaring at me, daring me not to answer his questions. I didn’t want to answer his questions. All I wanted to do was scream at him, strangle him and ask him why had he done this to me.I was back at the starting point again.I was back at the point where I was asking myself the questions I had asked before and had received no answers.Why was I so weak?Why was happening to me?Was something wrong with me?Was I sick and rotten inside?“Aria!” I snapped out of my thoughts and stared up at him through half-lidded eyes.He was angry. No, he was livid.His eyes were darkening and I knew that in a few moments, they would turn into soulless pits of black.Why did you lie to me?I wanted to ask him but I couldn’t.A shadow loomed over me, I blinked at the large figure—Fabiano as he leaned over, bracing his arm on the bedpost as he glared at me with so much venom that it made me question myself why I wasn’t dead yet.“
ARIA‘Gideon is alive.’It was the first time that when I closed my eyes, I prayed that they would open again. “…what I said?”When I had woken up, I had found Fabiano looming over me. He hadn’t once left me alone.I so wanted him to leave me alone so I could go into my room and see if the woman was telling the truth or was she weaving a web of lies?It took me a few moments of remember everything correctly but once I did, I found myself believing the woman.I hadn’t really seen Gideon dying.Fabiano had never mentioned my friend again. Ever.What if Gideon was alive?I could feel a part of me getting happy and bright at the thought of seeing Gideon again. But the remaining of me was worried.What if Fabiano found out about everything?The woman, whoever she was, was clever. She had pictures of my sister that were taken from the mansion. I knew that Adriano was no fool and he was possessive. The security around his mansion was top-notch and he had increased the number of guards aroun
ARIAWe were friends but here in this office, Gideon was the CEO and I was his assistant. That’s it.With shaky hands, I tore the envelope open and shook it. One by one, the pictures fell down in the marble basin as I released a choked breath.I let the empty envelope fall to the tiles as I forced myself to pick up a picture.My heart seemed to stop when my eyes fell on the picture.A scream formed in my throat, rising up with every second that passed.Happiness and shock filled me to the brim but it was replaced by horror in a second.“Gideon.” I breathed out, my eyes starting to water as pain washed over me, mixed with dark horror.I brought the picture near to my face, examining it to tell myself that my eyes were deceiving me but …“No.” I whispered into the silence, “No…it can’t be.”With an outrageous cry, I whirled the picture away and snatched another one and scanned it.It was the same. The thing I thought was a lie was actually a truth and it was in front of my eyes.Why did
ARIA“What the fuck are you doing?”My head snapped up so quickly at the angry voice that raised red flags in my mind.I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to regulate my breathing. If he saw me breathing so vastly, he would have some serious doubts.He barged inside, pushing the door so hardly that it made a loud sound when it collided with the wall.I turned myself, leaning my back against the cabinet under the basin, and hid my trembling hands in my lap.He eyed me with suspicious eyes, taking me in as I sat on my knees on the floor. My eyes flicked past him and collided with Lina’s. She looked at me warily before her gaze flicked to the cabinet and back to me. She eyed me like she knew something and every friendly feeling I ever had for her disappeared leaving behind a ball of suspicions inside me.“What’re you doing down there?” Fabiano questioned, halting in front of me. I was at eye-level to his pants but I looked up. He looked so huge and big from down here, like he was
THE LETTER FROM FABIANO;This is where I first met you; in this very room and this is where it will all end.I couldn’t say it to your face so I wrote it down to give it to you.There is a question that we both asked ourselves many times but only I knew the answer to it.‘Why you? Why this woman?’Because you were the lone rose standing fall in the field full of wilted flowers.Injured yet strong, broken yet standing, failing yet surviving.Beautiful and different.Maybe that was your curse.I saw you. I saw your photo in Adriano’s office and I was obsessed with you from the very first moment. You were like a lioness, protecting your sister when you could have lost your life. Like a Queen.I knew that I’d go mad without you so I did what I wanted to.Stole you. Broke you. Tainted you.I gave you pain but you gave me something else.A home. A family.Venus. Massimo. You.You gave me something the little boy in me desired to have. The little boy whose dreams were shattered long ago, bef
ARIA My heart ached for us. “You can’t imagine how much I missed you.” I whispered. My sister whose side I had never left after she was born, was seeing me after two years. “There’s someone we want you to meet.” Adriano spoke up from behind, making us pull apart from each other. I turned and looked at him. My brother-in-law was the definition of tall, dark and handsome. He stepped towards me and patted my head, almost affectionately, making my eyebrows shoot up. We didn’t have the best relationship. “I almost missed you.” He smirked, making me crack a smile, “He’s waiting for you.” My lips dipped at his words. I frowned as he gave me a slow, small, smile. He nodded in my direction and then took a step aside. He jerked his head in the direction. I followed his gaze until I saw a tall figure, standing a few feet away from us. I saw color. Green. My lips formed a trembling smile when the figure’s face came into my view. Damon. “Go on. He is waiting for you.” He urged. I
FABIANO “Venus is alive.” Why did he say that? To punish her? To hurt her for betraying him? To hurt himself? He didn’t know but he saw the disbelief on her face as he continued to speak, “She was never dead. I took her away from here.” Aria’s lips against someone else’s. He changed what he was going to say and swallowed, his demons rattling their cages, wanting to break free and they did. “This is your punishment, Aria.” He sneered at her shock-striken features, “You wanted freedom? You’ll have it but you’ll never see your children again. You’ll die without seeing their faces. Venus is alive but you’ll never see how she grows up. Saint will know that her mother is a whore you left her son for another man. Enjoy your freedom you always begged for.” “I’ll stay. Please.” He didn’t pay her any attention. “I’ll do anything. Fabiano? Don’t do this.” She was in his feet, holding her legs, begging him, “Don’t…Hit me, whip me, do whatever you want but not this punishment. I’ll do wh
ARIA “It’s fine.” He sobered up, “I’ll take you there one day.” I stilled at his words as he smiled at me before I turned my back on him and walked the path that would lead me back to the garden. It took us several minutes to reach the garden. Once we were out, he closed the door and set the hinges before covering it with vines, arranging them in a way that didn’t look suspicious. When we walked a little more, he started to speak. I wanted to cover my ears with my hands. “You are caged here. I never see you with a phone. Do you even have one? When was the last time you talked to your sister?” He paused, staring at the ink on my neck, he glanced up and continued, “Your husband doesn’t love you. He has an unhealthy obsession with you.” My eyes were wild as I stared at him. he was right. I was caged. I didn't know what happened so suddenly but I exploded. The feelings I had bottled up inside me had burst out, overflowed. They trailed over my cheeks in the form of tears and then
ARIA I want you beside me. “There.” I stepped back moments later, thrusting the knife towards him with my shaky hands. “We look good side by side, ocean eyes.” He commented, taking in the names we had just carved and winked at me, making me feel all those things inside me again. “Don’t do it.” He paused, his brows dipping, “What?” “Don’t do this to me.” I whispered, my emotions overflowing as I stared into his eyes. “What are you talking about?” He leaned over, gripping my face in his palms. And I knew it, I was leaning to his touch. His eyes were filled with concern and disbelief as he searched my eyes. “This.” I pointed around, my eyes watering, “You’re making me get used to you. To this light you bring with you. To this freedom you introduce me to.” A tear rolled down. I didn’t know why I was feeling so emotional suddenly. “Did I hurt you, ocean eyes?” He asked, eyes brimming with concern. Concern for me. A woman he barely knew about. A woman who was married to another.
ARIA “Come on, ocean eyes.” I scoffed, “I am not going inside. God knows where it leads to.” He rolled his eyes, “You said it yourself before. I’ve been using it. There’s nothing wrong.” “How did you even know this thing,” I pointed to the door, “was here?” I arched my brow. He smirked, playfulness swimming in his eyes before he stepped out and came close to me. Really, really close. And he leaned down, his face a few inches away from me. I licked my lips, nervously. Playfulness vanished from his eyes as he glanced down at my lips, his eyes darkened before he glanced into my eyes, his lips brushing against my ears, sending shivers of unknown feelings over my skin. “Nothing will harm you, my goddess.” With that, he pulled my arm and pushed me into the darkness, his laugh following my scream. “I thought you were different than other men.” He let out a laugh behind me. I looked over my shoulder, glaring at him but he only poked out his tongue at me. Despite all my attempts, my l
ARIA He didn’t move. One minute passed. Then two… Then three… Hesitantly, I threaded my fingers through his black locks, feeling their softness on my palm and enjoying it. It felt foreign. Fabiano never let me touch him except…on some certain occasions. But with him…this man I knew nothing about, with Damon Xanthos whatever-his-last-name-might-be everything felt new, light and…good. After a few moments, my moves were more confident. My strokes firmer as I ran my fingers through his head, tugging lightly. I felt so…normal. I didn’t know my lips had moved because it was him who informed me about that when he murmured without looking at me; “You have a beautiful smile, my goddess.” **** One night, Fabiano came into my room, covered in blood. His steel eyes were darkened with a maniac energy that made my skin pop with goosebumps. His body, his eyes, everything about him was screaming danger, different than his usual kind. He placed his hands on my face and I flinched when I
FABIANO She was his. She might have jumped from the cliff to escape him but that wouldn’t happen in this life. His wife. The mother of his children. His lioness. His Queen. Fucking his. And he’d fight the fucking Gods to keep her with him. They might be Gods, but he was the one who fucking ruled over Hell. *** The doctor said Aria's condition was critical; he fucking knew that but his lioness hadn't opened her eyes in three days. He stared at her pale figure, silently questioning her. Why? But he knew why. Because of him. He had driven her to a point where she chased death; begged for it and was ready to jump into its arms even if it meant being away from him. Why? To escape the cage he kept her in. To fly even though he had cut her wings. He tortured her. He did. It wasn’t her fault. It was his. He couldn’t rein his demons. He couldn’t control himself. He always gave into their demands. He always let hem control him. They were worse. And they wanted to destro
FABIANOThe rain had slowed down, turned to drizzle but still, the clouds were rumbling and lightening was illuminating the sky when he rushed with an unconscious and bleeding Aria. He and his men had pulled her body out luckily but she was as close to death as one could be.He swore he could feel the Gods above there, partying and laughing down at her, celebrating their victory.But fuck Gods!Fuck them and fuck their plans!He wouldn’t let them take her away.She wasn’t theirs.She was his.She might have jumped from the cliff to escape him but that wouldn’t happen in this life.His wife.The mother of his children.His lioness.His Queen.Fucking his.And he’d fight the fucking Gods to keep her with him.They might be Gods, but he was the one who fucking ruled over Hell.***The doctor said Aria's condition was critical; he fucking knew that but his lioness hadn't opened her eyes in three days. He stared at her pale figure, silently questioning her. Why?But he knew why.Because