“Yes. No physical attachments.” Eros spun the file toward me and stood up from his seat. “We wouldn’t want anything to go out of our hands, would we?” It seemed like he’d been set about doing this for a long time. He’d planned all of this carefully, arranging it in a way he knew I couldn't resist.
MARIELLA “You did what?” Niana squealed through the phone, her voice pitchy. “Marie, you don’t lie about touching yourself to your husband.” “Well, he wouldn’t know if it’s a lie,” I reasoned. “Besides, he didn’t let me answer. Although I was feeling a little awkward to tell him how I tried to tou
A part of me wanted to let him go, especially because of the conversation we’d had this morning. But he was still my husband. I still hoped to make him see me as his wife, despite that stupid contract. Juno lingered behind him with the same hopes as me. She wanted his attention as much as I did. Bu
The sound of the main door alerted me and I shook my head, pushing my tears back with much trouble. Liam came to view as he stood in front of the kitchen, his reddish-brown hair trimmed and combed to one side and not a single crease on his black uniform. “Let me help, Ma’am,” he said as I lifted th
MARIELLA Eros had been coming back late at night and leaving early at dawn, stealing all my chances of seeing him and making any conversation. It had been three days since I’d come to this place and not a single day had gone when I’d had his attention for more than five seconds or at all, except th
*** EROS When I’d entered the mansion, the silence wasn’t what I’d expected. Liam had said Gina had taken Juno to walk as usual, but Mariella was inside. She hadn’t left the house since she’d gotten here, but I’d had intel that there had been deliveries coming in and out. She had been changing thi
My chest heaved as I crouched and collected the parts, my fingers shaking and eyes burning. Not with anger. This wasn’t rage. It was all the controlled emotions and the guilt that I had suppressed over the years. I turned the body around; the words carved on the back of the metal sent a shot of pai
MARIELLA Two weeks of being in this goddamn mansion with the same routine. Two weeks of misery. I couldn’t blame Eros. His initiation was in five days and he had been managing both his domain as the underboss of Manhattan and the CEO of Castellanos industries single-handedly. But I had thought he w
I walked toward Ella’s bed and sat down beside her. She pulled herself up with much difficulty and looked down at our daughter. “She’s so small,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. The wait, the pain and everything were worth this—this joy and the deep love I felt in my heart. I met Ella’s gaze a
[FOUR YEARS LATER] EROS I was panicking more than Ella was. But I couldn’t take her screams, let alone look at her. She was covered in sweat from head to toe and her entire body was shuddering. This was partially my fault, I could say. She buried her head back on the pillow and let out another lo
Even in my absence, I had been sure that Mariella was okay. She was upset, which was understandable, but she was safe. Adonis had ensured it. I hurried into my wing and up to my room, unable to control the burdening feeling in my chest. I needed to let out all that I had been holding inside, to tel
Both Mom and Adonis scanned the room. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t have a good feeling about this. Ella was running away. Or perhaps hiding something from me. I sincerely wished it was the prior. Adonis took a deep breath and spoke. “Ma, I need to speak to Eros.” I was dumbfounded. I widened my
EROS With all the men guarding me, I felt like a child being carried to the principal’s office. Every fucking one of them had a brooding look on their face. And I had been seeing them every day for the past two months. No more. I was finally returning home. To my family. To my wife. I wondered ho
As I pushed the door, I noticed the girl sitting on the ground, holding a grey shirt to her chest. Eros’s shirt. Had she been holding onto him in this manner? Crying herself to sleep holding that one shirt? Consoling herself that he was alright? “Mariella?” Her eyes widened and snapped toward me.
ADONIS I couldn’t stand the sight of people who pretended as though my world hadn’t completely changed. Many people greeted me as I walked out to the main wing. Danilo, his wife and younger daughter. Terenzio and Fabiola. Niana Galasso and the idiot who got Danilo’s daughter pregnant. My wife and
“My sister has a habit of meddling in other people’s matters. I’m sorry for that.” She probably didn’t know who I was, either. Her expressions suddenly fell, and she said with an apologetic look on her face, “I’m sorry if I sound rude, but my coming here wasn’t really a coincidence.” I frowned. “I h
Eros leaned down and whispered something into his niece’s ears that made Alessia smile bigger. Letting go of his hands, she motioned toward her father. Eros, the matchmaker, was back in the room. He wanted nothing more than what I did and that was to see this little family of ours be happy and one