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
“Let’s see what thought of the day Eros has for today,” she said to the screen and turned it toward Eros. He looked much younger, dressed in a grey t-shirt and black slacks. His fashion wasn’t any different back then. It seemed like he enjoyed anything that was remotely close to black or white. He
On the screen was Amara, sitting on the bed with her legs folded. From the first video I just watched, she looked a lot different in this one. Her hair was lying loosely over her shoulder and her eyes were swollen. “This . . . this is wrong. So wrong,” she mumbled, shaking her head, her voice barel
MARIELLA The alarm in my head kept beeping, a constant reminder that I shouldn't be inside the room, but I disregarded it and pushed the door open. There must have been a reason Eros had forbidden anyone from coming to this particular side of the mansion, and that had made me even more curious. Not
My chest twisted into knots. It was my fault. “Let me do it,” I repeated, my words barely audible. Because of the guilt. He twisted his head in my direction and gritted, “The only thing you should do right now is get the fuck out of this room.” I should’ve listened to him, should’ve sprinted out
My shoulders lifted in tension as I looked around the room, biting on my lower lip. The walls and the ceiling were shrinking down on me. The air was falling short. Rubbing my chest to calm my beating heart, I moved to the window. His hold around my wrist burned, not because I was hurt, but because
EROS My left arm itched. Every spot that the tattoo gun had touched burned like hell, but I just smiled through it. Many wondered, even I did, why I was doing this, why I wanted to get entangled in a world that wasn’t really mine. Since Amara’s death, I had tried to find a different purpose than b
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