Agitation erupted through my body as his eyes met mine. But topping that was desire. Was it too wrong of me to feel it? Mama would’ve said yes. This was something I couldn’t even risk Niana knowing. Well, she knew I was having wild fantasies about my husband, but I couldn’t tell her he hadn’t touche
MARIELLA “I thought your parents live in New York,” I asked as the car stopped in front of a large beach house. “Why are we in Miami?” “My parents actually live in Seattle, yes. But they have homes in Brooklyn, Miami, and Manhattan. This is one of my mom’s favourite holiday homes,” Eros explained
“Oh, my god.” She shook her head. “Please tell me Eros wasn’t the one who asked me to call me that.” “No, he wasn’t.” I puckered my lips in Eros’s direction and he laughed as if it wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t filled me in on anything about his family. “I’ll explain to you.” Eros wrapped a hand
“Why?” Salvatore questioned. Irritation took over the carefree glimmer in Eros’s eyes. “Because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to hear his philosophies about life and the initiation and all that bullshit. But most importantly, I didn’t want to hear him say the ‘I knew you weren’t meant to be a Maf
EROS Sometimes I made the wrong decisions. Well, most of the time. Then regret would knock on my door and hit me so hard that I could hardly breathe. Adonis and I had our differences. But he was still my brother, and I cared for him. I had been ignoring him deliberately since the initiation, think
“About what, exactly?” I took off my blazer and tossed it over the bed. “That the capo’s your brother?” I pointed at her and blurted, “That is exactly why. Because people question and react as if it’s impossible.” She gulped. “It’s not impossible. But I just . . . I could’ve prepared for the reve
Adonis let out a low grumble from the tip of his throat that made me laugh. I went on, “I flirted with you. If things had worked out differently, Mariella would’ve been sitting here as Adonis’s wife and you would’ve been here as my girlfriend.” Mariella’s face tightened. She stared at me blankly, a
MARIELLA Eros was already in a suit when I stepped out of the bathroom in my long sheath dress. His eyes fell on me through the mirror. His hands paused while his eyes skimmed down my body. I looked down at the plain silk gown with a cowl neckline and spaghetti straps. Niana had forced me to buy t
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