He had fully settled himself in the water. His chest up was above the water, which meant it would be till my neck or chin. I put my bag over the same boulder Eros had used and took off my crop jacket. With my back to Eros, I held the rim of my sports bra and pulled it over my body. My hands halted
MARIELLA I wanted to ram Eros’s head into the wall. It was a feeling too open to be unexpected. I bet Eros could see it written all over my face. There had been no use of taking our clothes off for the swim, since we were soaking wet under the rain. I wanted to yell at the top of the splattering s
I walked out of the bathroom in nothing but my briefs and watched her as she lay on her side of the bed, shivering. Taking her to the waterfall had been my way of bonding, of bringing her out of her shell and also to make her comfortable around me. But the way she had been shivering since getting ba
MARIELLA I wasn’t sure why my heart had been beating so loudly until I walked into the banquet where our reception was being held. I had felt normal for the past few days, both alone and around Eros, with no prying eyes watching every move I made, but it was time to be back in the Mob world. My wor
I stood up hastily, shoving the chair back, hitting the person sitting behind me. I didn’t care who. Turning my head around, I glared at the women dressed like they had all the money in the world. Only because their husbands were wealthy. These women had nothing to live for, no ambition, and no expe
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Eros asked, his voice filled with irritation. “It’s okay. No one saw me,” Ira answered right away in a chilled, unmistakable tone that made me shake my head. He stood between me and Ira. “I fucking warned you about coming into a hundred-metre radius near my pres
Before I could process much, Eros’s scent reached me, followed by his firm hands grabbing my shoulder. “What happened?” he questioned in a grave tone. Almost pissed. “I don’t know. There was a man who was trying to drag her somewhere,” Rocco explained. “Call Adonis and Domenico,” Eros ordered, an
MARIELLA Home was home. My house had never been this quiet because of Ara yelling around and everyone else screaming around behind her. It was a full circus. Eros had gone off to Greece for a few days, leaving me with my family. This was a trip long due. But somehow, when I arrived here, it didn’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