Valentina
"Is she the one?" Surprise crossed his face when he saw me. "Hey! Did you wow him...." His sentence was cut off when I closed the distance and wrapped my hand around his arm. I had learned to read subtle cues in his body language, and tonight, he was on high alert. I didn't need him for anything else than to provide a front for which I would find my sister. He had no right to cheat on me so easily. "Valentina, meet Sophia," Maverick said, his voice taking a softer tone that I rarely heard. "My half sister." She looked nothing like him. Her raven black hair cascaded down her back in loose waves, framing a pale face with sharp, striking features. Sophia’s eyes met mine, and for a split second, I saw something flicker in them. Recognition, maybe. But it was gone as quickly as it came. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Valentina," Sophia said, her voice smooth as velvet. "Maverick has told me so much about you. And so did your sister." I kept my features plain to hide the shock I felt. Sophia knew Isabella, yet Isabella never mentioned anything about her. "Likewise," I replied, offering a polite smile. "Maverick told me all about you too, yet he missed out one detail... "And what would that be?" Sophia chuckled, the sound almost musical. "He didn't tell me you were this gorgeous." Flattery was a way to a woman's heart. Especially women who came to events like this and were part of this crowd. A brief look of surprise crossed Sophia’s face before she composed herself. "Well, I never expected him to talk about me." The truth. Caterina was the one who filled me on about the Nevarro's family tree. The half siblings he was forced to grow with. His rivalry with his half brother. Sophia turned to Maverick, studying him. Her datk eyes narrowed slightly. "You're playing a dangerous game, Maverick. One wrong move, and you'll lose everything." I had no idea what they were talking about now. But Maverick's expression remained impassive. "I'm well aware of the risks." "I would be fine with you losing everything," Sophia continued, a resigned sigh escaping her lips. As she prepared to leave, her eyes turned back to mine. "She never would have left, you know." "Sophia," Maverick's warning was loud enough for all to get. But Sophia ignored him, her attention focused on me. "She loved... him even if he wasn't perfect. She never would have left." There was something in her tone that sent a shiver down my spine. Isabella had loved Maverick as much as he loved her? Did she know something? "Was someone after her?" I asked, my tone laced with urgency. Sophia opened her mouth to speak, but Maverick cut her off. "That's enough, Sophia. Run along now." "Is my big brother scared?" She teased, but she said nothing about the situation again. Just turned and walked away. My grip on Maverick's arm lessened, and I walked away from him. Tension radiated off him in waves, and I didn't want to be there when he exploded. "You shouldn't believe a word Sophia says." I chuckled darkly. "Because she wants to help me find the woman you love?" I spat the words angrily. Maverick's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed as he held unto my arm, bringing me closer. "She helps herself only, and sometimes her brothers. Don't be so much of a fool to think she won't discard you once she's done." "At least she helps." I spoke slowly like I was talking to a child. But that only seemed to make him angrier. "Stay out of businesses that doesn’t concern you, and focus on those that do." "Maverick, does she know where Isabella is?" I asked, my voice trembling with the weight of the question. I let out a little gasp when he backed me against the wall, away from prying eyes and listening ears. "If she does and she can help us..." I bit unto my bottom lip, desperate for anything that would make him understand. "Damn my sister. Damn her help." He stared down at me like he wanted to rip my head off at that very moment. "What I want...." He pressed his thumb against the flutter at the base of my neck. "..is for you to stay away from things that don't concern you. To be safe. There are terrible people in this place, people who would lie to you if they knew what you want, Sunflower. So next time, leave the conversations to me." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Sunflower?" He didn't answer, and I didn't ask again. "Would you help me then?" I asked, sighing softly because I knew what his answer would be. "No, I won't because she wasn't kidnapped." A tiny shiver rippled through me. "Because you don't want to go through the effort of finding a third sister?" "Because I don't want to give the person who lays a hand on you a quick death. I want something slow." His lips widened in a smile when I stared at him after he said those words. I had no idea Maverick cared about me enough to be willing to kill someone for me. He pushed himself off the wall and away from me, adjusting his cufflinks to make sure it was still in place. "It's time to returned to the party," He said, returning to his normal icy self. "Shall we?" The party continued, with guests laughing and drinking, oblivious to the pain in my heart. I played my part for the most part, smiling with the husbands, engaging in polite conversations with the wife while my mind raced with possibilities. Perhaps this wasn't the best place to hunt for clues about Isabella. Perhaps this wasn't the best place for someone like me to come to. But I was here, and Isabella could have been a friend to any one of them. If Maverick didn't watch me like a hawk, I knew I would have asked.Valentina"This life," Caterina started, her voice clipped with precision. "is not for the faint of heart. As the wife of Matteo Nevarro, your every move will be watched, scrutinized. You must be strong and calculating."I sat in the grand, dimly lit library, my back straight, my hands folded neatly in my lap. Caterina sat across from me, speaking in a measured tone.She knew what happened yesternight, and she didn't approve of any.She didn't approve of my discussion with Luciana.I nodded. "What if I don't want to be cold and calculating?" I asked, my mind not even close to present.Caterina had been relentless, arriving at the stroke of dawn, then proceeding to cover everything from the proper way to address certain men to the subtleties of surviving this harsh world I found myself in.Where were those lessons when I needed to talk to Sophia, Matteo's sister."Then you should consider the next possible option. Divorce."The silence between us stretched, the only sound in the room
“Teach me then. Teach me how to defend myself.”There was nothing hotter than my grey eyed wife, standing before me while asking for things like she had nothing to lose.I couldn't help but chuckle.I had spent the night staring at the little Instagram post she made yesternight from our ride to the party.My hand on her bare thigh, the black gown complementing my black suit.Some photos were meant for aesthetic purposes. I knew the reason what that one meant.But just one word kept replaying in my mind.Mine.I let out a low chuckle. "You think you can just demand for something, and I would simply hand it to you on a silver platter?" A part of me admired her boldness, her refusal to cower for her mother, and in the face of the storm that was our marriage.But another part of me knew better.Her jaw tightened, and she took a step closer. "I'm not asking you to hand me anything, Matteo. I'm asking you to teach me how to protect myself," She said. "Everyone talks about how being the wif
Valentina"Let me go then. I'm never going to be Isabella."My eyes narrowed. My breaths had finally evened out, and I could feel the hot flush in my cheeks."Let me go. End this misery for both of us."He allowed a soft laugh to slip free.My anger came and went like flashes of lightning. One minute, it was there, and the next, I was just tired of it all.He didn't break his gaze as he stepped closer. "Then I wouldn't find you at home waiting for me in my room."The way he looked at me was something I had always wished to have. A look of longing, desire."I thought you didn't want that." I whispered, my body practically electrified from nerves.He rolled his eyes. "Don't assume what I want, Mrs Nevarro." He replied, his voice placid. Disinterested.Just one touch. One touch from him, and the room would ignite."Noted." I curled my fingers around the hem of my shorts as tightly as I could to stop the embarrassment flushing through me.It had taken a lot from me to walk to his wing and
“Where would I even go?” The rain poured down relentlessly, drenching me as I stepped outside the estate gates, but I didn’t care.I was getting away from Matteo, from his estate, from Caterina and all her rules.Each drop of the rain pelted my skin like tiny needles, a reminder that the world would never be fair to me, no matter what.“At this point, I can hardly think.” I muttered to myself as I stepped onto the gravel path, the darkness pressing in around me.I walked faster, driven by a need to escape the weight of it all. “Don't let me find you in my wing without being called again, or you’ll discover there are limits to my kindness.” Matteo’s cold words echoed in my mind, his commanding presence looming over everything like a storm swirling above me.I knew this path was unfamiliar, and I didn’t care. I just needed to be far from him as best as I could. The further I went, the more the estate disappeared behind the trees, and soon I realized I had where I was anymore.But I di
Valentina."Planning a party isn't the hardest thing in the world," Caterina's voice was the only sound I could hear in this library. It was steady, almost clinical, as she rattled off the list of responsibilities that now fell on my shoulders. "I'm pretty sure you watched your mom do it."It had been two weeks. Two weeks since I almost left the estate for good.Two weeks since I saw someone who had something to say about my sister.Two weeks since Matteo came after me in the pouring rain, stopping me from walking away. Two weeks since that kiss.I still couldn't stop thinking about it. How his lips had been soft yet commanding, claiming me with a force that left me breathless.It was the first real sign of emotion he'd shown toward me since I had been dragged into his world. His cold, dominating exterior had cracked for just a moment, and I had seen something raw underneath. Desire, yes - but something more.Something darker. Unresolved."....and the guest list will have to be finali
Valentina"Valentina, I said I'm alright." Matteo groaned for the umpteenth time that morning.The hours after finding Matteo bruised and bloodied passed in a blur. Despite his insistence that it was "nothing," his wounds told me a different story.I'd stayed up all night watching over him, tending to his injuries as best as I could, all while he stubbornly refused to explain how he ended up in this state.Was this what I had to contend with with too? As the first light of dawn filtered through the heavy curtains of my bedroom, l lay awake beside him, my mind racing.His apology - if one can even call it that - still echoed in my ears. It was the first time he had shown me any real vulnerability, and I didn't know what to make of it.Matteo Nevarro, the ruthless mafia Don who had an entire empire under his fingers, was sorry. Sorry for what?For getting married to me despite the fact that he was in love with my sister? For keeping me at arm's length? For not helping me find my sister
"I don't know what I enjoy more, your cute little lips, or how much you love kissing me."Matteo’s nose brushed against mine, and I whimpered involuntarily, my entire body flooded with desire. "Do you know how much and how long I had wanted to do this?""How long?" I found myself asking, moving just a touch closer. My body buzzed with equal part adrenaline and desire.He tightened his grip on my hair and groaned as he kissed me, rapidly taking control. His movements were both slow and determined as he deepened the kiss and pulled me on top of him, letting me feel just how hard he was.The thought of him wanting me that desperately only fueled my own desire, and I couldn't help but moan as he moved his tongue against mine just right.I gasped when a jolt of desire rushed through me, one hand wrapping in his hair as the other began to roam over his chest and abs, my inhibitions faded away.My breath hitched when his hands moved underneath my t-shirt, his thumb brushing over my panties.
Matteo"There must be something in the air. Everyone is getting hitched...." I turned Christain out.He was a cousin from the father's side who held a prominent position in the mafia gang in another country. I respected him, and I listened to anything he had to say regarding the mafia world, people I should stay away from, and the best allies one should have.Except for tonight.My jaw tightened when I heard that familiar laugh again, all the way from the other side of the room.Valentina had been talking to Ethan for the past ten minutes since most of the Nevarros were yet to arrive. Not just talking - she was laughing and smiling like he was some award winning stand-up comedian when I knew for a fact that he wasn't that funny. And she had been avoiding me since Thursday. Today was Saturday.Irritation bubbled in my throat when he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He said something, and she laughed again.She'd never laughed that much when she was with me. And I was