Talia’s POVTogether, we ran back to the scene of the car crash to find most of Lorenzo’s backup soldiers still alive. They had won the war and killed all of John’s soldiers but in return, they lost a handful of men. It was a bittersweet ending to a battle we had to win.Lorenzo felt no remorse for the dead. He said they were paid to either live or die, it was part of the job, and there was no emotion attached to it. “What else do you want us to do from here on?” The leader of the group asked Lorenzo, wiping off blood from his forehead. “John has several camps in the city, I need you to take all of them out tonight. We can’t afford to leave any stone unturned. If it requires you to hire more men, do it. I’ll make a wire transfer of $10 million to you immediately and another $10 million when this is all over.”The man nodded and walked away, yelling instructions to his soldiers. “We need a car if we want to get to the hospital on time.” I began. “It would save us a lot of time.” “
Lorenzo’s POV“Step away from here, Matteo,” I said in an authoritative tone. Matteo stared at me before bursting out into laughter. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Lorenzo?” “If you have a problem with me, we can deal with it. Marissa has nothing to do with it.” I said. “You’re pointing a gun at me, Lorenzo. Why would I be so stupid as to listen to anything you’re saying?” Matteo taunted me. He looked different. He sounded different. There was something inherently wrong with him and I didn’t want to jump to conclusions yet. I’ve spent the better part of nearly two decades with Matteo by my side. He was my right-hand man and best friend. Whatever this was, we could sort it out without having to go down an ugly path. “I’m not going to shoot you, Matteo. You know this. What the hell is going on with you? I’ve been hearing weird stories of late and it’s difficult to wrap my head around them.”“Can you remove the gun from Marissa’s head at least, please?” I heard Talia say.
Matteo’s POVThe process was slow, long, and painful. But in the end, it was worth every second it had taken me to get to where I am now and I wouldn’t trade the pain I’ve been through for anything in the world.The darkness had consumed me, body and soul. It had been ten years since the fire that had taken Maria and our unborn baby away from me and eight years since the incident I walked in on in Julia’s house. Ten years since my heart had been tripped away from my chest, leaving me with nothing but ashes and despair.My eyes burned with a fierce intensity as I thought about the man responsible for the tragedy. Lorenzo is a ruthless businessman who has sacrificed innocent lives for the sake of profit. My grip on the gun in my hand tightened, my knuckles white with rage.Lorenzo would deny it. He always did, he always had something to say, it was how he avoided having to tell the truth and admit to his wrongdoings but his days of lying to my face were over.I had spent years playing t
Matteo’s POV“Matteo, wait,” Lorenzo said, taking one step forward. “Don’t move any further, Lorenzo,” I ordered, releasing the safety of the gun as I pressed it harder against Marissa’s head. “I may joke with many things but not Marissa’s life. I’ve told you the truth already, what more do you want from me?” Lorenzo asked, standing still. He had a resigned look on his face but I wasn’t going to fall for it. “Because you know if you tell me the truth, you’ll be admitting to making a mistake and you believe you’re above that. Don’t you?”“Maybe I should have never tried to fix your mess and allowed you to live through it. You wanted me to admit to my mistake? There it is, I’ve said it.” Lorenzo said angrily. “You want me to believe you and Julia were working to erase my trauma from my memory, is that it?” “That part isn’t a lie, Matteo. You were in so much pain that you didn’t even know it. I didn’t know it would work until one day, Julia told me that she had finally broken throu
Lorenzo’s POVAs I stared long and hard at Matteo, I saw a man whom I had never seen before. I wasn’t staring at a man I called my brother or my best friend either, I was staring into the eyes of the devil himself and the devil wanted everything I had. During one of the few moments I had with my father, I remember him telling me a story about the time he made a deal with the devil himself. I never believed him because I felt it was a lie, a fairytale he was telling me to make himself feel exalted in my eyes. The old, dimly lit tavern was the kind of place where only the most desperate of souls dared to tread. It was a place where the lines between good and evil were blurred, where the patrons were as likely to be demons as they were to be men. My father began. It was here that my father had come to make a deal with the devil himself.He had always been a man of ambition, driven to succeed no matter the cost. But after years of struggling to make ends meet, he had finally hit rock
at happens.The next thing I knew, we were here in this hospital room, throwing punches and trying to kill one another. Matteo pushed me off himself and tried to stand but I didn’t want him to find his balance. I felt a surge of adrenaline as my fist connected with Matteo's jaw. It was a solid hit, and I could feel the shockwave run through my arm.Matteo stumbled back, his eyes wide with surprise, his lip cut and bleeding profusely but he quickly regained his footing. He swung back at me, his punch grazing my cheekbone. I felt a burst of pain, but I didn't back down.We stumbled around the room, punching and kicking each other. It felt like I was in a daze, like I was watching myself from outside my body but this was my reality. The sounds of Marissa’s faint screams faded into the background, replaced by the sound of our grunting and the thud of our fists connecting.At one point, I managed to grab Matteo's arm and twist it behind his back. I slammed him into the table, the wood cr
Talia’s POVWhen someone you love is in danger, you get that feeling that is quite similar to a knife being lodged in your stomach, and every second that passes by, the pain gets worse until you feel like you're being choked to death. People often make the mistake of believing that hope keeps you going, that faith motivates you to accomplish the impossible, and that your beliefs can save you from any predicament. The truth is that it doesn't. It exacerbates the agony caused by the blade's sharp edge. Because you are reminded of what you have lost and what you could lose with every clock chime.I never believed in redemption. Some wounds fester too deep, sins too ingrained to be forgivenHowever, as I stand here looking at Lorenzo staring into the barrel of a gun, I believe—I hope—that this is my opportunity. The air is heavy with tension, and the room smells of blood and iron. My heart beats frantically against my ribs, and I breathe shallowly. Matteo has a sinister smile and a satisf
Lorenzo’s POVI stared out into the distance as I watched the starry night. It’s been a few days since we left the hospital and found solace in one of my country homes. I was hoping that my gut had been right and that Talia wouldn’t be in a coma for this long but I didn’t see this coming and frankly, I didn’t put a lot of thought into it because I didn’t want to care for her or make it seem like I was. The earlier I could learn to detach from Aria, the better it would be for both of them. I knew leaving impromptu would hurt her as well but it was a decision that I had to make for both their sakes. We couldn’t continue like this, we weren’t certain about what we both wanted and while I had eventually come around to confess my feelings, I understood why Marissa thought I was crazy or maybe it was all in my head. If I were in her shoes, maybe I would’ve probably done the same thing as well. Besides, the plan from the beginning wasn’t to fall in love or harbor feelings for someone who
Talia’s POV“I’m trying to save you, Talia! Why can't you believe that?” I said, raising my voice. “When I wanted you to do that several months ago, you discarded me to the side despite everything I did to make up for what happened!” Talia yelled back. “I couldn’t forgive you then, Talia. It was a different story back then.” “Oh, yeah? So what has magically changed since then? The old you I know wouldn’t give a fuck about what happens to me.” Talia argued. “Everything has changed, Talia,” I said in a clipped tone. “You’re driving me crazy, Lorenzo!” Talia yelled, pulling at her hair. “Why are you acting like you want me when your body language is saying something entirely different? I’m tired of playing these games with you, you’re messing with my emotions.”“And you think you’re not doing the same thing to me, Talia? I can’t go a day without thinking about you and that’s why I’m here and not buried in the mountain of work I have on my desk!” “You don’t love me, Lorenzo. You don
Lorenzo’s POV“Did he talk to you about the prenup?” Talia asked excitedly. “Is that why you’ve been wound up since you arrived here, you think it’s too early, isn’t it? Well, I’m not going to—““There’s no prenup, Talia.” I cut in, pouring the contents of his glass cup down my throat, welcoming the burning feeling as he tried to douse my rising anger. I was starting to drink a lot these days and it wasn’t wasn’t a good thing. For the past month, I've constantly deluded myself that Talia was going to be better off without me and that Asher was going to be the one for her, the answer to all of her relationship and love issues if she gave him the chance.I put her in this position and right now, I was disgusted with myself above anything else. “What are you talking about, Lorenzo?” Talia was confused now. “What do you mean by there’s no prenup? I just saw it in his room a couple of hours ago.”“You saw a draft with no name, placed carelessly by Asher of all people, you haven’t figure
Lorenzo’s POVI climbed up the stairs and knocked twice on the door, waiting for Talia to open. A couple of minutes later, she was standing in front of the door, glaring at me. “What do you want this time, Lorenzo?” “Can you give me five minutes of your time and then I'll leave?” I asked. “Lorenzo, I don’t—““Just five minutes. I know Asher isn’t home and I intend to leave before he’s back.”She stared at me for a moment before pushing the door open and inviting me in. “Tell me something, Talia. How has this been for you?” I asked as soon as we sat down. “What are you talking about?” Talia asked. “You mean being with Asher?”“Yes, that’s what I meant,” I confirmed. “Has there been any need for worry at any point in time?”“Asher has been good to me, Lorenzo.” Talia began. “He’s treated me and spoiled me better than I could imagine. I won’t lie to you, Lorenzo. I’ve been waiting for him to make a mistake or step out of line so I can hold it against him and put him in the same cat
Lorenzo’s POVI was struggling to keep my temper in check as I stormed out of the golf clubhouse while trying to maintain a calm demeanor on the outside before someone figured something had gone wrong and started trying to rile me further by asking questions. In the end, I wasn’t paranoid and I hadn’t been sounding like a lunatic. I knew something wasn’t right from the first time I saw Asher and Talia together after Marissa confirmed to me that they were involved and trying to sort their feet in their budding relationship. I knew men like Asher. I’ve always known men like Asher. They were everywhere, in the mafia, in the corporate world, in politics, everywhere and they all treated women that had no class in the same way. They see them like a piece of clothing that catches their fancy for a limited period of time and then, they discard them when they get tired.I know this because I was once like them and I once treated Talia like this and I couldn’t stand to see her go through the
Lorenzo’s POV “I’ve been looking for a chance to get away from this group of people I’m with and you might just be my saving grace,” Asher replied.He didn’t quite give me an answer and I didn’t quite understand if he was going to indulge me or not. “Do you mean that as a yes?” I asked, wanting to be certain about what I was going into. “Yes, Lorenzo,” Asher confirmed. “We can talk about whatever it is you want to talk about.”“Is there a private space around here?” I asked, looking around as I tried to pick out a spot far away from people’s hearing. I didn’t want anyone interfering in my private matters or better still, Talia’s private matters with Asher. This was a lot easier than I thought it would and it was starting along nicely. “Yes, there’s a spot behind that tent. It’s restricted and it’s the best place we can talk around here,” Asher pointed out. “You’re sure people won’t listen in on our conversations, Asher?” I asked. “I’ll secure the area. I don’t need people liste
Lorenzo’s POVIt didn’t take long after that for me to find Asher with the steward’s help. I didn’t particularly have a plan on how I was going to approach the subject so I decided that I would go with whatever my guts say. That was the best plan I could come up with and I was going to stick with it. It was unlike me to confront any situation without having a solid plan but this was one of those rare moments where I had to make the best of what I was given. But I wasn’t given anything or rather, I came unprepared. I was merely facing things head on without giving a second thought to if it would end well or not. Marissa had said that I was in need of an adventure and that was why I was here. Deep down, I knew what she wanted to say and it wasn’t this. A large part of me didn’t want to admit it but I cared about Talia, I always have, more than I was ever willing to admit.One of the perks of being bigger than everyone in here was that it was pretty easy for you to stand out from e
“You should’ve considered a career as an investigative journalist, Marissa.” I frowned over the phone. She took after our mother in that aspect. They always had an answer for everything whether right or wrong and she was proving it here. “Maybe I just might, if I ever get bored of working for you at any point.”“If I remember correctly, you said you wanted me to turn your temporary post into a permanent one and I did just that. Are you bored already?”“No, I love my job. I just said it for the dramatic effect it would give and I guess it worked.”“You’re crazy.” “That’s a story for another day. But seriously, where would you go when you leave Paris? I don’t need you back here if your head isn’t in the game so go somewhere else. Probably not Greece, you’ve always had a disdain towards the people there.”“I was thinking about going to Zanzibar this time around but I don’t know. Maybe I just might change my mind when the time comes.”“Somewhere new wouldn’t hurt, you know? You need to
Lorenzo’s POVEverything had gone as smoothly as I could’ve wanted it to be.I’ve been watching Talia and Asher for several days before I decided to meet her in person and from what I had observed she was very happy. I couldn’t have been more impressed with how I had handled everything concerning this situation but I still had one more case for worry. No matter how hard I had tried to disregard the warning signs I couldn’t bring myself to. Naturally, I shouldn’t be here. I was supposed to be back in New York, behind my mahogany table discussing with a number of prospective clients or trying to close a couple of deals that have been pending on my desk for the past week but here I was, trying to play the knight in shining armor. Ever since I pardoned Talia and allowed her to be Marissa's mentee, we’ve barely talked except for a handful of occasions where we had to act courteous towards each other. Marissa had tried and failed to set us up as a couple until she decided she would let
Talia’s POV“Asher’s right, Talia,” Lucas began, seated behind the mahogany table in the private study, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. “The honeymoon period is over. We need to get to work before we get caught flat-footed once again.”I sat with my mouth closed. I was unsure of what to say as I had zero clue about what they were talking about but it sounded serious.Lucas was Asher’s best friend and he was also the co-managing Director of the company I worked for. He was rarely around, he preferred to handle the businesses that needed their attention around the world while Asher focused on steadying the ship from the headquarters. I had a cordial relationship with Lucas and we barely spoke to each other except on rare occasions like this. Asher was talking to a couple of investors on the screen in front of him while I waited for him to finish. He had suddenly lost interest in the conversation midway. He often did that a lot and I wondered how short his attent