Talia’s POVI felt a sense of accomplishment as I made my way back to the mansion. John had managed to convince me that my fears were baseless and I had nothing to worry about. It hadn’t been easy but I felt convinced that he was telling the truth. For what it was worth, I knew John would be the last person to put his own life at risk especially when the odds weren’t in his favor. I’d been gone for more than an hour and I was fervently hoping that no one had bothered to look for me anywhere in the house. Lorenzo would be back home and I was scared if he already knew I slipped out of the house without his permission. I made my way past the gates, stating my name and position to the guards stationed there before breaking out in a half-run in an attempt to get into my room. I saw Lorenzo’s car outside and my anxiety tripled. I steadied myself for making my way past the front door, the ground floor was empty save for a few guards stationed in specific places. As I climbed the stairs,
Talia’s POVThe past couple of weeks had been quite eventful. Lorenzo barely spoke to me and I was fine with that. I couldn't afford to get distracted again, not when the whole plan was approaching its climax. I was still having a difficult time trying to navigate the ever-growing feelings I had for him and trying to support John in whatever way I could. Lorenzo had gotten a lot busier and I couldn’t tell what mood he was in because he often spent his days at the office or having meetings behind closed doors but I still tried to get myself involved for me and John’s cause and Marissa was all too willing to include me without knowing about my motives. Working on the inside had helped me map out how Lorenzo’s organization works and their weakest spot was where we would hit first. Lorenzo was still oblivious to the fact that I had gone through his phone and it was a small victory which I was proud of. It made everything simpler. We were always one step ahead. I was beginning to gain r
Talia’s POVThe chirping coming from the crickets got cut off abruptly before starting again. It was midnight. Time was running out. A few days ago, I’d told a few of the men I knew were against me that they had two options — pledge their loyalty to me unfailingly and I’ll forget this ever happened or they can decide not to and lose everything they’ve ever worked for. This was the opportunity I had been looking for and it’d been delivered perfectly.In a game of confidence, the moment just before you play your cards is the most nerve-racking. It is the point of no return. Once you make that right move, you settle down, your mind and body relaxing automatically.I crushed the butt of my cigar on the concrete as I stood and stretched my back and neck. I wasn’t a regular smoker but I liked to indulge now and then, it was a habit I picked up from watching Peaky Blinders and it’s stuck. I could hear the siren going off in the distance, I wondered what crime had been committed this time. I
Talia’s POVIt didn’t take long for the dark cloud hovering over my head to fizzle over and I was starting to feel like my old self once again. I took John’s advice to heart and decided on kickstarting a conversation with Lorenzo the next time he came to see me but after his absence from my room for three consecutive days, I had to find out what had happened to him. Lorenzo wasn’t one to disappear without leaving a trace or informing me of his travels. He traveled a lot and each time, he always told me ahead of his departure except this one time. “I know I’m asking quite a lot from you, Marissa, but I need to know what has happened.” I began, as we both sat on the patio, looking at the garden below. Marissa was brushing my hair gently, trying to untangle my stubborn curls. “Is this about my brother?” Marissa paused for a bit. I nodded in response and she continued to brush my hair. “Well, yes. It’s been a couple of days now and I haven’t seen him around the mansion.”“I’ve notic
Talia’s POVIt’s been three days since I spoke to Matteo and his words have been ringing in my head ever since. When he comes back, a lot of things are going to change around here. I can guarantee you that.I tried to ask him what he meant that day but Matteo simply walked away, leaving me and my assumptions to run wild. Living as a two-faced person was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life and there were times when I felt my facade slip but no one paid me any attention and it was easy to mask myself once again. I had no idea how John had managed to deceive everyone including me and I’d often wondered about it. Somewhere at the back of my mind, it felt like John never really cared about hiding who he was, I never paid enough attention to what he was doing because I trusted him enough. He would often disappear for days and come back looking bloodied or with a substantial sum of money he could never account for and I never asked him any questions because I knew he could
Talia’s POVThe room fell silent as everyone exchanged glances, too stunned to utter a word probably out of fear for Lorenzo or out of shock for what they had just heard him say. I gritted my teeth as Lorenzo stared hard at everyone seated in this room. He was poking the bear after everything he’d been through and the situation we presently found ourselves in. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose my composure. If I let my mask slip, I was as good as dead and I had no plans of dying. “What was that all about?” Maya asked, her eyes darting from her cousin’s to mine. She opened her mouth to speak again but a glare from Matteo forced her to shut up. I let out a groan as I massaged my temple. As satisfying as seeing the embarrassment on Maya’s face was, a small part of me wished that I was anywhere else but here. I stole a glance at Lorenzo to see him silent, his face was rigid and he hadn’t uttered a word in the past five minutes. I wondered if he reg
Talia’s POVThere was nothing quite satisfying like putting a bullet between the eyes of someone who betrayed you and I felt an immense rush of joy as I watched them die. The tides were going to turn now, I knew it. I’d suffered a lot and it was time to get back everything I’ve lost and more. The search for the mole in my mafia had began and I knew it wasn’t going to be long before I would find out who the person was. Traditions were hard to break in the mafia and it took years, decades even, in some cases before certain laws were revisited and reversed but the death penalty for betrayal was something that would never change. Making promises wasn’t my thing and I made it a habit not to let myself overindulge when it comes to situations like these but when I saw the dejected look on Talia’s face, I couldn’t help myself but make sure I tried not to put her in that position. She wasn’t part of the mafia, she was my sex slave and nothing more but I wanted her to see what happens to pe
Talia’s POVI didn’t exactly know how long it had been but a few hours had passed since Lorenzo left my bedroom after we had sex the whole night.Unable to bring myself to do anything tangible, I had spent the rest of the afternoons wandering around the house and counting the hours until Lorenzo would return.He had called me earlier but I wasn’t in the mood to talk, else I’d have broken down and I didn’t want that to happen. For my sake, it would be best if I remained silent until I regained every trace of my composure before facing my fears which were ganging up on me with each passing second.Lorenzo had assured me that he would be back early enough and I couldn’t wait, the suspense already had me in a chokehold.As soon as I heard Lorenzo’s car pull up in the driveway, I bolted off the couch where I was sitting and rushed outside.“Hey, hey. Easy there, Tiger.” Lorenzo chuckled as he saw me running outside.“You’re back earlier than you told me you would be,” I said as I took a co
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