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
TALIAUgh.I cringed internally at the feeling of sand-like texture in my mouth. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience and I tried to make my limbs move, my eyelids open, but it was much too difficult. My mind wavered between the realms of sleep and reality and I let out a sigh, turning my head to get more comfortable on the bed.The sounds of a clock ticking drew me in and it echoed all around my head. Time was non-existent, but slowly questions arose in my mind.Why did my nostrils hurt so much, like I’d just inhaled a bowl of peppers?What was that scent?How did I get back home? I couldn’t remember for the life of me what had gone on the night before.“Wake up doll. I don’t like being kept waiting.”The sound of that unfamiliar deep male voice hit me. Then, my eyes flew open.Wincing at the blooming headache, I slowly sat up on the bed, trying to get my limbs to cooperate. It was shaky but I managed it.The sight that met me was a strange one.Looking around me, I noticed the blue
TALIAI was silent throughout the car ride. The dress I wore was very short and the breeze from the open window made me shiver. Despite the cups of the dress, I could feel my nipples harden, and goosebumps run up and down my legs.In all this, I was terrified. Terrified of dying, of being taken to who knows where, of turning to my side and seeing Lorenzo Gallieni.He had been silent all this time, and I was glad for it. At the very least, he wasn’t going to kill me…… was he?I thought of the life I had before this. My boyfriend John, who I had met one night after my long work hours. If he were here he would make me feel safe, he would protect me and take me away from here, right? He was the only man who saw me for me, instead of an object to be used and leered at.Tears welled up in my eyes again and I tried to wipe them superstitiously so Lorenzo wouldn’t see, but it was too late.“That’s enough.”His growl made me flinch, and I felt a hand at my arm, forcing me to turn and look at
LORENZOThe man screamed, a delightful sound to me. I smirked as the sound of bones crunching filled my ears, and I pressed my boot down even harder on his hand.“Please! DON PLEASE!!”Please.Always with that damn word.I always saw begging as a sign of weakness, and it infuriated me to have my traitor of a henchman say that word to me. As if saying please fucking solved anything.“Where’s my money, Fabian? I will not ask again. You KNOW how I operate, you maggot,” I calmly intoned, my words punctuated with another stomp of his hands. His bones were all broken by now, maybe except his skull and spine.He could hardly move and his moans came out garbled as I gave him a kick to the stomach.“Please… please…” the man whispered, shaking from head to toe as he bled out.‘Please,’ Talia’s voice was loud in my head.I stilled, my mind drawn to the memories of two nights ago.That girl.Talia.I hadn’t expected her to be so intriguing or to distract me so much. It had been two days since I h
TALIAWhat the hell!Was he serious right now?I was standing there shaking from the events that had just happened, feeling like I’d just been slapped.Did he want me to continue working like nothing had happened? Was this how the world of the mafia operated?“Don’t keep me waiting, doll,” Lorenzo spoke, his voice full of warning. “I just saved your virtue, or whatever the fuck’s left of it. The least you can do is show me your appreciation.”I knew I was being taunted. He was the man that abducted me, not some dashing savior. I was a captive in this club, not a willing employee.But something stopped my frustration from rising. The sight and screams of that man that had been dragged out. The way everyone in this club respected and feared him. They were terrified of putting one foot out of place. Even Giovanni, the manager of this club I had come to find out was called Dark Eden, was scared to death of what Lorenzo Gallieni could do to him.‘Ludovic is dead.’The memory of the mafia D
LORENZO“Fuck me, you’re so good,” the woman whimpered as I finally released her and removed the used condom from my cock, tossing it in the trash where it belonged.A chuckle left my lips and I stood from the bed. I knew I was so good, but to be told that did stroke a lot more than my ego.She was nothing but some girl I’d picked up at a bar to vent out my frustrations on. Since Talia had riled me up so much, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted her.At least a fuck would let me taste her just once and I’d let her go. Talia was meant to be nothing more than a fucking escort to me, just another woman who was a pawn to use. Nothing more. But now, I had begun to crave her presence, to feel intrigued by her.If only I fucked her before now, I wouldn’t be so drawn in, right?I got dressed and tossed a couple of hundred dollar bills at the naked woman who lay in bliss. It hit her breasts, fanning over her torso.Without a word I left, entering the Aston Martin I had driven to the b
TaliaI watched as the VIP clients trouped in; it was late at night, and they weren't leaving. One of the senators came visiting, and he needed to be entertained. I watched from the bar as the girls walked over to serve the table.“Hey, you're needed on table six,” Amanda, one of my colleagues, said. I was confused that my assistance was needed because it looked like they had it under control.“Giovanni said I should stay at the bar,” I explained, hoping she wouldn't pressure me into leaving.“Well, Giovanni is not here, and one of the clients asked specifically for you.” She looked pissed that I was hesitant; she kept glaring at me like I was doing something wrong by sitting at the bar.I couldn't resist anymore, so I followed her to the table.“Look at the slut that finally decided to show up,” one of the senators said while the others laughed.“Come sit with Daddy and show me what you can do,” he grinned. I felt disgusted staring at him. He was very nasty and perverted. I wanted to
LorenzoShe was mine, to touch and fuck so who dared touch her.I stared at her with so much anger; I couldn’t believe someone had the audacity to defile my order.Touching what was mine wasn't forgivable and the fact that she was keeping his name from me fueled my anger. “Why did you fucking lie to me?” I growled, ordering the driver to stop the car. “I… don’t know,” she mumbled, clearly avoiding my gaze, my eyes caught her biting my lips, and it took all the resolve i had let not to pull her right into my arms.She was so innocent. “If I find out you’re lying to protect someone, I’ll kill them right in front of you, so unless you want that to happen, you tell me who the fuck dared do this to you,” I commanded. She looked scared, almost as though if she said a thing, she’d be in danger. Who the hell was she afraid of? “I don’t want trouble,“ she begged, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “Well, you get in trouble if you don’t tell me names.” Tired of her hesitation, I f
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