CHAPTER TWELVEARIAA shocked gasp escaped my lips as Maximo’s lips covered mine. Everything in my head screamed for me to push him away, but the feel of his soft lips probing mine sent a hot sensation throughout my body.The kiss felt like I was being devoured from the inside. His tongue pushed its way past the barrier of my teeth, and soon, I was giving in to his every desire. He braced his hands on the headboard, hovering over me as one of his hands grabbed my thigh.A quiet moan escaped my lips and I desperately wanted to grab him before I remembered that I was handcuffed to the bed. My heart thumped against my chest as our mouths melded into one.His tongue explored my mouth and then trailed along my neck before dipping under my collarbone. He made small circles with his fingertip around the base of my throat and I couldn’t stop myself from shivering in pleasure. The sensation was overwhelming, making me forget about everything else. Making me forget that he threatened to kill me
MAXIMO Loud sounds filled the room as my fists hit the punching bag before me repeatedly. I’d been here for the past hour, and yet, I still had all the pent-up anger inside me. The look of betrayal in Aria’s eyes kept replaying in my head over and over again. It kept me awake throughout last night and unfocused in my office throughout today. My chest squeezed with a feeling I wasn’t used to. Regret. I hated it. I hated how I wished I could go back to change my actions. I hated how it seemed that I cared. I shouldn’t care. I didn’t earn the nickname Scar because I went around feeling bad for my actions and letting guilt eat me up. I also didn’t become the youngest Don in the Cosa Nostra through that means as well. All these new…emotions and feelings were because of one girl. One girl I should kill but just can’t. One girl who seems to have a strong effect on me. “Fuck!” I growled as my fist came in contact with the punching bag, swinging it in my opposite direction. My limbs felt
ARIA‘I didn’t know you were such a whore.’‘…after all, you fucked a stranger on your first day here.’Maximo’s cruel words continued to ring in my head as I lay in bed. He was right. I was cheap and worthless. How could I even let him touch me after he kidnapped me and had plans to kill me later in the future? How could I let him touch me with the same hand that he has used to kill a countless number of people? How could I even get aroused by a man who had that much blood on his hands?I felt disgusted with myself. My mother would definitely be ashamed of me.My head turned to gaze outside the window. It had gotten dark outside. I could see some stars twinkling in the skyMy thoughts were distracted when the room door was pushed open. My heart skipped a beat. I said a silent prayer, hoping it was not Maximo. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him after what happened and the things he’d said yesterday.I released a relieved breath as I saw that it was Maria.“Good morning,” she gree
ARIAMaximo didn’t come to my room in days. Four days to be exact. I tried to pretend like I didn’t care about it. I tried to pretend that his sudden absence, just after I heard him with another woman, didn’t bother me. But it did. Each time I heard someone at my bedroom door, the rate of my heartbeat doubled, hoping he was the one. I was always disappointed when I saw Maria with a tray of food and her usual emotionless face.My heart clenched at the thought of how easy it was for him to replace me with another woman. Did he even have to replace me? Was I ever relevant in his life?Caterina Gallo. She was his lover, his woman. I tried to think of how he acted around her. Does he always threaten to kill her like he does with me? Or does he love her? Did she manage to weave her way into the dark depths of his heart? The more I thought about it, the more my own heart cracked.Why did I care this much? Why did my heart clench painfully whenever I thought of him? Each day, I tried not to
MAXIMOA gruff curse escaped my lips as I stood up from my bed. I've been tossing and turning on my bed, unable to sleep. I need a smoke. Opening my nightstand drawer, I took out a packet of cigarettes and the lighter beside it. I slipped out a stick and lit it, before dropping the lighter back in the nightstand drawer with the rest of the pack. "Cazzo,” I cursed again as I tried to disperse the thick smoke that filled my room from the lit stick. For some odd reason, the smoke felt suffocating.Standing up, I walked to my balcony to get some fresh night air. I stood there and took a deep huff from my cigarettes. If Mama saw me right now, she would lose her mind. She hated that Papa smoked. She would tell him that he would die of cancer or suffer a terrible disease that would leave him frail and weak. The first and only day she saw me smoking a cigar I’d stolen from Papa’s office, she cursed me out loud and told me that I would become one of the sbandato who stood on the road and be
CHAPTER SEVENTEENMAXIMOA loud knock on my bedroom door woke me up. My eyes shot open, and I reflexively reached for my gun from my bedside table. That was until I realized that it was early in the morning, and it was definitely one of the maids knocking."Come in,” I called out, my voice gravelly and rough.The door slowly creaked open to reveal Paula, the middle-aged woman who cleaned my room every morning.Her eyes widened in fear as she looked at me, and then she quickly bent her head to look at the floor.“G-good morning, boss,” she greeted, her voice timid.I threw my legs out of bed, and that was when I realized that she’d probably panicked because I was shirtless."Why didn't you wake me earlier?” I asked in a low growl, looking at the time on my phone.“I-I didn’t know you wanted me to wake you. You’re always awake by the time I get here. I’m sorry. It will never happen again,” she rushed out in a panicked tone.She was right, and somehow that managed to annoy me even more. I
CHAPTER EIGHTEENMAXIMOI rushed towards her and lifted her body from the floor. Her head lolled to the side as I pulled her body into my arms, and I cursed, rage building up within me. Her body was soaking wet. She was not wet when I left her here, which only meant one thing—my men had messed with her.A bitter, sardonic laugh escaped my lips as I carried her out of the dark cell, walking past other occupied cells until I got to the staircase. The prison guards and prisoners stared at me with confusion spread across their faces. I didn’t give a fuck. At least not at the moment. The only thing I cared about was getting Aria warm and fully conscious.A sharp wince left her lips as I began to make my way up the stairs. She released another sound, a groan of pain, and buried her head into my chest. My heart squeezed with various emotions I didn’t know I was capable of. I decided to ignore it like I was doing everything else. The moment I stepped foot into the lobby of my building, I be
CHAPTER NINETEENARIAThe moment Maximo kissed me, everything else ceased to exist. My hatred for him, my desire to flee from him, my promise to never give him whatever it was that he wanted from me—it all disappeared into the air, like smoke on a foggy day. He tasted of whiskey and cigarettes, but underneath it, there was an undertone of something sharper, less sweet. Something dark, something dangerous. His warm hand came up to hold my face as he deepened the kiss. I moaned into his mouth as his teeth caught the seam of my bottom lip as he sucked it between his own. It was rough and wild, making my knees go weak in an instant. His stubble scratched against my chin as he moved his lips down the column of my throat. “Maximo,” I moaned, burying my hands in his thick hair as he pulled me impossibly closer against him.His hands explored my clothed body, caressing and pulling at the buttons of the cashmere sweater—his cashmere sweater—which I was wearing.“Fuck,” he groaned deeply.H
CHAPTER EIGHTYMAXIMOPanic surged through me as I cradled Aria in my arms. Her body felt limp, and her skin was cold against mine. “Aria, please!” I choked, desperation clawing at my throat. I could still feel the warmth of blood seeping through her dress, soaking her clothes and drenching my arm. So much blood...our baby!A wave of dread crashed over me. “Maximo!” Lorenzo shouted, his voice cutting through my panic as he rushed towards the car. I carefully laid Aria in the back seat before slipping in, my heart racing. I could hardly think straight; all I could focus on was getting her to safety, making sure that she and our unborn child survive this.Lorenzo jumped into the driver’s seat, and we sped away from the junkyard, the night air rushing past us. The city lights blurred into streaks of color as we sped past the buildings and roads. My hand clutched Aria’s firmly, and as I stared at her pale face, I was thrown back to a time when Aria had hurt herself. The memory hit me li
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINEARIACold sweat dripped down my forehead despite the chilly atmosphere in the dark room. My head felt light, my body was heating up. The cold floor bit against my open wounds, sending sharp jolts of pain through my body. My whole body hurt, but when I tried to change my position by sitting down, I realized I could barely move my legs. My stomach twisted painfully, the pain getting worse with each passing second.“Help...someone,” I gasped in pain, clutching my stomach with one hand. My lungs felt heavy with each breath that I took. My throat felt constricted as I tried to call out again, this time louder.I didn’t know what was happening. All I knew was that my body didn’t feel good. At that moment, I felt another sharp pull in my lower stomach, this time more painful and agonizing than the last. I let out a low groan, the sound echoing in the empty room. Tears stung my eyes at the knowledge that no one could help me. Placing my palms against the cold floor, I
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHTMAXIMOI stared at the image on my phone, the knife in my stomach twisting deeper and deeper. Aria was pregnant?My mind reeled as panic surged through me, my heart racing and my fists clenching. Aria was pregnant? Carrying our baby? Our offspring?My shock dissolved into overwhelming fury as the urge to kill Roberto with my own bare hands filled me. How dare he lay a hand on her, especially after knowing that she was pregnant?I ran a hand through my wild locks, feeling my throat constrict as I continued to stare at the message. Anger boiled inside me, a raging beast fueled by the thought of Aria, my pregnant wife, in pain. I felt betrayed and furious, but not just at Roberto. I was angry at myself for walking away from her that day. If I had stayed like my heart had wanted, maybe just a minute or an hour longer than I did, I might have found out that she was pregnant. I would have taken her with me. I had thought I was protecting her by staying away, but now i
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVENMAXIMOThe moment I stepped into the gym, the smell of sweat and metal hit me like a wave. The sound of weights clanking and heavy breathing filled the air. It was a welcome atmosphere to the silence that had enveloped me since I left Aria at the hospital. Cold.Detached.Empty.Those were the feelings that enveloped me since I walked out of that hospital room without turning back. They weren’t foreign feelings. My life had been dark and meaningless before she came in, bundling into my life with her sass, her defiance, and a mass of red hair that I could not get out of my mind.The red hair that floated around her pale face when I saw her lifeless body in the bath.Ever since I walked away, I turned into the man I used to be. Scar. But the difference was, I wasn’t living anymore. I was just existing.Like I’d promised, I haven’t tried to contact her since that day. I didn’t ask any of my men to spy on her either. If she was desperate enough to attempt ending her
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIXARIAThe world around me stopped as Roberto’s words settled thick in the air around us.At the shocked look on my face. Roberto leaned closer, his voice low and mocking. “You think Maximo is some brave hero that killed his brother’s murderer?” He chuckled. “He was petrified. He almost peed in his pants that day like the coward he has always been.”My breath caught as my heartbeat settled into heavy thuds against my chest. I couldn’t breathe as tears blurred my vision.“Angelo forced the gun into Maximo’s hand,” Roberto continued, a twisted smile on his face. “He made your husband point his gun to your father’s head. Maximo kept crying, saying he didn’t want to. He just wanted to go back to Lorenzo and his mother. What a pathetic little child he was.”My tears had stopped pouring now, a hollow ache throbbing in my chest.“His father smacked him. It was the first time Angelo ever hit any of his children,” Roberto said, his tone dripping with satisfaction. “Called him
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVEARIAIsa’s revelation made the entire room fall quiet. Caterina released a choked gasp before taking a step back. A pained groan slipped out of my lips, tears springing at the corners of my eyes as I covered my stomach even more, feeling exposed to the information Isa just gave them. I knew she said it to make Caterina stop hitting me, but this revelation would only fuel Roberto’s twisted fantasies even more. “Well, well, well,” Roberto drawled. “What a pleasant turn of events.”I heard the sound of his wheelchair approaching me, and the next thing I felt was his hand grabbing a chunk of my hair and pulling me harshly to look at him. His fingers curled into my hair so tightly that it almost cut off my circulation, but I barely noticed because I had other things on my mind.Hatred. Pure and thick blinded my gaze as I glared up at him. In that moment, I wished Maximo had killed him. Surely, the only parts of his body that got affected by the bullet to his spine wer
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOURARIAI felt my throat hitch at the sound of her voice. I looked at Roberto, who also had a sinister look in his eyes. I had thought Roberto would still be in the hospital, recovering from the severe injuries I watched Maximo give him. The man was shot in the spine for crying out loud. He should be bedridden, not here, orchestrating a kidnapping and staring at me with darkness lurking in his eyes. “You look shocked, Aria,” Roberto chuckled. “Did you think I was going to die when your precious husband shot me because of you? Huh?”Fear overcame me. This was his revenge. How could I have thought that a man like Roberto would let me go Scot free?Feigning bravery, I raised my chin and pinned him with a steady gaze. “If I’m the one you want, then let my friend go.”Roberto chuckled darkly.“You must think this is some sort of mistake,” he said, his eyes glancing between the both of us. “I knew exactly what I wanted—the two of you—and that’s what I got.”His eyes glint
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREEARIAMy eyes snapped open, revealing the dark, musty room I was in. My head was pounding, as if someone had hit me with a brick. At some point during the car drive, the men in masks had placed something over my nose, knocking me unconscious. The air in the room was thick with the smell of dampness and decay, churning my stomach. Panic gripped me as I tried to move, only to find my wrists chained to the cold, hard floor. ‘No..not again,’ I thought as tears burned at the corners of my eyes.My heart raced, pounding in my ears like a war drum. And that was when I remembered Isa had been captured with me. “Isa!” I called out, my voice trembling.From the shadows, I heard her soft but steady voice. “I’m here, Aria. I’m awake.”I blinked, trying to adjust to the dim light. My eyes finally focused on my best friend a few feet away; her own hands were also bound. Relief washed over me. She was alive. But it quickly turned to guilt. Tears spilled down my cheeks as the w
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWOARIAThe morning sun streamed through the windows of Isa’s studio apartment, casting a warm glow over our packed bags lined neatly by the door. I felt an exhilarating rush in my veins. I didn’t know I was still capable of having such emotions. Isa’s father, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair, directed his drivers to load our luggage into the sleek black sedan. Isa’s father was the CEO of a prominent Italian oil conglomerate, a man who had navigated the complexities of the corporate world in such a dangerous city. Despite his cold and intimidating exterior, there was a tenderness in his eyes as he prepared to send off his daughter.“I can take you to the airport myself,” he said, his voice deep and authoritative as he glanced at Isa, who stood beside me.Chuckling, she stepped forward to adjust his tie.“Dad, you have so much to do. You have a board meeting in an hour!” Isa replied, shaking her head with a mixture of affection and exasperation. “We’ll be fine wit