Alicia’s POV“What do you want with me?” I asked Ghalia after the silence had stretched in for far too long. She had her to remove the gun from my face, and I was careful to not move an inch.“Oh, Alicia. You’re so annoyingly naive. What wouldn’t I want with the woman who has exactly what I want?” There was an edge to her voice now and I swallowed.“You mean Mikael…” i trailed off and gasped as she grabbed hold of my hair, tugging it out of the updo i had tried to style it in before.Oh shit, i cursed multiple times in my head. “Why do you think I had sent those men after you in the first place?“ she snarled, and her grip on my hair became stronger and i was afraid my neck would break if she gave it a harsh tug.“It… it was you,” i croaked out, tears stinging my eyes. Realization flooded my body as I thought back to the memories of the previous day. She had come to visit me in the restaurant to give me a warning, after all.Why hadn’t I seen this coming?The car screeched to a halt s
Alicia’s POVI stood frozen, still in shock from everything.I…I had killed someone.Regardless of that person being Ghalia, the woman that had nearly tried to kill me because she wanted Mikael back, it still left something deep inside me that I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried.I could hear the voices around me, yet all that could think about was the dead body and the splatter of blood.A small touch at the small of my back was what brought me back to reality. I turned to meet Mikael's green eyes.“Hey, you okay Tesoro?” He asked, gently.I didn't know if i was. I swallowed thickly, before I nodded.His hand brushed my hip before he held me firmly, pushing me against his chest I closed my eyes, relaxing under the comfort of his scent.“Lets go to your place.” He murmured in my ear. His deep voice rumbledd in my ear soothingly, sending tingles down my spine. I closed my eyes and accepted his offer.He took me into the car and we drove off. I rested against him the whole time,
Alicia’s POVI looked over every single one , all of them carrying his name. He had called so many times within the past hour, even while I was asleep. What was going on that he’d want to talk to me so eagerly that he’d live missed calls?I tapped his contact to call him. It took less than a second for his phone to ring and the click of him answering the call.“Alicia.” He said sounding so alarmed I couldn't help but tense.“Hello… Dad?” i asked, with furrowed brows. There was a short pause before he spoke again.“Baby,” he sounded so relieved over the phone.“I heard about the attack from Acker and Michael. Are you alright?”He heard the news? That made me blink in surprise. It had barely been a day and he already knew about it?“But…how?” I asked, suspicious all of a sudden.“Don Madden and Serrano were kind enough to inform me. We keep in contact for when I want to check up on you.” He said. I nodded swallowing. That made sense. Although I didn’t expect them to keep in so much cont
Acker’s POV2 days later:The sounds of the man’s pained groans were nothing short of satisfying to my ears.I continued to punch him, taking out my frustration after the events of the past few days.To expect that Cross would use his knowledge on Mikael’s past and try to cause harm to Alicia…Infuriating. Smart. Bastardly. Exactly how I pictured things to go but much worse. I gripped the brass knuckles fitted on my fingers tightly and landed another punch to the man’s formerly untouched jaw that a tooth flew out, along with the spitting blood from his lips.“Acker, that’s okay, don’t you think?” The sound of Javier’s voice made me pause and I regarded the captive with a tilted head. His eyes were swollen and his nose was certainly broken. His entire face reddened from bruises and slowly purpling.Yet it didn’t faze me. I clenched my hands into fists again, readied for another round of punching bag workout when Javier spoke again, this time a lot more concerned in his tone.“We need
Alicia’s POV:I looked at my brother, well, rather it was my younger Half brother. He only smiled at me.“Don’t be shy. Come in.” He said gently, reminding me of a golden retriever but in a good way.I took a step towards him. Despite being 18, of course he was was a few inches taller than me, but it made me gape how different yet alike we looked.Jason Duncan, huh.He moved aside to give me space to enter the room. There was a dining table set filled with lavish foods and at the helm seat was my father whose eyes lit up as soon as it met mine. He looked eager and pleased for this lunch and I was glad, for I anticipated it as well. I was glad to finally have time to sit with him and talk, as well as meet another member of my currently small family.“Alicia, please have a seat.” he stood up, smiling brightly as I came closer, sitting on one end if the chair while Jason took the other end.He looked ecstatic at me being here, and I didn't want to take that from him.I spent some time eat
Mikael’s POVAs soon as lunch with her father ended I deftly paid for the bill before the Senator could even ask for the check. He looked a little ticked while I stood, smiling as pleasantly as I could to the Senator and his younger son (what was the lad’s name again? It had to start with a J, I believe…) before taking Alicia’s arm in mine.The senator’s gaze was disapproving but I didn’t care - I was the one protecting his daughter so he had no choice did he?“Senator, thank you for the wonderful lunch,” I smirked.“Thank you for joining us, Mr Serrano,” he responded a little bit displeased. It was the hint that showed he was blindsided by my arrival just like Alicia had but I didn’t care. I had achieved my aim and now, gaining his blessings so to speak, i wasn’t going to have any remorse in calling Alicia my woman no matter what. There would be no problems from him.“Pleasure doing business with you,” i said, taking my card back from the waitress before leading Alicia out of the res
Alicia’s POVI was in the study group at the college library going over the group presentation we had when one of my group mates suddenly looked distracted.“Guys, guys,” she cut off my speech with a smile leaning in. “Hottie at 7:00.”“Are you serious Sarah,” Bella, another of my classmates, rolled her eyes. The two were friends and knew each other since high school, or so I’d heard.Sarah slapped her playfully before lowering her voice.“Im being serious.” She whispered “There’s a really handsome, super SUPER HOT guy in the library and he is standing right behind us. He looks so… dark and mysterious.” she sighed out, fawning.At first, I was put off by her sudden interruption but now I wanted to roll my eyes. There were very few people who fit that description and I knew most if them. Had Dominic had come to check on me? or one of my bodyguards had caught her attention?I swiftly turned around without thinking. My blood turned cold when I saw his face and relaxed posture, leaning
Acker’s POVAgain.I closed my eyes briefly and listened to the ticking of the grandfather clock - an antique that was gifted to me by the Terrent family mob, and worth over fifty thousand dollars - and opened them again, when the image that was described to me made its way into my mind and stabbed at my ego.Cross had approached Alicia in the library. Alone.This was the first time I’d properly heard of Alicia being approached by Cross and it irked me to know that the bastard was still lurking around the city waiting for his chance to strike.Why did Cross always have to tempt me and test my fucking patience?!“And what exactly were you lot doing when Cross Serpenti approached her?” I asked as calmly as I could, seated on the chair bd regarding the guards, including Mikael’s handpicked men, with fury behind my piercing gaze. “Don’t tell me you stood with your hands behind your backs like useless statues?”Alicia opened her mouth but I gave her a gaze and she closed it. The men were s
Dante’s POV Two years later: Dad Mik always had the best stuff. I heard the signal from his fingers. The click. And Ash and I immediately closed our ears. The sound of a loud boom reverberated in the air and the field suddenly burst into chaos. It was glorious to watch. The bomb decimated everything it had been wrapped about. So cool, I Wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. But Dad Mik had said we should be quiet or else Mom would– “MIKAEL SERRANO‼” I Swallowed. Mom’s screech sounded like trouble. I was glad it wasn’t me and Ash and I exchanged glances to commiserate with each other. Dad Mik looked a little pale but he smirked a little as Mom came barely a second later. She turned round the corner and advanced on us as we stood at the edge of the large field next to the garden. We rushed to stand and dust their hands and clothes, looking innocent as Mom strided as gently as she could with a full and round belly. I really wasn't sure about how pregnancies work, but
Alicia’s POVThe knocking didn’t stop. My head pounded from the force of it. I stumbled to the door, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. I opened the door to find Andy, her face etched with worry, holding a sleeping Bella. Magda followed close behind, her expression stern."What were you thinking, Alicia?" Andy demanded, her voice low but firm. "Leaving the house again in the middle of the night?"I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the sleep. "What are you talking about?"Magda's voice was sharp. "Do you know you nearly caused chaos this morning? Mikael nearly ran mad searching for you. Acker had to calm him down. And they nearly fought."My heart sank. I had no idea Mikael had been searching for me. "I...I just needed some air," I stammered.The guilt pricked at the edges of my consciousness again. This time I had caused more trouble just by leaving. I was foolish. I lowered my gaze in remorse.Andy's expression softened slightly. "Alicia, you can't just disappear in the middle of th
Alicia’s POVI woke up with a start, my heart racing and my sheets drenched in sweat. The maid's gentle voice and concerned expression only added to my distress. But it wasn't just the nightmare that had left me shaken - it was the crushing weight of my own guilt.As I lay there, trying to catch my breath, I couldn't shake the image of Cleo's face, twisted in a cruel grin, and Cross's gleaming green eyes. My nightmares were haunting. They taunted me with the reminders of the mistakes I’d made. My own oversights were massive.But it was my own actions that haunted me. I had tried to kill Acker and Mikael, the two men I loved. The thought sent a wave of self-loathing crashing over me.How could I have been so blind? So wrong? The guilt was suffocating, making it hard to breathe. I felt like I was drowning in my own shame. I thought about all the times I had pushed Acker and Mikael away, all the times I had doubted their love for me. And for what? Because of a misguided desire for reveng
Acker’s POV This was unexpected. I exchanged a glance with Serrano after seeing Cleo Abrams breathe her last breath. The syringe in my hand was empty and I dropped it on the ground where it lay to rest beside the pale corpse of the woman who had sought to use it at her weapon and had inevitably ended up dead by it. "How is she?" The words left my lips without preamble as I gazed at Alicia’s shivering form wrapped in the Italian Don’s arms. A part of me stirred with jealousy at the sight but I let it go. She belonged to him as much as she did to me. "Asleep for now. Or rather unconscious. She’s quite the dramatic one isn’t she? Cried herself to sleep just like that," Serrano tutted as though he was angry with her but in fact I could tell the relief in his face. I felt the same way too. In the end we had somehow neglected her. Of course it was just a stroke of luck that we figured out who it was at the last minute that had caused such troubles on our lives. It started aft
Cleo’s POVI had always been a survivor.From the first time I knew what death was, I had always been a survivor.An orphan girl, with no one to depend on but herself.I knew my skills long before I could understand them; my beauty was a privilege I welcomed.It helped me get away with things when I was younger and I learnt that a smile and little tilt of my head would help whenever one of the other kids accused me of stealing their belongings. None of the stupid nuns cared that I was never doing chores on time because I’d act so innocent and my cherubic expression gave me a fucking sweet pass.The attention always made me feel powerful and the way I got away with so much made the other kids either fear me or want to be my friends so they could benefit from it.As I got older I began to notice how much stares the boys would give me more than the other girls. Even the adult men weren’t far from trying to act like they were vying for my attention. And so I discovered another use for my
Alicia’s POVI stared out the window, my eyes tracing the outline of the trees as they swayed gently in the breeze. It was my birthday, a day that should have been filled with joy and celebration. Instead, I was trapped in this prison, a captive of the two men I had once loved.The sound of the door opening broke the silence, and I turned to see Andy walking in, a bright smile on her face. But it was what she was holding that really caught my attention - baby Bella. I felt a surge of emotion as Andy handed her over to me, and I held her close, feeling a sense of peace wash over me.Bella peered up at me curiously, her big eyes sparkling with innocence. I felt a pang of guilt for putting her in this situation, for bringing her into a world filled with danger and uncertainty. Perhaps I wasn’t the best one to take care of her. Perhaps I should have given her to a loving family."Thank you for taking care of her," I said to Andy, my voice awkward with emotion.Andy's expression softened,
Mikael’s POVShe was different. She looked like a wounded animal. My left grasped Dante’s shoulder gently. It was an assurance that our sons had returned to us. And a promise that this wasn’t for nothing.Madden at the very least was able to contain his emotions unlike myself. His voice came out like a crack of a whip. “Take her to her room. There won’t be any chance of her escaping, do you understand?”“Yes Don.” The men chorused.Yet I didn’t feel sane. I felt like I wanted to kill something. I felt like I wanted answers.…The sound of the clock ticking grounded me from spiraling in the study. I listened while seething with anger as Magda and Javier delivered their report.Bella, the newborn baby that had been caught along with Alicia and our boys, was Cross' and Zendaya's child. And to make matters worse, Alicia had already obtained a birth certificate that stated she had adopted the baby.That baby was currently in the care of a bewildered Andy who was mourning her friend’s acti
Alicia’s POVI crept out of my motel room, my heart racing with every creak of the floor. In a few short hours paranoia had become my constant companion, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. I just needed to grab some snacks from the store next door, but even that simple task felt like a risk.As I browsed the aisles, my eyes wandered to the TV playing in the corner of the store. The news anchor's voice was a distant hum until I saw the footage of the warehouse explosion. It was on the news.My breath caught in my throat as I watched Cross Serpenti's face flash across the screen. His death was confirmed and the news anchor continued with stating all the known crimes the Serpenti Mafia had committed. He deserved to die and that was certain.The cashier's muttered comment about "those mob people" and how easy it must be to have their kind of money barely registered. My mind was reeling with the implications of what I'd just seen. Acker and Mikael were still alive.
Acker’s POVToday had not gone as fucking expected.I tried to hold back all the thoughts swirling in my head as we left the police officers and flashing sirens behind.It appeared to be a terrible dream. But it wasn’t over yet.The scent of burning and flames was in the air still. I must have inhaled a lot of smoke in there, I thought with disgruntlement as I gave the orders for us to return. My throat hurt badly enough that speaking was a chore I didn’t feel the need to indulge in. Serrano sat silently beside me and I knew it had to do with none other than her. Our woman. And supposedly the one that betrayed us.His hands gripped the phone that Cross had thrown at us tightly. That the Serpenti Don was dead finally was good. We had watched his… body, for lack of a better word, being carried out. He was charred beyond repair. Not even a lick of unburnt flesh on him and he had died in pieces, the explosion tearing him into chunks that had to be pieced together.It had been by the skin