“Luciano?” I called when he was about to step out. “Ci vediamo.” He smiled. “Presto,” he said softly and walked out. As the door closed, I wanted to melt to the floor, and cry because the Rosaline Guerra standing in the room right now was a fucking disaster. The thought of the images going out sca
ROSALINE I stood from the table and walked toward the window beside the fireplace. Bella knew. That was a disaster. Just when I had thought things would get better, everything was ruined. She would tell Adonis. Adonis would tell my brother and eventually, the news would go to Fabiola, who would ha
I had continued to see Luciano over the weeks because I simply did not care anymore. It was as if the Rosaline Guerra who existed two months ago was gone, had disappeared completely. With Luciano and out of the borders of Cosa Nostra, I was free. Free to be me. His marriage was in two months though
LUCIANO Rose would spend an entire week with me, and I had to make it worth it. We had less time with my marriage date dawning and the worst part of it was that no part of me wanted to let her go. I had been trying to avoid the clenching feeling in my chest, whatever it was, that wanted to keep Ros
Looking back at Ma, I explained, “I’m here to take a break. Forgive me if it was such a crime, but even capos deserve a break or two from all the shit they deal with.” “Why did you lie about it?” she asked. “And tell you I was bringing a woman here, just for you to give me a three-hour lecture?” I
ROSALINE Luciano walked ahead of us with his mother, who kept a hand wrapped around his arms to keep him close. This effort to keep him with her only solidified the point. She wanted to keep Luciano away from me. I focused on my steps as we walked through the streets with lights everywhere. Stalls
“When they’re fed with these beliefs, it’s our duty to cut them some slack. We must tell them it’s okay to be who they are. That is all they need. It’s a need, not an expectation,” I ended with a sigh. “I was so tired of him telling me what to do and whatnot that I lost it,” Lys reasoned. “I know.
LUCIANO I watched as Rose disappeared into the crowd and then ran a hand through my hair. This was bad. What I had done was fucking bad. My nerves had gone on fire when she had called me a coward. She should have known better than to do it. I whipped around, only to come across Lys standing with h
“Thank fuck, you’re here,” Pietro sounded. “She didn’t take an epidural or whatever the fuck that is.” “What?” Rose had told me about it, how it could reduce the pain. But if she had not taken it— A loud cry sounded from the other side of the door, and my breath hitched. “Luciano, you need to go
LUCIANO “Have our men withdrawn from New York?” I asked, scrolling through the articles on my laptop. “It’s been eight fucking months since the break.” The inactivity in the east and west, both Cosa Nostra and Outfit, had been very nerve-wracking. Since the dramatic outbreak between Belle and Adon
I smiled. “What do you plan?”“Do you have any plans?”“Nothing big, but I was hoping to buy a country house.” Her smile lit up. “I mean, we certainly can’t raise this kid and our future children in a penthouse. They need a proper environment, sizeable space to run around.”“Our future children? How
Luciano was at the altar, his hands behind his back, his curly, dirty-blond hair pushed back, and behind him was Pietro, dressed in a tuxedo, since he was the best man along with Rione, and Lys and Sabina were the bridesmaids.I met Luciano’s stare and every thought I had left my mind. Even with all
ROSALINEI was not sure why I was doing this. What I knew was my attempts would go in vain and I would be shattered yet again, but I had to try one last time. I had to call Dom.Standing in front of the long mirror—dressed in an off-shoulder sheath-wedding gown with netted sleeves and hair properly
“Even my extra weight?”“Yeah, even my child’s weight.” Smirking, he added, “I liked you with the pink hair. What else could you possibly want?”“Okay, my pink hair wasn’t that bad.”***“There’s a tradition we should talk about,” Luciano said, coming out of the washroom in nothing but a towel wrapp
My eyes widened. “Shit! That was you?”“Do I look that different now?” he asked with his head tilted to the side.“We were in the garden with very low-quality lighting. I did not see your face properly. You were alone, and I thought of keeping you company.”“By asking me to fetch you a drink?”I nar
ROSALINE[SIX MONTHS LATER]I doubted I would ever stay in the studio apartment, except for when I was working. The good thing about this place was it was right above my own office for wedding planning and coordination. After months of research, I was finally into it. Besides, I enjoyed planning the
“I hate it when you try to be one.”Soft laughter tore out of his throat and I licked his bottom lip. His mouth parted immediately but I had other plans. Drawing my face close to his cheeks, I kissed him and then traced my tongue down the stubble to his jawline.He closed his eyes and released a sha