“I can’t,” she stepped back, shaking her head. “You can be with Pietro if you just tell me who you are and where you come from.” “Please, don’t make me.” A tear dripped down her cheeks, making me halt and blink at her. I had never seen her so fragile. “It could be traumatising for her to recall,
ROSALINE Everything about Terenzio was fancy and elegant. The way he looked, so uptight, in his plain white shirt, the sleeves folded to his elbow, and dark blue pants and black leather pointed boots. The restaurant we were at was fancier than the one Luciano had taken me to. I preferred the quiet
He pursed his lips to hold his laughter and said, “And what was this stranger’s reaction?” “He just handed me the belt and scooted away. He was so cute, and I was… just dumb. I didn’t even see who was passing me because I was busy holding my pants from falling in the middle of the road.” “That wou
“I know my reasons for marrying may seem selfish, but I won’t have anyone less perfect than you, Rosaline,” he whispered. “The rumours have never bothered me as I’ve told you before, and they never will. I wanted to come clean today and tell you that no matter what the reason, marriage is not just a
ROSALINE I slammed the door shut behind me and my eyes snapped to the familiar figure seated on the couch. Luciano was here as he had promised. A sweet something fluttered in my chest, but I shut it down, realising how wrong it was. I did not feel it for the man I should have. Instead, that stupid
“What happened, Rose?” He angled his face and looked down at me, but I did not meet his eyes, only stared at his chin. “What happened on the date?” he asked. “It’s everything that happened,” I said, my voice shaking. “He was nice. Nicer than I had thought. Everything that I had always wanted in a m
Tipping my chin up, he leaned in and brushed his lips on mine oh-so-gently. He was not a gentle person, but with me, he was and I appreciated his efforts. A kiss landed on my cheek and I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of it. His lips traced down to my chin and then the other cheek. Last, when the
Let him go—the voice deep in my head said as he pulled his fingers out of me. We were only making this more complicated. One day, there would not be a way out for either of us. My feelings could cloud my better judgment and common sense. His belt and zipper came undone, and he pushed them down, fre
“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