Elena's POV.I couldn’t sit still. My heart raced every time the wind brushed against the curtains or a car passed in the distance. The safe house felt colder this morning, the silence stretching far too long, making every second unbearable. I paced the room, the tiles cool beneath my bare feet, my arms crossed tightly over my chest.It had been a day since Dante left. The night had swallowed him, and now the sun had started to creep up. Yet, there was no sign of him. No call. Nothing. My chest tightened at the thought of him lying somewhere, bleeding, or worse.Marcus leaned against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed, watching me with both concern and irritation. “Elena, you’re going to wear out the floor at this rate,” he said, his tone light, trying to break the tension.I shot him a glare. “How can you be so calm? Dante’s out there…injured…and you’re standing there like this is just another day!” My voice cracked, and I hated the way my panic spilled out so easily.Marcus pushe
Elena's POV.The air was filled with noise as Dante’s men laughed, shouted, and clinked their glasses together. They filled the room, their voices rising and falling, their words tumbling over each other in celebration. Bottles of whiskey, vodka, and wine lined the tables, and the rich scent of alcohol mixed with the faint smell of burnt cigars. They had every reason to celebrate. The man who had haunted Dante for years, the man responsible for so much pain, was finally dead. Angelo.I stood at the far end of the room, my back pressed against the wall, watching the scene unfold like an outsider peering in through a window. Dante was at the center of it all, surrounded by his men. His presence was magnetic, his every movement commanding attention. He held a glass in one hand, his other resting casually at his side as he exchanged words with Marcus.Marcus, usually sharp-tongued and sarcastic, was acting strangely. He laughed at all the right moments, nodded when he should, and followe
Elena's POV.I paced back and forth in my room, my heart hammering in my chest. The nausea from earlier hadn’t eased, and now my mind raced with possibilities. Something wasn’t right. Every time I tried to steady myself, another wave of unease crashed over me, leaving me more disoriented.Dante and Marcus were still downstairs, likely too absorbed in meetings to notice my absence. Their laughter and voices sounded faintly through the walls, but it only made me feel more disconnected. I couldn't bring myself to tell either of them how I felt. Not yet. Whatever this was, I needed to figure it out on my own first.I grabbed my coat, wrapping it tightly around me, and moved to the door. My steps were cautious as I crept out of the room, my ears tuned to every sound. No one stopped me. The corridor was quiet, an opposite to the noise from downstairs. My heart was pounding as I slipped through the side door and stepped into the cold evening air.The streetlights had long beams across the si
Dante's POV.The mansion was quiet, too quiet. I sat in my office, staring at the whiskey in my glass, watching the liquid swirl with every faint movement of my hand. The silence was deafening, and for once, I hated it.Elena had been distant…no, she’d been avoiding me. It wasn’t in my head. Every time I tried to get close, she found a reason to leave. If I walked into the room, she’d make an excuse to step out. If I asked her something, her answers were clipped, her tone guarded. And it wasn’t like her.I took a slow sip of my drink, the burn doing little to distract me from the nagging discomfort in my chest. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.“Boss.”I turned my head slightly, finding Enzo standing by the door, his face as stoic as always. “What is it?” I asked, my voice sharper than intended.He stepped in cautiously, his hands clasped behind his back. “We’ve got a shipment coming in tomorrow. Thought you’d want to know.”I waved him off. “Fine. Handle it.”Enzo’s brows f
Elena's POV.Elena's POV.The cold wind whipped through my hair as I sped down the highway, my hands trembling on the steering wheel. My cheeks were wet with tears, and no matter how hard I tried to blink them away, they just kept coming. It felt like I couldn’t breathe, like the walls were closing in on me, and the only thing I could do was run.The headlights of my car cut through the dark, but I barely registered where I was going. I just needed to get away. Away from the mansion. Away from Dante. Away from the feelings I didn’t know how to handle.How did it come to this?I gripped the wheel tighter, my knuckles white. My heart felt like it was breaking, shattering with every mile I put between us. I could still hear his voice, raw and desperate. “You’re tired of me. Of us.”“No, Dante,” I whispered to myself, my voice cracking. “I could never be tired of you.”But how could I tell him the truth? How could I tell him I was carrying his child? That every moment I spent avoiding him
Dante's POVI didn’t know when I had finally fallen asleep. My thoughts had been a tangled mess of anger, frustration, and a hollow ache in my chest. Elena’s face had haunted me…the tears in her eyes, the way her voice had broken when she said she needed space. It had been killing me, tearing me apart.The whiskey hadn’t helped. It never did. I must’ve drifted off right there on the couch in my office, the empty glass still in my hand.The dream had started softly, almost like a memory. Isabella had been there, standing by the grand piano in the main hall, her favorite place in the mansion. She had looked the same as she always did; elegant, poised, beautiful. But her smile, the one that used to light up my world, had been missing."Isabella," I had said, my voice catching in my throat.She had turned to me, her eyes sad."Dante," she had replied, her tone was quiet but sharp enough to cut through me.I had stepped closer, but she hadn't moved. Her expression hadn't softened either. It
Elena's POV.The room was a dingy box, with peeling wallpaper and a bed that creaked if I so much as breathed. The motel smelled faintly of stale cigarettes and cheap air freshener, and the sign outside painted the cracked ceiling in bursts of red and green. I sat cross-legged on the bed, the lumpy mattress digging into me, but I didn’t care. My hands instinctively rested on my stomach, a gesture I was becoming all too familiar with.I’d lost count of how long I’d been here. Days blurred into nights, the hours stretching endlessly as I tried to convince myself I’d made the right decision. But it was hard to feel certain about anything when the weight of my choices pressed down on me like this.The soft hum of cars outside filled the silence, but it wasn’t comforting. Every sound made me jump. Every knock, every creak of the floor above me sent my heart racing. I was running, but for how long? How far could I go before the past caught up with me?I stood and walked to the window, peeli
Dante's POV.The moment the words left her lips, it felt like my world tilted on its axis. Pregnant. Elena was pregnant.I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. My mind screamed at me to say something, but my tongue felt like lead. My chest tightened, and for the first time in years, I felt utterly unprepared…powerless.“Elena…” I finally managed, my voice cracking in a way that betrayed me. Her tear-filled eyes met mine, and the vulnerability in her gaze cut through me like a blade. “You’re…pregnant?”She nodded slowly, her arms wrapping protectively around her stomach. “Yes, Dante. I didn’t know how to tell you…I didn’t know if I could.”I stumbled back a step, running a hand through my hair, trying to process the reality crashing down on me. Elena. The young woman I couldn’t stop loving even if I tried. Pregnant. With my child.“You’re carrying my baby,” I said, more to myself than to her. Saying it out loud made it feel real, and that reality hit me like a freight train.“Yes,” she whi
Elena's POVPain. It ripped through me like a storm, raw and merciless. My body was drenched in sweat, my fingers clutching the hospital bed as another contraction tore through me. I screamed, my throat burning, my mind barely able to hold on.“Push, Elena!” the doctor urged, his voice was firm but encouraging.I gasped, my chest heaving. Dante’s hand was in mine, his grip strong but gentle, his lips pressed in a firm line as he watched me struggle. His other hand brushed damp strands of hair from my forehead, his eyes dark with worry and something deeper…something I couldn't name.“You’re doing so good, baby,” he murmured, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.I met his gaze, searching for something, anything…to hold onto. But all I found was pain, exhaustion, and a terrifying sense of being lost. I still didn’t remember. Seven months, and I still didn’t know the man beside me, the man who loved me, the man whose child I was bringing into the world.Another contraction hit, and I
Elena’s POVSeven months. Seven months had passed since I woke up in that hospital bed, broken, confused, and pregnant with a child I didn’t remember making. Seven months since I was told that Dante, an intense, dangerous man I still couldn’t recall…was the father.And now, here I was. Heavily pregnant. Nearing nine months. Carrying the child of a Mafia lord.I stood by the tall window, my hands resting on my belly, feeling the tiny kicks beneath my skin. My body had healed, no more wheelchairs, no more braces, no more bandages. Just me, standing on my own two feet again. But my mind? That was another story.I still didn’t remember anything. Not Dante. Not Marcus. Not the accident. Nothing.Dante had tried everything. He showed me pictures, told me stories, brought me to places we had been together. But no matter how hard he tried, my mind remained a blank slate. It frustrated him…I could see it in his eyes. But he never forced me. Never pressured me. He just… stayed. Protecting me.A
Dante's POV.The hospital room was quiet, but my mind was chaos. The steady beeping of the machines monitoring Elena’s vitals was the only sound. It was maddening. I sat by her bed, staring at her pale face, waiting for her to wake up. I didn’t know how long I’d been there, but it felt like an eternity. My chest ached with every breath I took, each second dragging me deeper into my own torment.She stirred, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks. Relief flooded through me like a tidal wave, and I leaned closer, gripping her hand.“Elena?” I said softly, my voice raw. “It’s me, Dante. You’re safe now.”Her eyes opened slowly, hazy and unfocused at first. Then they locked onto mine, and for a moment, I thought everything would be okay. But her brows furrowed, confusion clouding her expression.“Who... who are you?” she whispered, her voice weak but sharp enough to cut through me like a knife.My heart stopped.“Elena, it’s me,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Dante. Don’t you
Elena's POV.Pain. That’s the first thing I noticed. A dull, throbbing ache that stretched across my entire body. My head pounded like a drum, every beat sharp and non-stop. My elbow felt like it had been smashed with a hammer, and my knee…God, my knee, burned as if someone had ripped it apart and stitched it back together with fire.I blinked, my eyelids heavy as though they were made of lead. The light above me was too bright, piercing my vision and making my head hurt worse. I wanted to scream, but my throat was dry, raw. I groaned instead, barely able to move.Where was I?I glanced around, squinting through the brightness. The room was white…clinical. Machines beeped softly beside me, wires snaking from them to my body. Bandages wrapped around my arms, my chest, even my leg, which was propped up on some kind of support.A hospital. I was in a hospital. But why?I tried to move, but pain shot through my body like lightning. I gasped, gripping the sides of the bed with weak hands.
Dante's POV.The room was cold, damp, and reeked of fear. It was exactly how I wanted it. I stood just inside the doorway, staring at the woman tied to the chair in the center of the room. Carina. Isabella’s little sister.She had the same dark hair, the same sharp features, but there was none of the kindness Isabella had once carried in her eyes. Carina’s gaze was filled with nothing but venom, even as her lips curled into a defiant smirk.“Well,” she said, her voice dripping with mockery. “If it isn’t the grieving lover. Come to avenge your little damsel in distress?”I didn’t answer. My silence made her smirk falter, just for a second.Enzo stood by the wall, his arms crossed, watching silently. He knew better than to interfere. This was personal.I stepped forward slowly, each step deliberate. My boots sounded against the concrete floor. Carina’s smirk returned, but there was unease behind it now.“You think you’re untouchable because of who you are,” I said, my voice low and stea
Dante's POV.The hours felt endless, a slow, agonizing stretch of time where every second clawed at my sanity. I paced the hospital hallway, my fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms. My men stood at a distance, quiet, not daring to say a word. Marcus was slumped on the floor against the wall, his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.Every once in a while, his muffled cries broke through the sterile silence. It was unbearable.“Why hasn’t anyone come out yet?” I growled, slamming my fist into the wall. The thud echoed down the corridor, but it didn’t ease the rage boiling inside me. “They’ve been in there for hours!”Enzo placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice steady but cautious. “Boss, they’ll come. She’s strong. You know that.”I turned on him, my eyes blazing. “Strong? You think strength matters right now? A damn car hit her, Enzo. She’s pregnant, and I…” My voice cracked, and I had to look away.I couldn’t break, not here. Not now. But th
Dante's POV.The scene felt like a nightmare that had come to life, a cruelty of the past I thought I’d buried deep.From the moment Enzo’s phone call came through, my blood ran cold. “Boss, we’ve got her location. Carina’s behind this. She tricked Elena with that lottery scam,” he said. His voice was steady, but I could hear the edge of urgency underneath.I clenched the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white, trying to stay focused as we sped toward the address Enzo had sent. The thought of Elena being in Carina’s grasp churned my stomach. I’d underestimated Carina’s hatred…her obsession. And now, I was the one who had failed to protect the woman I loved.As we approached the building, I saw her. Elena stood outside, her hoodie pulled up as if it could shield her from the world. For a second, relief washed over me. She was free. Carina had released her. But something didn’t sit right. My gut told me this wasn’t over.Then I saw it. The headlights. A car barreling down the road stra
Elena's POV.My head pounded as I came to. My arms felt like they were being yanked out of their sockets, tied tightly behind me. My legs were bound to the chair, and the air smelled of something metallic and sharp. I blinked, trying to clear the fog in my head.The room was cold, empty except for me and the chair I was tied to. The walls were a dull gray, and the only light came from a single bulb hanging overhead.Then I saw her.Carina.The same girl who had tried to kill me in Dante’s apartment. Her face was just as I remembered it, sharp, angry, filled with hate. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was dressed in black leather, like she was ready for war."Finally awake," she sneered, crossing her arms. "I thought they’d given you too much."I clenched my jaw, refusing to show any fear. "Carina. Back to finish what you started?"Her lips curled into a smirk, but her eyes were full of anger. "You have no idea how much I hate you," she hissed, stepping closer.
Elena's POVI hated sneaking out of the house. It felt childish, but what else could I do? Dante’s men followed me everywhere, acting like I couldn’t breathe without his approval. The constant presence of those suited-up bodyguards was suffocating. At first, I told myself it was because he cared, but now? It felt like a leash I couldn’t shake off.I glanced over my shoulder as I slipped through the side gate. No one had seen me, not yet. I had timed everything perfectly. Enzo was too busy barking orders to notice, and the guards stationed near the front were far enough away. I let out a breath of relief, pulling my hoodie tighter over my head.The message about the lottery win had been sitting in my inbox for days, and though I didn’t remember entering, curiosity got the better of me. The prizes were too good to ignore: a luxury vacation, shopping vouchers, and a brand-new car. It all sounded like a dream. Too good to be true, maybe, but after the past few weeks, I needed something to