"Juan," Arya said in a trembling voice as she stood up and backed away from him. "I—""Explain yourself," he said in a dangerously calm voice, moving towards her. He trapped her against the wall with his hand placed above his head; his talk frame loomed over her making Arya feel so small. She swallowed hard and whimpered softly. Everything had been going well so how the hell had Juan known where to find her?"I just... Needed some fresh air," she lied, looking away from him. He was obviously not going to believe her but she decided to push her luck. "And somehow you ended up at a jeweller's trying to sell what I gave you?" He raised his brows. "No-no.""That's what it looks like angel, or should I say devil?""I run this city mio Angelo. There's no place you run to that I won't find out." His thumb caressed her cheeks softly. "I'll make sure to punish you," he murmured in a menacing way.Those words sent a shiver down Arya's spine because somehow, she knew he would be true to his w
"You don't tell me what to do." "Let's go for a drive. I think you need to see for yourself what I do to people who don't obey my words." "I'm not going anywhere with you," she said defiantly. "I make the rules here angel, do you want to be carried again?" Huffing in annoyance, she began to follow him. On getting the car he opened it for her before getting in. He drove through the city in silence, his free hand resting on her thigh. Arya tried removing it severally but it was to no avail as he was unloved by her actions. After a while, she let it be. The city began to fade away soon and they were surrounded by water on the left and trees on the right side. As they journeyed on, the water was sparse and the trees began to dwindle. Poorly constructed houses began to appear at intervals till they got to a sight that was in ruins. A path however has been carved into that place and Juan drove through it till they got to a place packed with trees and a lot of foliage where there
"Juan," Arya gasped, turning to face him. "What?" He lifted his eyebrows. "I put him out of his misery like you wanted."He carried her from his lap onto his shoulders as he stood up. With a nod that said a thousand words to his men, he strolled out of the dilapidated building.They began to trudge the path they had come only for Juan to suddenly halt in his tracks. He gently put Arya onto her feet and motioned for her to be quiet and stay put.He trod carefully on the path, making sure to barely make a sound as he peeked through the bushes. With a furrowing of his brows, he dialled a number on his phone and murmured words that Arya couldn't hear. "Stay behind me love," Juan said. "I'll have my men watch your back," he told a confused Arya. Clasping her hand in his, he led her back to where his car had been parked. Juan scrutinized it suspiciously; everything about his car looked fine but the footprints he had noticed did not belong to the boots of his men. He made sure they all ha
"You wouldn't dare." Juan's expression was cold and murderous. If looks could kill, the man holding Arya would have died a long while ago. "I'm asking you nicely one last time, let her go.""And I won't be telling you nicely," the man replied. "No. She belongs to our boss, you stole her from him.""I never stole her. She was presented to me on a silver platter by one of your men," Juan smirked. "Are you aware Dominic has a price for whoever reveals a traitor to him? Especially if he has punished someone else for a mistake.""I am well aware how my boss operates," he responded. "What if I allow you know who the traitor in your midst is? The person who gave her to me?""In exchange for the girl? Never!" The man spat at Juan's feet. "One day, the boss will still find out.""Are you sure about it? Or he will find out you had tje opportunity to get a name and you missed it.""He won't punish me for that. He will praise me because I did not give the prize up for information.""Sometimes,
"What did you just do?" Juan's eyes turned red, his fingertips turning cold. For a second, Arya froze with fear but she recovered quickly, not wanting him to see how scared he made her. She looked up at him defiantly. There was no way in hell she was going to cower in front of this man. She needed to show him she wasn't scared of him.Her heart was hammering against her ribs, but she clenched her fists to keep them from trembling. She would not—could not—show weakness to anyone again especially not to him."I slapped you for the stupid words that came out of your mouth, and I will do it again if need be." She said in a sharp tone, glaring at him.Juan's jaw twitched. There was a storm brewing behind his eyes, but Arya refused to look away. If she backed down now, she'd lose whatever semblance of control she had left."Trust me, little princess, you do not want me to teach you your place," he responded dryly."Neither do you want me to put you in your place!" she yelled at him, eyes bu
Juan remained still for a moment, absorbing her words. The silence between them became so tense that it could probably not be cut by a knife. He let go of her and then clenched his fists at his sides. He tried to restrain himself not to say anything that would come out harsher than he would want it to, and the only reason why he had not punched her was because she was a woman. If it were s fellow man, he would have done so. Then again, getting violent was only going to prove her point further. That he was a monster. There was no arguing with her words, it was true. Arya could see that he was livid from the tightening of his jaw to the way he wanted to calm his breathing. She was no sorry for her words neither did she feel an ounce of guilt. However, she was slightly surprised by the weakness he'd displayed for even a second. There had been a tinge of vulnerability in his eyes but as quickly as they were there, it was replaced by the ice-cold edge of the man who'd once controlled ev
An unexplainable surge of anger coursed through Juan at her words. How dare she insinuate that his arch enemy was a better option than he was? Nothing got him more riled up than being compared to that scumbag. He growled loudly, punching the wall beside him that the brick seemed to dent slightly. His knuckles turned red. Arya flinched at the impact, her eyes appearing round and filled with fear. She shrunk, moving away from him— but not far enough because she was frozen in fear. He felt something sharp snap inside him. No. No, he wouldn't let her say that. He wouldn't let her think it. "Don't you ever," he warned, gripping her arm suddenly. "Say such in my presence."She was even more fearful because of how tight his grip was and for a second, she thought he was going to hit her. She tried to pry her arm gently, tears brimming in her eyes. Juan could have let go if he saw the terror in her green eyes but he was too blinded by his rage to do so."Juan," she said in a shaky voice that
Juan's words made Arya feel like she couldn't breathe. She wanted to push him away and slam the door. She wanted to get away from him and be alone. But she couldn't move because Juan was too close. His breath was fanning her chest and for some odd reason she felt a delicious sensation within her. The space between them was too close and there seemed to be electricity or some sort of spark cracking between them. He was staring at her full pink pouty lips. She kicked them nervously, looking away and hesitating on whether she should take a step back or but then Juan's phone decided for her because it rang. The sound was loud and sharp, and it broke the chemistry between them but also gave Arya a sense of relief. Juan looked at his phone before he answered it. He didn't smile, but his lips curled up a little. He took a step back and put the phone to his ear. He looked at Arya while he talked."Yeah?" he said. "What's going on?" Arya didn't know what to do as she stared at him. Should s
Arya was never one to listen— especially to Juan. She leaned in closer, planting her lips softly on his, almost hesitantly. "Mio Angelo," he murmured gently against her but she took it as a signal to deepen it. She pulled him in closer, her hands sliding to his hair, gripping them harder between her fists. They kissed hungrily, like they’ve both been starved of each other for an eternity. Desire coursing through their veins. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer like she was afraid he would suddenly disappear. While kissing, they stood from the ground slowly, Juan backing her against the wall, his hands sliding on her waist to pull her closer as if she wasn't already close enough. His hands slipped up her shirt slowly and she gasped, suddenly feeling unsure of what she had started. She could still feel Diego's hands on her and—"Mio Angelo, what's wrong?" He asked, pulling away and searching her green eyes with his. "N-nothing," she stammered, swallowing hard.
She was shaking in his arms, her whole body trembling like it was too much for her to carry anymore. Her sobs came out quietly, but im short bursts. Her head was splitting with pain uncontrollably and her eyes felt tired from all the tears but she could not bring herself to stop. Juan's shirt was soaked through within minutes but he didn't mind it. Arya's mind was foggy with too many thoughts, thinking about what could have been if perhaps she wasn't here. Yes, Francesca would have still died but she would have built a deeper friendship with her. Francesca's friendship was short, not too deep but the best Arya had all her life.Juan didn’t speak. He didn’t tell her it would be okay or ask her what was wrong. He didn’t try to stop the crying. He just held her, wrapping his arms around her and not letting go. Every time she gasped or let out another shaky sob, he pulled her even closer, like he was trying to hold all her broken pieces together with his arms. Like maybe, just maybe, if
Arya didn’t move. She stood frozen there on the porch, phone still pressed to her ear. Her whole body felt cold, like the air had stopped around her. Her fingers were stiff. Her lips were shaking. Her legs felt weak, like they might give out at any second.“She passed away this morning,” the voice repeated again, soft and careful, like they were trying not to hurt her more.Arya didn’t answer right away. She couldn’t. She just blinked, once, then again, trying to hold herself together. She swallowed hard.“Can… can you send me the address? Please. I’d like to see her. I want to be there. For the funeral.”There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I’ll send it to this number,” the person said.Arya nodded, even though they couldn’t see her. “Thank you.”Then the call ended. The screen went dark. But Arya still didn’t move.She stayed there for another few seconds, frozen in place. Then slowly, she lowered the phone and turned around.She walked back into the house, quiet, her s
"Would you turn it down if you were me?" Arya replied raising her brows. She looked calm and unbothered, cocking her head to the left. Belle didn’t say anything back. She stared at Arya for a moment, her jaw tight like she was holding something back. Then she looked away, clearly annoyed or upset.Arya saw that and let a small, knowing smile appear on her face.“Yeah. That’s what I thought,” she said.The room went completely silent after that, and in order to reduce the simmering tension in the room, Hernandez who noticed how awkward everything had becoke decided to talk, trying to lighten the mood. He spoke in a casual tone, like he was trying to act like everything was normal. “Hey, maybe Juan should let Arya stop by the bar or something,” he said. “Some lady even came looking for her a few weeks ago.”As soon as Arya heard that, she turned her head fast. Her eyes got wide with surprise. She looked directly at Juan, hope and energy suddenly back in her voice.“See? I told you some
Rolling her eyes, Arya walked out of the kitchen and to the dining table. Belle was seated there already, doing something on her phone. The moment she noticed Arya's presence, she rolled eyes. Ignoring Belle, she took a seat and then furrowed her brows in confusion when maids began to serve up food. Just then Juan walked into the dining."There's more than one kitchen," he said to Arya, noticing her confusion.Breakfast began shortly in s blur, the only thing anyone could hear was the soft sound of knives and forks tapping against plates. Nobody was talking. Nobody was even looking at each other. The eggs on the plates were starting to get cold after a while of being served but it didn’t seem like anyone cared.Juan sat at the end of the long table, drinking from a small cup of coffee. It was his second that day. He looked calm, like he had no reason to rush or speak. Arya was seated somewhere in the middle. She wasn’t really eating—just using her knife to push a piece of toast aroun
Arya lay in bed, unmoving. Her body ached and felt stiff- as if it did not belong to her. Something inside her had gotten up and left and she had missed it. She stared at the ceiling, allowing her mind to do the thinking she did not want to do.The room was warm. The blanket was pulled up to her shoulders. And yet, she felt cold. Not at her skin. But all the way deep inside; the cold was sharp, mean, and hard to get rid of.She did not want to think about Juan. She did not want to remember how he had said her name or how he had looked at her sitting on the other side of the dining. his eyes searching her and reading her like she was important, like he could not let her go. She did not want to hear his voice in her head but it just kept showing up anyway. That voice- the strong, gentle voice, that voice was deep and warm and made her nervous. And every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. Just standing in the back of her head like he belonged there. Waiting for her to stop pretendin
Arya blinked once and then she blinked again because she was trying to ground herself in the silence that filled the space between ghem. The sound of her name in his voice was still bouncing around in her chest like it had nowhere else to go.“Go to bed,” he said again in a gentler voice this time. He didn't trust himself anymore around her and the last thing he wanted to happen was for something to happen in the moment that she— Arya will regret. He knew for a fact he'd never regret whatever happened but Arya would even if she had wanted it because everything was too sudden for her. A part of him even wondered if she had regretted that kiss. He could not say for certain, but he wished she had not and that was the exact reason he needed her to leave. She could end up regretting anything with him.Arya on the other hand knew she should listen except she wanted to start a fire she wasn’t ready to finish but still, she didn’t move. Her pride as well made her to stay rooted in spot, star
Arya wanted to scream her lungs out at him. She wanted to yell so loud until the windows cracked and throw anything withing reach. She didn't care if it was a glass or chair. As long as it was going to hit him hard and chase damage . Her chest was full of unbridled anger that was pushing against her ribs like it was trying to escape. Her hands felt shaky, not from fear but from how hard she was trying not to explode. Every part of her wanted to fight him, to tell him to leave, to never come back. She didn’t want to be near him. She didn’t want to hear his voice. And yet, somehow, she also wanted him to stay. That made her even angrier. But she didn’t yell, throw anything or push him out of the room.. She just stood up slowly and carefully. It was almost like her body was moving without her permission. Her legs felt heavy. Her chest still ached. Her pride screamed at her to stay seated. But her heart whispered something else. And so, without saying a word, she turned and followed him.
It wasn't up to a minute before Juan received a call. He sighed, annoyed by the buzz against his skin from where his phone lay in his pocket. Bringing it out, he squinted at the screen and then clenched his fingers. "Dominic, what the fuck do you want?" Juan said, swiping the ID up and bringing the phone to his ear. "Marco Bellini is dead.""I'm aware," Juan replied, his jaw tightening in anger. His brows then knitted in confusion. How many minutes had it been and how did Dominic know in such short time."I can almost see the wheels turning in your head Juan," Dominic laughed and the sighed. "I had men looking into him, that's how I knew.""And how does this have to do with me?" Juan asked. "Do you know what his death means?" Dominic asked. Juan knew, but he decided to know what Dominic was thinking. "They didn't want him talking?""Marco knew who sent him. He knows the face—.Look at the other men you've caught. He didn't find a way to kill them because they don't know who he is,"