ROSALINDA.Giovanni and I almost lost our lives. He kidnapped Ruby and threatened her with her life as well as that of her parents. But even after everything, my feelings towards him remained the same. When I saw him at Papà’s office, my body still reacted to him in ways that it shouldn’t. What was wrong with me?I used to hate mafia bosses and their stupid ruthlessness, hurting innocents just to get their way. Why was everything different when I was directly involved? Why couldn’t I hate him?“I fucking hate you!” I groaned as I pushed my room’s door open and marched in.“Rosa?” The sound of Sofia’s voice jerked me back to reality, and I turned to see her sitting by the dresser.I was so consumed in rage that I didn’t even realise that she was in the room. I was angry at Antonio for all that he did to all of us. And most especially, angry at myself for being just angry with him and not actually hating him as I should.“Your face’s so red,” she observed. “What are you upset about?”“H
ROSALINDA.Shortly after, the door suddenly started banging, and the second I heard Sofia’s voice impatiently calling my name, I had to forcefully shut down my emotions and stop crying immediately. Wiping the tears from my face, I inhaled and exhaled to calm myself before trudging to the door and pulling it open.“Rosa, what’s wrong?” She asked, confusion spreading across her face as she slipped inside the room.“Nothing.” I replied, closing the door and heading towards the bed.“Don’t tell me that, Rosa. I heard you crying. And I also heard your altercation with Piero. I know you hated him, but damn, I had no idea you hated him this much. What did he do to you?" The concerns on her face weren’t going to convince me to tell her what the problem was. I didn’t want to.“Agreed.” I turned to look at her. “Just as there’s something bothering you and you’re not willing to share, I am also not willing to share. So, let’s say we are even now.”She stood there, staring at me dumbfounded, una
ROSALINDA."Liam, please don’t do it. Just withdraw the gun.” I urged him when I didn’t get a response from him.Liam tilted his head, his menacing gaze lingering on Antonio. “Not until he gets his hands off my collar.”“Antonio. Swallow your pride and comply." I said to him, and his frown deepened. After a few seconds, he reluctantly withdrew his hands, sighing.A sigh of relief escaped me as I lifted Carlo up and pressed him to my chest.“Just so you know, the only reason I won’t kill you is because she hates me right now, and I don’t want her to hate me even more. Consider yourself lucky, because no one threatens me and gets away with it.” Antonio warned, his eyes dark as he poked Liam hard in the chest.“Antonio!” I groaned, eying him for trying to stir up another trouble.“I really don’t have time for this,” Liam said calmly, crushing Antonio’s ego once more.I turned to look at Antonio, hoping Liam’s words wouldn’t provoke him further.But when Antonio shut his eyes tightly, sha
ROSALINDA. Catching a break from Antonio seemed nearly impossible. After barely resisting his charm earlier, he was sitting in front of me, dressed in a white shirt that accentuated his muscles, looking as ravishing as ever.Papà invited him for dinner, and we were all gathered around the dining table. My other nemesis, Piero, was also seated with us, and I hated the sight of him. Seeing him always reminded me of the horrible thing he made me do as a teenager. Something I hated myself for.“Piero.” My father suddenly called, sipping from his glass of wine.“Yes, uncle.” He answered, raising his head to pay attention to what Papà wanted to say.“I guess you’ll be here till Sofia’s wedding, which is next month, right?” Papà asked.“Of course.” Piero replied, grinning, and I felt a sudden twist in my stomach.I couldn't bear the thought of being in the same space with Piero until then. I hated him, and I wanted him out of my sight as soon as possible. His presence brought back all the d
ANTONIO.“What?!” I exclaimed as rage started building up within me.“Rosalinda and Giovanni almost died because of your reckless action," Roberto accused, glaring at me.“First of all, that was my men’s doing, and I made sure I punished them. And again, I promised I would help find Carlo’s father, and I was doing just that!” I fired back.“You promised to help find Carlo’s dad, not murder my daughter!” He countered as he sprinted towards me and tightly jerked my collars.“Think before you act, Roberto.” I warned, our raging eyes staring daringly at each other.I allowed the first punch without retaliation because I deserved it. But another punch? I won’t tolerate it.“So, have you found the father?” He asked, squinting.“No.” I replied firmly.His daughter was one smart woman who had managed to cover up her tracks perfectly. She was the only one who knew who Carlo’s father was and the only one who could disclose that secret. But apparently, she wasn’t willing to.“So everything was f
ROSALINDA. “You know I’m still mad at you for not telling me earlier on that Ruby was abducted, right?” I told Giovanni as we walked to his car. He was finally leaving after a very long stay with us. “If you had told me what Piero made you do, I would have pulled his teeth out of his gum.” He grinned, changing the subject. I rolled my eyes, sighing. “Oh, please.” “What?” He asked, arching his brows. “Did I just see those eyes roll?” “So, would you come back soon or will you be gone for a long time?” I asked curiously. Even though he was the most annoying cousin ever, I’d still miss him. “Ah! Rosalinda would miss me!” He boasted, a face-splitting grin tugging his lips apart. “In your dreams, Gio. In your dreams!” I rolled my eyes and quickly averted my gaze to hide the smile that formed on my lips. He suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I hoisted my head up to look at him as he spoke. “I’ll miss you too. And—” He paused. “What?” I quickly asked. “Be car
ROSALINDA.A knock sounded on my bedroom door, and before I could grant permission to whoever it was, the door swung open, and Antonio slipped inside.I wasn’t in any way surprised when I saw him. It wasn’t his first time sneaking into my room, anyway.“You shouldn’t be in here.” I stated, closing the book in my hand and lazily sitting up from the bed.Ignoring my statement, he leaned on the door, gazing at me menacingly as he folded his arms across his chest. “I can see that you enjoy the company of that guy. What’s his name again? Liam? What were you discussing with him?"“It’s none of your business.” I hissed, shrugging.“It is my business!” He retorted firmly.“Why do you make everything your business?” I challenged, jumping to my feet and closing the distance between us. “Sofia is your fiancé, and you never meddle in her business, but mine. When last did you even converse with her? Yet, here you are, in my room, talking about sh*t that doesn’t concern you.”I had been allowing my
ANTONIO.“You’ve gotten your answer, and now you’re suddenly quiet.” She pressed on. “Why don’t you go ahead and call me a whore?!”“I’m sorry—I—“ I swiped my hand across my face, too perplexed to form a coherent sentence.Abruptly, I turned around and dashed out of the room. I needed to leave there in order to think well. My thoughts were clouded, and only one thing kept echoing in my mind—getting a DNA paternity test done. That was the only way to confirm my suspicions, and to do that, I needed to find a way to get something with Carlo’s DNA.After racking my brain, an idea came to mind, and it was to get Carlo’s toothbrush. I have heard a couple of times that toothbrushes contain a considerable amount of DNA.Changing my direction, I made my way to Carlo’s bedroom.Fortunately, he wasn’t in there, and none of the maids were there either. I successfully got hold of his toothbrush, but as I pulled the door open to exit the room, Carlo and one of the maids came into view.“There he is