ROSALINDA. A knock echoed on the door, swinging open almost immediately to reveal Matteo standing before us.“What have you two done?!” He exclaimed, darting his gaze between Sofia and me.“What we had to do.” I retorted as I sprung to my feet and waited for him to say it. I knew Papà had asked him to call us—a call we had been anxiously waiting for in my bedroom since freeing Oliver.He sighed, staring at us disappointedly. “Papà asked me to call both of you. He’s in his office.”“Are you ready?” I turned to look at Sofia, extending my hand to her.“Yes.” She whispered as she took my hand, and I helped her up.She looked really anxious, and I was too. I was anxious to meet Papà after freeing Oliver, but we did what we had to do.He was innocent and didn’t deserve to die for nothing. So after everyone had slept last night, Sofia and I went to the room where he was locked in and destroyed the lock, helping him escape. Even in his terrible situation, he still found a way to express how
ANTONIO.I made a promise to her, and I had every intention of keeping it. Not just for her, but also for our son, Carlo. He deserved to grow up with his mother, and with the impending war between the Romanos and the Petrovs, there was every possible chance that she’d lose her life if she became part of the Romano family.After leaving Rosalinda’s room, I made my way to Carlo’s room to visit him; unfortunately, he was sleeping when I arrived. But I didn’t leave immediately. I couldn’t resist staring at him, a soothing warmth filling my heart. I had always liked him, but that feeling doubled after discovering that he was my blood and flesh. I never knew what it felt like to have a son, and that feeling was still new to me. But one thing was sure: It was the best feeling ever. And as I continued staring at him with love, I knew I'd do anything to protect him—my sweet little boy.After a few minutes of contemplative observation, I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his forehead before l
ROSALINDA. I was seated on the front porch, gazing at nothingness and deep in thought, when Papà’s car pulled up in the driveway, grasping my attention. He scrambled out of the car and walked hastily towards the front door. Noticing his disheveled appearance, my eyes widened, and I jumped full steam on the worry train.He looked like a total mess—clothes were stained with dust and debris, hair disheveled, and skin covered in soot. What the hell happened?!Without hesitation, I jumped to my feet and inched closer to him. “Papà.” I called, concerned, as my eyes travelled all over his body. “What happened?" He opened his mouth to talk, but his words died on his lips when the sound of a car revving distracted him. We both drifted our gazes to the source of the noise, and my eyes squinted when I saw Antonio slipping out of his car. He was here earlier; what was he doing here again?“Holy shit!” Antonio took a sudden pause, his eyes roaming over Papà, when he noticed the state he was in.
ROSALINDA. Reliving the mesmerising kiss with Antonio was something I couldn’t stop doing. Once our lips connected, everything else ceased to matter. I didn’t even know what I was doing until the kiss ended—the deep, long kiss punctuated with our shared breaths and occasional gasps. We had crossed a line. And as much as I tried convincing myself that he wasn’t engaged to Sofia anymore, the guilt of kissing him still clung tightly to my chest. But did I regret kissing him? A smile curled on my lips as the sweet memory of the kiss flooded my head for the hundredth time today. “You’ve been smiling from ear to ear. Did something good happen?” Sofia asked, cutting through my torrents of thoughts. I shook my head slightly as I turned to look at her. “I’m just excited to see the baby.” I lied. Sofia, Matteo, and I were at the hospital. We accompanied her for her first pregnancy ultrasound. The baby was sixteen weeks old. Apparently, Sofia had been pregnant even before the failed weddi
ROSALINDA.“Do you even care about my life at all?" I asked Papà, deciding to confront him.“What do you mean?” He questioned me, studying my face as if awaiting a solution to a puzzle.Taking a step forward, I enlightened him. “I know about your plan to sign an agreement with the Romanos.”His forehead creased into multiple lines, and before he could speak, I continued. "Papà, he’s at war with a Russian family, and they blew up his car right in your presence. Yet, here you are, still willing to sell me off to that family. Did you ever love me?”“Who told you that? I can’t remember telling you about a marriage alliance with the Romanos. Who told you that?” He questioned, tilting his head to the side.“Uhm…” I trailed off, scratching the back of my head. Marco was the one who told me before Antonio confirmed it, and I couldn’t let Papà know about my encounter with Marco, as telling him would lead to more questions.Questions that I couldn’t answer.“Who told you?“ he repeated authorita
ROSALINDA.“Calm down.” Antonio said from the other end of the line. That was one thing I was incapable of doing at that moment, until I knew why he had Ruby’s phone and if she was safe.“Why are you on Ruby’s phone?" I impatiently questioned.He sighed. “Ruby got into an accident, and I followed the ambulance to the hospital.”My stomach twisted unpleasantly as fear began to crawl up my spine. I desperately hoped Ruby was okay.“Which hospital?” I asked urgently.“You don’t have to worry; she’s stable. Just stay at home and—““Which hospital?” I insisted, cutting him off. I was extremely worried already, and he had no right to tell me what to do.After he revealed the hospital, I sneaked out of the house and rushed down there, not before narrowly escaping being caught by one of Papà’s men.Antonio was patrolling in the hospital corridor when I got there, and a wave of emotions washed over me the second I sighted him. Above all those emotions was fury. “Where is she?” I demanded as I
ROSALINDA.Everything happened in a blur. From the moment Antonio pushed me into the back seat to when he jumped inside the car and started driving. It all felt like a dream. I couldn’t understand what was going on.“Get down and hold onto something tightly.” Antonio growled as he slammed his leg on the gas and started speeding.I turned back to see a car following us with speed, and the fear already flooding through my body intensified.“Rosalinda I said, Get down!” He yelled.He kept moving at a dangerously high speed, sprinting past all the cars on the highway. Suddenly, gunshots started flying towards the car, violently piercing through the glasses.“Who are they? What do they want?” I yelled, my heart pounding so loudly that I could hear it.“I am as clueless as you are. I don’t know who they are.” Antonio replied as he swerved frantically, trying to dodge the bullets. The more he tried to dodge them, the more they came piercing through.Antonio kept driving really fast, barging
ROSALINDA.I had been anxiously waiting for a call or anything that'd assure me that Antonio was okay. I was crazily worried about him. He should have just kept driving and gotten us both to safety. But he didn't. Instead, he stupidly chose to stay back and fight them.He was a skilled Mafia boss, and I had no doubt that he would be able to fight them all by himself. But anything could go wrong, and that was what I was worried about.I wondered who the attackers were and what they wanted. Panic surged through me when my mind went to Diego Romano. What if he found out about Antonio’s atrocity and decided to retaliate?“No. no. no.” I repeated, vehemently shaking my head. It couldn't be.Antonio would be screwed if Diego Romano ever found out. A feud will begin, and lots of lives will be lost. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that ever happened, because every single life lost would be on my head. He blew up his car just to protect me. I still wondered why he went to such an ext
Third-person POV.Antonio’s lips pressed against the softness of Rosalinda’s cheek, his eyes filled with adoration as he gazed at her.“Good morning.” He whispered sensing her stirring. When she didn’t respond, he murmured playfully, a lazy smile spreading across his lips. “I know you are awake.”“I didn’t want you to stop staring at me.” Rosalinda admitted with a smile, her eyes still closed. “I like it when you stare at me; I wanted to keep feeling your eyes on me.”“It doesn’t matter if your eyes were opened or closed. I could stare at you anyhow, anywhere, anytime.” He said, tracing her nose and lips with his finger. “But do you know when I love staring at you the most?”She shook her head, a smile still on her lips. “When you are naked in the shower.” Her eyes shot open immediately, and she playfully smacked his arm. He chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with delight. “Good morning, Pretty.” “Good morning, handsome.” She replied, her voice still laced with sleep. Placing his
ROSALINDA“Mommy is getting married today.” I told my little girl as I rubbed my belly, my smile stretching from cheek to cheek while I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Every detail fell into place flawlessly—my dress, hair, makeup, everything was just perfect. I couldn’t believe that this day was finally here—the day I had always looked forward to—and I couldn’t be happier that I was doing this with Antonio.It’s been a month since the incident that happened at Liam’s mansion. Antonio healed in no time, and I haven’t left his side ever since. I couldn’t imagine how life would have been without him. After two weeks of tirelessly searching for Diego and Liam, Nikkolai found them and ended them immediately. I also heard that it was Nikkolai Petrov who killed Lorenzo’s father, Sergio. I couldn’t fathom why Nikkolai was so keen on taking care of Antonio’s dirty businesses, but I just hoped he wouldn’t demand a huge price in return down the line. One thing was sure—Mafia bosses neve
ROSALINDA “He’s a fighter. He survived it. Luckily, the bullet narrowly missed his heart. He’ll recover soon enough.” These words from the doctor were the best news I had ever heard in my entire life. I couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to me and to my son if I had lost Antonio. My entire existence would have been wounded, and I would have never recovered from it. I was glad about the information the doctor passed, but I was still insanely worried and wanted to see him awake and talk to him before I could break free from the anxiety twisting my insides.It’s been thirty-two hours since the bullet extraction surgery, since the doctor assured us that his vital signs were okay and that he would wake up soon enough, but he still hadn’t. I was sitting by his bedside, silently praying, hoping, and wishing for him to wake up. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and everyone had asked me to go home and rest because of my condition, but knowing that he was in that situation
ROSALINDA I wasn’t going to give up. I had to find a way to leave there as soon as possible. I kept looking through the windows at regular intervals, hoping the men there would leave so I could escape. The sky outside was already dark, and the rope I had tied together was still dangling, calling on me to descend with it. But the only thing stopping me from doing that were the fucking men out there. My mind drifted to Antonio, and my already painful heart was broken even further at the thought of what he would be going through at the moment. He’d be so broken and frustrated looking for me. I just hoped he had found a clue and was on his way to come get me. I had to be found, or escape, for him and for my son. I looked through the window again, expecting to see the men guarding it, but my eyes widened and a pang of hope filled my chest when I didn’t see them there. Without hesitation, I climbed over it and began to descend very quickly. But just as I was about to alight, the men app
ANTONIO My men and I had tried every possible means to look for Rosalinda, but there was no cue. Nothing at all. I was frustrated, scared of losing her. Even the thought of it blocked my airways, making it difficult to breathe. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to get my woman back. Nothing at all. Vito and I had just finished looking through the footage from the security camera from all the buildings around the gas station, but we got nothing. My phone started ringing, and I picked it up, hoping it was one of my men calling me to give me positive feedback, but I drew a long hiss when I realised it was Sofia calling. She had been buzzing my phone for over an hour now, demanding to speak with Rosalinda. I had told her that she was fine and was only sleeping, but she wouldn’t buy it. Fuck! She was fucking adding to my frustration with her persistent calls. “Don’t you think you should tell her the truth?” Vito suggested, as I rejected the call. “She’d tell Roberto, and I don’t want hi
ROSALINDA My head was banging so much that it felt like it was going to explode. For how long have I been sleeping? I wondered, as I tried to open my eyes, only to abruptly close them back due to the blinding light. After a few seconds, I tried again, but this time, slowly, until my eyes adapted to the light. Suddenly, I caught sight of a familiar face sitting on a sofa not so far from the bed, and I jerked up in perplexity. “What are you doing here?” I demanded. “You’re awake.” Liam grinned, and just then, reality sank in. I looked around the room, fear crawling through me as everything that happened rushed back in. I remembered everything—how I was kidnapped from the gas station and drugged until I was knocked out.“Liam. What the hell is this?” I demanded fiercely, hiding the fear crawling through me. “What do you think it is?” He raised a brow, expecting a response from me. And when he didn’t get any, he continued. “I told you, Rosalinda, that I adore you. And whatever I wan
ROSALINDAThe very next day after Sofia’s wedding, our own wedding preparation began. Antonio called Papà over the phone to inform him of our plan, while I, on the other hand, planned to tell Mama, Sofia, Matteo, and Giovanni in person—that is, if Papà hadn’t already told them before we got to the mansion. Antonio and I planned to go to my parent’s place today. We had a lot on our schedule, but the first place we visited was the hospital. I had an appointment with the sonographer to get the baby’s ultrasound done. “She’s so healthy.” The sonographer said, smiling as she moved the transducer around my belly. This wasn’t the first time I saw my baby girl, but each time I heard the whooshing sound of her heartbeat, I felt an unexplainable warmth radiate through my entire being. I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms. “She’s so cute.” Antonio said, a small smile on his face. “I bet she’d look like me.” “She’d definitely be my carbon copy.” I countered. He chuckled softly. “We’ll find
ROSALINDA Who said dreams were unattainable? Whoever said that bluffed because Sofia defied that claim. The dream she thought was out of reach was coming to pass. It’s been two months since she had the emergency surgery; she and the twins—Isabella and Alessia—were healthy and out of the hospital. Today was her wedding day. She was getting married to the love of her life, and I couldn’t be more happy about her finally getting her happy ending. She deserved it, they both deserved it. I had asked Antonio to wait a bit more before we got married, and he agreed without protest, even though I knew he wasn’t so happy about it. He just wanted to do right by me. He had been the perfect man ever, and I couldn’t even imagine my life with any other man. I didn’t even know why I had delayed the marriage, but anyway, that was the least of my problems at the moment. The dress I had on was. I turned around to look at my reflection in the mirror, and Goddamn it, I captivated myself. The thigh-hig
ROSALINDA Antonio grabbed my hand and dragged me outside. I had the strong urge to protest, but I didn’t because I knew whatever I did would have been useless. He would never leave me there, and we would only end up causing a scene. “Why the fuck did you come out here alone, Rosalinda?” He groaned once we were outside, his furious eyes staring intently at me. “And don’t tell me you took alcohol with your condition.”I folded my arms over my chest, casting my gaze away as I retorted. “I only took sparkling water, and you are not the only one allowed to leave the house after a fight.”“Does that mean you should endanger your life?” He fired back. “I don’t care whatever danger surrounds you, but she is an adult and could make her own decisions.” Ruby suddenly chimed in, her voice filled with irritation. He drew his brows together, his frown deepening as he turned his attention to her. “Really? I’m starting to wonder if they used you to lure her out so that they could kidnap and harm