Claire"I... I'm sorry I missed all your calls and texts, I went to meet a friend, had too many drinks and I dozed off at her apartment." The lie came out effortlessly, I'd already practiced this excuse while in the cab. Rodrigo was a very astute person, he could easily detect lies in an instant if I so much as blinked while telling that lie.If I told him about Vincent, apart from the fact that he would certainly research about Vincent's background to find out if he was fit for me or not, he would automatically decide Vincent to be a bad influence. I was already an adult, I could do whatever I wanted, but Rodrigo has always acted like my father, he certainly seemed to forget that I'm all grown up now. He got up and approached me, circling me like a hawk."You passed out after having too much to drink, yet you don't have the faintest smell of alcohol on you." Shit! I should have grabbed a quick glass of whiskey from Vincent's bar area in the hotel suite if I knew Rodrigo would cat
ClaireI nervously waited at the side of the road in front of the Acer's gaming court in the city until I saw Vincent's black SUV driving into the parking lot. A bright smile split on my face and I ran towards his car just in time as he stepped down. "Hello Blue." My heart skipped a beat when he flashed me that dazzling smile as he stepped down. I felt the urge to run into his arms and bury myself in his hug but I held back the urge not knowing if it would make him uncomfortable."Hi." I greeted instead fiddling with my hands. "Actually I..."His finger suddenly stopped my mouth from saying more. "Before anything, don't you think a mere hi is too bland to greet your boyfriend?" I was more than happy to run into his arms and embrace him tightly. I wasn't expecting him to hug me back but he did, and I closed my eyes momentarily at the feel of his powerful arms around me. "Vincent, you know how to play games like bowling don't you?" "Hmm." He replied affirmatively with a hum, tigh
Claire'...so when will you let me meet your brother?' I couldn't stop thinking about what Vincent said. I'd let those words pass after we were interrupted by the others, Vincent didn't ask about it again and I never brought it up because I didn't know what to tell him. Rodrigo wanted to meet him, only to confirm if he loved me and would take care of me, but what I didn't expect was that Vincent would want to meet him too and if they met, Rod would quickly figure out if Vincent has true feelings for me or not.And if he finds out Vincent doesn't love me, he wouldn't approve of me being with him.The next day when Lea and I met for lunch at a restaurant, my mind was lost in thought even as she kept talking."I can't believe that Sean. He kept convincing the guys through the group chat that your boyfriend seems to be hiding something. He thinks Vincent is some sort of drug dealer or something, he even kept telling them that he would expose whatever criminal records Vincent might have
ClaireThe red lights in the ER flickered on and I crumbled to the floor in a weak heap.I could hear Vincent's guards conversing on the phone with a thick Italian tongue. Everything happened in a rapid blur around me, my heartbeat was unbearably loud in my ears, so loud that I began to form words with them.'This will kill him, he was shot in the heart.''Vincent is going to die!''Vincent is going to die!'Fear struck me like a lightning bolt and more tears streamed down my face. I rapidly shook my head against the unbearable words forming in my mind."No, he's not going to die. Nothing will happen to him. He's going to live and I'll stay by his side, I'll always stay by his side." The thought of losing him clenched my heart with an unbearable pain, I couldn't harbor that thought for longer than the few seconds it had surfaced in my head so I chose a mindless optimism.Wiping my tears I composed myself, stood on my feet and began to pace.The memory of blood pooled around Vincent g
ClaireNatalia's words had sounded like a bluff to my ears so I ignored her.I stayed by Vincent's side religiously. Rodrigo was exhausted from having donated blood, I had to take him home and explain to him what happened."Your boyfriend suddenly got shot on the road and you were there?" He suddenly exclaimed with a startled expression, "Sunshine, that was very dangerous. What if you had gotten shot, what would I have done if you...""Rod, nothing happened to me right? Besides the target was Vincent and not me." A deep frown settled on Rodrigo's face. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Silence reigned in the car."Rod?" "A man who gets shot randomly on the streets must have many secrets and hidden enemies. He isn't safe for you." "How can you conclude that when you haven't even met him?""Sunshine..."I knew what he was going to say. In Rodrigo's eyes, anything that could cause me harm should be kept far away from me. He was going to voice his verdict of disapproval.Though I w
Claire Days flew by like the passing wind. Though Rocco voiced his disapproval of me being with Vincent and his support for Natalia, he didn't stop me from taking care of Vincent. But it did make me resent Rocco, a little bit. Even if I felt he seemed to have a reason for suddenly choosing Natalia's side. On the evening of the sixth day after Vincent had been shot, I was laying my head on the side of his bed and slowly drifted to sleep. By the time I woke up, I suddenly felt a large hand stroking my head tenderly. I stiffened for a while before I suddenly jerked my head up to find hazel eyes smiling down at me. "Hey..." His voice was hoarse and thick. I jumped out of my seat hastily. "Vincent... you're really awake this time." He was sitting up in the hospital bed not looking at all like someone who'd been shot and almost lost his life. I couldn't help the rush of emotion as I flung myself into his arms. He chuckled deeply at my actions and all I could do was shed tears of re
Vincent Darkness surrounded me as I strode into the warehouse that smelled of rusty metal and blood. The only audible sounds were those of my shoes clanking against the smooth floors. It had been long since my hands last tasted blood, long since someone died from my hands, but I was certain it wouldn't be as pleasurable for me as it used to be.Because now I have something that makes my mind spin, my heart race and my body surge on fire. Something priceless...A precious little woman, who has stolen my heart.It used to astonish me, and maybe it still does, how I'd fallen for her so hopelessly that now my eyes seem to see nothing else but her. The more time I spend with her, the more I wanted to spend even more time with her. I finally understand the fucked up arrangement called marriage and why people do it.With how rapidly my blood pounds in my ears with anticipation to see her again whenever she isn't near, I would give anything to keep her with me at all times. That blasted
ClaireThe car drove into the huge mansion driveway. I tilted my head to glance at Rodrigo, his face was still stone cold and impassive, I suddenly began to feel nervous."Why are you so nervous sunshine?" He suddenly asked with a playful smirk on his lips."What? I'm not nervous at all."Rodrigo laughed and flicked my forehead playfully remarking. "Liar."He swung open the car door and got down. I began to slightly feel a bit relieved that he didn't seem to be in a bad mood. Rodrigo was the most important person in my life, no matter what I do in life, I wanted to make him happy, I wanted to get his support.Vincent was sitting in the living room, dressed casually when we were led in by a maid.His hazel eyes met mine across the room, as if he already knew I was here even before our presence was announced. There's been a strange connection between us lately. I can feel him, and it's evident he can feel me too.Perhaps this was the connection between two people who have given their
Leanne Devin, 17 years old.The first day I saw him it felt like the skies looked bluer, a warm spring breeze blew bringing a pre-monsoon smell of earth.He'd come into our home along with my step brother's group of friends. I was familiar with Erik's friends and Rocco wasn't one of them."Lea, you know that bottle I hid in the basement last night? Go bring it up to my room and get five glasses along with it." Erik had ordered me.My step brother had been the kind of guy who classified himself as a bad boy. He got his first tattoo at sixteen and hid it from our parents. He would smoke secretly and try alcohol. When he was nineteen, he got tattoos all over his arms and no one could stop him. None of his friends had ever stood out to me, but the day Rocco came in with him, I'd felt my breath catch in my throat. His hair was longer than other guys, cut roughly around his neck. His eyes were a deep black, like when you looked into a deep dark well filled with hidden secrets, his eyes c
"Sorry for not taking your calls." She moaned as his finger sought the opening between her legs. Even through the fabric, his coarse finger made several sensations run through her body at that slight touch."You've said that..." He murmured. Suckling on her nipple while his finger teased the entrance of her pussy in exploration before sliding in making her gasp and arch."I'm still waiting to hear the rest." "I..." She couldn't focus on talking with what his tongue and fingers were doing to her body. He pulled out his wet finger and licked it clean, the action made her pussy throb and ache for him to be inside her. "I already said everything.""You said everything about yesterday, but you didn't say anything about today.""What did I do today?" His hands grabbed her thighs and pulled her lower on the bed her arms still held up by the cuffs around the bedframe.His face came down and his tongue teased a trail over her clit."Ah..." Her head was thrown back against the pillow as the
Claire and Vincent. Rome.Two years after marriage.There's a popular saying that as time goes by, a husband begins to get tired of his wife, but why was it that no matter what she did, Vincent never seemed to get tired of being around her?Yesterday, he'd been laying next to her lounged near the pool when Rocco and his men rushed in to alert him of a crisis. Even after Rocco had stressed how important the situation was, he hadn't even moved an inch away from her until she'd pushed him to leave. He'd made her promise to wait for him to come back later that night, but Keira suddenly called and asked Claire to come help her with something at her restaurant. She ended up staying there all night helping Keira redecorate the new branch of her restaurant without knowing she'd missed calls and texts from her husband. The next morning she'd woken up to find his angry face staring at her. Eventually he'd called Keira and found out she was there."Do you even know how worried I was? I was goi
Rodrigo I'd just gotten off a call with my sister when Mario barged into my office, eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost."What is it?""Boss, there's..." Before Mario could finish speaking someone appeared behind him, this person's appearance made my heart come to a complete stop.Keira Morano.The weight of hate, heavily borne on my shoulders for years made my shoulders sag.What was it all for? All that hate, all the anger, the bloodshed. Claire had been right, we did nothing wrong. Our parents were the true villains of our story.Slowly, one step at a time, I approached her. With each step I took closer, a painful tear slid down her face reminding me of how much my heart always ached everytime I'd see her cry. I felt something hard lodge in my throat, emotions from years of suppressing them.I stopped in front of her and put a smile on my face. "Hi, I'm Rodrigo Santos, you must have known me as Black in the past, but someone I know recently told me that the past doesn't matter, a
ClaireHe left the room and slammed the door harshly behind him again.Without giving me a single chance to speak, he was suddenly leaving me there. I jumped off the bed and rushed out the door after him making sure I tied the plain sheets securely around my chest. If he thought I was going to let him go after I'd clearly seen in his eyes that he hadn't forgotten me, he was absolutely wrong.But little did I expect that the minute I'd run down the stairs, I'd meet a crowd of people waiting in the entrance hall.They all turned to look at me and I found myself stumped and mortified at my appearance. Heat rushed up my cheeks and I tightened my grip around the sheets around me.Vincent was standing in the middle of it all.Clothing racks holding different, magical looking white dresses, each of a different style and design. Makeup artists holding their kits like weapons looking ready to attack. A band of people carrying bouquets of flowers outside. Why did this look like a wedding v
Keira: That day... was my worst nightmare.Rodrigo: That day... was the most painful.***The vast Morano mansion opened it's gates to a stranger, the Morano's worst enemies. That morning, Enzo Morano told Keira to go pick up her brother from the airport since he was returning from boarding school, little did she know that the amount of time she was away, was enough for her father to carry out his plans.Rodrigo's eyes narrowed as they stepped into the mansion.He noticed the servants lurking around the hallways with sinister looks in their eyes. Deep inside he didn't fully trust Enzo Morano, but he trusted his heart and he trusted Keira, she would never betray him. "Enzo Morano, long time no see." Draco addressed the mighty man sitting in a sofa as they entered the living room."Draco Santos, welcome to my home." The two men who have met countless times in opposing fights stared each other down. After years of enmity they were finally meeting for peace, at least that was what Dra
Keira Morano That day, I'd aimed my gun right to his heart. I was trained with guns from a very young age, I never once missed an aim, but on that fateful day, even as I saw my father's corpse lying on the floor in the pool of his own blood, when I raised my gun to Rodrigo's heart, my hands refused to pull the trigger.This man had killed my father, but before my hand pressed the trigger, I diverted my aim away from his heart and shot a harmless side of his chest.That was how much I loved him.He killed my father, but I couldn't bear to kill him. Our love started in deceit, and ended in bloodshed but even after ten years, he still holds an important place in my heart. I'll forever live with the guilt of loving the man who murdered my father.But history had proven to repeat itself.Everyday I watched my brother suffer, I didn't expect that one day when I opened the door, I'd see her standing there. The very girl who broke his heart. It was very late at night, and Vincent had gotte
Vincent "Vince, she's gone. I just received a report that their flight already left for Spain an hour ago." Rocco's voice was an echo in my ear until I heard him mention the fact that she's gone.Her brother took her away.I downed the whiskey sitting in my glass feeling the familiar burn down my throat."Vince..." Rocco placed a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off with a smile that didn't reach my eyes."I'm fine." I muttered pouring myself another glassful of alcohol.Everyone says alcohol is capable of numbing your feelings and making your pain feel non-existent. But it did nothing to take away the chains of hell that have wrapped themselves around my heart. "You need to stop drinking, even a fish would have drowned by now with how much alcohol you consumed."Recalling something, I threw my head back and laughed."Do you know what that woman said to me a few days ago?" Rocco snatched the glass out of my hand but I was more interested in telling him what I just remembered.
Present DayClaireI found myself in a far away world, a world I once knew but my mind drowned the memories away to the back of my mind.This world was one where men holding guns surrounded me. Rodrigo had done everything to protect me, but in the end a burly man with eyes as scary as a nightmare had taken me. "Relinquish the treasure. Give up your position as Mafia king, and maybe I'll let the little girl live. Otherwise, she dies!" I had been so scared, I was locked up in a dark room, all I could hear were voices from the man who'd taken me making demands. Days passed like wind and I'd almost died in that dark room where a seven year old's nightmare came alive until my brother showed up."You're safe now sunshine. You're safe." From that moment on Rodrigo never took his eyes off me, and it was from that moment on, people stopped calling Rodrigo by the title El Jefe, (The Boss) and he stopped wearing the blood red ring I once used to see on my father's finger.Memories of my lif