★JANIE★His semen smeared the corners of my lips, staining a bit of his pants. I felt embarrassed, furious, and vulnerable, knowing I couldn't do anything to retaliate. Especially not when he threatened to murder the family that has been taking care of me for the past two months. A devilish smirk crept to the corners of his lips and I wanted nothing more but to smack them right off, just before he kissed me. My breath hitched. "I thought you didn't know how to do it, but you almost brought me to my knees." He whispered into my ears. And instantly, my knees buckled. As Luciano's hand clasped down on my shoulders, I felt myself tremble beneath his touch. My subconscious kept trying to remind me how much I despised this man. How excited I was to have escaped from his den. But with each passing second, I found myself drawn to him and my innocence tampered with. His fingers grazed my skin in a soft, fluffy rhythm and he began to wipe off the traces of tears from the corner of my eyes.
★LUCIANO★As soon as I emerged from the house Janie stays in, Romano pulled the black SUV up in front of me. "Get in,"Issuing him a cursory look, I jumped into the passenger seat. Romano was the driver, while some of my men sat at the back. Then, we zoomed off. "I thought you were going to bring her along with you?" Romano inquired and I shook my head in response. "No, she's better off there. I don't want her getting involved in our mafia world. I want to be able to protect her but from afar." I commented. "Hmmm." He chuckled. "So that's why you went there to exert your claim on her right?" Pressing my lips into a grim line, I pretended as if I didn't understand what he was driving at. Romano cast me a sideway glance then smirked. "Okay, spill," I said, rolling my eyes at him when I noticed that he wasn't ready to back down. Once Romano was in teasing mode, there was nothing I could do other than laugh it off. He shrugged. "You know I could hear you guys right?" He asked, focu
★JANIE★With a drawn-out yawn and a fatigued stretch, my eyelids fluttered open. Suddenly, a feeling of excitement clouded my guts and I was contemplating why. It was after racking my brain for a couple of seconds, that I realized what today entailed. My birthday. My fucking 20th birthday!The rush of excitement jostling through my veins prompted me to pull to a sitting position and I smiled to myself. Picking up the bible from beneath my pillow, I did a quick morning prayer to God, thanking him for making me see this day despite everything that I have been through. After I was done, my eyes drifted to my clothes and underwear on the ground, and I furrowed my brows, thinking. Until, memories of what transpired between Luciano and me last night, surged to the forefront of my brain. I found him in my room, then he made me do things to him and he also did things to me. The desire he stirred within was something I had never felt before in my entire life. But then, I shut out those we
★LUCIANO★For the umpteenth time today, I heard a knock on my room door and Romano's voice followed. "I don't intend to leave this time, Luciano. You've been cooped up in your room since morning. This is going to make it the thirtieth time I'm knocking your fucking door today. And you locked yourself up refusing to answer." I heard him sigh before adding. "Until when do you plan to do this, Luciano? I understand that Mrs. Andrea finding out last night must have hit you hard, but for how long does the mighty Luciano want to remain hidden in his room like a coward?" With my back flat on the bed, I shoved my fingers into my hair, rummaging through and then I heaved a sigh alongside. Romano just couldn't take a hint. Every time he came knocking, I've asked him to fuck off, so why the hell does he keep disturbing me? "Go away, Romano!" I roared. "No, I won't." He fired back. "I'm going to sit down by your door until you've decided to open it. If need be, I'll be sleeping on this cold
★JANIE★My heart thumped hard against my chest as I unwrapped Luciano's gifts. A part of me knew it would be material things just like the Phone and laptop he got for me last time, but then, it wasn't huge, so it had to be something else. Once I was done unwrapping, the first thing I saw was a white envelope on a boxed carton, so I shrugged, picked up the envelope, and opened it. There were two papers in it written; First and second. Curiosity piqued my interest as I stretched out the first paper and began to read; •To my beloved Janie, I know the circumstances surrounding our first meeting made you despise me so much. There are still a lot of things left unsaid, but when the right time approaches, we will trash them out accordingly. Although, I'm not supposed to be concerned about what you think of me. I'm not supposed to be bothered about your emotions. The reasons for your tears and laughter, but I am. This is why instead of hunting you days after discovering where you went,
★JANIE★The bright morning sun flashed in rays through my slightly parted curtains. Birds chirped outside my window, and from the bustling activities in our neighbor's yard, I could tell that it was already morning. However, I couldn't sleep. My eyes were sore and heavy, yet I didn't get a single sleep because I was awake all night, contemplating why Luciano would want me as his girlfriend. Expelling a weary sigh, I dragged myself to a sitting position and my eyes met with my reflection on the mirror, facing me. The girl staring back at me seemed worn out. She had dark circles beneath her eyes and her face appeared gloomy. Was this all because of Luciano's terms? I thought to myself. Sighing again for the umpteenth time, I hauled to my feet and then trudged towards the bathroom. My mind kept pondering the odds of rejecting his offer and the aftermath as I brushed my teeth, splashed some water on my face then left my room to the living room. Upon approaching the living room, I co
★LUCIANO★Trapping Janie between the wall and my body, I kissed her. My fingers glided around her neck as I pulled her tighter to me, wanting all of her. In response, She hesitated for a moment, but then her lips began to move in sync with mine. Her heavy breaths fanned against my face, making the urge to take her to bed and make love to her until sundown, overwhelmed me. However, I held myself back. Janie was going to be my woman till eternity. So I understood that there was no need to rush. I'd rather take one step at a time.Her soft plushy lips against mine felt so divine. She tasted like the sauce we just had for breakfast and I wanted to claim every inch of her.But then, she broke the kiss and her desirable eyes met mine. Our breathing was labored and loud. Despite the silence, I could hear her heavy breaths and the rapid thumps of her heartbeat. Damn! I'd admit Janie does things to me that I couldn't describe. Just the way she looks at me, always stirred up some feelings
★JANIE★†TWO DAYS LATER†It's been two days since Luciano and I had a contention in my room and he stormed off. He hasn't attempted to call, nor did he visit the Culkin's house again. Right now, I perched in the backseat of Mr Alan's Black sedan. Noel sat beside me, while Mr Alan occupied the driver's seat and his wife, Mrs Isobel remained in the passenger seat.We were on our way to UC Berkeley and the ride was awfully quiet. Maybe because each one of us was occupied in our own thoughts. Since this was going to be the start of a new semester, I decided to tag along at once with Noel just so I could fit into the hostel room assigned to me through my email. "Janie." Mrs Isobel's voice split through the silence. "Since your Uncle visited and he said he needed to pick something up after leaving your room, we haven't heard from him." "I tried calling his number but it wasn't going through." Mr Alan added. Mrs. Isobel heaved a sigh and then asked me. "Have you heard from him?" I sole
SEBASTIAN’s POV“Now, the choice is yours. I want to leave here this instant with Janie or the van blows up and your girl alongside your right-hand man dies."The moment those threats left my lips, my heart jammed painfully into my chest and I did not know the reason why. Maybe because standing in front of Luciano after all these years brought back some nostalgia or because I wanted to see him cave in. I want to see him through defense. I want him to be broken up until the extent of going on his knees to beg for my mercy. But fucking Luciano seemed to remain unwavering despite being in a distressful situation. With a gunshot wound on his arm oozing out blood and running in fine lines down his arms and cascading in droplets to the ground, he still stood as though he had the whole situation under control. Fucking hell…I mean that’s what I have always admired in the man. All those times I worked alongside him, I wanted to be him so bad. However, when I realized I’d never measured up t
*LUCIANO*As I stepped out of the van, I dipped my hand into my back pocket, ready to pull out my pistol and start blowing off the heads of these motherfuckers obstructing my way. But before I could, a voice cut through the atmosphere. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Immediately, I froze.Even without seeing the face of the person who had just spoken, I knew. That voice was all too familiar for me to miss. I grew up with him, dined with him, joked with him, cried because of him when he lost his parents, and mostly especially tortured myself for days after supposedly ending his life. I clenched and unclenched my jaw as I sharply got a grip on myself and looked around, searching for the face of the bastard who intended to stab me in the back years back but he was nowhere to be found. Not in the mood for silly games, I hollered. "Come out wherever you are and face me!" With my fingers still curled around my gun, I waited hoping little Sebastian would be man enough to stand in fro
“But Sir-" The nurse began to say only to shut her mouth as she noticed the dead gripping glare Luciano issued her. She seemed perturbed. She didn't feel it was right to move someone who had just regained consciousness, and for reasons she wasn't sure of."Why are you still standing there?" Luciano growled, "Get her dressed, I am moving her now!” He commanded before lowering his head back to the cell phone in his hand and typing ferociously on it. Still, the nurse stood her ground. She did not make an effort to move. Deep down, I could have warned her not to mess around with Luciano, but I did not understand the situation also and was as confused as the nurse. A few seconds later, Luciano raised his head from the phone to look at the nurse. When he noticed she hadn’t made a move yet, he clenched his jaw and reached for his back pocket. Before I knew it, he brought out a pistol, cocked it, and then aimed it at the nurse. “I do not like to repeat myself over and over again.” Terri
*JANIE*My eyes flung open to the blinding light in the room but I was forced to shut them back momentarily. Letting out a small groan, I let my mind dwell on my Parent's disappearance and then Mr Luciano being shot. "Mr Luciano?" I tried to say but it came out in a hushed whisper. Tears gathered in my eyes as I tried to move, but found it quite difficult. Have I been shot too? Am I going to die? "Janie!" I heard someone's voice call out to me. It was a familiar one. Straining my neck toward the direction of the voice, I saw a worried Mr Luciano walking across the room to me. But. . . But he was just,Was that all a dream? His hand touched my arm and it was surprisingly soothing. "Don't try to move, just lay down," he urged me, as I lay down trying to comprehend what was going on. "Luciano?" I found myself repeating, obviously surprised to find him in good shape when he had just been shot a few minutes back. "I'm here," he said, his hands squeezing mine softly.For some reaso
*LUCIANO*For every second I pondered on it, I felt more confused than the last. The truth is, I barely know what to believe. As I paced around in Janie's room, thinking about the letter I had received. The thought of Sebastiano being alive was something I couldn't understand. "It can't be him," I mumbled to myself, trying hard to disregard the fact in front of me; his letter. His death was something I could vividly remember, and it had no survival plot, no means of escaping death.I remember never wanting his death to occur, never wanting to path ways with him being family, but his jealousy was something I couldn't comprehend. He changed overnight, or maybe I didn't notice on time. Sebastiano was a lying, sneaky, and cunning bastard who wanted to take over my empire, disguising himself as a trusted ally.Three years ago, Seb, as I liked to call him, and I worked hand in hand. He was my cousin, and a trusted accomplice. Apart from Romano, I could count on him whenever I needed some
*JANIE*Exhausted from another day at school, I rushed back home. My dad was sitting in the living room, on the black couch that I had dribbled writings on as a child. He said he wasn't going to get rid of it because he wanted a lasting memory. Cute. He had his eyes fixed on the TV, perhaps watching the ABC Entertainment channel he loved so much, with the remote in his hands.He greeted me with a smile on his face the moment he realized I was at the door, and with that I quickly rushed over to where he sat and gave him a hug, a nice warm embrace."So, how was school today? Any trouble?" He asked, as we both pulled apart from the hug "It was fine," I replied with a little smile on my face. I guess it wasn't that convincing because he decided to ask me again."Are you sure?" I could notice the hint of worry on his face."I'm being serious Dad. It's actually going well. The school's environment is unique, and blending in has really been good," I explained, but he still shot me a weird l
*Luciano*I stared at the evidence in my hand continuously, finding it hard to agree that my most vile enemy had nothing to do with Janie's situation. There have to be some loopholes. I killed Ramos Ashton's henchmen a few days back for attempting to kidnap Janie, and this must have been the way he decided to get back to me after all. After moments of silence, I watched Romano pace around the room, probably thinking exactly what I was. It was very simple. We were trying to figure out what other rivals I could have. One who was as smart as to aim from a long distance, whose contentment was my death. Even though I had few other enemies, none seemed to match my description of ruthless killing. I had considered this rival a coward because he was scared to come out and face me. Pfft."If he wasn't the one, then who the fuck is?" Romano voiced his thoughts aloud, asking rhetorically."Another rival that we barely know about isn't good, but I will find him and make sure he pays for everythi
LucianoStaring at Janie as I sat on the chair next to her bed, I could feel my heart ache even more. Three days had gone and she hadn't moved a muscle, different from her usual persona of running away and making sure her presence was known. Ramos Ashton was going to pay for his carelessness, and I was going to make sure of it. For every single day, she laid on this bed without a movement, it would be the same amount of bullet I'd put through his chest the moment I saw him.For a couple of minutes, I looked at every inch of Janie's body, hoping to get a sign of her body moving at any point, but I couldn't. I had seen in movies where a patient or loved one would move their fingers after the patient's loved one beckoned on them to get better and they would, but I had been waiting relentlessly for the past three days, hoping she would do the same, an act I had never done for anyone in a long time."It's been three days Janie, please open your eyes," I spoke as I squeezed her right hand s
★...X...★"Boss, please please I'm begging you, I didn't mean to shoot the young lady, she just popped out of nowhere." The idiot begged profusely. Saliva oozing out of the corner of his mouth, irritating the shit out of me. Cocking the gun, I placed the metal on his skull and spat without remorse. "Say your last prayers.""Boss, please... I'm begging you with everything I own. You know I've been serving you for quite a while now and I won't just slack off, but the whole thing was a miss calculation. I had my gun out for Luciano. I was aiming for his chest as you instructed before she emerged out of nowhere and got in the middle of it all." He cried helplessly. My chest tightened. How could this idiot ruin the plan I've been strategizing for months? Months! What was so difficult in shooting someone? Aim, pull the trigger, fire. And down, the person goes. Fucking asshole, I cussed at him. These past few months, I have spent it, cooped up in my hole, strategizing on ways to make L