My consciousness slowly seeps back into my senses and the room starts to swims into focus. My head throbs, each pulse sending jolts of pain through my skull. The voices around me, initially distant and indistinct, gradually sharpen into clarity.“I think he is awake,” Sophia’s familiar voice says, cutting through the haze.“He had better be,” another voice responds, sharp and authoritative.“Mrs. Matteo, please, let’s maintain some composure. Marco has been through a traumatic experience,” a third voice interjects, clearly belonging to Becca.“Who are you again? Becca, my grandchild was kidnapped right in front of your son’s apartment and you ask me to be calm? He is my very first suspect and both of you better pray that she is found unharmed.”“Nonna please, my baby will be found. Let's give them a bit of space while we go and get the detective and the doctor.”The names Mrs. Matteo, register dimly in my foggy mind, stirring memories of Valentina’s family. But why am I here, and what
Slowly, consciousness trickles into my mind and I open my eyes carefully, I quickly discover that I can only see darkness. Have I gone blind?Common sense returns to me in a haze and I can feel the material of a cloth against my face, I sigh in relief at the knowledge that there is a blindfold against my eyes and I’m not blind as I earlier thought.Wait! There’s a blindfold against my eyes!Where am I?Realization sets in as I remember my kidnapping and it plays like a sequence before me.Full awareness of my surroundings crawls into my senses alongside the sequence of my kidnap, I am bound to a chair with my hands firmly restrained to my back. I try to move, to break free from my restraints all to no avail.My wrists burn from the friction of my efforts against the cordlike material used to tie them."Help!" I cry out, my voice echoing off the walls of the room. "Is anyone there? Please, help me!"The response to my cries for help is total silence, broken only by the sound of
Slowly, I close my eyes against the silky material around them, after what seemed like a torturous forever, I finally manage to find the right position to relax. With my body still tightly tied up to the chair, sleeping becomes a nightmare, each movement in the chair shoots pains through my body causing a blur of discomfort and pains. My muscles and limbs protest against my tightly bound restraints, my wrists sore and sporting bruises from their cordlike chains. When I finally find an accommodating position that doesn’t cause spikes of pain all over my body, exhaustion overcomes me making me drift in and out of a fitful slumber. I catch whiffs of dreams, dreams haunted by visions of freedom that seem to elude me so much. Just as I am finally slipping further and further into my sleep, I jolt awake by the sound of footsteps approaching and getting closer. All my limbs protest in pain at the shift from resting to being on alert, my heart ponds in my chest as I brace myself for the immi
“You can all go home. Your staying here is of no use,” Mrs. Matteo says, rubbing her eyes wearily.“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”“You already did when you let them walk away with my baby,” she responds, storming out before I even get a chance to reply.I drop Hellen and Becca home before starting the engine.“Marco, where are you going?” Becca inquires.“To see a friend. Don't wait up.” “Does this friend have a name? Marco, you haven't fully recovered and another hit to your head will land you in a vegetative state.”“At least I'll die knowing I fought a good fight.”“No one is dying” she jumps into the car folding her arms.“Hellen please go in and rest your head. You've been through a lot as it is.” Becca instructs her.The poor girl nods definitely regretting her decision to visit Becca.“If you think jumping into the vehicle will stop me, Becca, then think again,” I say firmly, my resolve unyielding as I jump out of the car and grab my leather jacket stepping out into the ni
Judging from the sunlight streaming in through the only window in the room, it is now three days since the removal of my blindfold. I roll over on the thin mattress, the only fixture in the room apart from the chair I was earlier restrained to, and stand up. I pick up the chair and placed it close to the window to begin my routine surveillance of the compound. There really is nothing to see from my position by the window, the room I’m being held in seems to be in a building close to a high wall, leaving me nothing to stare at but the wall.Grimly, I sit and try to get a grip on my emotions. I’ve not had a change of clothes, neither have I had a bath, the only luxury I’ve been afforded is the use of the toilet twice in a day. Each time I go to the toilet, I try to get a feel of the house but it’s difficult to do that with the heavily armed man who escorts me and watches all my movements like a hawk. Sometimes I get the feeling he’s praying silently for me to make a wrong move so h
As I meet up with Alberto at the required location, I can’t help but feel grateful for his assistance.“Thanks once again. You don’t know how much this means to me .” I say gently closing the door of the car.“You didn’t get it from me.”“Sure.”As I scan through the list my eyes catches a familiar name.“Russell?”“What about him? He is a friend of the family, Fabio’s very good friend if I may add.”“That pig.” I trace the date and time of call and add two and two together. “Is there something I should know?”I narrate the entire incident from the very beginning and the recent confrontation at the mall.“Cristos!” Alberto exclaims.“I was bluffing about the recording. I felt that would rattle him up a bit.”“Russell is a very powerful man and if he thinks you have a recording of such a despicable act, best believe he’ll do everything he can to get rid of it and anyone that tries to stop him. If they find out she has no recording, they are coming after you or someone close to you. Be
Wordlessly, I watch the movement of my assailant from the door to where I am sitting, his movement and posture is now so familiar to me it feels like a permanent picture imprint in my brain.“I’m here with your food.”I know it’s another burger and I sigh resignedly, at this rate I will be in a running to win a Guinness World Record for most burgers ate in a week.“Thank you,” I pause. “I never really caught your name, what’s your name?”Words flow out of my lips in tow with the idea that just popped up in my head. There has to be a way out of here, maybe if I chum up to the one person who seems to have access to me, maybe I can convince him of my innocence and he’ll help me out.“Why do you want to know my name, Val?”I bite my lips thinking of the best response.“It just occurred to me that you know my name, and judging by the way you call it so familiarly it is only normal for me to know yours and at least return the familiarity.I hold my breath as he scrutinizes me.“You don’t
Never have I envisaged that life could be filled with so much rollercoasters. Is this the universe trying to pay me for all the evil I've done? Is it just me or other people go through the same or maybe even worse? Maybe someone foresaw my life unfold way before I existed and came up with the saying ‘Life is not a bed of roses.’My mind wanders back to J. Why am I depending solely on his help? It feels like too many hours have gone by. Rather than sit and wait for a saviour, why can't I save myself? But I don't know how guarded the place is or where Valentina is. It will be foolish to play saviour with no details of anything. I may have been trained by the Mafia lord but as it is, I'll leave the Vandam glory to him. For now, I really need to know that Valentina is safe.Just as I am thinking, A heated argument erupts. I try to strain my ears further but it seems like it's happening a tad bit farther from here. Suddenly the conversation appears more audible as foot steps approach towar
6 years later………I roll up my hair, tying it into a bun as I prepare what the children will eat on their way to Mother’s place after Gabriella’s ballerina performance. Since the twins came along, our lives have been overwhelmed with intense joy.“Drop that floss, Gabriella!” I yell, running after her.“Daddy said I can have them,” she squeals, running outside with it.“I’ll go get her, Mama,” Gabriel says, running after her.“Thanks, baby.”Just then, Marco strolls into the kitchen.“Why are you giving me that look?”“We agreed on no sugar today, but you went behind my back and gave Gabriella permission to have cotton candy.”“What cotton candy?” he asks, trying to feign ignorance.“Marco, don’t play dumb.”“Okay, babe I’m sorry. When she asked, I intended to say no, but those big eyes got to me. It won't happen again,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist.I gently push his hands away and reach for the children's food pack.“Baby, I said I'm sorry.”“Marco, this has to stop. Yo
As we gradually shift from autumn to winter, the smell of fallen leaves fills the air. The crisp, cool November breeze gently brushes against my bare skin as I stand outside our home, taking one final look at it before we move to our new place. I gather my last bag, smiling as many special memories here with Marco begin to play in my head.“I'm going to miss this house. We have so many good memories here.”“Me too,” Marco says staring at the house.“I know Becca is going to care for this place just like we did.”“I know she would.”“Look how far she has come. Buying her own cars and house.”“Business has been good and also, she suggested it was time to show my face.”“I agree with her. I know this isn't goodbye goodbye because we will obviously come and visit but it feels like it.”“Don’t worry, you will fall in love with this new place.”Marco drives us to our new place in Florence with our things already in place. With this new place, He went over the top. In this new home, it is l
Since Nonna learned about my bleeding, she has stopped me from going to work and instructed Mr. Thomas to step in until I give birth, which he agreed to without hesitation.Everyone went wild about the news, especially Mother and Nonna, and we all can't wait to find out their gender next month. Now that I'm showing, the general public now knows.With Mother’s wedding coming up, everyone aside from me has been super busy preparing for the big day, which is tomorrow.The only duty I’ve been given is to pick up Chiara’s dress because she wasn't around to take her measurements when we did. Once I pick it up, I drive down to the resort Nonna booked for the wedding.Nonna insisted she sponsor the wedding, and knowing Nonna, no one could argue with her. If you didn't know about our family history, you would mistake Alberto and Mother for her children.“That took you forever, sexy preggy,” Chiara says, opening the door.“Is this the thank you I get from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get t
I pace up and down Giovanni’s corridor, seething with anger at what I witnessed hours ago. I had planned to surprise Valentina by picking her up from Nonna’s place for dinner, but I got surprised instead. I was so confused about whether to reveal myself or not. In the end, I turned around and headed for Giovanni’s place.Just a few nights ago, I was appreciating how well our marriage has been going and how open we are with each other, but what I saw today casts doubt on that belief.“So you saw her with James and?”“I didn’t like the way he was all over her. To make matters worse, she told me she was going to greet Nonna and Mother but didn't mention James would be there too.”“Okay? What if she didn’t tell you because she knew you would react like this?”“You are supposed to be on my side.”“Marco, tell me what you want me to say or do. Beat him up? Besides, you knew about his connections with the Matteos before you went in. Why do you have a problem with him all of a sudden? If you
Maintaining my pregnancy a secret till I start to show ended the moment I walked into Nonna’s place. Mother and Nonna simultaneously chorused it the second I stepped foot inside the house. Ever since Marco, Nonna, and mother found out about my pregnancy, I've been treated like an egg. With Marco, it's even worse. This man won't let me do anything at home. Mother and Nonna have made it their sole mission to stock up my house with food. Now all I do is go to work, peruse documents with my legs crossed and eat junk.It's a miracle that my clothes still fit. Preparing for the Pure Beauty Award global ceremony tonight, I put final finishing touches to my look before I slip on my heels. I wish father was here to see to witness this moment. His beauty and skin products were nominated for the Pure Beauty Award ceremony. “How do I look?” Marco asks stepping out of his closet.“Handsome as always.”“You look ravishing my love and I know you will bring home all the awards. You've shown nothin
I'm amazed at how much progress my parents and I have made. Visiting them frequently and vice versa without anyone bickering. Valentina and mother's laughter erupts from the kitchen filling the entire place as they organize lunch. “Marco, how has business been going?” Father asks, stretching a plate towards me.“It's been good, and how are you adjusting to your new line of business?”“Adjusting fine. Never knew I could do so well in supervising building projects. I'm taking that class you recommended.”“That's beautiful.”“Enough of business talks,” Mother announces, walking in with Valentina as they set the rest of the food on the table.“This smells so heavenly,” Father compliments, and I nod in agreement.“I can't take all the credit, your wife also assisted.”“Thank you both.”As we dish our food, I notice Valentina dishing a smaller portion of what she would normally eat, an occurrence that's been consistent for the past two weeks now. Also, lately, she has been easily irritated
“See that glow, you weren't this good-looking before you stepped on that plane last week. Despite the workload you came to handle after you got back, you are still looking flawless. Hmm, must be the marriage glow and the other reason why women glow,” Chiara gushes, offering me a plate of cake.“Your place just keeps getting better. I love what you did to the wall.”“Thanks, it is sad no man is surprising me with an aquarium in my home simply because I can’t get over moments from my trip.”I flush, remembering how I came home from Bora Bora to a gigantic aquarium nestled in a corner of our living room. A gift from Marco because I couldn't stop talking about our glass-bottom boat tour.“Stop being dramatic.”“I want my man too. Is there something I'm not doing right?”“Soon, you'll find your perfect match.”“I know, I just need to know how soon. I may have noticed you’re overly bubbly these days? Are you pregnant?”“What? No. Chiara, you are way too observant for my liking. You used to
These past few days in Bora Bora have been some of the best moments in my life so far. I can’t get over the beauty of the underwater world. The beautiful, colorful fishes and the coral reefs were breathtaking. I took so many pictures to last a lifetime.The thrill, fear, romance—everything—we experienced it on this trip, and I hate that we have to leave tomorrow. I don’t want it to end. My highlight has to be seeing Marco scream like a child when we went skydiving. Who ever knew that a day would come when I would see Marco Lorenzo scared of something?The lingerie Chiara and I shopped for has been nothing short of a game-changer. Chiara was right when she said they had the power to make a man lose his senses.Can the world just pause for another week so Marco and I can continue having so much fun without coming back to a truckload of work on our desks? I shudder at the thought of the workload piled on my desk right now.Cristos! Yesterday was Mother's date with Alberto, and I forgot t
Surrounded by lush greenery and the stunning beauty of the coastal waters, I feel completely refreshed and renewed. The peace here is unmatched, providing a perfect escape from the usual hustle and bustle of Tuscany. I’m still yet to get over the Mahi Mahi and rice from yesterday—so divine.After our long flight yesterday, we chose to relax and unwind for the rest of the day. I place a gentle kiss on Valentina, who is still sleeping soundly.I connect to the resort’s Wi-Fi and just as I'm about to start preparing for the day, Giovanni’s call comes in.“I’ve been away for how many days and you suddenly can’t breathe?”“Good day to you too, and last I checked, you are not Flora. Unlike you, I’m a good brother always wanting to check up on you and you, on the other hand, forget your brother once you are lost in love. How’s the honeymoon going?”“Wonderful, it’s such a beautiful place to be.”“I’ve been told. How’s your wife?”“Sleeping soundly. Yesterday’s flight was a bit overwhelming.