Adriana’s POV“Mommy, the scary man said he’s my daddy.” Isabella said after I felt the trembling and I asked what happened to her. The words struck me like a hammer to the chest, knocking the air from my lungs as my hands froze on Isabella’s tiny shoulders. For a moment, my entire body went rigid and my mind unable to process the weight of what she had just said. My heart pounded so hard I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, a deafening roar that drowned out everything else in the room. The sheer terror creeping up my spine sent a violebt tremor through me, making it difficult to even breathe let alone speak. I struggled to form words, my throat dry and tight but when I finally forced my voice out, it came hoarse and unsteady and barely above a whisper. “What… what did he say to you baby?” I asked my eyes widening then coming back to normal so I don’t scare her further. Isabella hesitated for a moment, shifting on her feet as if unsure whether she should repeat it and that h
Adriana’s POVI slapped his hand away so fast that my palm stung from the force and my breath shuddering as I stepped back, shielding Isabella with my body like an instinctive barrier between her and the monster in front of me. The smirk on Rafael’s lips didn’t waver. If anything, it deepened his amusement growing as if he had expected that exact reaction from me. “Don’t touch her!” I hissed through gritted teeth, my entire body trembling with fury and terror. He is playing fucking kind games and I don’t want my daughter involved. Rafael exhaled a small breath as if barely restraining himself, as if my defiance only entertained him further. His dark eyes flicked to Isabella who was gripping onto me so tightly her little fingers were white then back to me. I hate that I brought us to this situation but i'd be damned if I don’t get us out of it. "You think I would hurt her Luce Mia?" His voice was almost gentle and almost mocking and that made my stomach churn even harder. This Rafa
Adriana’s POVThe mansion was eerily silent as the night stretched on leaving only the dim glow from the moon filtering through the high windows. I had spent the last hour lying still with my heart pounding in my chest while waiting nd listening for the telltale sounds of the house settling into slumber. Because It was time. I slid off the bed with carefully wiith my bare feet pressing soundlessly against the cold floor. Isabella was curled beside me her tiny fingers gripping the blanket while her lashes cast soft shadows on her cheeks. My sweet, innocent girl oblivious to the danger surrounding us and to the monster lurking beneath this roof. I hated this place. I hated him for making me go through this with my daughter. He doesn’t even deserve to know she is actuallly his real daughter and it was purely coincidental that Marco has gray eyes and black hair. If he knew the truth, he’d know Marco’s eyes were more blue than gray but he doesn’t and his natural hair is brown but he dy
Adriana’s POVBut she didn’t fall because she was caught. I know who it was from the scent of the masculine leather and pure dangerous manly essence rolling off of him in waves. Rafael stood there his grip ironclad around my wrist and his other arm cradling Isabella with effortless ease. My vision swam as I twisted around, my breath coming in sharo and panicked bursts. He was furious. Or maybe that is an understatement to put lightly. It was nof the cold and taunting amusement I had come to expect. Not the usual arrogance or smug superiority that he has made it far ahead of what I had given him credit for. No, this was different. His face was a mixture of pure and unrestrained rage as his dark eyes burned with something lethal that could burn the earth. His jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like it could crack while the tendons in his neck were taut with barely restrained violence. Isabella squirmed in his arms, clearly uneasy and for a second just a second, his fury falter
Rafael’s POVI sat on the edge of my bed my fingers tapping restlessly against my knee as I glanced at the clock for what had to be the tenth time in the past five minutes. She was coming over. She was coming over! My chest felt tight and my pulse a little too fast and I hated that I was this anxious but I couldn’t help it. The apartment was embarrassingly bare with just a mattress on the floor, a battered dresser with half the handles missing and a desk covered in old papers I never bothered to sort through. Most of them are the papers my aunt’s former (thousand) lovers used to keep for the bills. The walls were empty and the curtains were the same dull color they had been when my aunt moved in years ago and the only sign that someone actually lived here was the pile of clothes shoved into the corner. I had never cared before but tonight I wished I had made it look better. Because SHE was coming. I stood up abruptly and ran a hand through my hair as I tried to ignore the ridicul
Rafael’s POVShe pulled back just enough to look at me with her hands still resting on my chest and fingers curled slightly into the fabric of my shirt like she wasn’t ready to let go. Her eyes searched mine soft but intense like she was trying to memorize this moment, like she was feeling everything the way I wa. It is so deep it almost hurts. I could still taste her on my lips and still feel the warmth of her breath against my skin. My hands were locked around her waist, holding her close afraid that if I let go she’d slip away. She had no idea what she had done to me, how she had walked into my life and ripped the ground from under me and left me with nothing but her. And I didn’t want anything else. “I love you Rafe.” She smiled then and it was that soft, secret smile that always made my chest tighten.The words hit me like a pounch knocking the air from my lungs. I had never heard those words like this before and not from someone who meant it, not from someone who looked at m
Adriana’s POVRafael’s grip on my wrist was like stewl and brutal as he dragged me back to that wretched room. My feet stumbled over the marble floors but he didn’t slow and didn’t pause didn’t even acknowledge the way my free hand clawed at his, trying to pry myself loose. His silence was worse than his rage. The way he moved with that sheer predatory determination with his broad shoulders tense and his entire body coiled like a beast on the verge of striking. it terrified me to the core though I’d die before I show him how much effect he has on me. But nothing, nothig sent ice through my veins like stepping inside and realizing my daughter wasn’t there. The moment Rafael released me, I whirled around frantically looking for her in the obviously empty room. The room was just as it had been suffocatingly elegant,l and disgustingly large with the bed untouched from when we had left. But she was gone. The wretched housemaid didn’t bring her to this room like Rafael had brought me. W
Rafael’s POVSleep and I were never close companions from the beginning. At best, we were reluctant acquaintances crossing paths only when exhaustion forced me into submission. But good sleep? Five uninterrupted hours of peace? That only happened when Adriana was beside me years ago. That realization sent a fresh wave of fury coursing through my veins. My jaw tightened fists clenching around the sheets that had barely been touched all night. She had wormed her way into every crevice of my life and embedded herself so deeply that I couldn’t think of a single goddamn happy moment without her bright, soulful smile forcing its way into my mind. Every memory! Every step! She was always there. It was suffocating. I threw the covers off and got out of bed my muscles taut with restlessness. Staying in this room and in this bed with nothing but my thoughts gnawing at me like vultures feasting on a carcass and it was was fucking unbearable. I needed to move and do something before I lost my
Adriana’s POVThe morning breeze drifted into my room lifting the edge of the curtain and brushing against my face as if trying to wake me up gently. But I hadn’t been asleep. I’d been tossing in bed for what felt like forever, unable to get comfortable with my thoughts racing and heart pounding even though the house was quiet. It had been like that all night thinking about last evening, the way Rafael had pulled me into his lap like I was some toy he owned and the way his lips had touched my skin so slowly and deliberately like he knew what it would do to me. And the worst part? My body had responded to him like it always did. Like it was betraying me. I didn’t know what to feel anymore. I was tired of myself and tired of feeling. Because he has teased me fucking enough now. Somewhere between trying to close my eyes and giving up, I ended up walking to the balcony dragging the curtain back and stepping out barefoot witj my arms hugging my body because the air still held that early
Rafael’s POVI hadn’t been able to sleep the whole night.My head was a mess. And my chest? Worse. The whole night, I’d turned over and over in my bed with memories crawling beneath my skin like they were waiting to suffocate me. Adriana sitting on my lap with that stunned look in her eyes, the small wince she made when her wound shifted, the way her lips parted when I touched her skin. It was all still so vivid almost too vivid. Every part of her was like a brand seared into me. I couldn’t get rid of her even if I tried. So I didn’t try. I gave up on sleep, got dressed and decided to run early in the morning.The early morning air was crisp and still damp with dew. Everything was quieter than usual like the whole estate was still asleep except the birds and me. I stepped out stretching my arms and rolling my shoulders as I walked down the stairs. I was halfway to the east trail when I saw two familiar figures ahead of me near the hedge garden. It was Anna and Isabella. With the lat
Adriana’s POVI walked into the dining room, my eyes flickering from the grand table to Rafael seated at the head with his features calm but unreadable like he’d been waiting for me for hours. I was still annoyed from earlier., his cold words and the way he looked at me like I was nothing but a game and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to whatever this dinner was meant to be. Still, I kept my steps steady and headed toward the seat beside him like nothing in the world was wrong. But just as I reached for the chair, I heard his voice all low, firm and quiet.“Come here.” He murmured in a deep voice that sent zap through my soine. “What?” I heard him alright but I acted like I didn’t even with the facial expression. I gave. “Come. Here.” He looked up at me with those sharp and unreadable eyes and then he repeated with more empjasis. I hesitated because every part of me was screaming not to. I didn’t like giving in to things I didn’t understand especially not when it came to Rafael.
Adriana’s POVI sat frozen for a long moment after Rafael left the room, the door clicking softly behind him as if mocking the storm he’d left in his wake. My fingers instinctively curled around the edge of the vanity, nails digging into the wood. My reflection stared back at me all pale, tired and wounded in more ways than one. The bandages over my shoulder peeked beneath the straps of my camisole and though the doctor had said the wound wasn’t vital, it still throbbed with a stubborn ache ehich was a reminder of everything I’d thrown myself into.A reminder of the pain I’d chosen. And yet he had stood there, watched me looking at my wound with something bordering indifference and managed to accuse me not so subtly, with that infuriating calm voice of trying to sway his men to my side. My hands trembled and not from pain but from the sheer fury boiling beneath my skin.I had not expected softness from Rafael (God knows that ship had sailed a long time ago) but I also hadn’t expected
Rafael’s POVFrom the solitude of my study, I stood by the expansive window watching as the convoy of vehicles sped through the estate's iron gates and up the winding drive. Nathan led the procession, his posture exuding authority and purpose. The cars came to a halt in unison and the occupants emerged, moving together with an ease that spoke of deep connection I hate. Adriana was among the. The group moved toward the main entrance like a family unit, their unity evident in every step. A sharp pang lanced through my chest at the sight. She had risked everything for Nathan, stepping into the line of fire without hesitation. The question that had haunted me resurfaced: why him? Why not me? The jealousy simmered beneath my skin, an unwelcome companion to the gratitude I knew I should feel. I had wrestled with this turmoil since the incident, searching for answers in the quiet of my own mind but none came. Despite my efforts to remain detached, something within me had shifted concernin
Adriana’s POVI found him leaning against the balcony railing with arms crossed and shoulders tense. The sun was beginning to dip beyond the horizon, spilling a hazy orange glow across the grounds. The kind of light that made the world look softer even if nothing really was. Nathan’s eyes were fixed on something far off though I doubted he was actually seeing anything. What was his story? Does he have a family? Is there someone he’s ever loved like Rafael loved me? Had he been betrayed to turn him to this stone? So many questions. I paused in the doorway for a second unsure if I should say something or just walk away again. We’d been doing that lately passing each other in halls and offering awkward half nods and unfinished words. It was stupid and it had gone on too long.I stepped outside and walked toward him slowly, the air cool against my skin. He didn’t look at me right away but I saw the way his jaw tensed when he heard my footsteps.“You’re doing it again.” I said, breaking
“Can I crack the eggs now?” Isabella asked with her little voice full of excitement as she stood on the stool beside the counter, barely able to reach the edge with her tiny hands. Her cheeks were dusted with flour streak of it trailing over the tip of her nose. “Okay but one at a time. We don’t want eggshells in the cookies, do we?” I smiled faintly nodding as I steadied the bowl.“No eggshells! That’s yucky.” She shook her head fiercely with her dark curls bouncing.Anna, standing nearby with her arms folded let out a small reluctant chuckle. She had flour on her apron and her sleeves rolled to her elbows. Three weeks ago, I never thought I’d see her willingly step into a kitchen beside me much less help me with something as mundane as baking cookies. At first, she had regarded me with nothing short of open disdain with suspicion in her eyes and every movement stiff with disapproval. But something shifted after the shooting. Maybe it was seeing Rafael’s face when he carried me i
Rafael’s POVI stood at the edge of the bed watching the slow rise and fall of Adriana’s chest and making sure she was still breathing. The bandages on her shoulder were clean, the color returning to her face little by little but she still looked so fucking fragile and too pale against the dark sheets. A part of me hated seeing her like this all weak and vulnerable. Another part of me hated that I cared enough to stay here and that I did what I did. It’s just that the thought f someone hurting her that wasn’t me didn’t seat well with me. Nathan hovered by the doorway with arms crossed and his jaw clenched so tight I could hear his teeth grinding. He hadn’t spoken much since I brought Adriana back but his eyes had said enough. “She’s stable. There is nothing more you can do for her now.” I said in a firm but low voice knowing I had to keep it down. “She almost died.” His fingers curled into fists at his sides. I think he has repeated that for the billionth time now. “I fucking kn
Adriana’s POVThe first thing I felt was pain. A deep throbbing ache that pulsed through my entire body but especially in my shoulder, where fire seemed to have lodged itself beneath my skin. I tried to mov but even the smallest shift sent sharp, biting agony through my limbs. A groan slipped past my lips before I could stop it. Where the hell was I? I forced my heavy eyelids open blinking against the dim lighting. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, all dark wood and old-fashioned molding. The bed beneath me was softer than I expected witg the sheets cool against my overheated skin. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air mixing with something darker and something unmistakably metallic. My blood. Memories crashed over me in waves. Starting from the party. The Brotherhood. The secret meeting. The gunshot. And nathan. I had thrown myself in front of him. Why? That question lodged itself in my mind, refusing to leave. Why the hell had I moved? Why had I risked my own life