Adriana’s POVFor a moment I thought I was going to suffocate. The air felt too thick, pressing down on me like an invisible weight and my head spun from the force of my own emotions. Without thinking, I let my forehead drop onto the cool wood of the dining table closing my eyes as I tried to steady my breathing. It was ridiculous really. This anger and this unbearable knot of frustration sitting heavy in my chest refusing to loosen no matter how much I tried to push it down. I shouldn’t be this mad at Rafael for wanting revenge. After everything I did to him and after the way I betrayed him maybe I deserved this. Maybe this was the price I had to pay for my sins. And yet, no matter how much I tried to reason with myself, I couldn’t make sense of the sheer seething hatred I felt for him. The man I once loved. The only man I have ever loved with my whole fucking heart. And now? I couldn’t stand the sight of him without wanting to bash his face in with something heavy. How could some
Adriana’s POV I felt betrayed. It was a strange and unexpected kind of betrayal and not the kind that made me lash out in anger but the kind that settled deep in my chest like a weight pressing against my ribs and making it just a little harder to breathe. It shouldn’t be this deep but anything that is slightly betrayal hits me. Anthony walked beside me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark slacks wnils moving with that effortlesd confidence he always carried. He had the kind of presence that didn’t demand attention but commanded it anyway it was the kind that made people look twice without realizing why. But I wasn’t looking at him because of that. I was looking at him because of the words sitting on the tip of my tongue, burning to be spoken. "I can't believe you." I finally muttered while crossing my arms tightly over my chest to stop them from trembling albeit slightly. "I assume you're talking about me being your personal guard." Anthony let out a slow breath h
Rafael’s POVI knew she was watchin and I didn’t have to look to confirm it. I could feel her eyes on me and that familiar weight pressing against my skin along with the silent tension stretching across the space between us like an invisible wire pulled too tight. Adriana was never good at masking her emotions even though she’s tried over these six years, not when they were this raw and this tangled with things she refused to name. She could pretend all she wanted and could lie to herself and push it down but I had known her too long to be fooled. She was jealous. The thought sent something sharp through me. It was something dark and dangerously close to satisfaction. She had no right to be. Not after everything. And yet, it didn’t stop the sick pleasurr curling in my gut at the knowledge that the sight of Valeria being anywhere near me had done something to her. It didn’t matter that I despised the woman. It didn’t matter that Valeria’s presence was a fucking inconvenience and a
Adriana’s POVI leaned over the bed pressing a gentle kiss to Isabella’s forehead while inhaling the soft scent of her shampoo. She was already asleep with her tiny fingers curled against the silk sheets her breathing slow and even. My chest ached at the sight of her so small and fragile yet somehow carrying the weight of everything we had been through without ever realizing it. I was about to pull away when I felt a tiny shift beneath me. Then the faint flutter of her lashes before she slowly opened her eyes. This girl will scare me straight to heart attack one day I’m sure. She was sleeping!!! “Mommy…” Her voice was barely a whisper and it was thick with sleep but there was something knowing in her gaze as she lifted a delicate hand and pressed it to my cheek. Her skin was warm impossibly soft and the gentle touch sent a sharp pang through me. I swallowed, forcing a smile but she saw through me. “Please stop worrying Mommy and stop crying please.” she murmured her little finger
Adriana’s POVThe door shut behind me with a quiet click sealing me inside Rafael’s room. The air was thick with the scent of him all woodsy, musky and dangerously intoxicating. The space was dimly lit witj a golden glow spilling from the bedside lamps casting long shadows against the walls. My heart pounded harder than it should have as my eyes adjusted landing on the figure standing by the tall window.Rafael stood there. He was dressed in a dark suit with his broad shoulders and powerful frame outlined sharply beneath the expensive fabric. The black dress shirt beneath was crisp, the top button undone revealing a sliver of golden skin. His black tie hung slightly loosened around his neck as if he had been too preoccupief to fix it properly.He was on the phone and his deep rich voice was a low rumble as he spoke in rapid fluid Italian. He doesn’t look to happy but when has he ever? Who could even read this monster he’s turned to? Six years ago it was hard to read him now it’s impo
Adriana’s POVHis touch was brief. A slow ans lazy drag of his fingers over my hip before he pulled away but his warmth still linger on my skin like a brand. It wasn’t enough to be considered intimate but just enough to make me hyper aware of every nerve in my body. I hated that.Rafael reclined on the sofa shifting into a comfortable position with one arm resting along the back while his other hand lazily swirled the amber liquid in his glass. His gaze flicked to the pole then back to me with wicked humorless amusement curving his lips.“Do your work.” He stated in deadpan taking out his phone to reply emails. The fuck?I stared at him while resisting the urge to scoff. His voice was smooth and indifferent as if he didn’t have any personal investmenst in what was about to happen. Like I was just another entertainer and a means to pass the time. I wanted to see if he would crack. I won’t be the only one off balance. He wants to play huh? Let’s fucking play. “Where are your friends?”
Rafael’s POVThe moment she finished her performance, I knew I had won. But fuck it didn’t feel like winning Not when my body was burning. Not when my pulse was a dangerous thrum beneath my skin. Not when she had stood there panting with her skin flushed and eyes wide with something she didn’t want to admit.She had no idea what she’d just done. No idea what she’d woken up in me. She stood there with her chest rising and falling, skin flushed and eyes flickering with something between triumph and regret. Her body was still humming from the dance and from the way she’d touched herself while taunting and testing me. She thought she was in control, thought she could play this game and walk away untouched. Fucking mistake. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. My gaze dragged up her body in a slow and deliberate way while taking in every single inch of exposed skin and every fucking detail of the lace that barely covered her. She Thought she could tempt me and provoke
Rafael’s POVThe room was silent save for the ticking of the clock and the faint rustle of my movements as I walked toward my desk. My strides were slow with the weight of anticipating curling in my stomach like a beast finally waking from its slumber. I already knew what I’d find when i pulled up the cameras. I fucking knew it. Adriana thought she was clever. Thought she could walk away from me with her head held high while pretending that I hadn’t unraveled her with just a few words and a few touches. But I knew her. Knew her body better than she did. She couldn’t take the smallest hint of arousal because it swallowed her whole. Adriana could go at it more than ten times a day and that won’t make her want it tomorrow. I used to call her my little nymph then. Settling into my chair, I leaned forward fingers gliding over the keyboard as I navigated the security system. The house was mapped out in neat little grids witg each camera feeding live footage directly to my screen. My pu
Rafael’s POVI watched her from the balcony, the late morning sun casting a soft sheen across her skin. She sat in the garden alone, cross legged on the blanket Anna must have brought out for her work eyes closed as though meditating. Her lips were parted slightly,her hair messy from sleep falling in strands around her face like some untamed halo. She looked so delicate that it pissed me off.She was soft again. Softer than I wanted her to be and softer than I could afford to let her be. The tenderness wrapped around her made me clench my jaw. She’d healed far too much and too fast. Not physically but I still caught the slight stiffness in the way she moved sometimes, the flinch she tried to hide when she twisted too sharply but emotionally. The pain I had dealt out had faded from her eyes. She was beginning to breathe freely again. That would not do. She was mine and i want her still broken and stilm needing fixing.I called in the doctor before I could talk myself out of it. I want
Rafael’s POVI knew she was coming before the door evem opened. It was in the way the air shifted. The way something electric rolled across the room making the hairs on my arms rise like a storm was about to hit. And then Adriana appeared.And she was wearing the shortest dress imaginable like it was her personal declaration of war. It was emerald green (a color I told her was made fucking for her) it was bold and sharp and fucking gorgeous. The former Rafael would have been on his knees kissing the floor she was walking on. The way I had worshipped the ground she used to walk on!The fabric clung to every sinful curve of her body dipping over one shoulder and leaving the other bare while intentionally exposing the side without her healing wound like she knew exactly what she was doing. The neckline swept low almost dangerously so while revealing a teasing swell of her breasts that had my gaze caught for far too long. The dress ended mid-thigh and her legs long and glowing under the
Adriana’s POVI didn’t need a formal request to join Rafael for breakfast anymore. I’ve wallowed in my memories long enough to push them away and decided to take control of my life now. After a week of waking up to Anna’s too sweet smile and Rafael’s clipped orders echoing through the halls like daily gospel, it had become routine and automatic even. Like breathing or blinking or nursing a wound you no longer had the energy to dress. My shoulder duh. This morning, I ignored the fancy dresses Anna had so lovingly arranged on the edge of my bed and the pastel colors and soft silk making my stomach twist. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain shirt instead. It was not too tight or too glamorous. Just simple and clean because I was tired of pretending to be something I wasn’t. Tired of sitting at the dining table like some pretty little puppet in designer clothing while Rafael played king and I… I played quiet. Or the prey in this case really. I descended the staircase slowly while
Adriana’s POVFew months ago….The mall smelled like cinnamon rolls and expensive perfume. I was standing behind the counter of a kids’ clothing store folding a stack of tiny pastel sweaters anz trying to ignore the ache in my lower back and the tightness in my chest that hadn’t really gone away since everything fell apart.It had been eight months since the divorce. Eight long, humiliating ans exhausting months. Marco kept everything including the house, car and ven avings. All I walked away with was my daughter and a few suitcases of clothes and even those felt too heavy to carry some days. No alimony. No help. Nothing.I was working two jobs. This was one of them. Part time retail, minimum wage and dealing with rude customers who snapped their fingers when I didn’t fold fast enough or asked if I could iron out the onesies because “they looked wrinkled.” I was surviving and barely. But I was proud of that.I didn’t see her at first. It wasn’t until I straightened up, reaching for th
Adriana’s POVOne year ago…The rain had just started when I stepped out of the cab and it was soft and slow like the sky wasn’t sure if it wanted to cry with me or just watch me suffer. My steps were heavy as i walked toward the familiar building, the one I used to visit almost every week when things were still… normal. Back when Marco was still mine. Back when Lily was just the sweet younger girl next door with all big green eyes and soft giggles, showing up with banana bread and claiming Isabella was the cutest thing she'd ever seen. Claiming to be her auntie though we are not blood related. We used to sit in my living room and drink cheap wine while she played with my daughter like she was her own. People always said we looked like sisters. Same eyes. Same shape. Back then, her hair was brunette but she started dyeing it blonde. I thought it was flattering. I thought she admired me. I used to dye my red hair blonde because Marco likes them like rthat. God I was such a fool. I k
Adriana’s POVThe sun hadn’t risen yet and thw ghostly grey still hung over the house like a veil, dulling everything it touched. My body was awake but my mind refused to settle. I couldn’t sleep not deeply and not peacefully as i want to. Not with this strange itch under my skin and this pressure in my chest like something was trying to claw its way out.I moved quietly through the room even though I was alone. There was somerhing about moving around when the world hasn’t completely risen. I didn’t know where i was going or what I was searching for only that something was calling me. Tugging at me and It led me to the closet.The corner I didn’t want to touched from my old apartment. The old, ignored part of the wardrobe where forgotten scarves, broken jewelry, baby clothes and timeworn boxes lived untouched. I hadn’t dared toich them in years but they were brought here by Rafael’s men. I found it beneath a velvet scarf I used to wear in winter. A transparent plastic storage bin wit
Rafael’s POVThe air in the study was thick with tension and its the kind that clung to your skin and made breathing just a bit harder than usual. My elbows rested on the dark mahogany desk, fingers steepled under my chin as I listened to Anthony’s low casual voice cut through the silence like a blade.“She’s adjusting pretty fast considering everything.” He said, leaning against the wall witj arms crossed like he had no care in the world. “I even caught her humming while helping Isabella with her puzzle.”I didn’t say anything at first. I could feel Nathan’s presence before he spoke which was a colder kind of silence and the type that didn’t invite conversation. He stood by the window, staring out with the same blank look he’d worn since the day Adriana took that bullet for him. A look I once saw as indifferent. Now I realized it was calculation… and maybe guilt. Anthony didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care. He pushed on, adding with a teasing lilt. “Kinda weird, huh? Never thought
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