Adriana’s POV
The room felt eerily silent after the strippers left leaving the lingering scent of cheap perfume and sweat clinging to the air like an unwanted memory. My eyes followed them as they strutted out with their hips swaying in exaggerated movements all traces of their earlier hostility (of course towards me) disappearing the moment the guard slipped them their payment. They giggled whilst whispering to each other as they disappeared through the door not sparing me another glance. Just another job for them, another night of easy money. Something I wanted to try but didn’t have the confidence to go through. I, however, couldn’t move from the floor. My body refused to cooperate. I remained kneeling in the middle of the cold floor with my hands clenched so tightly in my lap that my knuckles had turned ghostly white. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there staring down at my trembling fingers but the weight in my chest grew heavier with every passing second. I guess The shock was finally setting in, pressing down on me until I could barely breahte. It wasn’t just the shock of seeing Rafael again. That would have been enough on its own. But it wasn’t just that. It was who he had become. The Rafael I knew or more like the boy who had once kissed away my tears, who had held my hand when I was scared, who had whispered soft promises against my skin was gone. And in his place stood a stranger. A totally fucking stranger I never would have seen coming. He was no longer just Rafael, the boy I had left behind. No longer my high school sweetheart. No longer the man who had once loved me with everything he had. This Rafael was something else entirely. Something darker. Something terrifying. I shivered violently while hugging my arms around myself but it did nothing to stop the tremors racking my body. I squeezed my eyes shut but the image of him wouldn’t leave me. He had been sitting there, cold and unbothered while another man lay dead at his feet. Rafael had murdered someone. Right in front of me. Without batting an eyelash. The same Rafael that wouldn’t want me distressed even for a single minute and when he wants to fight, he makes sure I wasn’t there to witness the violence. He knows how much I used to hate it. My mind struggled to accept what my eyes had already seen. The sound of the gunshot still echoed in my skull all sharp and violent. The thing that rattled through my bones like I was the one being shot. I could still feel the heat of his touch on my jaw, the way his fingers had dug in with bruising force, the way his eyes that are now unfamiliar and hollow had pierced through me with nothing but cruelty. This wasn’t the Rafael I had known. The Rafael from six years ago would never have handled me like this. He wouldn’t watch anyone do it either. That Rafael had loved me. Had adored me. Had given me the kind of love that had once felt unshakable. But this man? This man only wanted to break me with anything he could use. I lifted my gaze hesitantly my eyes locking onto his image once more. He looked expensive now, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit every inch of him exuding wealth and power. His shoes alone looked like they could cover my daughter’s surgery. What the hell had he done in these last six years to get here? Was it the guns? The bloodshed? A sick feeling curled in my stomach. I had always known Rafael had a darkness inside him something violent lurking beneath the surface but back then… back then, he had kept it at bay. When I was with him, he had tried to be good. He had even wanted to be good. But now? There was no goodness left in him. He had become the darkness itself. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him anymore. Not when the one person that mattered made life hell for him. A single ruthless kiss had confirmed that for me. One moment of his lips crashing against mine, one moment of heat and fury and devastation and everything I had fought to bury came rushing back to the surface. I had spent years trying to kill those emotions and to suffocate them and to pretend they didn’t exist. But it had only taken one kiss to unravel me. I could still feel the imprint of his mouth against mine, still taste him on my lips. It was dangerous. The way my body had reacted along with the way my heart had nearly betrayed me. Old feelings are the most dangerous. I swallowed hard, my throat burning as my mind replayed the way he had looked at me afterward. Like I was nothing. Like I was disposable. His hand had gripped my jaw like I was something to be handled not cherished. It left behind a dull aching pain that settled deep inside me not just on my skin but somewhere even more painful. Rafael hated me. I could see it in his eyes, feel it in the way he touched me, hear it in his words. He hated me with everything in him and I knew that he wouldn’t stop until he had his revenge. A vengeful Rafael was a terrifying thing. I had seen glimpses of it before but never like this. Never directed at me. There are so many unanswered questions between us but I’m sure he’s placed the dots already. The air in the room shifted and I tensed as I heard movement. The guard, who had been silent this entire time finally stepped forward. I hadn’t even thought about him too consumed by my thoughts and too shaken by what had just happened. He stopped a few feet away from me, his towering presence making my skin prickle. "Get up!” He ordered in a flat tone while staring at me like I was a nuisance he needs to get rid of. Like Rafael had only that his had more hatred. I didn’t move. He exhaled sharply then took another step forward. "We can do this nicely. Or we can do it the hard way.” He said again and I’m sure he is trying hard not to send bullet between my eyes like he did that man. "Do what?" My voice came out hoarse. I swallowed thickly my pulse hammering in my ears. "You’re coming with me." He didn’t even blik as he answered. "I have something important to do. I can’t…" I shook my head quickly trying to steady myself. My thoughts immediately went to my daughter. What the fuck does this mean? Her babysitter is about to leave! I need to go home. "Then you can tell that to the boss yourself." The boss. I felt the words like a slap. Rafael is a fucking boss now. I didn’t know why that part stunned me so much. I should have known. The power he carried and the way people obeyed him without question and the fact that he could shoot a man dead in a crowded room without anyone daring to speak against him. This wasn’t just money. This was power and it is the kind I cannot even imagine. Rafael had built an empire from nothing. I would like to know the story of how he did it. God knows he had went through hell. My stomach twisted violently and I forced myself to take a deep breath. My mind was screaming at me to run but I knew better. I had signed a death warrant the moment I stepped into his world again and there was no escaping it now. A world where Rafael exists. The guard didn’t wait any longer. He reached into his pocket and before I could react a blindfold was slipping over my eyes. And there was nothing but darkness. Then I lose conscious at the same time just for a moment. Fuck.Adriana’s POVThe guard's grip on my wrist was unforgiving with his fingers digging into my skin as he dragged me forward without a word. He didn’t spare me a glance or acknowledge the way my legs stumbled to keep up with his brutal pace. There was no hesitation and no care just relentless force like I was nothing more than cargo being transported. The hallway blurred past me, my mind racing as I struggled to make sense of why they wouldn’t even let me see where I was being taken. What the hell is Rafael playing at? What kind of game is this? I wasn’t told about any of this. The muffled pulse of the club’s music faded and then we wree swallowed by eerie silence. The further we walked, the more the world I knew disappeared and is replaced by something darker and shadier than I’d expected. Was this not just about revenge? Was I not just an old wound he wanted to reopen for the sake of making me suffer? Because this felt like something else entirely. Then suddenly the dragging stopped
Adriana’s POVThe grip on my wrist was merciless as if the guard was dragging along something less than human. He didn’t look at me and didn’t acknowledge the way my feet stumbled against the polished marble floors. He simply moved forward knowing I had no choice but to follow. His silence was unsettling. No threats, no taunts just a firm hand that refused to let me go while guiding me deeper into a world I had no business being in. As we stepped inside the grand estate I felt the shift immediately. This wasn’t just a house. It was a darn fucking fortress. A kingdom where Rafael ruled with an iron fist from the looks of thinsg. The air itself seemed heavier and thick with something unseen but deeply felt. The guards stationed around the entryway barely flicked their eyes toward the one leading me but they acknowledged him in small ways by straightening their backs or nodding in respect or stepping aside with silent obedience. They didn’t just respect him but they knew him. He was
Adriana’s POVI clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to stand my ground. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was rattling my ribs but I refused to let Rafael see an ounce of fear. He would suck me in like the cruel man he has become. “You need to let me go. I have somewhere important I need to be reight now.” I demanded my voice steady even with the chaos in my chest. I need to do this for my daughter. His lips twisted into something cruel and mocking and before I could react, his hand shot out. A gasp slipped past my lips as his fingers curled around my jaw, not squeezing but firm enough to remind me that he could. That he was stronger, that he was in control. He tilted my face up toward him, his grip was forceful as he studied me with those cold, merciless eyes. "Let you go? You think I would do that?" He echoed with wicked amusement laced with venom. “Why? What’s waiting for you out there?” “I have…” I started but he didn’t even allow
Adriana’s POVSix years ago…I left the house as soon as the sun crept over the horizon with the weight of last night’s revelation pressing heavily on my chest. I barely slept, tossing and turning as my hands unconsciously drifted to my stomach as if trying to feel for something or some kind of proof that my world had truly changed. Marco had already been up when I slipped out of bed, working on his laptop in the dim light of our shared bedroom. His brow furrowed in deep concentration, jaw locked and fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. He had barely looked up when I murmured that I had errands to run, only nodding absently. He was too preoccupied with proving himself to his father. I knew how much pressure he was under. His father was a cold and ruthless businessman and never saw him as capable enough to take over the company. The only reason Marco was even in consideration was because of me. Because I had convinced his father that he was competent enough to be the next CEO.
Rafael’s POVThe heavy thud of my footsteps echoed down the grand hallway as I made my way to my home office. The entire mansion was silent but the air was so fucking thick. It was thick with the kind of tension that came when something big was about to go down. And something was about to go down. I could feel it in my bones. It isn’t just one thing. One has to do with having my highschool sweetheart under my fucking roof after years of watching her from afar and the other has to do with the shipment we are about to conduct. Nathan and two of my senior guards were already waiting for me when I pushed open the doors. They stood stiffly in front of my mahogany desk, their expressions unreadable and their backs straight as steel rods. They were disciplined and trained to be alert at all times. It’s been rumored that I’ve got the best trained men and there is not an ounce of doubt in that. These are men I gathered from the streets. Men that were doubted by their own loved ones and they
Adriana’s POV It was a pounding headache that welcomed me back to consciousness. the dull throb settling deep behind my temples as I groaned and forced my eyes open. Sunlight filtered through the open curtains, its rays slicing through the room. It should have been warm and comforting. Instead, it felt intrusive while stabbing into my skull like tiny needles. I blinked rapidly, my vision adjusting and that was when I saw her. Why would someone be standing there looking at a sleeping person? Who the hell is this woman and where the hell did she come from? Why is she staring like she wants to stab my eyes out? The woman hovered over me, arms folded tightly over her chest and her sharp gaze practically dissecting me. She was older, maybe early fifties, with graying hair pulled back into a severe bun that fits her face really. Her face was lined with age, her mouth pressed into a thin, unimpressed line and the plumpness of her body didn’t soften the steell in her posture. She loo
Adriana’s POVEverything inside me froze when his words settled. My breath stalled and my stomach clenched at oncs. "She’s here?" I screamed out the question as My eyes widened. My voice was raw and so fucking desperate but I didn’t care. The guard gave a single nod and I shot to my feet so fast I nearly stumbled. "She’s here?" I repeated, practically begging. "Yes. But you need to be dressed to see her." he said simply and his eyes didn’t even drift down my body. I didn’t need to hear anything else because I bolted from the floor. Rushing past him, I ran straight to the bathroom, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. The second I saw myself in the mirror though, I flinched. Mascara streaked down my cheeks in jagged lines and my green eyes red and puffy and my lips cracked from crying. My red hair was tangled, wild and that dress. God the dress clung to me like a second skin. Heat crawled up my face as the memory of everyone seeing me like this came crashing back. No wonder t
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
Rafael’s POVThe way she said it wasn't accusation and it wasn’t even sadness. Just that quiet, gutting kind of acceptance she’d perfected over the years. I didn’t answer right away. Just turned away and pulled on a pair of black slacks the fabric stiff against my skin like it doesn’t want to go too. Buttoned up a crisp white shirt with the collar biting into my neck.“Big day. You should sleep in.” I said in a low voice because I’d rather be with her in bed than go out. She propped herself up on one elbow with the sheet falling just enough to reveal the slope of one breast and the shadows of the bruises I’d left. Not from cruelty but sheer need. From knowing this might be the last time because what she would see later might change everything.“You’ll be back before the ceremony?” She asked her voice quieter now. Something unspoken tangled between the words.“Of course.” I turned to her buttoning the last of my cuffs and eyes met.She smiled then and it was small and tired maybe a li
Rafael’s POVThe light was soft slipping through the sheer curtains like a whisper that didn’t dare disturb what had happened here. The air was heavy with heat and thick with the scent of sex and mine. Adriana. It clung to the walls soaked into the sheets and into my skin.Her hair was spread across the pillow like fire and red waves tangled from hours of reckless brutal need. The kind that left bruises in places only lovers knew. The kind that stripped you down to bone and nerve and memory. I was sitting at the edge of the bed, shirtless, spine hunched and sweat drying on my skin in sticky trails. My cock still throbbed from how deep I’d been inside herm and how hard I had pounded into her like she was the only thing keeping me sane. Like I wanted to punish her and claim her all in the same goddamn breath. I looked over my shoulder unable not to. She was on her side with her face turned toward me and lips parted just slightly like she’d been about to say my name in her sleep and lo
Adriana’s POVThe night air licked across my skin. My nipples hardened as his gaze dropped like a curse had been cast. And then I moved. One hand on his chest and the other on the back of his neck. I started to roll my hips, slow and dirty the way I used to back when his mattress was on the floor and the world was nothing but broken promises and our sweaty skin under fluorescent lights. I knew exactly how to move and how to make his breathing shift and how to feel the stiff line of his cock grinding between us and press down just right. He let me take control and let me perform like I used to, back when love was reckless and money was just a dream. His grip landed on my hips alk hard and possessive, holding me in place as I moved. Not guiding me but just anchoring me. And he gripped me so tight I knew there’d be bruises tomorrow and i wanted them. I wanted to look in the mirror and see him everhwrre.He didn’t say anything at first. Just stared like I’d risen out of a ghost story. L
Adriana’s POVEven the street was alive today. The kind of alive you don’t get in places lined with marble columns and guards standing still like statues. This was a different kind of wealth we has. Neon lights flickered above paper food carts and cheap folding tables. And in the middle of it all, Rafael parked the sleek black Aston Martin like it belonged here.But it didnt. But maybe that was the point. We walked side by side witj my bare thighs brushing against his sweatpants every few steps. I was barefoot in his hoodie with no bra and no underwear and he kept looking down at me like he didn’t regret a single second of dragging me out here like this. People looked at us because they always do. But no one said a word, not when he was the one towering beside me like a dark king among mortals. I feel so petite and small beside this big man here. “There, let’s go to that stall.” I pointed at the edge of the street. The guy manning it had a beard that looked like he fried it with th
Adriana’s POVMy legs were still shaking when he finally let me go. I was strung out and breathless and my thighs slick and trembling from the force of it. His hand gripped the back of my neck, teeth grazing my shoulder as we came together our bodies writhing in a tangled mess of sweat and need and heat. The headboard slammed against the wall once and teice. And then nothing but the sound of ragged breathing and skin sliding against skin. He didn’t kiss me after because he never did.He just groaned low in his throat with his chest rising and falling as he held himself above me for a beat, his dark hair falling in damp strands across his brow and lips parted. I stared up at him almost dazed with my body humming with pleasure and my skin flushed and covered in his scent. He looked like sin. And maybe I did too.Eventually he collapsed beside me, one arm slung lazily across my waist and we lay there in the quiet. I let my fingers wander to his hair (thick and black and always a little
Adriana’s POVThe city was still l shadows when I arrived at the docks. The air was thick with salt, diesel and smoke curling off the half charred remains of what used to be one of our primary shipping conyainerd. The smell hit first of plastic, oil, blood and then came the sight of bodies being zipped up and loaded into vans. I stepped out of the car and unbuttoned my coat and walked through the carnage like it was routine. Because it was. Ever since I got introduced to this world, dead bodies and blood has become a thing you see everyday. “Any witnesses?” I asked.“None alive. Whoever did this was clean and professional. No security footage and no prints.” Nathan met me halfway with his jaw clenched and eyes sharp behind the scar slicing through his left brow. “Then they weren’t sending a message.” I crouched beside the twisted metal of the container door. Black soot flaked under my fingers as I reached for the scorched wood beneath and that’s when I saw A playing card nailed in
Rafael’s POVThe house was quiet when i returned and it was eerily so, the kind of silence that settles only in the deepest hours of the night. I stepped through the front doors, loosening the buttons of my dress shirt as the soft click of my shoes echoed down tje marble hall. I didn’t stop at the bar for a drink. Didn’t pause to check the security reports or glance at the monitots. My feet carried me toward the east wing with a certainty that required no thought.That wing (mine) was hidden from most of the estate and tucked behind an ornate gilded door and a hallway that curved just enough to swallow the noise of the rest of the house. It was my sanctum and only few people are allowed there. A place I didn’t allow many to see. Not even most of my men.But Isabella was there. Her small back was straight on the bench snx her tiny fingers dancing across the keys of the piano I’d hidden away for hero. She saw me and lit up. Her eyes twinkled with joy, a soundless amd sparkling expressio
Rafael’s POVShe had finally fallen asleep tangled in my sheets, bare beneath the thick comforter witj lips parted and lashes resting softly on flushed cheeks. She looked innocent there almost too innocent for what we’d done hours ago and how wanton she had looked. Like the whore I had made her years agop. I stood at the edge of the bed for far too long whilke watching the slow rise and fall of her chest and her scent still clinging to my skin. My cock still ached to be buried in her again. But I forced myself to tuck the covers around her and smooth the hair from her temple and leave.Duty called and I’d ignored it long enough. Since Adriana was shot, I’d stepped back from everything. The Brotherhood and the meetings and the responsibilities. Romano didn’t complain, not openly because he knew why I’d gone dark but everyone knew he was preparing to hand over the reins now. The old bastard was throwing a ball. A final, dramatic gesture before he stepped down and left the throne wide
Adriana’s POVThe room was silent. His arm was still draped heavy around my waist With one leg thrown possessively over mine like even in his sleep, he needed to pin me down and keep me in place. But hid breathing was slow now as I waited. Waited until the moonlight faded into a pale wash of early dawnuntil I could feel the faintest tug of morning air through the cracked window. My body ached. My thighs were sticky, my core sore and every inch of me used and branded by him. And I couldn’t stay even for one second longer. I needed water all over me. I needed space from him. And I needed to scrub his scent off my skin even though i already knew it wouldn’t come out. This is the last step I shouldn’t have taken but here we are. Holding my breath, I peeled his arm off me inch by inch while wincing when he shifted but didn’t wake. I slid out from under him, my feet hitting the cold floor as I rose slowly with my muscles trembling with exhaustion and overuse. I grabbed the oversized