Angioletto's Pov
It is considered a deformity to be fixated on a particular person or object. It is a deformity to be narrow minded. It is a deformity to only find psychological fulfillment from just one person.
My therapist had so many words to describe my obsessive tendencies. But right now, all I want is to live with that deformity for the rest of my life.
My new obsession. A beauty to behold. From the moment I set eyes on her, from dusk to dawn, every day since I’ve had her under my care, she has been imprinted in my DNA.
A part of me and I have no complaints.
She’s my obsession, constantly pouring through my soul like a soothing cold breeze that leaves me longing for more.
“Oceane Augustin.” I test out the feel of her name on the tip of my tongue while I watch her through the cameras.
Yes, my penthouse has security cameras placed in every corner, all of which are connected to the big screen in my room—for security reasons of course.
Except now, it’s serving other purposes.
It’s not that I’m perverted, but I just can’t bring myself to look away from this petite little girl.
I brush my knuckle softly across the screen, shutting my eyes and allowing my imagination run wild. I imagine that she’s here with me. I imagine the uniqueness of her features.
I imagine her innocence, her childlike face, the depth of her gaze, and her mesmerizing eyes.
I imagine the whole of her.
Small and adorable. Sweet and timid—which is the exact reason I adore her.
She’s untouched, naïve, unscathed, still as pure as when she was formed, but I’ll be her ruin. I’ll open her eyes to the real world.
My games with Oceane Dumont Agusutin are yet to begin.
But how can I play with her if she’s so infuriated at me?
Was I extremely mean? Yes. But it wasn’t my fault the girl was beginning to think she has a say in the decisions I make as pertaining to her. I just had to put her in her place.
I know, I made the wrong move.
Because now, I’m bored and she wouldn’t even inhale or exhale a breath around me.
Shit!
I fucked up.
It happened so fast, so fast I couldn’t even control the words that were leaving my mouth.
I should probably force her to play with me. She’s after all my hostage and should do whatever I demand of her. No questions asked.
Forcing her wouldn’t work though.
She’s a different breed, who grew up around very violent men and women, adding to her rebellious persona.
I see it in her eyes as much as she tries to shield that part of her. I see her anger, her rage, her spitefulness, her fire, her rebellion, her courage, her lack of fear.
She’s not one to fear anyone or anything. Not even death.
Having ruled out that option, I pick up my phone and log onto g****e.
G****e is your friend, they say, now, it’s time to test out that theory.
‘How do I get someone to be happy with me after I’ve upset them?’
That’s all I type and wait.
It’s insane, unnerving, maddening.
I’m a twenty five year old man and should act the part but with this girl, I lose all of me to her essence. Each time, I find myself chasing after her as though she’s a price to be won. She triggers me in ways that excites me and I wouldn’t give that up for anything in the world.
She’s not a price though. She’s just my little plaything. An object to be toyed with.
When g****e finally provides me answers, all I see are a series of ‘apologize’ and ‘a simple sorry can solve a problem’.
Apologize? Say sorry? To my hostage?
Laughter bubbles out of my throat. G****e might be every other person’s friend, but it has proven to be an enemy of mine.
If it were a person making this despicable suggestion, there'd be a bullet hole between his eyes the instant those godforsaken words leave his mouth.
Apologize.
Why should I apologize when I can make her do my bidding?
Over my dead body will I apologize to anyone. Especially not her.
Swiftly storming out of my room, I head for the living room where she’s splayed out on the couch, reading the dirtiest, filthiest book there is. She doesn’t know it yet.
How naïve.
“Oceane.” I call out. She acknowledges my presence by just a single glance that doesn’t even last a second.
Fuck! This is nerve wracking.
“Munchk—”
Her voice harsh and rough, she cut me off. “I can hear you.”
“The things I said earlier, I didn’t mean them.” My voice is a slight escape of a murmur.
She doesn’t regard me for about a minute. It’s as though I had just spoken to a deaf person. She finally manages to spit out an, “okay.”
I continue. “I just wanted to know the things you would love to do if rules didn’t exist.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation, sir.”
“But I’m here and I’m explaining!” I yell, slowly losing my grip on my last string of patience. A soft gasp is all that escapes her parted lips. Nothing more, nothing less.
She proceeds to read her book. A book I got with my own money.
I scoff, restraining myself from grabbing the book and ripping it to shreds.
“School.” She whispers when I turn my back in an attempt to walk away.
I turn back around to face her with furrowed brows. “What?”
She looks up from the book, her big brown eyes and deep gaze settling on my nervous, icy blue ones. “I would really love it if I could go to school.” She elaborates.
I hum. “Have you never been?” She shakes her head ‘no’ .
“You speak so well.” I state, causing her lips to curve up into a smile as though reminiscing. “My father preferred that I was homeschooled. He thought I was too rebellious, hot headed, and would spiral out of control if he let me into the world.”
I chuckle incredulously. “What about your mother? What did she think of your father’s theory?”
“She had no say in the matter.” Her eyes twitch and when I look closely, I find them burning with held back tears.
Does it have something to do with her mother?
I don’t bother diving deeper into her life in the past. I should focus on now. She’s with me and the fact will remain unchanged for an unforeseen period of time.
She’s mine.
Mine.
“Would you like to be homeschooled?” I further enquire but she shakes her head in disagreement. “I want to learn in a school. For the experience.”
The implication of her statement gets a chuckle out of me. The experience is quite shitty until you’ve learned to exert your power on others.
I’m about to speak further on the matter when I receive a text from my father demanding my presence. Knowing what this meeting is all about, I hiss exasperatedly, running my fingers through my hair.
“I have a meeting in a few hours, munchkin, tell me the things you’d love to experience in school. You have ten minutes to convince me.”
Her perfect lips form a pout. “I don’t understand.”
I scratch the back of my head, wondering how I’d explain it to her in the way she’s able to comprehend. “Uhm. . .pitch it to me, like a business proposal, like you’re trying to convince me to invest in you.”
Her lips twitch. Something about her changes. She looks so high-spirited, lively, friendly, talkative, animated, and just generally enthusiastic about life. Her bubbly and exuberant self coming to the surface.
Her mesmerizing eyes glisten with so much excitement that makes my lips twitch at the corners.
With widened eyes, she rambles on and on about the experiences she’d like to have if allowed to go to school.
She believes I’ll let her, and that gets her more excited.
Again, I force down the smile threatening to creep up on my lips.
She’s so beautiful when she smiles. A voice in the back of my head whispers and I’m suddenly lost in her beauty. Something in me feels way too excited for comfort.
Not until she begins talking about boys.
“I’ll definitely have a boyfriend.” Are her first words that completely tug at my sanity. “Have some alcohol,” she fawns. I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
“Go on trips!” She giggles, tapping her hands softly. Her innocence and naivety makes the moment wholesome, but I know too well the world out there, and I know they’ll take advantage of her in ways she’d never imagined.
“Trips?” I enquire with furrowed brows.
She nods enthusiastically. “Yes.”
I scoff. “That means you wouldn’t come back to me for days?”
She freezes.
Angioletto's Pov“That means you wouldn’t come back to me for days?”She freezes.It’s like understanding finally dawns on her when my question escapes my lips. I see how her face changes, how her smile has become somewhat forced.Maybe she realizes that she has shared too much information.“I’ll be back like I never left, Gio.”I don’t utter a word. I stare at her silently, wondering what decision would be best. She’s my hostage but I’ve put ideas in her head. I’ve given her too much freedom.“Angiole–”“You’re not going to school.”That does it. Her bright, bubbly, and ambitious shine ceases. Her eyes, filled with dreams, suddenly dims so much that they look dead. She always appeared doll-like but she has suddenly become a completely different person in seconds. Like a plastic doll, distant, reserved.“W-h-at?” She fumbles with her words, as though fearful. As if doing so would lead to punishment.“I thought about it. . .”“You clearly didn’t give it a good thought.”“I can’t let y
Angioletto's PovWhen I received a text from my father informing me of this meeting, I knew something was off. I knew it had something to do with my hostage, and now, I’ve confirmed my suspicions to be true.Thirty minutes have I been here, still, there've been no words spoken, just the continuous rise in the tension radiating off of each person in the room.Mio padre, his first son, Massimo, and his second son, Antonio.“How have you been?” My older brother—Massimo questions, his eyes, as dark as the midnight, burning holes through my skull, reminding me that his question, as sweet as it might sound, is far from him merely inquiring about my physical state.“Fine.” I simply answer, gaining a unified hum from all three of the men.“Haven’t you been getting enough sleep? Your eyes are really sunken.” Mio padre further asks.Completely aware that his question springs from a place of genuine concern, I answer in a soft voice. “Sto bene, padre.”He nods. “What about Dumont Augustin, has t
Oceane's PovGrowing up, I wasn’t so good at a lot of things. Speaking, fencing, fighting, using a gun, I failed at so many things until the passing of my mother.After my mother had passed on due to my father’s selfishness and carelessness, I began to push myself into becoming better at the things I failed at.My mother’s passing was my motivation. It was only then that I realized all I had was me. Just me, alone in this wicked world.I could no longer condone my weakness. I could no longer leave myself vulnerable. I could no longer allow myself to be a prey in the midst of predators.I worked hard.Still, I failed.I was just a failure.I was just a girl who couldn’t grow taller than 5’2. I was significantly smaller than girls my age and it was to my disadvantage.My father’s hatred towards me only intensified after my series of failures and he began to take his abuse to the next level.His abuse was no longer verbal but physical, emotional, and mental.He’d hit me, force me into fi
Angioletto's PovThere are five stages of grief. Denial and Isolation.Anger.Bargaining.Desperation.And lastly, Acceptance.In the last seventy two hours, I’ve been roped into, and have suffered with great intensity each stage of grief respectively.While I was in denial, I couldn’t believe that my beautiful, little Oceane had left me without as much a goodbye note. She stole all my money, stole my car, and left, and I sat there in my room, watching all of it unfold before my own eyes.And then denial morphed into anger. I was aggravated, Infuriated, irritated. I lost my mind the minute she walked out my door. I was roped into intense anger that I didn’t realize when I had begun ruining everything until my penthouse was turned upside down. That was before I began to physically harm myself. I needed to feel something other than anger. Hurting myself physically was my last resolve.I blamed myself for allowing my brother’s words get to me. I am no logical thinker. I have never been
Oceane's PovOne month later.It was a surprise, the turn of events when I had returned to my captor one month ago. While I contemplated returning and giving myself back to him, I thought he would be livid. I believed that I was going to be punished severely for running away, but that wasn’t the case.The brooding man hugged me. Embraced me.Soothed me.And then later declared that I could do what I’ve been desiring for the longest time. Go to school.I couldn’t believe it, and so, I continued to ask him if he was sure for days until the day I was finally enrolled.The experience and excitement I felt was out of this world and it took a lot of restraint for me not to throw myself into Gio’s arms and thank him.His kindness towards me only continued to grow like he was desperate to be in my good books. He perhaps felt bad for me after I lost my entire family the way I did.A few days after my enrollment, Gio had packed up a few things and left his penthouse.‘Hey baby girl, it’s quite
Oceane's PovIt is the soft meow of a cat that has me grumbling and turning in bed.There are no pets in the penthouse, not even Angioletto’s infamous dog. So, when the continuous meowing of a cat doesn’t stop, I’m suddenly thinking that I might be having a vivid dream.“Angioletto speaking.” I hear that ever so familiar deep voice. I’m definitely having a dream. A good kind. “I just returned to Italy a few minutes ago and you’re already calling over an issue as little as this?” It’s an angry growl of his voice.I slowly pry my eyes open with a sigh, screeching as I stretch, toss and turn.My lips stretch into a smile when I look out my window, enjoying the feel of the morning sun against the glass.But I’m startled when I hear a deep rumble of a hum. A hum I’ve become accustomed to. Then the meowing resumes.I’m definitely not dreaming.Too apprehensive, I wait without looking to my right where I can certainly hear continuous hums. The hums are low, low enough not to hear him but dee
Angioletto's PovGrowing up, life wasn’t very easy for me. No father figure, a drug addicted whore as a mother—the list of the difficulties I had faced very early on in life could go on and on.Those were the times when I had believed life to be extremely complicated.But when I joined La famiglia, I learnt that life is just as straightforward as it can get. It’s either this or that.Win or lose.Stay or go.Live or die.Succeed or fail.And the outcome of one’s life is solely dependent on choice, except of course the freedom to choose between life and death.I was a serial failure. I failed at a lot of things, a lot of times, because I had developed the mindset of a failure. I still wallowed in misery, blaming life and all of its elements for the pains and sufferings I had to endure.Mio padre and my brother’s were there for me in ways that I’d never forget.Most times, they would give me closure, reassurance and validation—hugs and all. And other times, they were fierce. They would
Angioletto's PovAn eventful morning it was. Watching my Oceane stir awake from sleep, having been graced by her first smile of the day after a month, sitting through an interesting and soul calming breakfast with her, and of course spending hours at the vet, getting tons and tons of items required to properly nurture her kitten.It was a good morning.And now, during the early hours of noon, I’m seated in the backseat of my car with my Oceane while my driver takes us back to my penthouse.The silence is quite comfortable, considering how I’m not a fan of talking and my Oceane doesn’t seem to be in the mood.“Gio?” Her tiny, sweet, melodious, delicate voice breathes out my name and God the feeling is amazing. So amazing that I have to shut my eyes and allow it settle in before humming in response.“Why are you nice to me?”Through the corner of my eyes, I stare at her, observing the downturn of her face. She’s not in a good mood and I can do nothing but wonder who would dare upset my
Angioletto's PovWhen I return to the penthouse a little after noon, the soft laughter of my Oceane is the first sound that graces my ears.I stand by the door, watching her in awe while she plays around with her kitten.“Angel, you’re so hyperactive.” She coos, scooping the purring kitten into her arms.How can anyone accuse this innocent girl of a crime as grave as murder?How can anyone look at that angelic face and think evil of it?It’s all but a wonder in my mind.A smile pulling at the corners of my lips, I make a move to approach her. Two steps into the room and my feet force me to a stop when Oceane’s head cranes backwards, her eyes meeting mine.My brows pull into a furrow, my eyes moving around her delicate, yet, dented features. Regret pulls at the strings of my heart. My marks—the effects of my fist are still visible against her skin, leaving a part of her face swollen and her neck reddened.My lips pull apart, a sharp exhale escaping through the space as I give my head a
Angioletto's PovForty eight hours later.The calendar says Friday, the time reads 9:30 post meridiem. The birds and beasts of the night are at their loudest tonight, but the loudness of the organ in my chest is incomparable.I know tonight will be a long night.Whistling, I walk into the cell, a huge grin stretched across my lips when my eyes land on my newest victim. A friend. A brother. Rodrigo.I tsk. “Look who’s wide awake. Have you been anticipating my visit, my dear brother?”“Why’re you doing this to me, Angel?” Rodrigo sneers, “why aren’t you torturing me? Kill me already! Hit me if that’s what it’ll take! Do something!”“And what fun will that be?”A furrow pulls his brows, his lips sliding apart slightly. “Angel. . .”“Do you recall when you and I were so obsessed with the art of reading cards?” I ask, smiling a downturned smile. “Well, I pulled two cards today. The fool, and the wheel. Now Rodrigo, I wouldn’t want to call it the wheel of fortune just yet. Because whether i
Angioletto's PovReluctantly walking into my penthouse, my roaming eyes land on Oceane, standing at the foot of the stairs, a smile etched at the corners of her lips, her eyes filled with so much unexplained happiness.What has got her so happy? The demon in my head whispers. The demon who has done nothing but whisper and awake evil in me, blaming Oceane for the recent disrespect and betrayal I’ve had to face from my most trusted man.The demon who hates to see Oceane happy.The demon which controls my life’s actions.“Good morning, Gio.” Oceane beams. I hum a response while throwing my key on the kitchen island.She clears her throat and begins motioning toward me in slow, sultry steps. “Have you had something to eat? I joined the cook to make breakfast this morning and I’m certain you’ll like it.”Amusement. My heart flutters in amusement, yet, I conceal it with a stoic expression. I look down at her, and our eyes connect for a brief second before I’m scanning her head to toe.Tha
Angioletto's PovDarkness is still paramount, and yet, I am awake—wide eyed awake.The calendar says Wednesday, the time reads 5am, the birds sing a beautiful morning song, and my heart sings a bloody song.Torture is my forte.I say I have no heart, and yet, when I’m tasked with the duty to torture offenders, I feel that dead organ of mine palpitating ridiculously.I love the thrill, and the mess.And in this moment, when I walk into the holding cell and my eyes land on the soldier who’s restrained to an iron chair, I feel a rush of blood in my veins.I am finally breathing.Walking to the end of the large room, I pull another iron chair with me, the legs scraping across the roughly plastered floor. And when I’m in front of the restrained soldier, I finally stop, throwing myself on the seat with a sigh.We stay silent—the soldier and I. It’s in
Angioletto's PovSilence is power.In silence, I hide the ultimate violence that brews within me, letting it mature in a place of solitary. My silence is a sound so unique.My silence are unsaid words that can only be felt—sometimes, felt rightly. Sometimes, felt wrongly. A language of the soul.Sitting in the silence of my living room, my mind drifts back to the time when I was sworn in as a made man. The time when my identity as Angioletto Luoni, the grim reaper—a specially trained assassin of the Luoni crime family was revealed.Although built like a huge, thick wall, it was my silence that unnerved people the most. With my eyes, clouded by darkness, my lips pursed in contemplation, and my brows quirked in wonder, soldiers who trained under my command, and other made men—women included—began to fear me.My silence brought about confusion.With confusion came the need for clarity—to seek out answers. And when those answers remained a mystery, fear creeped in. The fear of not knowing
Angioletto's PovI’m silent. I’m still startled by both her outburst and her declaration.It’s true. I’ve always known the unmistakable fiery rage that brews within Oceane, a rage that might swallow her hole, a rage that is beginning to swallow her hole. But I never thought even for a split second that her rage will manifest merely because of my absence.She likes me.My lips almost tip up at the corners from amusement. Satisfaction. Almost because I’m supposed to be aggravated with her. I’m supposed to be devising ways to punish her for bringing harm to one of my men—no one dares lay a finger on my men except me. Except I permit it.But, here I am, ready to forgive her, ready to praise her for her heartlessness. My devotion to Oceane is deadly.She likes me.Perhaps I like her too. But not in the cute way she’s picturing it. I like her so much that all I want to do is curl my fingers around her neck and choke her until she’s passed out.I like her so much that I want to prickle her
Oceane's PovOne week later.It has been a week since I last saw Angioletto, since the events of that night.He promised never to leave, he said he’d be by my side by the time I woke up. It was all a lie. A manipulation tactic perhaps.He wasn’t there.And he’s still not here.On the first day, I had woken up too early, excitement dancing in my bloodstreams as all I could think of was to be graced with the sight of Angioletto before I had to prepare for school. He didn’t come.I waited an hour. Then two. Then three. But no one was entering my room.I had taken the initiative and gone to his room myself. Many times, I banged on the door, but still, there wasn’t any reply.“Boss left very early this morning, he has urgent business to take care of.” One of the guards had informed me after I had bruised my knuckles from knocking on the door.My spirit had weakened but I stayed hopeful. Putting a smile on my face, I dressed up and went to school.Soon after, I forgot about Angioletto’s exi
Angioletto's Pov“Teach me.” Oceane suddenly declares, causing me to drag in a sharp intake of breath.“You should learn to stay away from men like me, munchkin .”“I’m so tired of being naive. I’m so tired of being a nineteen year old girl who’s just as innocent and dumb as a newly born baby. Please Gio, teach me.”I whip my head to the side to take a peek at my Oceane. Her pleading, glossy eyes meet mine and my resolve to stay away from this woman melts away.One tight nod is all I offer her as I swagger into her room and plop down on the cushion.Minutes pass before she quietly walks into the room with her head lowered as though ashamed of what is to happen.I’m not going to touch you, Oceane, do not worry about that.I want to tell her but instead, the words are swallowed. I want to play with her mind, drive her crazy with anticipation then leave her wondering why she’s so unworthy.And then, she’ll desperately desire to prove a point to me—she’ll do whatever it takes to be seen
Angioletto's PovAnger.I feel it so deep in my bones and my bloodstreams. I feel it so deep the glare of my eyes could slice through a skin.I feel it so deep my words could cut so deep, and my temperature so high it could burn the entire world.Rage, anger, joy, happiness, jealousy, envy, confusion—these emotions have had little or no impact on me for years until her. Until Oceane. It’s like she came in and stirred up a great eruption in me.I began to feel all those unneeded emotions with great intensity. Today especially.God, the way my blood boiled when that boy’s name was mentioned—the same boy who dared put his hands on my Oceane.My innocent, innocent girl.And he dared attempt to take away her innocence. Forcefully.I didn’t know what to think when I ran into that VIP room. I had absolutely no thoughts. All I saw was red. All I saw was darkness. And all I witnessed were my monsters basking in their glory at my inability to tame my anger. Another failure.The boy didn’t deser