SYLVIA'S povI walked up the stairs and down the hallway that led to my room. That’s when I saw her, Jasmine perfume lady stepping out of Mario’s room like she belonged there.She wore his shirt, the fabric hanging loosely over a skimpy skirt that barely counted as clothing. My chest tightened, but I said nothing. I kept walking, turning my face away.But her voice, sweet and artificial, stopped me."Wait, aren’t you Mario's wife?"I inhaled slowly before turning, arching a brow. "I am. Do you have a problem with that?"She laughed, a sound so fakely sweet it made my teeth clench. "No, of course not. It’s just... I didn’t expect you to be so okay with Mario still being with me. You know, I heard a lot about you from him when you two were just dating."I stared at her, unimpressed. I knew exactly what she was doing, baiting me with lies, testing how much she could get under my skin."Must’ve been nice," I said flatly. "Anything else? Or do you have another client waiting?"The smile dr
SYLVIA'S POVI don’t know how long I cried. Time blurred as I sat there, my back against the door, my arms wrapped around my knees. I hated the way I felt, how vulnerable I was. My eyes burned, my chest ached, but eventually, exhaustion won.I forced myself up and crawled into bed, my body heavy with weariness. Sleep pulled me under, but somewhere in the haze, I heard a knock. Distant.I couldn't bring myself to move.I let it go unanswered.By the time I woke up again, another knock echoed through the room. Groggy, I blinked at the clock—1 PM. Almost three hours had passed.Dragging myself out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and made my way to the door, yanking it open.No one was there.Just a package. And a bunch of lilac roses resting on top.I stared at them for a moment, my stomach twisting with unease. The hallway was empty, not a single soul lingering. I bent down, picked up the package, and shut my door.The scent of the flowers was soft, and sweet. But the moment I spotted the sma
SYLVIA'S POV The stuffed elephant sat on my bed taunting me. I had listened to the record player, just once. It had been a song. A stupid, sentimental, apology song that had made me smile.I hated that.I hated that he was getting to me, that despite everything, a part of me still reacted to his gestures. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t get to show up with gifts, with flowers, and stupid hand written letters and expect me to just forgive him.But they were working, weren’t they?I let out a frustrated breath, running a hand through my hair as I paced my room. The hours had blurred together, my entire day wasted waiting for packages I swore I didn’t care about. It was pathetic. I was pathetic.And I was done.I wasn’t going to sit here like some trained pet, waiting for the next knock, the next delivery, the next carefully placed attempt to get under my skin.No.This time, I was going to be at the door first.So I stood there, arms crossed, heart pounding. And when the footsteps came, foll
Sylvia’s POVI should have been happy.I was getting my freedom, walking away from this mess of a marriage, and on top of that, I was leaving with a whole million dollars. No strings. No Mario. No fights.I should have been relieved. But I wasn’t.I stood there, arms wrapped around myself, an ache settling deep in my chest. Why did it hurt? Why did the thought of him letting me go so easily feel like a punch to the gut?A knock came, and before I could respond, the door swung open. Two of Mario’s men walked in, their faces blank, unreadable. They didn’t even glance at me as they went straight to my closet and started pulling everything out. Clothes, shoes, whatever they could grab, stuffing it into the suitcases without care.I just stood there, watching.The novels on my bedside table? Tossed in. The stuffed elephant? Thrown on top like it was just another object.When they zipped up the suitcases and turned to me, I already knew what was coming next."Mario has asked us to escort yo
Sylvia’s POVI had made plans.I was going to move out of my mother’s apartment, leave this city behind, and start over somewhere new. A fresh beginning, away from all the chaos, away from Mario, and away from everything that reminded me of this life. I just had to wait.Mario had promised the money, and once it arrived, I’d pack my things, book a bus ticket, and never look back.When I got home last night, I ignored my mother’s prying questions, brushing her off with a simple, “Mario and I are getting a divorce.” That was all she needed to know.I ignored my stepbrother. Ignored his cigarette smoke clouding the already suffocating air, his grumbling about something I didn’t care enough to listen to. None of it mattered. All I needed was that money.Then, minutes later, I heard it.My mother’s scream of joy.“Keep it down, woman,” my stepbrother had yelled from the couch.“Oh, shut up!” she snapped, already dialing a number. A moment later, I heard her voice again, this time softer, d
Sylvia’s POVBy noon, my mother was gone. Every last piece of her clothing, every trace of her couch boyfriend, gone. The house felt hollow.For a moment, I just stood there, taking it in. The silence. The emptiness. The temporary calm before the storm.By 5 p.m., that storm arrived.The front door swung open with a loud thud, followed by the unmistakable sound of stumbling footsteps. The stench of alcohol hit me before I even saw him. My stepbrother. He barely looked at me before he stumbled into the kitchen, and after a while, stumbled back out."Why the hell is there no food? Where’s Mom?" he slurred, his words thick but still loud enough to grate on my nerves.I didn’t answer. I didn’t even look at him. Instead, I turned on my heel and made my way upstairs, shutting my door behind me and locking it.A few minutes later, the banging started."Sylvia!" His voice was an ugly mix of anger and intoxication. "Open this damn door!"I didn’t.Instead, I grabbed my headphones, shoved them
Sylvia's POV I was in flight mode, crawling away, half-running, half-clawing on the floor as the sharp whip of leather cracked against my back. The pain stung deep, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t dare stop. My hands caught on the edge of the coffee table as I stumbled forward, nearly knocking over a lamp in my rush. My stepbrother was right behind me, his footsteps pounding against the wooden floors, his breath heavy with rage and alcohol.I darted into the kitchen, slamming the door shut and locking it just as he reached it. The knob rattled violently. Then came the pounding.“Sylvia! Open this goddamn door!” His voice was a raw snarl, filled with something dark and ugly. “You think you can fucking run from me? You think locking a damn door will stop me? Did it ever stop me?”I squeezed my eyes shut, my body trembling as I pressed myself against the counter. My chest was heaving, lungs working double just to keep me from passing out. My hands fumbled for my phone in my pocket, and the
Sylvia’s POVI couldn’t breathe.My chest rose and fell in sharp frantic bursts, but it still felt like I was suffocating. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as my fingers gripped my shirt.I forced myself to look down again.Blood.It was everywhere, on my skin, my torn clothes, the floor. Thick, dark red. My stomach twisted, bile burning the back of my throat.My eyes settled on my step brother that was on the floor in an awkward angle, not moving. Was he dead?I couldn’t think until I saw the shadow at the door as I looked up, my vision swimming.Mario.He stood there, completely still, like he had all the time in the world. A gun in his hand. Silencer attached.I tried to speak, but nothing came out.Calmly, almost lazily, he unscrewed the silencer and slipped both pieces into his pocket. Then, without breaking eye contact, he bent down and picked up my stepbrother’s phone from the floor.Dialed a number.I held my breath, waiting. But after a second, he pulled the phone away from his
Mario’s POVI glanced at my watch, 10:35 p.m. Shit.“I should head home,” I muttered, getting up from the worn-out couch. “Told my wife I’d be back by ten.”Tjay and Alvin cracked up like it was the funniest thing they’d heard all night.“Man, remember when you used to laugh at dudes who rushed home to their wives?” Tjay said, smacking my arm. “Look at you now, domesticated.”Alvin grinned, shaking his head. “The streets have lost another one.”“Yeah, well,” I shrugged, grabbing my phone, “I’m married. In love. I like it this way.”We were in Alvin’s apartment, small, messy, smelled like stale smoke and spilled whiskey. He liked it like that. Said it helped him stay “off the radar.” The kind of place you don’t ask too many questions in.“Come on, one stop at the club,” Alvin said, lighting a cigarette. “No girls if you don’t want 'em, just drinks. Loosen up. You’ve been tense all night.”“I don’t think...” I started.“Bro, don’t become that boring married guy. Just one drink,” he nudg
SYLVIA'S POV Mario was silent on our plane ride back to New York, too silent.Something has happened with James, cause when I got back from my walk, Mario had packed already and had said we were leaving, and James, he barely looked at us."is there something I can do to help since you don't want to talk about what happened?" I nudged him and he sighed shaking his head."There's nothing you can do trust me Sylvia," Mario forced a little smile and I stood up.I was frustrated, one minute we were making progress, the next Mario was back to being his cold brooding self, it was draining.I walked to the bedroom of the jet and got into bed, tucking myself in.I knew we were going to land soon, and so I just lay there tired.When the plane landed, we alighted and Mario tried to hold me, but I swatted his arm away, glaring at him.The drive to my own apartment was about an hour long and before I could alight Mario stopped me."do you want to go to the hospital?" I shook my head trying to pry
Mario’s POVShe’d said no, and I was proud of myself for stopping.I hadn’t always been the guy who respected boundaries. Hell, there was a time I wouldn’t have even thought to ask.But with Sylvia? I didn’t want to be anything less than careful. Less than perfect.Even if it meant walking out of that room with a hard-on that could crack rock.Her trembling voice when she told me to stop... That haunted me more than I expected.The way her eyes had gone wide, distant, like something had pulled her out of the present and dropped her in a memory she didn’t want to relive.And yet, after all of that, the way she curled back into me; quiet, warm, trusting.That part stuck even harder.She still trusted me. Even when her body remembered pain.And the worst part?I wanted her even more now."I think I'll go for a walk to clear my mind," Sylvia’s voice broke through my thoughts.She shifted away from me with a soft kiss to my lips, apologetic, then padded over to the table, picking up my shi
Mario's POV I let out a shaky breath when Sylvia pressed into me even more."I don't think wiggling your butt on me is going to help me wait," I murmured against her ear.She chuckled softly, and I felt the vibrations through her neck, right into my chest. "I think I like torturing you," she replied, her voice teasing as she pressed her ass even harder against my throbbing dick.I groaned, gripping her waist tightly to steady her, and myself.“God, fuck, Sylvia.”“I thought you were a man with self-control?” she smirked, twisting in my arms and rolling onto her back.“I wanna see how long it takes before you break.”Then the covers slipped.My brain short-circuited for a second. Her bare chest was right there, perfect and soft, a delicate rise with each breath. If only she knew the things I wanted to do to her. How badly I wanted to bury my face between those curves, to suck and squeeze and taste every inch of her skin.But I didn’t move. I just stared, jaw clenched, heart racing lik
SYLVIA'S POV I woke up to a dull throb in my head… and something warm and heavy draped over my waist.Then I felt it.A large hand cupped gently over my breast from under, his palm firm and warm, and behind me… he was hard.I stiffened for a moment, my body tense by instinct, but I didn't pull away.My eyes fluttered open, and the morning light peeked in from the curtains. His hand didn’t move. It just rested there, holding me like I was fragile, like he knew I might break.And somehow, I didn’t feel fear.Instead, I felt wanted.I closed my eyes again, breathing him in. His scent. The rise and fall of his chest. The way his grip tightened slightly in his sleep, fingers curling just a little more.I bit back a sound, because even though it surprised me, even though it should’ve made me panic that I was half naked in bed with a man… it didn’t.It turned me on.A slow ache bloomed low in my belly. It was small, a spark. But real.I stayed like that for a few minutes, letting myself fee
SYLVIA’S POVMario helped me sit up, one arm behind my back, the other holding his phone to his ear. He was barking orders, fast and urgent, but I was too out of it to follow what he was saying. My head was spinning again, the medicine pulling me under, but I caught one thing... “At the front!” and then his voice was gone, replaced by my own weak protest.“I don’t want to go,” I mumbled, trying to fall back into the bed. My body was heavy, every part of me aching, but Mario didn’t listen. He shushed me gently, scooped me into his arms like I weighed nothing, and started moving.I clung to his shirt, pressing my face into his chest. His heart was beating fast.“Can you take off your shirt?” I whispered. “I like your skin better.”My fingers were tangled in the fabric. I think I was smiling, but I wasn’t sure. Mario didn’t answer. He just started running.We burst through the hallway, my head bouncing slightly against his shoulder with each step. Two nurses appeared in front of us, bloc
SYLVIA’S POVWhen my eyes fluttered open again, everything felt hazy, muted and surreal, like I was floating just beneath the surface of water.“She's awake! She's awake!”The sudden excitement in the room jerked me back into awareness. A doctor and two nurses hovered over me. The harsh brightness of the hospital lights made me squint my eyes.“BP's coming up... 119 over 81.”“She’s stabilizing.”“We need another bag of fluids and slow down the oxygen.”Their voices overlapped, echoing in my ears like. I tried to move, but a tight, scratchy feeling in my throat made me wince, my ribs were hurting and it made me wonder if I had been given CPR.“Easy,” a nurse said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You passed out, and stopped breathing for over a minute. But you’re safe now, okay? You’re safe.”I tried to nod, but even that took too much energy.I tried to remember why I had passed out, and when I did, a wave if nausea hit me hard. Beth was dead.Before I could dwell much on the t
Sylvia’s POVEverything was plain white when my eyes fluttered open.The ceiling, the sheets, even the blinding light above me, it all blended into a hazy blur. The sterile smell of antiseptic clung to my nostrils. A dull, persistent throbbing pulsed at my neck, and when I tried to move, a tight tug held me back.A neck brace.My breath caught, panic creeping in slowly, until the door burst open.Footsteps echoed, fast and urgent. A doctor in a white coat rushed in, followed by two nurses. Their expressions shifted between worry and focus as they circled me.“Check her pulse again... blood pressure’s stable, oxygen okay,” one nurse said, scribbling onto a clipboard.The doctor leaned over me. “Signora… can you hear me? What is your name?”My lips parted. “Sylvia… Sylvia.”“Good,” he nodded. “Do you know what day it is?”I blinked. “No. I… I don’t remember.”“That’s okay. You’ve been unconscious for nearly twenty-four hours. You had severe bruising around your neck, likely from attemp
Sylvia's POVI couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe, Mario had rushed into the house, and now all I heard was the sounds of fists colliding with flesh.I could hear them grunting, the crash of furniture toppling over, and the sickening sound of bodies hitting the floor. Panic rushed through me, and my mind scrambled for any way to stop this.I rushed to the front door and peered in, my eyes searching for a way to intervene, but I was frozen in terror. Then I heard another loud crash, something shattered, followed by a painful grunt from Mario.That was it. I couldn’t just stand there.I quickly dialed 112, my fingers shaking as I pressed the numbers. The phone rang once, then twice, before the operator picked up in Italian."Polizia di Stato, come posso aiutarla?"I could barely make sense of the words, my throat too tight, but I screamed into the phone, “My husband and our neighbor are fighting, please, it’s horrible! They might kill each other if someone doesn’t stop them soon! Please