"I what-?"I ask, slightly taken aback by the direct line of questioning. God, I love kids.You never have to wonder what they are thinking.Should kids their age worry about inheritance? Can they even start chequing accounts?"Oh, your mother must have said that to you. Did she say that you would be happy if that happened? That you would live together, and she'll never be too busy for you?"The twins freeze up. Hayley, the bolder one, places a protective hand over Dove.“I’m not trying to mock you; I was… married to someone like that."I say as I bend to their height; if my legs were fine, I would have crouched, but this is the best that I can do."I will not talk badly about your mother, but if you keep protecting each other, your inheritance will come back to you. For now, I'll hang on to it because it's not safe. There are some people who want it bad enough to do this..."I gesture to my arm and leg."To me. As soon as you turn twenty-one, we'll have an open discussion about this
Fuck. I can feel my teeth chatter against each other, I can taste bile in the back of my throat, and I can feel the pit of my stomach grow tighter, but despite the turmoil in my body, I steady my gaze and face Victoria. Should I burn down the hospital for leaking my information? No—I’m not Matteo; the guilt would kill me. So then, how do I handle this? "No." I answer in a low voice, biting my tongue so tears fill my eyes. "No? You are not a good liar, are you? I have yet to see anyone with enough guts to cheat on Mat-" A tear drops from my eyes, causing her to stiffen. The moment I am certain I have her attention, a rough cry tears from my lips as I cover my face. Now I understand why she wanted her guards to join us—she wanted witnesses. "Y-you can't tell him. I was just so...so angry!" I begin, sobbing after each word. She frowns but says nothing as if she cannot gauge the situation well yet. "When...when I saw you at the party, and we looked alike, I just...I couldn't t
“I have to say, it's really hard for me to do this. If I'm being honest, I didn’t think I could. So, will you take care of the company in my name?”I press when all he does is glare coldly at me.I hate that I want to retract my words, but I can't.A sneer on his lips rises despite how soft my words are."Are you fucking with me, Olivia?""No. Never. Me? I think our fucking days are over.”"Watch your tone."At his curt response, my lips clamp shut. He is right though; this isn’t the place for humour.One of his hands crumples the document.“I needed to get a lot of signatures from the board, so treat that with care.”I say, gesturing to the document.When he raises his hands to tear it on my face as if to spit on my efforts, I speak once more.“I did make a copy that I can make infinite copies from, so you tearing them apart won’t make much of a difference, but I will not deliver the document replacements next time, Matte-.”Before I can finish, he drops the hand holding the document
Lyle, noticing my discomfort from Victoria’s hands on my shoulders, grabs her wrist, earning pointed glares from her guards as they each reach for their weapons."Why are you touching me? You are Matteo's dog, aren't you? Know your place."Victoria reprimands."I-""It's okay."I say to Lyle, its better if she doesn't know Lyle belongs to me.Lyle nods and removes his hand from Victoria."I don't know if he will change his mind..."I say in an attempt to change the topic, but at my tone, her nails dig into my skin, causing me to wince."Trust me, okay? Just come to Matteo's, and let's go through with the plan, okay?"I nod to her words."Okay, fine. Thanks, Victoria."When I say this, her hand leaves my shoulders."Your phone?"She asks with the same arrogance as Matteo."I- I lost it in the crash, and I haven't had the heart to get another one."She clicks her tongue and hands me her card."Call me in an hour on that line. You need a phone; we need to keep in touch for this to work."
“Where are you going?”It was Victoria who stopped him as he waited for his car to arrive.“Matteo, your car is not here; you can answer me, especially when the whole room is wondering why you are cancelling the auction.”She insisted.“It's more of, I don’t want to answer you than I don’t have time to answer you.”“Okay, how come?”“Because our boundaries are blurred, and I need some space from you. Do you even know where your husband is tonight?”“Isn’t the question if he knows where I am?”Matteo scoffed.Was she always like this? Was he the one who had been so blinded that he couldn’t see her true nature?Christoper is grieving, so shouldn’t her priority be on him as opposed to-With a sigh, he dismissed his thoughts.At the funeral, Christopher had asked him for time alone, so he shouldn’t comment on anything.“Is this about Olivia?”Victoria asked, causing him to sigh without answering her.“Wow, it is, isn’t it? Do you know that she is pregnant by another man?”Matteo felt dizz
"Mum!" A piercing shriek echoes the halls, halting the adult conversation between Daniel, Neil (Who is on Daniel’s laptop screen) and me. “I guess that’s my cue.” I say to the lovers, enjoying their FaceTime together, but before I can even stand, a groggy, chubby little Luca walks in, rubbing the tears in his eyes. He walks to where I am seated at the dining table and raises his arms. “Up.” Complying with his command, I lift him and settle his soft body on my lap, to which he cuddles readily. "What is it, baby?” At first, he doesn’t answer; he closes his stormy grey eyes and keeps his fist in his mouth. "Is that Mari?" Neil asks through the video call, his face lighting up. "No, it's Luca." "Luca, say hi to Uncle Niel." Rather than say hi, he buries his little head deeper into my chest as if digging a hole into me. I don’t mind it; in fact, my nose finds the darkness of his hair. He smells like baby powder. “What's up, champ.” Daniel asks him, and he immediately relents
** Happy Easter Lovelies! Enjoy the Bonus. ** "Y-your breaking up with me?" Blair's face contorted to agony when he said his cruel words. In truth, the moment she texted him about her pregnancy, he presented divorce papers to Victoria in hopes of breaking off his loveless marriage, but to his surprise, she picked up his gun and pointed it at her head. "You think Matteo will forgive you? If he knows I killed myself because of you, do you think your precious ‘family’ will stay intact?" For a moment, Christopher was sure he was dreaming at the threat Victoria uttered. A woman with only eyes for his brother should be happy with the divorce, but instead, she held a gun to her head with a threat that rocked him. He loved Matteo more than anything, especially after Luca asked him to protect him and give him a sense of security that his parents stole from him. They were three broken boys trying to find their hearts again, and they made so many mistakes along the way, too many, one w
Finally! Elizabeth felt her heart about to burst; her cute and chubby niece and nephew were coming the next month. Their mother had been complaining for days on end about wanting to see her grandkids, and with the election coming up, the timing couldn't have been better to bring down the president. "Around the corner, there is some parking on the roof." Elizabeth said as she directed Christopher D’Amico. Something she never thought she would do in all her life. "Thanks, see you arou- why are you getting out of the car?" She asked with a frown once they had parked, and he now looked as if he wanted to follow her inside. "Someone needs to keep you out of trouble." "You said you were only dropping me; I never would have agreed if-" "I know, but I won't interfere with your night; I'll drive you home after so you aren’t arrested because of breaking into a zoo or something, that's it." He said in a deep voice that exuded authority, but that was precisely the problem. Elizabeth wan
I feel the need to mention that, no Etienne and Anthony were harmed during the time skip in the last chapter; they were just posted away from the main family to Italy. Jokes on Christopher, they liked it because they were paid to laze around without the tension of him grumbling all over the place.I'd also like to ask your vote on a setting, would you love to read a transmigration, body switch or rebirth story?Rebirth would be when the female lead dies and goes back in time for whatever reason and purpose.A body switch would be the female lead going into another person's body. Maybe they were rich and ungrateful, and now they have entered the body of another woman who works under an obsessive billionaire, and there are consequences when they refuse to work and instead resign.Finally, transmigration would be if the female lead enters a novel they have read, whether they loved it or not. You know I love villains, so of course it’s the villain’s body that they enter. So, an example wou
Hi guys!We are finally at the end of the story!! Thank you so so much for reading, thank you for voting and thank you for loving the work and leaving a review; if you haven’t, please do.This last chapter is especially dedicated to anyone dealing with anxiety or depressive symptoms; it is a season, and it will pass. If your best is opening a window, open it. If your best is just basic self-care, taking a shower, moisturising, and putting the pyjamas right back on, do that. One step at a time. You are more loved and valued than you believe, and medication doesn't make you 'weak' or a 'failure'. Don’t be afraid to reach out, but more than that, don’t be afraid when people reach out, say 'yes' to that trip to the beach or bowling gig, or hell, to a walk just around the corner. We are all one.For my next work, it will still be a billionaire romance, and the male lead will still be a walking red flag. Aren’t they just the best? Plusss..how could I forget to mention smut will be present? I
"But-""It's fine; I'll be back soon.”I say reassuringly to Henry.I wave off his innocent concern despite half my face being covered by his hand.If he were to slap me the same way I slapped him, I'd probably end up in the ICU. Despite knowing that, I leave Henry with Etienne in the living room and follow him like a prisoner escorted to their sentencing.**"You went to the hospital. What for?"This is not the beginning of the conversation I expect, nevertheless, Christopher’s gaze as he closes the door behind me doesn’t leave my face."The headaches, but I have the medicine, so it's fine; more than that, I haven't seen Anthony in days. Did you change my guard?""Anthony?"Christopher asks with a frown, his mouth twisting as if he has eaten something rotten."Who are you calling 'Anthony'?""My- my bodyguard, with brown hair, you assigned him to me."I explain as if he doesn’t already have that information.What is this? What is he playing at?"Did I? And he told you his name? He an
Christopher D’Amico "Spare me."It took three hours to track Alessio and four hours to corner him like this.Yet this was the nonsense he was spewing?"No."Christopher answered.The gun in his hand had no more bullets, so he hit the back of Alessio's head, causing him to fall to the ground. Of course, Alessio didn't come easily, so the blood he tasted from his lips was his.Hopefully, it wouldn’t leave a mark, but even if it did, the wound was inside his mouth, so Elizabeth would not see it.Still, it didn't matter.Everything would end today, and he could head back to Italy to find another man to take his position.Positions in the mafia could only be replaced through death; there was no such thing as a fair trial, only retirement, that was hard-earned.Alessio held his head at the point of impact as if he thought his skull had shattered. There was blood coming from his head, but Christopher heard nothing crack, at least not yet.Still, there was little he could do to guarantee the
Blood. He smells like blood. No, not just smells; he has blood on his clothes.Closing my eyes and opening them, I focus on the bouncing bunny on the screen while Henry bobs his head to the tune.Before long, his little head sways left and right before falling to my stomach as he was resting between my legs, and a soft snore follows.Aww... how precious.His little hands curl against the fabric of my clothes.I should take him to bed; I think Christopher has eaten by now or should be eating, so there should be an interruption.My hands move to scoop him up, but a voice stops me."Is there a reason you are both on the floor when there are perfectly suitable seats next to you?""Henry and I used to sit like this in the old house.”I explain without turning back to him."Are you thinking of the good old times?”His words seem pointed, so I lift Henry in my arms and turn to him with a frown."What is that supposed to mean?”I ask, noticing the curls in his poorly dried hair.Wait, wasn’t
My gaze lingers on the orange glow of the streetlights while my mind centres on the sounds of the cars whooshing past us.My sex is fine now. Other than mild tickling sensations that will go away after three or four rinses in the shower. I am fine.Well, I guess the dull ache choking my throat is something else entirely."You've been quiet for a while now."Christopher comments as he makes a turn to the estate.Of course, I have been quiet. Yesterday, I went to bed and woke up believing that he liked me, that I could have him wrapped around my finger if I tried, and that gave me the confidence to say no to him at the club, and now, I realise that I had gotten ahead of myself.I almost ruined the marriage.There is no divorce, but if perchance he changes his mind, I'll have nothing. I'll lose the one thing I came into the marriage with—Henry.He doesn't like or love me; he is curious about me. Is that even the best way to describe it?Maybe it's more he thinks he likes me.Fuck... if I
"No. Never. Not when I am with you. No-"“Not anymore, right? That’s what you want to say next, isn’t it?”I ask as the grip I had on Alessio’s leash lessens.Christopher’s lips seal as if he had no answer to my question.“I…I really can’t believe you even know what love is- ah, that’s why you said you don’t have feelings… ah, I got ahead of myself.”My voice grows smaller as I mumble the new findings."Elizabeth, please...please."“Please, what? That's so vague, considering you need me to call you the way another woman does to get you to orgasm.”I ask as I turn to face him.I think I should leave now; this…this is enough to break any ‘soft’ girl’s heart."Please... believe me. Not with you. I never think of anyone but you."He repeats as if sensing my mood."I'm half out of my mind because of the lube they applied on me, and you can't cum until I call you the nickname the 'love of your life’ called you.""You are the love of my life."Does... he even know what that means?“Then why d
"God damn it, Elizabeth!"Christopher yells as he rattles the cuffs binding him.“I said, let's talk about this later. I didn’t say ‘no’.”"You shut me down twice. I don't trust you not to lock me up somewhere and shut me down a thirty time when there are no consequences.""I won't-""Yeah...see now, I don't trust easily. That's kind of the problem with us... what did you call me? 'broken? Soft?”"Elizabeth.""Let's move on to the third round."I yell, and as if on cue, the announcer produces a tune to signal the entrance to the third round."He can choose. He can choose what he wants! He can choose, but he needs to have the full picture."Christopher finally gives in."I want it in writing.""Done. I'll get it to you by Monday morning. I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I'm sorry that I shut you down and made you feel that this was the only way to communicate. Please...please stop this.""Why? Aren't you having fun? You even left me at the store to get dragged here.""That bastard Taz-""Yes, th
"Bu-but I've lost."Participant One defended as if he took Christopher’s words seriously."You touched what is mine."The answer came back coldly.The blindfold covering my eyes feels like a burden. I want to see the expression on Christopher’s face. No, I want to see the expression on everyone’s face.I can still feel the echoes of Participant One’s fingers on my nipples. This is going to be harder than I thought."Hey, this thing has consent written all over it; she consented. So why are you threatening me?"The man asks, his desperate voice bordering on whiney."I didn't consent to you touching my wife.""Yes, you did, Taz-""Ah yes, mentioning another dead man."Christopher says in a light tone; one could almost think he is joking. Almost."Bu-""Next Participant."The announcer announced, perhaps bored with the back and forth."I'm out.""Wait, but..."The familiar voice of Participant One hesitates, perhaps hating that a participant backed down instead of doubling down like him.