“What?” I didn’t ask so that they would repeat; I asked because it was the only thing I could say. The news sounds like a lie. Is this like the sort of game where they give me worse news in hopes that the bad news feels better? “Where can I see her?” “The family will be coming in to identify the body on-” Identify the body? The ringing in my head turns dangerously loud. Oh God, they are serious…oh… A deep sorrow cuts through my head, blurring my vision and filling my eyes with tears. A sob leaves my lips, doubling down the more I remember her face covered in blood and red and blue lights paired with the glassy look in her eyes. It's my fault...if I hadn't invited her to the wedding, if I hadn't invited her to a sleepover or if we had never been friends. "I had something of a crush towards you, so I always feel the need to put you first, protect you, but I’m scared, Olivia. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to put you before me; I have younger sisters who need me.” For some
Matteo D’AmicoVeronica’s voice was raised, and despite her lack of expression, he could tell how furious she was."I am only-"He tried to explain."Leave. Both of you, do whatever you will with Olivia's things at your house-""Wait, please!"Panic gripped him at her words, but to his plea, she shook her head adamantly."Go home, Mr D'Amico. There is no one here for you.""You can't kick me out. I left Italy for-""I will pay for your flight back. Waste no more resources on us.”Again, Veronica interrupted him as if she knew what he would say and did not wish for the conversation to take place.“If you would just give me a mom-”He stood abruptly, causing Veronica’s men to reach for their weapons, so he moved cautiously.“If you would give me a moment, I'd like to see her and make sure she is okay.”“She is fine.”He was growing tired of her cutting him off. It would be easy for him to use his connections or to barge in, but he wanted the mother of the woman he was fond of to think o
Matteo D’ Amico."That's what you did when I was with Veronica Lawson. You got in the way; you got in my way. Go home."Matteo said, using a tone he never thought he would use toward Victoria."What?"She repeated as if she genuinely could not comprehend what he said."If you are in Italy, you can take over for Christopher while he is here.""Take over for him while he grieves his mistress? What sort of wife do you peg me to be, Matteo?""His."He answered simply."You were the one who made me marry him.""What do you mean 'made you'? What in our break up said, ‘marry my brother’?""Hah! How dare you act as if…”She bit her lower lip.“I just wanted to be part of your family, and you wouldn’t let me in, so how... Anyway, I am not going to Italy."Her voice was low, and it trembled slightly as she spoke.He hated seeing her that way, but with his rising frustration, things didn't seem to be looking up for him mood-wise so he didn’t want to ‘deal with this’."Then can you wait for me in
Olivia B Lawson The man at the centre, the biggest and meanest-looking one, nods. “Is this really the best time to make an appearance?” My mother asks, crossing her hands, and the man nods. “There is a division; there are those who want to serve you as per the will and others who want to serve Sheila, his wife.” “And you want me to believe that you are on my side?” I ask, and he nods. “There are ways to test us.” Test? I'm barely walking on my own. Can I handle grown men who live for the hunt? Why would that bastard leave this to me? Why would he give me his wealth and pin a death flag on me...is this why he wanted me to marry Daniel? “Give me anything you can find on the D'Amico brothers and on the car that collided with mine on the twenty-eighth. If you get me something useful, we'll talk about the corps’ future, your expectations, and my expectations." If anything, my sentence is more of a bluff; I don’t have time to deal with a rift in the mercenary corps, especially whe
“You are joking.”Daniel responds dryly as a worried expression covers his face.“Is that how you respond to my proposal? I’m hurt.”I say, placing my hand on my chest as if I were truly hurt by his words.“Olivia, this is crazy; first of all, I don’t want to die at the hands of a mafia bastard. I've watched Godfather, and I am squeamish; second of all-”“This is the only thing that will work; at least that will buy us time. I don’t want to walk down the aisle pregnant, so we’ll naturally have to push the wedding by two years because I would want my kids to be a part of it, and by that time, the president’s re-election would be just around the corner. With this plan, we can stay engaged for a while and have a way around him, especially if he is convinced you are the father.”I finish explaining my thoughts, but Daniel’s expression remains wild.“You don’t need to answer right away. I will give you until Blair’s funeral.”I add when he still remains silent.“You said ‘my kids’?”He ask
“Mat-”I choke out his name, but he moves my fingers over the gun, tracing every curve before leaving my finger on the trigger.Everything inside me feels cold; fear seems to cripple my sense of self as the only sound in my ears remains my thundering heart.“Stop Matt-”“He sat behind that wheel waiting for you, waiting for your car and accelerated so he could kill everyone in that car.”Matteo continues; the more I squirm, the more he whispers words I wish to unhear.Gradually, Matteo’s thoughts became mine and his anger became my own as Blair’s glassy eyes as she hung lifelessly above me like a ghost filled my vision.He wanted to kill...me and my unborn babies, but he instead killed…. Blair. My Blair.The bloody man crying on my feet did that.I know the man is saying ‘please’, but I can't hear him anymore.‘About Blair…I-I am so sorry, Bethany.’My mum’s words come to me as I remember the burning loss flooding me at the news of her passing. He never even gave her a chance to fight
“You don’t…feel better?” Matteo asks. “I do, but... I don’t feel ‘cured’. You know?” I say, finally slowing down to inhale the chilly air. “That’s a given. Something was taken from you; it will take some time to feel whole again.” I sigh at his answer. He has experience with grief, so I will trust him when he says time is the answer. “There might be hell to pay with Sheila’s death.” I say to Matteo, but he shrugs. “Her husband's men helped us get her.” The mercenary corps? Why? "Anyway, business talk aside, you can go to the funeral now." "What?" I ask as I wipe the wetness from my face and turn to Matteo, who, even though he had killed a man, looked the same. "They were planning something for the funeral." "Still? Didn't they feel anything at killing an innocent person?" His arms wrap around me from behind as I complain, and I inhale him. How can he smell good at such a time? His fingers stroke my hair soothingly. I don’t get it. Didn't they regret killing Blair? M
"I swear it was an accident; I didn't mean to break the perfume."Reading the mood, Victoria instantly softened her voice.Yet despite her sweet and purposefully pitiful tone, Matteo's face remained hard.Truthfully, she had expected him to come home, complain about the smell of her perfume, and then finally drop the topic and berate her for eating cereal instead of the meals he usually cooked for her.Why wasn't he doing that?Instantly, she pushed her cereal aside and stood to face him, ensuring his shirt that fell to give way to her cleavage was in view. To her dismay, Matteo turned his gaze away from her.At first, a dry laugh found her, but the more his gaze remained away from her, the more irritated she felt."What are we?"At her question, Matteo looked taken aback, so much so that he turned to face her once again."It's been nearly ten years since we met, ten years since we fell in love, and yes, your face might turn blue at the word ‘love’, but I'm here! And I still love you