LEIGH-ARI
The morning sun streaked across the room, it's light harsh on my eyes. I gave out a big yawn and willed my heavy eyes to flutter open, but they seemed to have been shut closed. After rubbing them for a good minute, I pried them open to take in the most lavish bedroom I have ever seen in my life. The bed was humongous, the rich white velvet headboard cradling my back comfortably like a throne. The side table matched the headboard, with round lamps decorating them nicely.From across the room was 118inch flat tv mounted to the wall, breathing loudly and heavily for everyone to see.The lounge area sat proud and silent just a few feet from the bed. The door on the right folded open and in came Vernero fixing his suit coat. His eyes landed on me and his features softened, just a bit before he wore his usual scowl."You're up." Aha! So much like him."Yeah. I had a good sleep." I replied and he rewarded me with a simple nod."Get ready." He announced and exiteHey Sunbeams I couldn't think of any perfect reunion of the two than this. And the fact that our feisty Laura can't even look Verzi in the eye. I hope you enjoy this one too and big love to you. Have a wonderful weekend ahead of you. Huggies... RARE
LEIGH-ARI"I really don't think we should do this." Laura dragged her feet behind me as I continued pulling her in a busy street. Gazillion people milling around plus the dang high heels I had on made it all impossible to pull a full-grown human behind me."Relax. We will be gone for like a minute." I contradicted pulling her further into the busy street."At least we should go back and call that girl... Your girl guard. What's her name again?""Raquel? No way! What's the fun in that?" She was kidding. I successfully got rid of Raquel and there was no way I was going to go back to her again."The twins..." Oh hell no I wasn't having any of that. Not when they ran off to God-knows-where to do whatever it is they did during the day."Look," I turned and held her by her arms. " I know you are worried because they are scary with tats everywhere but I need this. They are always breathing down my neck and I never have time to myself. You won't believe it, but I can't eve
LEIGH-ARIThe night rolled by quickly and we were all summoned for dinner. The tension at the dinner table was so you could cut it with a steak knife, or an ax, Laura even excused herself back to her room. Don't blame her! I just sat quietly between the twins and yelped every time Vernero breathed, which was every second. At some point, I was just done, with everything. Their angry breathing and stares, but most importantly, I was done because I had received my punishment because as of now, I was perched on a very fluffy cushion with no undies inside. Want to know why?I couldn't sit. That's why. My ass was still so sore from the spanking I literally had bruises.So when their stares grew very unbearable, I tore off from the dinner knowing well they would come trailing behind me like good dogs they were. And true to my words, as soon as I got into the bedroom, the door was pushed open and in they came,"Okay, guys I am sorry. Like really sorry." I started mumbling a quic
LORENZO POV"Will you just sit down already? You're making me dizzy." Verzi yelled from the couch where he was sitting chugging down his whiskey."Is that whiskey?" I stopped in my tracks and pointed a finger at a glass in his hand,"Nah! We ran out. It's vodka." He informed and tipped off one swig. I walked to him at the speed of lightning and yanked the glass from him, then tossed the whole liquid down. I winced as the scorching hotness burned down my throat, settling painfully in my stomach."What is wrong with you?" He asked bewildered."This shit burns," I replied slamming the glass in front of him."No shit. What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked getting up from the couch."Everything is wrong." "What do you mean?" His brows furrowed as he eyed me like I had gone crazy."Just sit down for a second okay? Sit down for one second and think of last night. Then tell me which part of that felt right to you." I yelled pointed to the door that was c
LEIGH-ARIThe party was well in full swing, and funny because nothing serious was actually done. We just arrived here and started drinking from expensive, bling wine glasses with gold linings, then the classic music came along and we all began dancing. I guess the event was more of a social event than anything else. So Laura and I went with the flow.I was sipping on my champagne when Valerie stormed to our table looking so flushed. Her mask was slightly tipped to the side and she was shoving something in her purse."Are you okay?" I asked leaning towards her. She looked up at me and smiled,"Yah sure. Why are you asking?" She breathed out and pulled a glass of wine from the collection in front of us, and chugged the whole thing down."Ahhhhhh... You don't look fine." She fixed her mask and began glancing around as if she was afraid to be seen."No. No shit. I am good. really." She insisted and I decided to let it slide. I knew she would eventually spil
LEIGH-ARIThe merry times in Dubai eventually came to an end, and we all had to fly back home. After the incident at the masquerade party, the twins doubled my "security" and restricted my movements in all ways possible. I was against it at first, but I had to deal with it because they weren't going to change their mind. They never did. They were hell-bent on protecting me and after a glance at what they actually did, I wasn't going to ask questions. It wouldn't do me any good.And Laura, she flew back home. She had a life, and it sure as hell didn't involve underground lords with guns and tattoos and mercenaries. Although it was hard to let her go, knowing that I was going to be alone again, I had to. I had to let her go.And I missed her already, so much. She made living this life a hundred times better in all ways than one. But here I was, back in Dark Woods where it all started.Behind the closed stone walls of Dark Woods castle, life was well boring. A lot of maids
UNKNOWN POVThe street was buzzing with the afternoon traffic, cars honking their horns and chatters could be heard from every corner of the street. People were milling on the sidewalks under the blazing sun of mid-autumn. I spotted the 'said' restaurant a few meters from where I was parked with the engine running, then turned the key and killed the ignition.I looked around to see if anyone was looking and then slipped out of the car, keeping it secret, yet normal to avoid attracting some unnecessary attention. Although I didn't understand why he chose this place, where Vernero's men were literally everywhere, I was at his mercy and needed his help, so I had to run with whatever he said.I pushed the door of the restaurant open and stepped into a very shabby interior. The seats were round leather couches which were well off finished from how worn out they were, the table with bumps of moisture. This place may have been quite a diner back in the days. But now, not so much!
LEIGH-ARIThe following days passed in a blur. The twins decided to have a new security system installed and doubled up on the guards on patrol. The motion sensors were upgraded by a hundred, the CCTVs in the west wing were also installed. I had fought with them tooth and nail for installing the cameras in my room. They claimed it was for my safety and I understood that, but I wasn't going to be under surveillance even when I was sleeping. The bedroom was my safe fortress, where I escaped to when everything got too much. It was the only thing that was keeping me sane even though it didn't belong to me alone (since the twins had taken the liberty to sleep with me against my will.). Having the cameras installed was going to deprive me of the little sense of privacy that was left and I wasn't going to let them take that little piece of me away. They had taken too much already and I didn't have anything left of myself.Vernero wanted to be pig-headed about it, and then I told him
LEIGH-ARIDays flew by and the secret grew heavy in my chest. With each passing second, I weighed my options and the pros and cons of telling the twins about Xander. It was just way too much. But I had decided against it when Xander took four full nights without visiting.Maybe he had found whatever he was looking for. Because he just disappeared without much of a word. But still, I felt guilty for carrying all this by myself. Xander was the twins' enemy, and he wouldn't waste a chance to destroy them and vice versa. The twins had to know.At the same time, I feared for what they would do to each other. It was their world, it was what they did, what they knew. I get that very well. But I wasn't going to allow any bloodshed. Not under my watch.So instead of telling the twins, I decided to put on my smallest bikini and sunbathe by the poolside just right outside the west wing.Raquel was also with me and the other maids were dismissed. We were sitting in a very comfort
VERNERO POVI was sitting on one of the couches in our bedroom flipping through channels, ever so relaxed after a long day. My mind drifted back to when Leigh messed up the gun training so bad, but I had found that so cute I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to stop. Had it been anyone, they would have been six feet underground for wasting my time. But watching the determination on her face as she aimed the target, only to miss it so terribly or just continue pulling the trigger without the gun going off; that had been the highlight of my day.Right when I was lost in thought the door slit open and in came Enzo whose eyes found me first.“Hey, bud.” He said warmly and walked towards the couch where he plopped himself next to me and stared at the TV with me,“Rough day at work?” I inquired staring at him,“Not really. Why are you alone in here? Where’s Tesoro?” he asked with his eyes still glued to the TV.“She's mopping and sulking in the bathroom. Refused when I t
EXTRACTED FROM CHAPTER 69 LEIGH-ARI“The bosses are going to love the little transformation. It looks so good on you. Right baby?” Val called from the passenger’s seat before gently squeezing Ciello’s hand that was rested on the gear lever and looked at him dreamily. I smiled from the backseat where I was sitting, watching the little interaction between the two little birds that were just so in love with each other.“Definitely. That little taint looks good in her hair.” Ciello replied with the little knowledge he has in woman’s beauty espionage causing me to guffaw with peals of laughter.“They are called highlights. Not taint. But I think they are going to bite my head before really accepting that I did a little change to the hair. And just know you will carry the blame if they complain about the length.” Following the recent rundowns, Val had asked me to join her on a spa appointment which was way too tempting to deny, so I had pleaded with the guys w
EPILOGLeaving Dark Woods felt so foreign and oddly queer that I felt like I was leaving the biggest part of me behind. I couldn’t help but steal glances as the cab that Val had gotten me stretched further and further from the castle, and I didn’t understand why my heart hurt so painfully when I was actually doing the right thing for the three of us. Surprisingly, Dark Woods had grown on me so much that it felt like home, and one always cried when leaving home. I wanted to laugh because I used to resent this place so much, but now I was in pain for leaving.Was it because I left without saying goodbye? Was it because I didn’t even see the look on their faces when I turned my back and left? But this wasn’t a goodbye. It was not! And seeing the look on their faces would have shattered me into pieces and I wouldn’t be leaving, that's why I sneaked out when they were still sleeping. I glanced down at my finger where two rocks that became one were nestled so big and proud. A sm
LEIGH-ARI The morning rolled over more quickly than I anticipated and I found myself thinking of my life before and after I came to Dark Woods. It has really been a crazy, epic ride. From being a straight-A student and putting on the dang long coat, being addressed as Dr. Montreal and doing what I loved the most; to being kidnapped by hot ass dudes who are insanely obsessed with me, claiming to be my men, and then being locked in the steam and triggering the mines that nearly split me open, I mean heck! My life was indeed one for the books.But one thing I gained in this crazy dissension of hearts and guns was the love I had never fathomed possible. Love that consumed me whole and made me feel so strong and bold like I could take over the whole world. Love that burned so fiercely deep inside me I felt like I would combust at any moment. The Cattanio twins gave me that kind of love, and I could never ask for more. They made me feel so complete, and that's crazy because the
LORENZO POV“Did we really have to do it ourselves?” I asked glaring around at the busy-as-shit mall where people were milling for Christmas shopping. Christmas was just 2 days ahead and the whole town was fully packed with people. I don't know why today of all days, but Ari insisted we came to get some gifts for ourselves and do a little bit of shopping. And by gifts, I didn’t think she meant a thousand shopping bags in a cramped shopping mall where you bumped into a person every second and breathed in their stinky sweat.“Yes. It is called living.” She replied from across me and reached out for my hand. I quickly stretched my hand out and she squeezed it mellowly, surprisingly calming me down. I wasn’t expecting to be so anxious to be out in public with just her and Verzi, not even a single guard in view. But If you asked me, it was truly thrilling to be living like normal civilians. It was safe to say we were missing out on a lot of things!Right when I was still lost in
LEIGH-ARIA full week has passed since that incident. After receiving the old Verzi in my heart and soul, we had pulled ourselves from the heap of limbs off the floor and took a very steamy shower, things really got heated right away and they were too good to even think about. Fast forward, we made love the whole night and I can tell that the puzzle was complete.And from then on, the change in the boys was very evident. It was as if this whole weight was lifted from them, and they were so light on their feet and bodies. Verzi smiled and laughed often, he was the happiest version of himself, and Enzo, my big guy was also on cloud nine. Lorik had been the force that weighed them down for so long; for so long that they just stopped living, and just existed.And now; things were so different!And because of that, I felt like it was time, I felt like the time was right to tell them what I needed to tell them. With that thought in mind, I called them out to the Tower Loun
LEIGH-ARIThe nauseating stench of burning flesh had reigned through the night in Dark Woods, making my bones clutter and tremble from underneath my skin. I had known this day was to come, I had known very well that he was going to pay for all he has done, and I wasn’t against it! Lorik had it coming!The only thing that unsettled me the most was what his death might do to my boys. I feared for them that they will lose themselves, for as much as it was so weird and very hard to believe, Lorik was their father!Yes they didn’t have the best relationship but the blood ties, that blood running through their veins was Lorik’s, and as much as I wanted to sweep the issue under the rug and be glad he was out of their lives, I was scared. Scared for them; but mostly, scared and terrified for Verzi.I didn't even want to being to think what he was going through when he ended Lorik's life. I didn't want the details, should he want to share with us how he did it then we'd sit besid
VERNERO POVA wall-shattering scream tore out of my lungs, as my body sunk into a deep bottomless sea of cold water. I watched as the air leave his body, his soul departing with his black eyes still glued to my face. For the very first time since I have known my father, this was the time he looked at me with fatherly love, the one kind I have longed for, for as long as I can remember; and my heart hurt so much. I didn’t understand it! Why did it hurt so bad? Why did I feel weak in the knees for killing him while it has been the one thing that I have dreamed of?Tears streamed down my face as I turned the dagger, eliciting a squelching sound as it tore deeper and deeper through his heart. He was dead already because he wasn’t moving. But his eyes were as open and as clear as day! I screamed! God, I screamed so hard that my cry made the walls of the dungeons tremble.With a very defeated body, I slowly pulled the dagger from him, and then robotically watched as it dropped
BONUS CHAPTER 1LORIK POV“I forgive you.” The words charged at me like a sharp dagger that gatecrashed through my heart leaving me breathless. Heat rose from my neck and settled just right above my head, creating a cloud of intense self-loathing that made my ears deaf. With blurred vision, I watched as she slowly sashayed out of the damp dense cellar where I was chained.My eyes followed her movements until she was out of view. My mind reeled with all sorts of thoughts recalling all the evil things I have committed. She had forgiven me, despite everything I had done to her. She forgave me and bathed me clean, after being tortured by my son for how long... Heck, I didn’t even know how long I have in here without food, water, let alone taking a bath. I reeked of death and all the things I have done in my past. Vernero always brought him a small bite of protein bar just to keep me alive, nothing more than that. I was famished, my throat so patched it felt like it was burn