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Chapter XXX: "Ready?" "As I'll ever be,"
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Nicole lay sprawled across the bed, one of the twins sitting before her and playing with her hair while the other tried climbing onto her back.
"You two are adorable, but I am exhausted," She sighed at the little boy before her who took a fist full of her brown tresses and tried to eat them. "And this isn't food," Nicole pried her hair out of his hands and placed a kiss on his cheek as he giggled.
"Hello," A voice spoke from the entrance as she lifted her head up to see her mother and father-in-law standing in the doorway with warm smiles.
"Oh! Hey!" Nicole greeted and sat up, the little girl whining as her stepping stone disappeared.
Getting off the bed, she went and hugged them both as they returned the gesture before they were ushered inside. Rosalie went over to Marina while Arcangelo grabbed Michele and lifted him in the air, laughing in triumph when the baby gi
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Unknown Territory Chapter XXXI: Mind's need to blame
Sighing tiredly, Salvatore pulled off the t-shirt he wore, lazily stretching out on the bed before covering his eyes with his arms. Inhaling deeply he took hold of his phone and checked to see if he had any messages."What are you doing?" Nicole's voice inquired in exasperation as he scrolled through the device."Just checking for messages,""We agreed, Salvatore," She admonished and plucked it from his hands before putting it onto his side table."Fine, fine," He relented and lay back on the bed. "No phone,""That's right," She grinned at him and hitched up her silken nightgown to straddle his waist watchingSalvatore let out an exhale before she intertwined their fingers together. "No phone,""This is new," Salvatore noticed the grey satin nightgown she wore that was pooled up to her thighs.
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXII: Making Sense
Every single one of the Regnante family had been moved to the estate.Salvatore would rather that they all stay home, but given their careers, they couldn't afford that and were now provided with an entourage of 5 men per person.After the attack on his parents, Salvatore had become increasingly more worried and paranoid about their safety, he had begun sleeping even less and getting him to eat something had become a virtual impossibility. Nicole had been watching his behavior grow increasingly erratic for the initial few days: having put his family on house arrest before Arsenio talked sense into him after which he enforced the entourage of five men.Then after the initial unpredictable behavior dissipated, he fell quiet. He hardly spoke, lost interest in his work, grew increasingly fatigued day by day, and there was the constant look of guilt about him which had Nicole choking back t
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXIII: Domestic Squabble
Nicole sat with her back to the armrest with her legs over Salvatore's lap, an art pad in her lap as she drew her husband's concentrated expression as he read the file in hand with sunlight pouring over him. His wife clicking her tongue when he moved his head, grasping his chin into her hand and fixing the direction as he let her do as she willed. Leaning back again, her eyes drifted to her cup of coffee, going to reach for it before realizing her husband's breakfast was untouched."Salvatore, you have to eat something," Nicole sighed as he flipped through a file in his hand, slowly sipping his coffee. "You didn't even eat dinner yesterday,""I'm not hungry," He murmured in response and clicked his pen, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he blinked at the words."Baby, please eat something," She found herself pleading more often nowadays.Her husband had lost
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXIV: Wrongdoings
Soft music swam through the interior of the bedroom, Nicole cleaning around with a bounce in her step and gently humming along to the instrumental symphony as she fluffed the cushions with the 1-year-old toddlers too occupied by the blocks laid before them. Humming to herself, Nicole turned around to grab something but instead was greeted by her husband's chest."Oh," She jumped in surprise, never having heard him enter much less come and stand behind her.Nicole looked up at him as he was giving her a gentle smile. She watched him wrap an arm around her waist with the other taking hold of her hand and he began waltzing as his wife laughed at him, Salvatore's smile growing at the sound.The two of them swayed around the room and danced to the music, Nicole too lost as the occasional giggle would escape her at his antics.Salvatore had been getting better. Sleep
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXV: Retaliation
Stars illuminated the sky dressed in flowing black and for once; it wasn't covered by grey clouds and crying a fresh wave of snowflakes. The floor was the opposite of the roof above, white against black shining with diamonds. The house had been shining like fire in the setting sun, but now had been reduced to an ebony shadow in the distance, and at this time of the night, the majority of the lights had been turned off as well.Men hid on tree branches, watching the house, and the men patrolling the grounds, knowing they had a small time window, and the job needed to be done quickly. Their Boss was amongst the men hidden between the leaves, his immaculate suit replaced by black camouflage and a device fitted into his ear."Piero," Their boss called into the device, his voice hardly above a whisper, with his mouth covered by a black scarf tokeep away the cold. "Are you in position?"Pier
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXVI: Mama
For the past one week, Nicole had either been sobbing nonstop or staring at her phone in hopes of a message or call from Salvatore. On more than a few occasions she had wanted to call him, even go back home, but Luca had told her to give him time. She had. She did try her hardest to give him the time that he needed, but now it was just becoming too much. The guilt, the longing, the need, his comfort. She needed to go back.Choking back the tears, she trudged out of her room and made her way across the hallway before pushing open the door to her parent's bedroom. She was hoping to talk to her father but instead found her mother reading, her gaze shooting up from the book to look at her from beneath her lashes."Nicole," She sat up, watching her daughter make her way forward and collapsing on the mattress, burying her face into the pillow and not caring how much criticism she would face. "Ti symvaínei? What
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXVII: Salvatore
Nicole stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself in the black V-neck wrap dress that reached her knees. Her hair was left open, but it was a mess, she hadn't bothered brushing out the tangles after her shower, as a matter of fact, the only reason she had showered was because of Salvatore dragged her in with him.Swallowing the lump in her throat, she gave herself a long hard look. Her eyes a soft pink from her incessant crying, her lips chapped and her cheeks ashen. It hadn't been 2 days, and already she looked like a zombie.Black always had suited her, accentuated the green of her eyes or contrasted with the rich hazel of her hair, but now, she wore black to commemorate her grief for her loss. She had every right to be a mess, Salvatore said, she had every right to cry and scream and be angry, and she knew that and agreed.But what she didn't agree with was the need to invite
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXVIII: Seperation
It had been over a week since Rhea's funeral, and since that day, neither Nicole nor Salvatore slept in the same room, the mafia boss waiting for her verdict. He had his wife sleep in their bedroom while he had initially slept in Stephen's room until the American went back to his apartment and he shifted onto the recliner in the twin's nursery. Both husband and wife didn't talk to each other, no matter how much the Mafia Boss wanted to, he knew she needed her time and space after everything that happened.A part of Nicole still blamed Salvatore, and his words would constantly be swimming through her mind. How her drugging him behind his back triggered unpleasant memories, and how if she did begin to hate him, the only plausible solution was a divorce and she spent entire days just lying in bed and not doing anything.And she didn't know if she wanted to separate from him...Salvatore stood d
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Unknown Territory Epilogue
18-MONTHS-LATERThe sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the curtains, bathing the room in a limited glow. The illumination showing a master bedroom with an off-white carpet and walls that were half white and half sea-green wooden planks. The window was to the beds right and covered by cream-colored drapes. A grey high backed bed against the center of the wall with white sheets and two leather single benches at the foot of the bed, with an antique ottoman rug beneath the structure.Two people slept in silence, the beeping of the alarm disrupting the peace.A hand poked out from beneath the covers and fiddled with the device before turning it off, her ring glittering in the sunlight pouring in.No soon had she
Unknown Territory Chapter LI: End of the Line
Nicole choked on her sobs, unable to breathe as she clutched her knees, throwing her head back to inhale deeply, a trembling hand against her chest as she tried to regain her bearings."Nicole," Her father called out behind her softly and tried to lift her off the floor, stumbling back when she lost her footing.The lump and tears made it difficult for her to breathe, forcing her to wheeze as she pulled herself away from her father, making her way forward. Both Marco and Arsenio took a step back, allowing her to walk towards the bed, watching her shoulders shaking with her tears before she fell on his chest, gasping for breath.A hand stroked the back of her hair as she cried into his chest."Breathe," He croaked beneath her, stroking her hair with drips connected to the back of his palm. "Breathe, Nicole,"Shaking her head, she pulled back h
Unknown Territory Chapter L: Searching
Nicole had gotten discharged a few days ago with a prescription for medicine and instructions stating that she should rest and come for a check-up every month for the next four months. When she signed the forms, she had turned towards her guards, handing one of them the prescription and sending him to get the medicine, while the other was instructed to get her a fresh change of clothes, while she went and settled in Salvatore's room.She slept and woke there, didn't move from the place and always asked the doctor the same question."Have they found a heart yet?"But given that the Mafia Boss was an O-positive, it was difficult to find someone with that blood type and was a donor.His wife decided to speak to him in case she went insane from things left unsaid."You had no right to order Major to pull the plug,"Nico
Unknown Territory Chapter XLIX: Official Mandate
No matter how hard the doctors tried, Nicole refused to stay in her room.She would allow them to do their check-ups and would patiently sit through the 6-hour hemodialysis therapy, but the moment they would take her off the machine, she refused to sit in her room; instead, she would go and sit beside Salvatore.Day by day, she was regaining her strength, she began walking around her room, but wasn't strong enough to walk all the way to his room as of yet. So she had insisted that the doctors shift her to a room closer to his and promised to rest more if they did. It had taken a day or two, but eventually, she was moved to the room beside his.She even visited Serafina when the doctors would be in Salvatore's room.Nicole had to wonder, how beautiful and peaceful Serafina looked. Her hair was washed and brushed, her complexion fair, and her eyes closed, she loo
Unknown Territory Chapter XLVIII: Breaking of hearts
The light overhead is what awoke Nicole, that and the incomprehensible jumble of words swarming around her. Groaning, she blinked open her eyes, shielding them from the harshness of the light, and was surprised to find something tugging at the back of her palm. Turning her hand, she found I.V drips and various wires connecting her to different machines, an oxygen mask over her mouth, and what looked like a dialysis machine purifying her blood through her left arm.Looking towards the large machine to her left, she blinked her eyes, seeing her father seated and hunched over a book, murmuring the words out loud.Straining to listen, sherecognized the words, her eyebrows knitting in confusion before noticing the rosary in his hands."Since have you taken to reciting Holy Scripture?" Nicole asked in a hollow voice, suddenly realizing how parched she felt."Christ!"
Unknown Territory Chapter XLVII: Fragmented
A groan escaped Salvatore as he was regaining consciousness and felt himself being dragged against the moss-covered forest floor before the texture changed from the rugged natural terrain to smooth marble. His head lolled from side to side as the stench of death attacked his senses, feeling someone pat him down before taking out all the weapons that he had; his phone included and then took off the bullet proof vest he had been wearing.With his skull pounding, he tried to open his heavy eyelids suppressing shiver when a warm sensation tickling down his nape and down his back.Suddenly he was dropped to the floor without warning and his head hit the marble floor with a grotesque crack that had the Mafia Boss groan in pain, clutching at his skull. A pained moan escaped Salvatore as he rolled onto his stomach, sitting up to be kneeling on the floor, a hand cradling the abused area and slowly cracking open his eye
Unknown Territory Chapter XLVI: Sunrise
Rushing down the flight of stairs, Salvatore stepped out into the late October chill as their breath fogged up. Guards creating a circle with their guns pointed at the suit-clad man kneeling on the grass with his hands behind his head and breathing heavily.The man had brown hair that fell into his beady black eyes, a hooked nose with a jutting square jaw and had a rather pale complexion – either that or he was terrified."Who are you?" Salvatore stepped forward and clenched the ring in his palm, the guards stepping to the side with their guns poised."I need to see Salvatore Regnante," He looked up at him, causing the Mafia Boss to raise his eyebrows, realizing he had no idea who Salvatore was. "Please," He pleaded in desperation."Why do you need to see him?""I...God..." He choked out. "They took the ring and I-"
Unknown Territory Chapter XLV: Bedtime stories
Nicole did not know how long she had been locked away in that holding cell. She did not know what date it was, nor what time it was, but there were two things she was most certain of. One, her husband would come and find her soon; and two, she had a friend.Davide had proven to be quite trustworthy.She had been hesitant at first, but he kept talking to her, and she had been so deprived of human interaction of late that she took what she could get. He had the day duty with her four days of a week, and every time when he came to guard her, he'd bring one game or another and always had the most fascinating stories to share. Nicole laughed every once in a while and sometimes told him stories about herself, granted he didn't know who she was or whom she's married to, and he was very content with not prying.Davide had warmed up to her as well.She felt like a little sist
Unknown Territory Chapter XLIV: Growth
Nicole remembered how confused she felt when she had woken up in a room that wasn't her own. And her bewilderment had just grown exponentially to see herself dressed in the attire she had worn to the gala. Stumbling out of the bed, she had looked around herself, the room was scarcely furnished, with a wooden platform bed in the center, a wardrobe to her right along with a door leading to the bath, and a window to her left.Gathering her dress in her hands, she looked out, surprised to find it being dark, but her body was awake like it was morning. Walking towards the door, she tried turning it, finding it to be locked."Hey!" Nicole banged on the door with her fist. "Let me out!"The moment she had awoken she had realized she was kidnapped, and she had to wonder what happened to Salvatore, remembering the way he had stopped breathing. Knowing she had no way out, she settled back on the bed,
