For the first time in months, I felt a sense of relief wash over me completely, serenading every inch of my body as I felt at peace. It had been a long, ugly battle that resulted in the deaths of a handful of people but it was worth it in the end. Syrius had been dealt with and defeated. His body was never recovered from the explosion but it was clear to everyone present there that there was no way he had survived it–Alessandro testified to it himself. He had triggered the explosion. As much as this battle was won to help me claim my birthright, I also knew that Alessandro took his revenge on Syrius to avenge the death of Maya who had been murdered in cold blood. It's been a week since Syrius was killed and I hadn't had the chance to celebrate this victory with Alessandro yet. He had sent me home with instructions not to leave the grounds until he returned. I heard a knock on my door and I glanced at the watch. 02:45 AM.Who could it be? The mansion was quiet, there was no comm
“I’m pregnant,” I whispered, holding my palms to my face as I felt a mixture of emotions coursing through me. I’d been pregnant for over two weeks now since I did the strip test twice to confirm if it was real but I hadn’t told anyone about it yet—until now.Andra and Aiden screamed at the top of their lungs as soon as I spoke, they both rushed over to envelop me in a bone-crushing hug, Andra was kissing me all over my face much to her delight and my dismay.I'd made a quick stop in Greece to see a fashion show and I had gotten into the country a couple of days ago with Andra and Aiden who had escorted me. We were having a fun day out and they were just discovering that I had been pregnant for two weeks now. I had earlier thought that I was down due to accumulated stress but after Aiden had forced me to go to the hospital, the doctor had dropped the bombshell on me with a flurry of congratulatory messages. Andra on the other hand was dividing godmother duties with a couple of my f
A few days later, I was resting out beside the pool. It had been a strenuous week and I was trying to use up my free time before I would need to get to work again. Things were speeding up already, the plan was in its final stages. Alessandro had decided that the time for sitting back was over and we needed to be on the front foot for once. Everyone had taken their stand and anytime from now, war cries would be called out in the streets and lives would be lost on both sides fighting for what they believed in. I had been gearing up to join in the fight because it was clear that even though my father had signed the indenture, he wasn’t going to give up so easily and I couldn’t just sit and wait for them to come at us, I wanted to contribute out there in the field but Alessandro had instantly rejected my offer. He wanted me here, safe and with soldiers to guard me and the baby growing inside me. It made no sense to me because shying away from the same people I was to lead after givin
Alessandro continued. “Lydia, meet Gianna, my wife who I told you about, she’s been an amazing partner right from the start.”I reluctantly stretched out my hand to take Lydia’s, who hesitated for a few seconds. “You’ve never mentioned her in any of our discussions before.” I reminded Alessandro, a forced smile plastered on my face. Alessandro opened his mouth and snapped it shut before recovering from the shock. “Well, my bad. I guess we never had that much time to discuss our previous personal relationships and the like. But Lydia is like family to this mafia, she’s been coming ever since our childhood days and she’s our honored guest here whenever she makes time to be around.”“I see,” I mused, uninterested in knowing anything about her. I remained silent and engaged in a stare-off with Lydia. I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me Lydia had previously been involved with Alessandro's mistress. Lydia looked smug as she provocatively looked at me, I was still seething in jealousy
Having Lydia around wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and for the first few weeks, she had carried herself accordingly. A small part of me had believed she was here to take Alessandro from me and despite the conversations we’ve had in the past, I wasn’t quite convinced until I saw it for myself. We’d grown closer as the days went by, she often joined Delight, Andra, and me in the gardens now and then as we shared a bottle of wine and traded jokes about our love lives.My relationship with Alessandro was deteriorating rapidly as we had both preferred to act delusional about the incoming split rather than discuss it like civilized adults. He would often give me the excuse that he had a lot to do at the office and between that and combining controlling Syrius’ investments, he never had any time for me. Every morning before I woke, he’d be gone and his side of the bed would be cold.I couldn’t talk to Yoda about this and I couldn’t tell the girls either, so I kept it within myself,
Lydia’s POVIt had taken me several months to come up with this plan and I wasn’t going to fail. Not now, not ever. Everything I’ve ever worked for depended on the success of this plan and I was willing to risk everything and anything to ensure that it succeeded. Not everything I told Gianna had been a lie. The truth was that we were a lot more similar than I would’ve loved to admit but that was the truth. I had a father who wanted to hand over everything we built to my brother who was unfit for the role despite my protests, he wasn’t going to change his mind and I didn’t have it in me to stay calm and watch everything be taken away from me. What neither Alessandro nor Gianna knew was that I’d left home for the past three years and I’d been bouncing around countries, trying to build a name for myself before going back to Russia to claim my birthright. During my visits to the United States with my family when I was a teenager, I fell in love with Alessandro, who was a decade older
Alessandro’s POVI was starting to catch feelings for Gianna despite our initial agreement and I didn’t know what to make of it. I didn’t want it to happen but it seemed I could do nothing about it despite how hard I tried to keep a leash on my feelings, it kept on gnawing at me, forcing me to see her in a different light. It’s been nearly a year since I stumbled upon her in the club and within that period, she had grown into her own woman. Maturing beyond her years and becoming a favorite in the pack. Her pregnancy was starting to show even more and it added to her beauty if that was even possible or maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me, trying to force me to acknowledge how I truly felt. She rarely spoke about her former home anymore but I knew she hadn’t forgotten. The baby was the only thing on her mind right now and when she’d given birth, she’d focus on taking control of the mafia.Oftentimes when we’ve spent the evenings taking a stroll through the woods, I’ve come
A week had passed since my late-night discussion with Luciana and I hadn’t stopped thinking about her last words before she left. Gianna isn’t Mara, she never will be.If I wanted her to stay, I had to give her a good reason that wouldn’t make her want to leave if the chance ever arose. I had to make her feel loved and make her see that I was in love with her as well, hoping that someday she would fall in love with me and become mine when we were certain that this was what we both wanted. Lydia had been feeding me some bits of information and I didn’t know what to make of it. She was a close friend and she’d always been around for the past two decades so I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t want to lie to me but hearing what she was saying about Gianna was a lot for me to take in.I felt bad after brushing off her offer of having dinner earlier so I had to make it up to her by coming home earlier than I’ve done for the past few weeks but I was reluctant to talk to her yet.“I’ve been
Seven years laterIt’s been seven years of peace and our relations with everyone have prospered as well. There has been no war or reports of rebellions in any part of the jurisdiction that Yoda oversees and we have been living our best lives as well aside from the occasional attempts by people who wanted to harm us. The pact we made with Yoda seven years ago had proven to be a masterstroke. The starting had been extremely difficult seeing as Yoda wasn’t from the bloodline but as things went on, it became easier for Alessandro to teach Yoda the ropes and he had been extremely patient with Yoda until he became his own man. Jade had returned to her coven after completing her teachings and it had been a year since we saw her last. It was quite understandable, she had left a lot of things unattended to and they needed her now more than ever. The coven was growing and they needed a permanent high priestess. The most shocking thing that had happened in the past seven years was the marria
The door opened once again and this time, Yoda walked in.“Am I interrupting something?” He asked.“No, not at all. I was only checking in on the Don.” The doctor said, “You also need to convince her to sleep, I pray you have better luck with that than I did.” As soon as the door closed, Yoda turned to face me.“You know the doctor is right, yes?” “I’m tired of hearing that, Yoda.” I sighed. “I’ll have peace of mind when he’s back with us, not before.” “You’re just as stubborn as he is.” Yoda shook his head. “Is that a compliment or..?” I trailed off, hoping he would provide the answers. “It depends on what perspective you’re seeing it from.” Yoda shrugged. “Do you think he’s going to come out of this?” I asked, my eyes finding Alessandro. “I’m going to tell you something, Gianna. I’m not sure he’s told you yet but Alessandro relinquished his position in this mafia a while ago.”I stared at him like he’d gone mad. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “No, I’m not. He handed everythi
I was consumed by fear and an even greater desire to figure out what the hell was going on with Alessandro. It’s been weeks since the decimation of Syrius and I was supposed to have the best time of my life at this point. I had been working hard to pick up the pieces of the rubble the scuffle left behind. It was over now, our enemies and anyone who might have wanted to stand against us, their prestige, and honor were in the dirt now. Everyone was begging to swear fealty to the mafia. Life couldn’t have gone any better or so I thought. I had to face the backlash head-on, I had everything to lose and nothing to gain if I didn’t figure out what was wrong with Alessandro. Thankfully, our child had been drugged with sleeping pills throughout, so he wasn't traumatized and the doctors had cleared him a few days after I was discharged but Alessandro’s case was proving to be quite difficult. It was expected that defeat would come at a huge price and seeing Alessandro lying unconscious in h
“You should’ve stayed hidden, Syrius. What the fuck do you want?” “Careful, Gianna. I enjoy you but be careful. The Syrius you once knew is gone and I don’t play around anymore.” I paused and weighed my options. I didn’t want to rile him up, he held all the chips and I had nothing. “Where’s my son?” I asked. “He’s safe.” Syrius replied. “He has no part in whatever revenge plot you have, you need to let him go and take me in his stead.” I said, trying to bargain. “I’ll make you a better offer, Gianna.” Syrius chuckled. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say but I had no choice.“And what could that be? All I want is my son. I’m not interested in bargaining for his life.” I reiterated. “I know Alessandro forces you into doing and if it weren’t for him, I’d have taken you from him all those years ago.” Syrius began. “You’re delusional if you—““I can’t stand seeing him happy and if you’ll be willing to cut ties to him, I’ll return your son to you and you’ll be by my side
I walked briskly into the large room, it was a typical, bleak coffee-stained room with dirty walls. The scent of sweat, cigarettes and musky cologne hung in the air like a chandelier, there were pictures on the wall which were some kind of modern art, the furniture looked plain, uncomfortable, leather and black. My eyes landed on a large man sitting at the center of the room. A long metal table with paper strewn across the surface, separated me from who I assumed to be the boss, he was flanked by men holding mean-looking guns, some I hadn't seen before in my life and that said a lot about the kind of people I was dealing with here. I took a close look at him as I approached the table, my gaze wary as it darted from face to face trying to pick up a hint. The skin on his body looked like grade-three sandpaper, the consistency was unreal. He lifted his face and pushed away his bowl of cereal as he saw me coming towards him. His face was badly burnt, the hair on his head was charred an
Lying down on the raw concrete, I could feel the walls closing in around me. I felt the vicious pounding of my heart banging repeatedly against my ribcage.I shut my eyes tightly. I could still hear myself yelling their names over the cacophony of a billion shards of glass as my head slammed into the mirror. I couldn't bring myself to bask in the pain I felt. I had little to no time to do what these men wanted or my son would be dead. Instinctively, I touched where a shard of glass had cut me. The wound had been bandaged expertly. I had to give it to them, they had thought everything through before they made their first attack. I was like a recruit thrust into the heat of a raging war, I needed to find a safe place before I was blown to bits out here in the open.I groaned as I struggled to sit up, I had no idea on how I got here but I didn't care about that right now. I had more important things to worry about, I needed to be up on my feet, thinking. I needed my brain working overt
I had lost my touch. That's what happens when you become docile after years of being on guard."Do exactly what I say or you die." I could feel my heart racing despite my best attempts to compose myself.I knew I was walking into a trap but I had no choice. I wasn’t entirely sure that the letter came from Syrius, maybe it was only a silly joke being played by some crazy maniac but what I was certain of was that whoever sent the letter had my son and I was willing to do anything to get my child back. The accent was masculine and Eastern European. There was no quake or tremor in the man's voice. His tone sounded calm and detailed. This was no hoax, if I went out of line, I would die.I tried to remember if either Alessandro or myself had any issues with any mafia from that part of the world but I couldn’t come up with anything. "What do you want?"I asked fearfully as the cold steel of his gun pressed into the small of my back.I needed a distraction. My first instinct was to lean
I felt dejected as I searched each room hoping to find him in there but I knew the truth, he was gone and I had no idea where he had gone to. The wardrobe was empty as well, he had packed his bags and he was probably halfway across the world for all she could know. Despite sitting in our room for hours, I knew I missed him and I could feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes. This wasn’t how I had envisaged my life a few weeks and it hurt now that I was faced with this shitty reality. Our first conversation after he’d been discharged from the hospital didn’t go too well. I couldn’t stop myself from blaming him for the disappearance of our son. I categorically told him that I believed our son was kidnapped because of the ties he has to him and the mafia. Alessandro had tried to reason with me but I didn’t want to hear any of it, all I wanted was my son. My phone rang and I retrieved it from my pocket, it was Tiffany. She had promised to call back after a couple of hours.“Hey
I had lost my touch. That's what happens when you become docile after years of being on guard."Do exactly what I say or you die." I could feel my heart racing despite my best attempts to compose myself.I knew I was walking into a trap but I had no choice. I wasn’t entirely sure that the letter came from Syrius, maybe it was only a silly joke being played by some crazy maniac but what I was certain of was that whoever sent the letter had my son and I was willing to do anything to get my child back. The accent was masculine and Eastern European. There was no quake or tremor in the man's voice. His tone sounded calm and detailed. This was no hoax, if I went out of line, I would die.I tried to remember if either Alessandro or myself had any issues with any mafia from that part of the world but I couldn’t come up with anything. "What do you want?"I asked fearfully as the cold steel of his gun pressed into the small of my back.I needed a distraction. My first instinct was to lean