It was almost as if that particularly good week didn't exist because everything went downhill after that. I had believed that my marriage was going to experience a turnaround and everything would be back to the way it once was before I got pregnant but it was all in my head. I exactly pinpoint what went wrong because there were so many things happening at the same time and I didn't have any control over any part of it. It all started when I had a brief talk with Lydia–telling her that my marriage was back on track my insecurities seemed to have vanished away and I was planning on doing something for Alessandro that would serve as a form of apology for even thinking that he would cheat on me with his secretaries. "I never pegged you as a lover girl, Gianna." Lydia laughed as she sipped wine from the glass cup in her head. "Well, I've always been one. Besides, I don't think I've done a lot of things for Alessandro for a while now. He's always turning down my offers, claiming he ha
Alessandro has been trying to talk to me ever since I walked in on the moment he was having with his secretary. He’s called me dramatic and deemed my actions as a result of my pregnancy hormones but I knew I wasn’t driven by emotions rather, but by the truth. I knew what I saw when I walked into his office and I knew Alessandro as well—to some extent and that included knowing he hated being touched inappropriately and that meant the secretary wouldn’t have flung herself at him if it hadn’t happened before. It was pretty obvious that they had a relationship. I didn’t know what nature and I couldn’t bring myself to ask him but it was far from formal. Something had happened between them before or during our marriage. “You’ve refused to speak to me ever since you got back from Alessandro’s office, Gianna. I’m worried and I don’t like the look on your face.” Lydia had incessantly bugged me about telling her what happened but I didn’t know how to express the shame I felt. I feel so stup
My eyes flung open as I let out a huge sigh of relief as I tried to normalize my haggard breathing. It had been all a dream, a very bad dream that I had just woken up from. I peered around the room, trying to figure out where I was and at the same time I was struggling to see with all the bright lights making their way into my eyes. Segments of the dreams flashed before my eyes, accelerating my heartbeat for a few seconds before I calmed down. It was only a dream, none of it was real. I wasn’t going to die. I tried to get rid of the bad dream that I had just woken up from and I was trying to figure out where I was. I was lying on a bed in a white room, the environment seemed oddly calm and peaceful enough. I lifted my hands towards my eyes to see that I had a cannula with a drip stuck in my left hand. I was beginning to piece everything together from my state, the room, and other equipment that was coming into my line of sight. I couldn’t do this anymore. Waking up every morning a
Alessandro's POV"What the hell did you just say to me?" I yelled, pushing myself off the chair as it clattered to the ground noisily. "I–I, She's, I–" The guard stammered, making me more irate as I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall."I'll give you one more chance to talk and if you don't, I'll kill you," I said in a menacing tone before releasing my hold on his neck and watching him crumple to the floor, coughing."Where's Gianna, my wife?" I asked again."She's missing." It felt as if my whole world had come crashing down on me. I was so close, so close to actualizing my dream so why did this have to happen at this point? "We've searched the grounds and we've managed to track the car she escaped into the airport but there's no CCTV footage of her ever getting into the airport and her name isn't on any flight list. We've run multiple checks into possible aliases she might used, but we've come up with nothing. Her phone was found inside the car and her mess
Alessandro's POVIt's been a week since Gianna left and we've searched virtually everywhere she's ever been to and reached out to nearly everyone she's connected to here in the United States but we haven't managed to find her just yet. My best guess was that she had left the country or worse. Yoda had pleaded with me to refrain from any negative thoughts but I knew better than to leave any angle exposed anymore. I had to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario and that was it.The board meetings that my half-brother had incited ended with me putting a gun inside his mouth and threatening to kill him and every member of his family if he ever dared to use this situation to make his move for my crown ever again. He'd been the number one name on my suspect list but after a thorough investigation, he was found clean and I moved on to the next target–Lydia. She'd somehow gotten news that I was about to hold her hostage and she managed to leave the house amidst the commotion. It wasn'
GIANNA POV“You cannot do that, Father!” I said angrily, slamming my hand against the table while trying to control my rising anger, but I was failing.My father looked up from his papers, adjusted his glasses, then went back to his work, completely ignoring me. After a moment, he set his papers aside, settled into his seat, and picked up a cigar. One of his guards standing behind him lit it for him.He took a drag, blowing smoke into the air while staring at me. Finally, in the most nonchalant tone, he asked, “What is it, Gianna?” My jaw clenched as I tried to suppress my growing anger. I took a deep breath and said,“First of all, why did you crown Miguel underboss? I have been the one by your side during dangerous missions and life-changing deals, but for some reason, Miguel deserves that title and I don't? He basically does nothing, Father!” He stared at me, saying nothing, before taking another drag of his cigarette. He exhaled the smoke and said,“It doesn’t matter what you do o
The ride to the club was quiet, my mind replaying the events of the day and my heartbreak. I had loved Mike so much that I invested my all into the relationship without holding back . That was how much I cared about him, but like everyone else, he ended up betraying me.I got out of the car and walked into the club, heading directly for the bartender. “The usual?” he asked. I nodded, my tears flowing this time, but I sniffed, trying to compose myself. “Are you fine, ma’am?” he asked, concerned. I nodded in response.The loud music banged in my head, but I knew that as soon as I drank some alcohol, it wouldn’t matter anymore. He tossed a drink my way, and I immediately downed it in one gulp, the alcohol burning against my throat. “Hit me with another,” I said.I could tell the bartender looked at me with concern before reluctantly agreeing to give me another shot. He mixed my drink while I wasted no time gulping it down. I almost broke down crying again, but I quickly controlled it, tak
I woke up the next morning, wincing in pain as the side effects of the alcohol kicked in. Glancing to my left, I saw the man still sleeping peacefully beside me. He looked so peaceful when asleep, one could barely believe he was the man taking me in such wild way the night prior.I tried to move my legs and winced at the soreness between my thighs. Just how intense had last night been? Despite the discomfort, I had to admit it was the best experience I had ever had. Even now, seeing him clearly, he was still impossibly handsome. My eyes roamed over his shirtless body, covered with some nice tattoos, and I gulped.I quickly gathered my things and pulled out some cash from my bag, leaving it on the table with a note that read, “Thanks for the night.” I felt it was the least I could do, given how great the night had been.I scrambled into my clothes as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake him, and made my way out of the room and the hotel.Fortunately, my car was parked outside. I cl
Alessandro's POVIt's been a week since Gianna left and we've searched virtually everywhere she's ever been to and reached out to nearly everyone she's connected to here in the United States but we haven't managed to find her just yet. My best guess was that she had left the country or worse. Yoda had pleaded with me to refrain from any negative thoughts but I knew better than to leave any angle exposed anymore. I had to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario and that was it.The board meetings that my half-brother had incited ended with me putting a gun inside his mouth and threatening to kill him and every member of his family if he ever dared to use this situation to make his move for my crown ever again. He'd been the number one name on my suspect list but after a thorough investigation, he was found clean and I moved on to the next target–Lydia. She'd somehow gotten news that I was about to hold her hostage and she managed to leave the house amidst the commotion. It wasn'
Alessandro's POV"What the hell did you just say to me?" I yelled, pushing myself off the chair as it clattered to the ground noisily. "I–I, She's, I–" The guard stammered, making me more irate as I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall."I'll give you one more chance to talk and if you don't, I'll kill you," I said in a menacing tone before releasing my hold on his neck and watching him crumple to the floor, coughing."Where's Gianna, my wife?" I asked again."She's missing." It felt as if my whole world had come crashing down on me. I was so close, so close to actualizing my dream so why did this have to happen at this point? "We've searched the grounds and we've managed to track the car she escaped into the airport but there's no CCTV footage of her ever getting into the airport and her name isn't on any flight list. We've run multiple checks into possible aliases she might used, but we've come up with nothing. Her phone was found inside the car and her mess
My eyes flung open as I let out a huge sigh of relief as I tried to normalize my haggard breathing. It had been all a dream, a very bad dream that I had just woken up from. I peered around the room, trying to figure out where I was and at the same time I was struggling to see with all the bright lights making their way into my eyes. Segments of the dreams flashed before my eyes, accelerating my heartbeat for a few seconds before I calmed down. It was only a dream, none of it was real. I wasn’t going to die. I tried to get rid of the bad dream that I had just woken up from and I was trying to figure out where I was. I was lying on a bed in a white room, the environment seemed oddly calm and peaceful enough. I lifted my hands towards my eyes to see that I had a cannula with a drip stuck in my left hand. I was beginning to piece everything together from my state, the room, and other equipment that was coming into my line of sight. I couldn’t do this anymore. Waking up every morning a
Alessandro has been trying to talk to me ever since I walked in on the moment he was having with his secretary. He’s called me dramatic and deemed my actions as a result of my pregnancy hormones but I knew I wasn’t driven by emotions rather, but by the truth. I knew what I saw when I walked into his office and I knew Alessandro as well—to some extent and that included knowing he hated being touched inappropriately and that meant the secretary wouldn’t have flung herself at him if it hadn’t happened before. It was pretty obvious that they had a relationship. I didn’t know what nature and I couldn’t bring myself to ask him but it was far from formal. Something had happened between them before or during our marriage. “You’ve refused to speak to me ever since you got back from Alessandro’s office, Gianna. I’m worried and I don’t like the look on your face.” Lydia had incessantly bugged me about telling her what happened but I didn’t know how to express the shame I felt. I feel so stup
It was almost as if that particularly good week didn't exist because everything went downhill after that. I had believed that my marriage was going to experience a turnaround and everything would be back to the way it once was before I got pregnant but it was all in my head. I exactly pinpoint what went wrong because there were so many things happening at the same time and I didn't have any control over any part of it. It all started when I had a brief talk with Lydia–telling her that my marriage was back on track my insecurities seemed to have vanished away and I was planning on doing something for Alessandro that would serve as a form of apology for even thinking that he would cheat on me with his secretaries. "I never pegged you as a lover girl, Gianna." Lydia laughed as she sipped wine from the glass cup in her head. "Well, I've always been one. Besides, I don't think I've done a lot of things for Alessandro for a while now. He's always turning down my offers, claiming he ha
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
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
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
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,