It didn’t take long for the dark cloud hovering over my head to fizzle over and I was starting to feel like my old self once again. I took Isabel’s advice to heart and decided on kickstarting a conversation with Alessandro the next time he came to see me but after his absence from my room for three consecutive days, I had to find out what had happened to him. Alessandro wasn’t one to disappear without leaving a trace or informing me of his travels. He traveled a lot and each time, he always told me ahead of his departure except this one time. “I know I’m asking quite a lot from you, Isabel, but I need to know what has happened.” I began, as we both sat on the patio, looking at the garden below. Isabel was brushing my hair gently, trying to untangle my stubborn curls. “Is this about Don Alessandro, miss?” Isabel paused for a bit. I nodded in response and she continued to brush my hair. “Well, yes. It’s been a couple of days now and I haven’t seen him around the mansion.”“I’ve not
“Thank you, Yoda. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t in harm’s way.” “He’s a mafia Don, nothing fazes him anymore except for one thing—one person if I should put it that way.”“Alessandro has someone who rattles him?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard, I tried to cover up my laughter but I ended up failing. “Who would’ve thought that the great Lycan King would have a weakness?” “Everyone has a weakness, Gianna.” Yoda chuckled. “You may not know it yet but it exists.” “I might be reaching but would you mind telling me who has Alessandro so twisted up?” I clasped my hands in earnest, hoping he would give me a name. I had to know this little secret of Alessandro’s, if I wanted to be seen as significant around him, I had to get something to level the playing field and this would be it. If I knew how to break down his walls of ice, I would have a greater chance of taming the wild beast inside of him.Yoda opened his mouth but he sighed and snapped it shut, turning his eyes away f
It’s been a week since my encounter with Yoda and ever since then, I’ve barely left my room except during the evenings when I went out to the patio to watch the sunset and silently whisper my wishes before returning to my room. Other than that, there wasn’t much for me to do around here and the boredom was starting to get to me. I hated being idle and having nothing to do for so long was starting to give me the ick. One thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to waste away in this castle until I grew old and had grey hairs, that wasn’t what I wanted for myself. I wanted more and my current situation would have to change as soon as Alessandro came back. Given that he’s been away for nearly two weeks should’ve been enough cause for concern but Yoda’s confidence that Alessandro was fine wherever he was did enough to convince me not to get worked up over nothing. One of the reasons I was looking forward to his return was because I had to discuss the terms of my future here. I wa
The ray of sunlight slipped in through the blinds on the window as my eyelids fluttered open. I yawned and rolled over, careful not to wake Alessandro who was still sleeping soundly. I pushed the hair away from his face as I took in his appearance. He looked so delicate and pure as he slept, the only sound in the room came from his light snoring. He was starting to sleep a lot after nagging from me. I returned my gaze to the clock on the nightstand. We were already running late for the sparring contest Alessandro organized for us yesterday. I had been starved of a good fight for a long time and I had to throw in a couple of incentives to make the fight exciting. I couldn’t remember the last time someone smashed my face or landed a blow on me, everyone was scared of hitting the Alpha for fear of being killed and I hated feeling protected, it made me feel weak. Today was going to change all of that. I could notice the hunger in their eyes as I mentioned a prize for the first man to l
Everything was set and the sparring was about to commence. I would be facing off with a few of Alessandro’s subordinates to work on the techniques he’s taught me over time for him to record my progress. I could taste the hunger as the first man approached me, it’s been a while since I was in an actual fight and I couldn’t wait to kick this off. The first opponent sized me up before he broke out into a run, charging towards me with his fists at eye level.Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alessandro make his way into the seat on the elevated platform as he gave me a small nod. This was going to be fun. ***I breezed through the first few opponents with relative ease, many of them relying on brute strength and desperation, all too eager for my liking. I wanted a smart opponent and one who could fight with his wits and not his strength. Alessandro had been watching me all along, his eyes never leaving me. He was the last person amongst the men I was slated to fight and he looked l
Alessandro’s POV“You sound like you wouldn’t mind beating him into a pulp,” Yoda laughed. “Possessive much, eh?”“He knows she’s mine. Why the hell would he be hanging around her and trying to woo her under my roof for that matter?” Alessandro frowned.“You know why, Alessandro. It was one of the reasons I was surprised you allowed them to stay here given the history they have with your wife. Mike has nothing stopping him especially if he’s got eyes on her for a while.” Yoda replied. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re my best friend or biggest opposition.” Alessandro glared dagger at Yoda. “It wouldn’t hurt to be on my side just this once.”“I told you before, Alessandro. I always play neutral. Besides, if I don’t tell you the truth, who will?” “It doesn’t have to be that way and you know it.” “You should be concerned about why Mike is still up in your business till now. If he hasn’t gotten the memo, it’s because you haven’t been serious about it and now, you have Maya barging into yo
For some reason which was later revealed to be infatuation, Maya abhorred the sight of Alessandro and Gianna together. The husband always tried to woo Gianna, while the wife started trying to seduce Alessandro, who everyone saw as her father.I was waiting for Alessandro to make his way downstairs. I’d been waiting at the dinner table for an hour now and there was no sign of him.I’d walked in on Maya running her hands over Alessandro’s body in a seductive manner. It wasn't until I cleared my throat that they realized there was someone else in the room. I didn’t know what to make of it and I’d been on my way to tell Alessandro that I couldn’t stay under the same roof with Mike anymore. I’d taken several days of harassment from him and it was becoming unbearable and I couldn’t do it any longer. Despite my warnings and harsh words, Mike didn’t relent in trying to win me back much to my chagrin. Every time I tried to talk to Maya about her husband’s excesses, she wouldn’t give me the
The air was hot and damp, filled with dust and noise. I quickly crossed the express road leaving the honking from the cars littered on the expressway behind. There was a rapid traffic flow of cars on the expressway and people walking fast trying to cross before the traffic eased up. There was constant honking and swerving around the sluggish drivers, the walking people shouted and dodged the car before they got hit. This was Los Angeles at its finest.I averted my gaze back to the sight in front of me and walked briskly for about ten minutes before coming to a stop. Sometimes a car would slow down and a boy would emerge from the shadows towards the driver's window. A short conversation would ensure that money and goods would change hands within the blink of an eye. Then the boy would retreat back into the shadows and wait for the next car to pull up. I waited and watched the same procedure happen over and over again, my eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness and I could see the nu
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,