ZION'S POVI quickly looked away from Octavia; I can't keep looking at her. A mixture of bewilderment, shock, and hurt masked her face at my outburst. Other people in the café were also starting to stare at me; without thinking, I stormed out of the café, unable to handle the embarrassment. Grabbing my keys from my pocket, I hopped on my motorcycle and started driving with no destination in mind. I need the adrenaline to distract me from my thoughts. I heard the loud honking of other cars on the highway as I zoomed past them, but I didn't pay attention to them; the loud roar of the engine and the wind blowing in my face did very little to calm down the whirlwind of emotions going through me. My mind kept replaying the scene with Octavia over and over again. Her stunned expression, the tears welling up in her eyes, the words I had blurted out in frustration—it was like a loop I couldn't escape.Why did I have to say all that in public for that matter? What had I expected her to say i
ZION’S POV I leaned in to kiss Octavia again when her stomach grumbled loudly, making me freeze; she looked up at me with an embarrassed pout, and I burst out laughing. I held my stomach as I laughed hard. "What? I haven't had time to eat since in the afternoon," she said, hitting my arm. I had stopped laughing by now. "Let's get you something to eat," I said, leading her to the kitchen. The structure of my apartment is very similar to hers, but the decor is different. I saw her looking around and taking in her surroundings. What is the nervousness I'm feeling? It's almost like I'm hoping she approves, but then again she can just change anything she doesn't like. "Your house looks...different than I thought," she stated, tilting her head in that cute way she does when she's thinking intently about something. "Different how? You haven't even been in here before," I said in amusement as I brought out ingredients from the fridge."I know, but I thought it would be more like a bache
OCTAVIA'S POV Over the next few weeks, Zion and I have gotten even closer. Since that day he confessed his love to me, I have been seeing a completely different side of him entirely. He has been so attentive and caring, and we go on dates and cook together. Sometime last week, he dragged me out of bed by seven am to accompany him jogging. It was grueling at first, but I have grown to love it; it puts me in the right frame of mind to start the day, so we have been going on morning runs together these days, and most days, like today, we ended up taking a shower together at his house or mine. We spent last night cuddling and playing video games till we fell asleep on the couch. "Have a lovely day, cuore mio," Zion whispered, placing a kiss on my head and picking his back heading. "Is my forehead that far from my lips? Why didn't you reach down?" I said, glaring at him playfully. He laughed and came back to my side and placed a long kiss, a hard kiss, on my lips. Every time this man.
OCTAVIA'S POV I nodded in approval as I closed the ledger in front of me; our finances are finally in order. Our customers increased a while ago, and we had to increase production, and I have been too busy to check it out until today. It's almost eight pm, and we are getting ready to close for the day. I walked towards Rose, who was at the cash register, counting the day's earnings with a satisfied smile on her face. "Not a bad day, huh?" She said, glancing up at me.I nodded, returning her smile. "Yeah, it was a good day. Everything has been steady so far. If it keeps going like this, in a few months we will be able to afford a new interior decor," I informed her, my smile widening. I've had that in mind for months now, and it's starting to look less impossible to achieve now. Just then, one of our employees, Emily, rushed in from the back door, looking flustered. "Octavia, Rose, you won't believe this!"Rose and I exchanged unsurprised looks; Emily has always been such a drama qu
OCTAVIA'S POV The days rolled on, and much to my relief, there have been no changes compared to before; the new café has done very little to affect our business; our regulars still come in for their coffee and pastries, and even more tourists have been checking this place out. I was in high spirits today as I hummed to myself. The calmness of this situation definitely will not sit well with Jenna and Sophia, but I really hope they don't try anything again. I had noticed both of them glaring at me when I came in this morning. The sun was a little on the high side this afternoon. I was tempted to go back in and get an umbrella as I was setting up the outdoor seating; looking up across the street, I noticed Jenna and Sophia standing outside their café, arms crossed and scowling in my direction.Jenna’s voice was loud enough to carry across the street. “I don’t understand how they’re still doing so well for someone like her. It’s infuriating!”Sophia nodded, her face twisted in anger.
ZION’S POV I was finishing up some edits on my latest project when my phone buzzed on the table. My lips stretched in a smile as I saw Octavia's name on the screen; I picked it up immediately."Zion," she said through the speaker; her voice sounds different. She had left my bed very early this morning to go to work. Come to think of it, it is not normal for her to call me at this time of the day. "Octavia, what's wrong?" I asked, starting to get a little worried. "Um, are you busy?" She asked, her voice sounding skeptical. "I'm never busy for you. Why aren't you answering my question? What's going on? Are you not at work?" I fired question after question as my worry grew. "I kind of need you to come to the police station," she said in a low voice. "What did you just say? Police station? What are you doing there?" I asked as I threw on a shirt and grabbed my keys. "Rose and I may or may not have been arrested," she said, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "It's a long story; can
Octavia POV After everything that happened, Zion thought it would be a good idea to ease the tension and kinda forget everything that happened, at least momentarily. Whenever I think about the whole drama that happened, I feel a little embarrassed, but I also feel more confident and free because I stood up for myself. Zion took my hand and smiled,Let’s do something fun, just you and me. No drama. No stress. Deal?”Rose had left as soon as we were bailed, saying she wanted to get started on fixing the shop and we should have fun. With a tight hug, I let her go.Zion took me to a famous ice cream shop where he told me about his day; he’d been editing a new project, and how boring it had been without me there to distract him. He chuckled, but I could see the lingering tension was still there.When I told him about mine, how Jenna and Sophia had vandalized the café and how Rose and I had ended up in a brawl, everything that happened in full detail. His jaw tightened, his grip on his spoo
ZION'S POV I had told Octavia that I want her to meet my family and tonight is finally the night. We are going dinner with her brother's family. I can't wait to introduce her to them, she would love the boys. He had been out of town for a while and now that he was back, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to meet. I could tell Octavia was a bit nervous at first, but as the day approached, her excitement grew. I want her to feel like part of the family.Octavia had spent the afternoon getting ready and when she stepped out of her apartment, she looked stunning. Her smile was radiant and I felt a surge of pride as I took her hand and led her to the car."You look amazing," I said, squeezing her hand gently as we walked towards the door."Thanks," she replied, a hint of nervousness still lingering in her voice. "I just hope they like me.""They will," I assured her. "How could they not? You are going to love the kids."Octavia took a deep breath and I could see her trying to
‘’You are still in bed, Zion?’’I opened my eyes slowly and looked at the disapproving look on Nile’s face. I rubbed my eyes and rolled to the side. ‘’Can’t I sleep in peace?’’ I grumbled. I had partied the night before and my body was still trying to recover from all of the fatigue.‘’No,’’ he said, walking in and drawing the blinds away. It was almost dark outside. I glance at the clock. Past 6.‘’The party doesn’t start until 8, Nile. I can sleep for another hour,’’ I said, pulling the duvet over my chest. I was interested in any parties my brother was organising, especially a ‘Family reunion.’‘’We are hosting, Zion. I need you out of bed,’’ he said and finally walked out of the room.I laid still on the bed for minutes, staring at the ceiling. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and felt nauseous. Beside me, Sophia was still sleeping deeply. I pushed the covers off and my feet hit the cold tile. The bedside rug had been ruined and it was threadbare in some places
I tossed in bed for hours. I had barely slept for a few minutes when I was woken up by a nightmare. I stared at the ceiling, clutching my arms and reminding myself that it was a dream. I was safe at home in Palmero. The clock ticked slowly but i could not return to sleep anymore. Thoughts of the men brutally assaulting me played in my head nonstop, despite all my attempts to block them. The screams of those men as Dmitir fired lethal bullets into their heads added only to my torment. I turned to my side and twisted my finger into a fist, grimacing. I laid there for hours, my eyes and mind awake, but my body tired. Finally, I got up and strolled out of the room in my night wear alone. The house was silent and the corridors were dark. I took two flights of stairs until i arrived on the first floor. Then I walked to one of the rooms. Without hesitation, i turned on the handle and opened the door. He always left his door unlocked.He opened his eyes and reached for the light swi
I met Rory on the way. I wished I had not. I just wanted to return to my room, to bury my head in my pillow. Dad had not been able to hide his disappointment. I could see it all over his face even though he said nothing. He was going to get revenge for what had been done to Bree, and he would be killed and my life would be in ruins. I thought of the prophecy that man had said about my past and I shivered as I walked down the corridor.‘’Hey, Raven,’’ she said, leaning on the wall and clutching at her loose robe.‘’I can’t deal with this right now,’’ I said, walking past her.She held my hand. ‘’We’ve been together before we met, raven. I didn’t go behind your back.’’I pulled my hand away. ‘’Stay away from my father,’’ I said and walked away.It felt like ages since I left on this trip to Russia. So many things had gone wrong in just a few days. I had lost the respect I had just earned and I had lost a friend too. I pushed the door open and flung myself on the bed. Strange
The flight back to Italy was quiet, but there was a storm brewing in our minds. I couldn’t look at Bree without being consumed by guilt. I had promised to watch over her, and I had failed woefully. The mission had failed also, and I was at the verge of setting both families into war. How would I face my father and tell him that the mission had failed? How could I explain it without mentioning what happened to Bree?Byron was standing in front of the mansion, anticipating our arrival. I looked at the large smile plastered on his face as our car parked and I felt my heart brea. He was healing well and the bandage over his shoulder had been removed. I was responsible for that too. I looked at Bree.‘’Bree?’’She raised her eyes to meet mine. ‘’Don’t tell anyone yet, please,’’ i said, feeling my voice crack with guilt. She nodded. I touched her hand and rubbed it gently. I was going to make the Bravta guys pay for what they had done to Bree, and the humiliation I had faced..
It was almost 8pm when Dimitri arrived at the hotel. This time, the look on his face was different. It was a sullen look and I was almost too afraid to ask what their search had yielded. They had found Bree, I could tell.‘’We found her,’’ he said, walking into the room and reaching for a bottle of water on the fridge which he emptied. My stomach was in knots. He let out a deep sigh as he dropped the empty bottle on the table. ‘’There was some mix up,’’ he continued. ‘’She was mistakenly taken by some of our men.’’I clenched my teeth. Mistakenly? They were going to pay with their lives if anything happened to Bree. ‘’But we were able to find her.’’ He turned to the man beside him and barked some orders. ‘’She is here with us.’’The door opened and closed as the man stepped out. Few seconds later, I saw Bree being rolled in on a chair. She was in a clean dress and her hair was packed up nicely, but I could see the bruises on her skin and the pain and exhaustion in her ey
My worst fears were beginning to happen. I realised now that saying I had gone to get food was such a bad story. What kind of bodyguard left their ward for two hours in search of food in a strange city?‘’Huh?’’ he asked again, raising his brows. He looked furious. ‘’Is this a plan to destroy whatever alliance we may want with da Vinci? Who are you working with?’’The questions came out in a flurry of words and I was surprised to see the angle with which he was viewing the whole affair. He thought this was a mission to sabotage, that I had planned the kidnap of Bree. I wasn't sure if it was a relief or not.‘’And why did you wait so long before you informed us?’’He stood erect and began to pace. Midway, he turned towards me and a heavy slap landed on my face. It stung to my feet and my hands flew to my face in reaction.‘’When I ask you a question, you respond. Do you understand?’’I was outnumbered. There was no way I could react. I thought of the prosthetic nose. If it
Her phone was unreachable. I paced back and forth in front of the lobby, anger and worry boiling within me. Where could she have run off to without telling me? Why was her phone unreachable? I glanced at my watch. It was just fifteen minutes to the wedding. If we don’t show up, there would be questions. If I showed up without her, there would be questions too.I rubbed off some dust on my forearm as I approached the front desk again.‘’I’m unable to reach her,’’ I said in English. ‘’Can I check the CCTV camera? Maybe someone picked her or something. We don’t know anyone here.’’The woman looked at me blankly and for a second I thought she probably did not understand English. ‘’Give me a moment,’’ she replied in English with a heavy accent.I drummed on the counter as I watched her walk to one of her colleagues. They spoke for a while and I could see them looking at me and shaking their heads. She made a sign that she was going to consult someone else and she disappeared d
I watched him walk away. I wasn’t sure who he was. I had never met him before.‘’Is that a problem?’’ Bree asked, watching me. I could hear the panic in her voice and I was beginning to regret telling her what I had noticed.‘’I don’t think so. We just need to know they know we’re armed.’’Deciding to have the wedding on a yacht instead of the family house seemed strategic to me. We were far away from where I could get vital information I came all the way for. The only way out of this predicament was to slip away in the middle of the party without raising suspicion. But that would be hard to do since we had a marked table.I picked the glass of champagne and emptied half of it in the vase quickly. Bree raised her brows. I said nothing.Half an hour into the event, I knew all was not well. The wedding had not started. I could see the look of concern on the faces of the women, the hushed whispers and the going back and forths. Perhaps Natalia had escaped just as she had thre
I watched her face twitch with concern as she looked at the photo. I wasn’t sure what was wrong but she seemed quite concerned.‘’Do you know the name of this guy she is getting married to?’’ she asked finally, raising her head from the screen.I shook my head. ‘’No. But i heard he’s like a distant cousin.’’The Bravta guys had done it before. In fact, I had heard there was a time one of the Dons married his sister. It was hard to believe that something like that could be happening in the twentieth century.She furrowed her brows again and looked at the photo before stretching the phone back to me.‘’Is there any problem?’’ I asked. ‘’It seemed as though you know him or something.’’She shook her head and pulled the duvet over her head. With Octavia, it was best to just trust her blindly. It was one of the few things I was learning with her. Whenever she didn’t want to give information about something, it was for the best. I looked at the photo one more time before responding