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
OCTAVIA'S POV The moment I saw Nile, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from beneath me. My heart pounded in my chest and the room began to spin. The shock was so overwhelming that I couldn't process anything else. I had to get out of there. I bolted from the room in pure panic and horror I didn't stop until I was outside, gasping for breath. I swallowed the bile that threatened to crawl up my throat. I leaned against the cool brick wall as I tried to steady myself, but my mind was racing. Of all people, why did it have to be Nile? Memories of I have buried deep at the back of my mind came rushing back, memories I thought I had left behind. The pain, the shame, the fear, the eyes it all came flooding back. I choked back a sob as it threatened to drown me.Tears streamed down my face as I stumbled away from the house. My thoughts were a jumbled mess. What would Zion think of me now? Nile would have told him everything. How could he not? The truth was out, and there was no hi
< Rose >The windows of the car were tinted and i couldn’t see anyone within as i passed beside it. I wondered if the owner of the car was inside, watching me. Was there a reason for me to be scared? The truck was definitely expensive. I knew a lot about cars and the chrome accents and oversized tires were features of the recent model. Ii noticed the silver stripe that ran along the side of the car. Octavia had never visited me in such an expensive ride.I walked quickly into the cafe and shut the door behind me. As I walked inside, I scanned the lounge area for any new faces. There were none. I met Phil behind the counter.‘’How long has that truck been parked out there?’’He looked out through the transparent door. ‘’A couple of minutes,’’ he said.I pulled out a stool and sat on it. ‘’Has anyone come out o
My phone buzzed again. I knew it was another message from Liam. I hissed and ignored it. After weeks of silence, he was finally texting me. I knew he would have a billion reasons as to why he had been incommunicado, but I was not interested one bit. I was ready to move on with my life. I thought of Zion. The feeling of guilt because he was Octavia’s ex was gone. We had every right to be happy, just as she did. She also owed us the favour of accepting us, just as we had accepted her new life.Worry crept in again. His call last night had been unsettling. He sounded unlike him and he had not returned his call yet even though he had said he would. He was also not picking up his calls. I was trying to not dwell on my paranoia, but it kept creeping in every moment. I picked up my phone and swiped Liam’s message from the screen. His phone was still ringing but unanswered. I checked the temperature of the oven. It was 375 degrees. I pulled myself up from the chair and began to mix
I arrived at the security room before Rory, going through some strategy. Taking down Marcelo before the weekend gave us just three days, including that day. If we discussed strategy and finalised on one, we could start our move that very day.The door opened and I looked up from the desk. Aaron walked in with Rory. I could see that she hadn’t changed her clothes from what she was putting on last night and even though she looked animated, I could tell she had barely slept a wink. I could imagine being in her situation too.‘’Welcome,’’ I said pointing to a seat in front of me.. ‘’Come sit.’’She nodded slightly and walked to the other side of the table. The chair made scraping sounds on the metal as she pulled it out.‘’Sorry,’’ she said, smiling slightly.I stretched my arms on the table and leaned forward. ‘’Must have been a rough night,’’ I said.She sighed. ‘’Extremely. Marcelo’s men were there just a few seconds ahead of your men.’’I looked at her, waiting for more in
I felt the sour taste in my tongue and pain by the side of my head as I stirred awake. The pain intensified. I can hear some voices around me but as I try to lift my head, dizziness sends me crashing back to the floor. I try to open my eyes. My vision is blurry but just then I see her hovering over me. Blonde hair. Octavia?In an instant, she was gone.I groaned, closing my eyes and was about to fall into the clouds of unconsciousness again. Something was buzzing, jarring me awake. I opened my eyes and my vision is better. I can see that I am lying on the ground. The vision of the masked man flashed before me and my heart raced. Memories truckled in. I was just leaving Rose’s house and heading for my office. I recalled the man striking me on my head with his gun.I tried to move my hands, and it did so grudgingly. I touched the side of my head and I winced at the pain that shot through my entire body. As I brought my fingers to my face I saw that they were stained with blood
Zion is hard to track. He doesn’t stay in one place for too long but today is a perfect day to follow him and spend a few minutes around him.I heard them in the cafe. They were going to Rose’s house. I knew what was going to happen there because the tension between them was enough to slice a bread. One of the waiters walked to me, and I quickly swapped the screen on my laptop and pretended to be engrossed in the book in front of me.‘’Hello,’’ he said, smiling as politely as he could.I returned a smile and pretended to be annoyed that I was being distracted from my book.‘’I’m sorry to bother you, but we are closing up in the next five minutes.’’I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall even though I knew exactly what time it was. ‘’Why? It’s only past 8pm and you don’t close up until 9.’’He was a young boy. Most likely one of those high school boys who worked there part time to earn a little money. He seemed shy too and he was a bit flustered by my question. I saw him t
We both saw the car at the same time and we were both thinking about the possible reasons why it could be there. It was a black car, too sleek for the environment. From the side of my eyes, I could see Victor look at me. ‘’Could this be from Marcello?’’I said nothing as I killed the engine. It could be from Marcello. It could also be that Rory had invited someone to see her. If that was the case, that would be a stupid move from her. There was also the possibility that the car had nothing to do with her.We alighted from the truck and I took in the surroundings. It was a good place to hide. Too dirty for a princess to live in. The streets reeked of poverty and I was familiar with it all. I had grown up on the streets, and fed on trash for weeks before I was picked up by the Don.The building was old and the unpainted wall was covered with algae. An old sign announced the name of the inn, and we walked in. The reception consisted of a counter with a chair behind it and two
The vibrating sound of my phone woke me up from my tired sleep. I had barely slept a wink the previous night, disgusted by my surroundings and afraid that Marcello would find me. I reached for it under my pillow and looked at the caller ID. I hoped it was not a set up to find my location.‘’Hello?’’ I said, pressing the phone to my ear as my heart raced.‘’Hello.’’ It was the voice of a female. ‘’This is Octavia da Vinci.’’I almost let out a sigh of relief. I felt the tiredness in my bones wash out immediately and I pushed myself to a sitting position.‘’Oh my God. Octavia!’’ I exclaimed. ‘’It’s great to hear from you.’’I hoped she had something important she wanted to discuss with me. My eyes travelled to the uncovered plate of food that had been delivered to my room. There was no way in hell that I was going to eat it. My stomach growled in agreement.‘’How are you faring?’’ she asked.I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. ‘’Just surviving.’’ I was able to see the room even
I saw little of Bree over the next few days. She was up very early to attend a preparatory class for college, and she returned late. I heard she slept in the library sometimes. I wasn’t sure if she was doing this to avoid me or she was just really concerned about passing her exams.Aaron was back by my side, cold and silent as ever. I was eaten with guilt anytime I looked at him because I knew it was extreme for me to send him to the Icebox. I seemed to be making more enemies than allies. I hadn’t heard from Rory Morano either. I wondered what she thought of me now, or what Lorenz would make her think of me. Things were not working out as I planned at all. I had led the most casualty the group has witnessed in a long while - ten dead men. And i was scared there were going to be more deaths. I had to somehow convince my father to let go of the bad blood with Marcello for now. His room is on the fourth floor of the mansion, two floors above mine. It was the first time I wou
I remained frozen for a few second, internalising what i had just heard. It wasn’t supposed to be such a shock to me because I had thought of the possibilities of it being the case but I was not prepared at all for this answer. She dumped the napkin she was fiddling with on the counter and walked away into the kitchenette. I watched her leave, my mind reeling. What did this mean to us now? I wanted us to address it completely.I flipped through my phone as I waited for her. Octavia had not responded to any of my messages and with each passing day, it was hurting less. Perhaps knowing that my family had caused her so much pain was the most important factor. She returned about five minutes later, and I could tell she was avoiding eye contact.‘’Rose,’’ I said, ‘’we need to address that.’’She shrugged her shoulders. ‘’What do you want us to say? It didn’t mean anything to either of us. We were both drunk and you can’t even remember it.’’ she was gesturing with her hands and mak