OCTAVIA'S POV I couldn't contain my worry of having to go to Nile's house again, he will probably not try anything since his wife and Zion would be in the house too. The thought of facing him again made my stomach churn.The evening arrived and I smoothened my sweaty palms on my dress as Zion parked the car and we made our way to the entrance. The air was crisp, and the sky was painted with the colors of the setting sun. Zion held my hand as if sensing my nervousness. "It'll be fine," he said and placed a quick kiss on my lipsI forced a smile, I couldn't shake away the feeling that I was being watched. "Me too, Zion."We were greeted at the door by Nile, he smiled widely and acted as charming as ever as he gave Zion a manly hug and shook my hand squeezed it tighter than he should. But I could see the coldness in his eyes when he looked at me, it was a stark contrast to the warmth he projected. "Welcome, welcome," he said, ushering us inside. "It's so good to see you both."Their h
OCTAVIA'S POV I dried myself after my shower and put on my robe; I stared at my phone on the bed, contemplating whether to call Zion. Fuck it, I'm going to do it. He has got to understand that I would never do that. How can he believe I would seduce his brother without a second thought? Taking a deep breath, I dialed Zion's number; my heart raced slightly as I held the phone to my ear. The line rang a few times before he picked up; the background was noisy. I could hear music and the sounds of glasses clinking and people laughing. It was like he was at a bar or a party; neither of the two hurts less. "Hello?" Zion's voice came on the line; it was slightly slurred. I could tell he had been drinking, and the realization made my heart ache even more."Zion, it's Octavia," I said, keeping my voice steady. "We need to talk, don't you think?"There was a moment of silence on the other end before he responded. "Octavia, what do we need to talk about? What do you want from me? Haven't you
OCTAVIA'S POV The room was dimly lit, so I couldn't see all the details. The cold metal of the handcuff that bound my right hand to the bed frame dug into my wrist. It seems no one is keeping guard, and I can't hear any voices outside. I need to get out of here before they come back; my heart raced as panic surged through me, but I forced myself to stay calm as I looked around for something to free myself. I should have something I can use in my bag; one of them took it from me earlier. I looked around for it, but it was nowhere in sight. I scanned the room, looking for anything else that could help me escape. I strained to reach the nightstand with my free hands; there's nothing else on it except the picture frame. My fingers brushed against the edge, and I managed to knock it over. The glass shattered, and I quickly grabbed a shard; it nicked my hand, but I ignored the pain that came with it and began to work on the cuff, trying to pry it open. The glass tore through my hand as
OCTAVIA'S POV I took in my surroundings as I followed the girl; this house is a mansion. She led me through another grand hallway, and I took in the beauty that surrounded me. The house showed wealth and power, and it also had a somewhat homely feeling to it, something I haven't felt in a long time. With its high ceilings adorned with intricate chandeliers, the walls were lined with rich, dark wood paneling. Ornate paintings and sculptures were placed at different corners that we passed. The floors were polished marble, their cool surface reflecting the soft glow of the ambient lighting. Every detail, from the luxurious rugs to the elegant furniture, spoke of a life far removed from the one I have always known. It all feels a bit overwhelming, and I feel like an intruder in this world of grandeur and authority. She stopped in front of a door, in what looked to be another part of the house. "Is there anything you would be needing, ma'am?" She asked "Uhh, no thank you," I said awkw
OCTAVIA'S POV "Oof," I exclaimed in suprise stumbling slightly, a large hand held my shoulder and steadied me with a firm grip. I was on my way back inside the house when i bumped into someone, I looked up to see a man, he was dressed in a suit.What's with these people and wearing black. I'm not suprised to see him dressed in black like the other men I have been seeing since I got here. "Will you watch where you are going. Do you want to get killed." He said sharply in a deep voice that matches his face. He's got that rugged bad guy look with a scar running across his face from his eyes to his chin. He looks like the type of guy you won't want to run into, I should probably be scared but right now, I have bigger fishes to fry. "I'm sorry," I said immediately "You should be," he snapped and bumped my into my shoulder. "Who the fuck let a stray in," he muttered to himself dusting invincible dust off his clothes and started walking away."I don't know who you are but you better
ZION'S POV "Zion!" I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of someone yelling my name. I turned to see my friend and the director of the new gig I'm working on looking are me with concern. "Is everything fine, I've been calling you for the past three minutes, where's your mind at," "Ohh sorry I didn't hear you," I replied, I had been lost in thought. "Yeah I noticed, you've been out of sorts today. Is there something you are hiding from us?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. "Nah, I'm good. Just have to few things on my mind that all," I replied ignoring his insinuation. I can't bring myself to find any humour in things these days. I've been like these for a while now.It's because she is not here. "That's a new development," he joked."Is there anything you want?" I asked. "We are going to have to stop shooting for today, Mabel had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently she has a stomach." He said"Mabel?" "The model, the dark skinned one," he said looking at me
OCTAVIA'S POV DAVINCI'S MANSION IN PALERMO The cold air of early January greeted me as I stepped out of the grand estate; it is a contrast to the warmth inside. A crisp chill hung in the air, feeling sharp against my skin; it seems there is a sea nearby as the faint scent of salt mixed with the cool breeze. Despite the cold, a strange warmth spread through me; it feels like I am waking from a strange dream.Bree was practically bouncing next to me; her energy was uncontainable even in the frigid weather."Do we have to go today?" I asked "Yeah, definitely. What's there to wait for? Plus, you need supplies, don't you?" "There's a closet filled with clothes in my room; I'm guessing you need a reason to go out," I added. "Oh, come on, I definitely just want to show you around, and you need a new phone, don't you?" she defended. I have noticed Bree has a very bubbly personality as opposed to Bryon, who is more reserved and quiet. "A phone can always get delivered to the house; every
OCTAVIA'S POV I stepped out of my father’s office, my heart weirdly heavy; I clutched the knife in my hand as I grieved for the mother I never met. This piece of weaponry is like a connection to a life I have never known. I walked back to my room, and when I opened my door, I stopped in my tracks, my eyes widening. About twenty shopping bags were arranged side by side at the foot of my bed, and as I walked closer, a sleek, brand-new iPhone sat on the nightstand. Its glossy black surface reflected the dim light of the lamp. I shrugged off my coat, letting it fall onto the bed, and picked up the phone. It was already set up with my number, Lionel, Bree and Bryon's number were also saved om it. My stomach twisted as I thought about Rose. She would be worried sick by now. I changed into a pair of comfortable sweats and sat on the edge of the bed and dialed her number. The phone rang twice before her familiar voice came through. "Hello,""Rose, it's me," I started cautiously. “Octavia
< 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