All Chapters of Don Markos: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ViolaEverything in Nikolas' room smelled like him. It was a masculine woody scent with a hint of apples. I was ashamed to admit sometimes I closed my eyes and inhaled it in, savoring it.A whole month passed since I saw him. I didn't know where he was in New York or what he was doing there. He didn't talk to me or ask how I was doing.That was kind of understandable because I didn't own a phone.To say I was frustrated was an understatement. I was lucky that I hadn't seen Mother since my wedding day. If she found out my newlywed husband had gone to New York instead of staying with me, she would go crazy.She already commented about how I was fat. She would only push the narrative further."Hey, do you want to go out for coffee with me?" Aurora asked as she poked her head inside my room—Nikolas' room.I smiled and nodded, ecstatic about the idea. She and I had yet to spend time alone. The time she and I went shopping, Lucia, her mother, insisted on coming with us."Let me change and m

When I went for the senator’s birthday party, the last person I expected to see there was Hazel. She was in a form-fitting, sleeveless mini-dress. It is a striking shade of deep red with spaghetti straps.That damn dress showcased her cleavage in ways I didn’t like. One wrong tug and her breasts would spill out. The dress hugged her body closely, accentuating her gorgeous figure. It appeared to be made of a smooth, slightly stretchy fabric buit no matter how hard she tugged, it didn’t increase in length.To make matters worse, it was way too short. She wouldn’t even be able to sit in it. It would force her to stand all night. I wondered what she would do when we got to the dinner part.I was positive it was going to show her panties.I did another double take to make sure she was real and wasn’t just a figment of my imagination. Maybe she was Hazel’s lookalike—no. I knew that body and those hazel eyes from anywhere. I tried to walk to her but the senator appeared and grabbed my arm

I stirred awake, the morning light filtering through the thin and worn out curtains of my small apartment. I stretched, trying to shake off the remnants of a restless night, filled with the thought of Markos and his confusing actions towards me. Even early in the morning, the thought of him was exhausting. Just as I was about to get up, a sharp knock echoed through my small sanctuary. My heart raced. I half-expected it to be Markos, coming back for another confrontation and I hated that a part of me wished it was. Just so I could see him again. To my annoyance, the sight of him was oddly comforting just as much as it was intense and overwhelming.I pulled on a robe and shuffled to the door, mentally preparing myself for whatever awaited me on the other side.When I opened the door, it wasn’t Markos standing there. It was Lucy, my sister Violet’s roommate. Lucy’s usually bitchy face was a mask of distress, her eyes wild with worry and anger. Without waiting for an invitation, she p

My thoughts were a tangled mess as I stood by the window, staring blankly at the cityscape. The bills piled up like a mountain I couldn't climb. Violet's hospital stay, the psychiatric center for my brother, and the regular expenses loomed over me. My phone lay useless on the counter, the screen cracked and the battery dead. Even if I had the money to replace it, there were more pressing needs. I had no idea how I was going to manage it all, especially with my pitiful salary. The whispers about my past with Markos and the rumors about our present made work unbearable, but I couldn't leave. I needed every penny.The side gig Julia had suggested had seemed like a lifeline at first. Escorting men to high-profile events was easy money, or so I thought. But it had turned out to be a dangerous game. The night with that client who took me to a secluded place instead of home was a wake-up call. He had been charming at first, all smooth smiles and expensive cologne. But as the night wore on, h

What Ricco told me happened during Viola’s coffee date with her parents did not sit well with me. Viola’s relationship with her parents was abusive. She may not have admitted it but I knew that for a fact.“What are we going to do about the Serbians?” Dante asked as he entered my office and made himself comfortable.“Nothing. We’ll wait for them to make their move.”“You should have just let that old man marry Viola. We wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for her.”I shot him a warning look but he ignored me. He was the only person who wasn’t afraid of me. People shook at the sound of my name—women included. Even Viola was scared of me when we first met.I had only partially succeeded in making her comfortable with me.“Don’t speak on my wife.”“Oh, you like her now? I thought you couldn’t stand her. Now you’re here defending her. She’s a mafia princess. Marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather is barely a surprise.”“Don’t. Speak. On. My. Wife.”He shut his mouth immediately