{CARA’S POV}**I’ve been staring at the same four walls for two days. Two long, suffocating days. Edmondo left without much of a word. And in his absence, I’ve confined myself here. Not because he told me to, he didn’t. But because I know he’d want me to.He’s been... different. His shoulders sag under a weight I can’t see and his once sharp presence feels dulled. Worn. His patience has thinned to a dangerous thread and every glance, every word between us, carries an edge that wasn’t there before.And it’s not just stress. He’s shrinking. Somehow. Not in stature. But in spirit. Like the walls of this life are closing in on him, carving away pieces of who he used to be.I don’t want to give him another reason to snap. I’ve stayed here, alone, to prove something to him; that he doesn’t need to worry about me. That I’m not going anywhere. That I’m not meeting anyone.But maybe I’m wrong.
{EDMONDO’S POV}**The room smells like sweat and dust. And when I step in, I don’t know what pisses me off more: the gun on the table or the fact that Cara’s here at all.“Giovanni,” I say, my voice sharp and heavy, like the crack of a whip.He doesn’t flinch. Of course, he doesn’t. He’s too used to my tone, too sure of himself to care. But I see it; the slight tick in his jaw, the faint flicker in his eyes as he slowly turns to face me.“Mondo,” he replies, calm and collected.Cara is frozen between us. Her hand hovers over the gun like a kid caught stealing candy. She doesn’t dare look at me. But I can feel her tension radiating across the room.I step closer, my boots grinding against the floor. “What the fuck is this?”Giovanni shrugs, leaning lazily against the table. “A little test.”“A test,” I repeat, my tone low and deadly. “For what?”“To see if she’s as loyal as you think she i
{GIOVANNI’S POV}**The sound of her footsteps outside my room is unmistakable. Light and hesitant. Like she’s unsure whether to knock or turn back. I can already picture her standing there, probably biting her lip and wringing her hands like a guilty child.That I learnt from Edmondo; how to study someone new in two meetings.I let her stew in her indecision. I could get up and open the door, but why make it easy for her? She’s the one who wants to talk. She should at least work for it.Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the soft knock comes.“Come in,” I say, my voice flat.The door creaks open. And there she is, standing in the doorway like she’s walking into an ambush. Her eyes dart around the room before they settle on me. I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, a glass of whiskey in one hand and the other resting on my knee.“Giovanni,” she starts, her voice barely above a whi
{CARA'S POV} * * I don’t know what I’m doing. My legs won’t stop moving. Giovanni’s words churn in my head and it's louder with every step I take. “Edmondo is a ticking bomb. He might lose his mind. He might die.” What kind of thing is that to say? Why did he tell me that? To scare me? To warn me? Is that true? I shove my hair back from my face. My breathing is uneven as I pace the halls of Edmondo's estate. The walls here feel like they’re closing in and trapping me with all the things I don’t want to think about. I try to tell myself I’m not looking for Edmondo. I’m just... restless. It’s not like I’ll find him here. He’s probably left by now. Probably. That's why I'm searching for him now. But I don't see him. There's only the silence he’s left behind, and it's unbearable. Giovanni doesn't even bother to stop me and assure me Edmondo w
{CARA'S POV}**It’s been a week since Giovanni told me the truth about Edmondo; his darkness, his ticking brain, his inevitable collapse. A week since those words started haunting me.I’d thought Edmondo being gone would give me some relief, some space to breathe. But his absence only sharpens the silence in the house. It’s suffocating. I feel it in the air, the way the walls seem closer together, the way shadows stretch longer. Darker.Giovanni has been around. But he’s no comfort. He’s like a storm cloud, brewing and waiting to explode. Every glance he throws my way feels loaded, but with what? Disdain? Judgment? Pity? I can’t tell, and I don’t ask.Tonight, the house feels particularly empty. Hollow. Like it’s holding its breath. Giovanni finds me sitting on the edge of the staircase, staring at nothing.“You,” he calls, his voice sharp like a whip.I look up, startled. His expressi
{CARA'S POV}**The letter rests in my hand like a weight. The edges are creased from my repeated handling, and the ink has faded in places, but still, his words are unmistakable. Edmondo. I haven’t seen him in a month. I haven’t felt the heat of his anger or the gentleness of his caresses, but his presence is somehow always here, looming in the background of every action I take.___Cara,It’s fucking chaos here. Enemies are surfacing from nowhere. Plans are unraveling in unknown ways. The weight grows heavier.But I have received words that you’re fucking stronger now. Oh, Dio Mio, you’re proving your worth in ways I never imagined. You’re mine. Don’t forget that. And if you want to stay alive, cut your damn hair.Too many bastards are admiring it in places they shouldn’t be looking.Stay sharp. Stay ruthless.—E.D’ Avi____His words pierce through me and it's sharper than a blade. The first part doesn
{CARA'S POV}**The air smells like salt and rust and it's thick with the promise of violence. The docks are quieter than they should be, and that stillness; unnatural. Suffocating. It wraps around me like a noose.Giovanni crouches beside me, his face is a mask of shadows under the faint glow of a distant lamppost. The cold steel of the dagger presses into my palm and I grip it tighter. It hurts. It hurts, but still I ignore the sting of the blisters forming from practice after practice."This isn't like the last times," Giovanni says with his voice that is so low, it's almost drowned by the lapping waves. "We're not just killing tonight. We're taking what they think they've secured. Shipment. Dossier. That's the mission." His dark eyes narrow on me. "You mess up, you compromise us both. So don't."I nod. Words won't work here, not under Giovanni's scrutiny.He gestures, and we move. We sl
{CARA'S POV}**The night wraps around us like a suffocating shroud, the air is humid and thick with tension. The sound of my boots against the cracked asphalt echoes faintly in the stillness as I lead the girls guard through the maze of alleyways. No Giovanni this time; this one’s mine to handle. A month without Edmondo's petting and I feel like I’ve been hollowed out and refilled with something colder. Sharper. The soft edges of who I used to be are long gone, replaced by this darker version of myself.The mission is clear: infiltrate, retrieve the dossier, and get out. A simple plan on paper, but I’ve learned that simplicity dies the moment you step into the underworld’s crosshairs. The girls guard; each one as deadly as they are silent, follows close behind. No chatter. No hesitation. We’ve become a well-oiled machine, running on precision and purpose for Edmondo and the Il Noce Syndicates.The
{CARA'S POV}**The estate is a hive of activity when we get back from the night run, buzzing with life and purpose even as late as it is. The maids dart around, their hushed voices filled with excitement and tension. Preparations for the North Festival are in full swing and the air vibrates with the weight of its significance. I hear it’s a day of honoring the rulers of the North; dead and alive, of burning incense for the fallen and molding statues for the living.Edmondo’s statue.The thought makes my chest swell in bubbling expectation and adoration as I move through the estate. Everyone is busy, yet Edmondo is nowhere to be found. Giovanni is missing too and their absence feels like a gaping void. The whispers of the staff are loud in their implications.“Both the estate and the family house are preparing. The entire North is celebrating.”“They’re unveiling his statue this year.”
{CARA'S POV}**The moment he breaks the kiss, he swoops me in his arms and takes me to the ‘that’ room. That room that had ropes, chains, dildos!No! I'm not sort of ready for that. I should protest."Shh, don't speak." He whispers in my hair as he lays me down on the hard bed, his wild eyes assessing my tight dress and my bruised flesh. Though those wounds were sort of not new.He turns his back to me and goes into… somewhere? I can't tell, I'm new here. Turns out he went to the bathroom. I can hear the sound of water, and I think he's drawing me a bath. Why? He already told me to take a bath and I did."Edmondo?" I ask tentatively.He reemerges, coming towards me slowly. With an anguished look he falls at my feet and puts his head on my lap. "You know I can't say that word to you. I don't know how to. But, it's not my damn will that you go through this hell of a lifestyle." He says, his voice
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