“You sound assured that there’s nothing I’d do or say that would change her mind, Gianna.” Alessandro looked amused. “Have you ever been in love, Alessandro?” I asked. “What does love have to do with any of this?” Alessandro said, suddenly sounding defensive. “When you love someone, their flaws become invisible to you. You brush them off and you don’t realize your wrongdoing until it’s too late.” I explained. “You sound like you’ve had a great deal of experience in matters of the heart,” Alessandro pointed out. Now that I had told him about Mike, he knew everything and there wasn’t any need to say anymore so I merely shrugged. “For what it's worth, I’m sure you loved Maya’s mum. For you both to have a child that’s nearly my age, it must have been a whirlwind romance.” I remarked. I’ve always wondered about how Alessandro could have Maya as his child, it seemed so surreal to me and to complicate things even further, they were nothing alike. Complete opposite of themselves by eve
“I owed it to my best friend to make the best with the remaining years I have left to live and I’ve damn well made sure that I have,” Alessandro said. “Does Maya know the truth about her parenthood?” I asked. Alessandro hesitated for a bit. “She was a little child back then, not more than two years. I doubt if she ever remembers calling anyone other than myself her father and my subordinates who’ve been with me from the start know better than to talk about this with her.” “I guess she’s never going to know the truth,” I stated. Alessandro had no plans of telling Maya the truth and while a small part of me considered it to be selfish, I could also understand why he wanted to keep it from her. It’s been nearly two decades and the thought of alternating everything Maya had known her whole life wasn’t a pleasant one. So it would be best if he keeps on being her father—biological or not. It wasn’t going to change anything. “I can’t do that here, Gianna. She’s going to be broken and Ma
The past few days have been surreal for me and I had to pinch myself at intervals to remind myself that it was real life and not a dream. I couldn’t pinpoint where or when it happened but I was starting to have an actual relationship with Alessandro, much to my surprise. Now and then, I waited for him to wake up and revert to the man I knew him to be but each day, the same surprise kept on happening and it started with him waking me up with a kiss every morning unlike it had been before. “You look like you weigh the world on your shoulders, Gianna.” Alessandro’s voice broke me out of my daydreaming. “I was lost for a moment. It’s nothing for you to worry about.” I forced a smile onto my face to dissuade him from asking any more questions. “You just lied,” Alessandro chuckled, throwing me off balance.“What did you just say?” I asked, rather surprised.“Whenever you tell a lie, you look to your left. It’s a reflex action and I’m sure you don’t know about it.” Alessandro explained.
It didn’t take long for the dark cloud hovering over my head to fizzle over and I was starting to feel like my old self once again. I took Isabel’s advice to heart and decided on kickstarting a conversation with Alessandro the next time he came to see me but after his absence from my room for three consecutive days, I had to find out what had happened to him. Alessandro wasn’t one to disappear without leaving a trace or informing me of his travels. He traveled a lot and each time, he always told me ahead of his departure except this one time. “I know I’m asking quite a lot from you, Isabel, but I need to know what has happened.” I began, as we both sat on the patio, looking at the garden below. Isabel was brushing my hair gently, trying to untangle my stubborn curls. “Is this about Don Alessandro, miss?” Isabel paused for a bit. I nodded in response and she continued to brush my hair. “Well, yes. It’s been a couple of days now and I haven’t seen him around the mansion.”“I’ve not
“Thank you, Yoda. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t in harm’s way.” “He’s a mafia Don, nothing fazes him anymore except for one thing—one person if I should put it that way.”“Alessandro has someone who rattles him?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard, I tried to cover up my laughter but I ended up failing. “Who would’ve thought that the great Lycan King would have a weakness?” “Everyone has a weakness, Gianna.” Yoda chuckled. “You may not know it yet but it exists.” “I might be reaching but would you mind telling me who has Alessandro so twisted up?” I clasped my hands in earnest, hoping he would give me a name. I had to know this little secret of Alessandro’s, if I wanted to be seen as significant around him, I had to get something to level the playing field and this would be it. If I knew how to break down his walls of ice, I would have a greater chance of taming the wild beast inside of him.Yoda opened his mouth but he sighed and snapped it shut, turning his eyes away f
It’s been a week since my encounter with Yoda and ever since then, I’ve barely left my room except during the evenings when I went out to the patio to watch the sunset and silently whisper my wishes before returning to my room. Other than that, there wasn’t much for me to do around here and the boredom was starting to get to me. I hated being idle and having nothing to do for so long was starting to give me the ick. One thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to waste away in this castle until I grew old and had grey hairs, that wasn’t what I wanted for myself. I wanted more and my current situation would have to change as soon as Alessandro came back. Given that he’s been away for nearly two weeks should’ve been enough cause for concern but Yoda’s confidence that Alessandro was fine wherever he was did enough to convince me not to get worked up over nothing. One of the reasons I was looking forward to his return was because I had to discuss the terms of my future here. I wa
The ray of sunlight slipped in through the blinds on the window as my eyelids fluttered open. I yawned and rolled over, careful not to wake Alessandro who was still sleeping soundly. I pushed the hair away from his face as I took in his appearance. He looked so delicate and pure as he slept, the only sound in the room came from his light snoring. He was starting to sleep a lot after nagging from me. I returned my gaze to the clock on the nightstand. We were already running late for the sparring contest Alessandro organized for us yesterday. I had been starved of a good fight for a long time and I had to throw in a couple of incentives to make the fight exciting. I couldn’t remember the last time someone smashed my face or landed a blow on me, everyone was scared of hitting the Alpha for fear of being killed and I hated feeling protected, it made me feel weak. Today was going to change all of that. I could notice the hunger in their eyes as I mentioned a prize for the first man to l
Everything was set and the sparring was about to commence. I would be facing off with a few of Alessandro’s subordinates to work on the techniques he’s taught me over time for him to record my progress. I could taste the hunger as the first man approached me, it’s been a while since I was in an actual fight and I couldn’t wait to kick this off. The first opponent sized me up before he broke out into a run, charging towards me with his fists at eye level.Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alessandro make his way into the seat on the elevated platform as he gave me a small nod. This was going to be fun. ***I breezed through the first few opponents with relative ease, many of them relying on brute strength and desperation, all too eager for my liking. I wanted a smart opponent and one who could fight with his wits and not his strength. Alessandro had been watching me all along, his eyes never leaving me. He was the last person amongst the men I was slated to fight and he looked l
Three years agoI watched on as my son slept soundly next to me. He was a few months old away from being three and I hadn’t spent a day without him by my side. She was named after my father like I told Don Ethan if the baby happened to be a boy. I was probably speculating but I saw a glimpse of sadness in his eyes when he found out about my decision despite his earlier protests against the child being named after him. Our story was just starting and judging from how fast our relationship has progressed during the last few months, I wouldn’t rule out having a son for him in the future. Tiffany never left my side either, she was always doting on me and baby Blake much to my delight but I knew it would have to end soon. I would have to get back into the real world and carry on with my daily routine while Tiffany who had anointed herself as godmother would look after Blake whenever I was incapable of doing so. I was on track to becoming a medical doctor and making a name for myself th
I covered my mouth in shock as he said those words. Throughout the years and in as much as I’ve hated him, I’ve never wished for him to die. So to hear him say he would willingly make that trade sent a chill down my spine. “You don’t need to wish death upon yourself, you know that, right?” “You might be right, Gianna. But I’ve been paying for my sins for so long that I want it to stop.”A small part of him believed what he said. I could see the raw emotions on his face—the look of pain and regret and I knew I mirrored the same look. The last years have been the hardest of my life and it was all because of one woman. I chuckled lightly as I remembered how much I wished the contract I signed with Alessandro a few weeks into our wedding would magically disappear and we would become happily married until death came for either one of us. “Now that I think of it, maybe I should’ve come to you with everything Lydia told me. The lies about the office romance you were having with your sec
It felt like the wind was knocked out of me as I put my hands out to steady my throbbing heart. He’d caught me unaware and he nearly gave me a heart attack. I’d been hoping to avoid this unwarranted situation but here I was. I was damn sure that he was fast asleep when I tiptoed out of the bedroom for a few minutes. Had he been putting on a show?“You passed out cold a few minutes ago, Alessandro.” I began, clearing my throat as the elevator doors slid open. “I woke up an hour before you did and I stayed still because I could sense you’d do something like this when you woke up,” Alessandro replied. I let out a sigh and stepped out of the elevator. It was pointless to try to leave now, he wasn’t going to let me go and the best I could do was try to wrap up whatever this was as fast as I could. “I’m not cut out for small talks after sex, Alessandro. Whatever happened last night was what we both consented to like grown adults so there’s no need to make a fuss out of it.”I was eager
We couldn’t stop staring at each other and the sexual tension kept on rising with each passing second and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. We entered the room and when the doors closed, he turned to me and cupped my ass as I straddled him instantly. Low grunts and moans escaped our mouths as we both kissed passionately, fire burning in our core. I couldn't believe he still had such control over me after three long years. He placed me on the bed and took off my dress, leaving me in just a black-laced thong. I felt weird all of a sudden as I attempted to cover her breasts instantly and turn her face away but Alessandro wouldn’t let that happen."Don't." He stopped me and gently removed my hands from my breasts as he kissed me tenderly. "You're so beautiful, Gianna, and so is your body. So, never cover yourself up in front of me." He kissed the nape of her neck down to her breasts, and removed my thong, revealing her wetness. "Are you sure?" He asked gently and
Five hours later, we were finally leaving the store much to Alessandro’s relief. I laughed out loud as I remembered the shocked look on the cashier’s face when Alessandro pulled out a wad of cash to pay for the clothes we had both gotten.Surely they hadn’t expected him to walk around with a credit card? Alessandro hated those things and he rarely used them to avoid being tracked or watched. I had a feeling that he didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing here so cash was the best option. “What’s so funny, Alessandro?” I asked. “You’ve been laughing ever since we walked out of the store. “Does no one ever pay with cash in there?” Alessandro asked as he opened the backseat of my car to dump the bags he held. “The poor girl looked frightened and if I remember correctly, you were laughing as well.”“I was as well,” I confirmed. “I was not frightened in a bad way but shocked to the core. Where do you think you are, Alessandro? The 1900’s?”“I don’t have a credit card, Gianna.”“Than
“I’m not tossing out my comfortable clothes for anything, Alessandro.” I glared at him. Just what the hell did he think he was planning on doing?“Easy now, Gianna. I never said you should do any of that. There’s enough space in your wardrobe for everything.” “And you plan on paying for everything?”“Yes, Gianna. Anything you pick in there would be paid for by me.” “You could’ve easily rented out an apartment because I know that you’re that rich but yet, you decided to stay in Don Ethan’s home,” I pointed out and I nearly bit my tongue because I knew why he had made that decision. “I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much as I am living with you and when you think of it, I’m only staying for a month,” Alessandro said. “And what happens after a month?” I asked.“I would’ve completed my goals and returned home a fulfilled man,” Alessandro replied without skipping a beat. “You are confident about seeing this through,” I chuckled as the store came into sight. I didn’t know why he
It was past noon and all I could think of was the shopping date I had with Alessandro when I closed from work in the next five hours. I didn’t know why I had agreed to what he suggested but at the same time, I found myself looking forward to it. Picturing myself being romantically involved with Alessandro again was kind of hilarious but Alessandro seemed determined to make it happen and I couldn’t change his mind no matter what I said or did. The look on his face when he failed would be comedy and I couldn’t wait to see it because I knew it was going to happen and I’d be here every step of the way.“What’s making you smile, Gianna?” Tiffany said as she stopped in front of her desk jolting me out of my reverie. She’s been trying to understand the whole situation but I’ve been devising means to get her off my back until I was ready to open up Tiffany wasn’t going to relent and I knew it was only a matter of time. I blinked severally, trying to register what Tiffany had just said. “Wh
“I want you back home, Gianna. It’s where you belong, not here in a strange mafia with another mafia Don and you have our son as well, I couldn’t just sit back and watch him grow somewhere else. The thought of that happening didn’t sit right with me one bit.” I explained, drumming my fingers softly against the protective glass as I stared at Gianna.“Have you stopped to wonder if he’s your son or have you made yourself believe he’s yours because we were once involved?” Gianna asked. I knew she was trying to throw me off balance. I’d been expecting this. This was the only way I was going to get the answers I wanted, I was having doubts if she would willingly open up to me if I didn’t persist so I pressed on. “The months don’t tally with when you met Ethan and had that brief fling of yours,” I said after a moment’s pause. “There’s no way he can’t be my son. Nice try, Gianna, but you’re not going to pull a fast one on me. The child doesn’t look like Ethan or anyone else to begin with.
I shuddered in fright as I began to recount the incidents of the nightmare that just passed. The room had fallen silent, Tiffany seemed lost in deep thought as her face contorted into different expressions as I watched her keenly as she took in everything I said. I hated being in this spot but I knew why it had happened. My past was threatening to break free from where I’d buried it. I gulped as I kept on trying as hard as I could to suppress the tears from running down my cheeks. I couldn’t show how weak I was in front of her, I had to toughen up like I always had whenever I was bullied in high school. I had to wait out the storm coming and face whatever obstacle life would throw my way. I cradled my stomach, feeling worried about my son who was sleeping soundly. If I didn’t know how to protect myself, how was I going to protect him if Alessandro discovered the truth about his fatherhood?I felt Tiffany’s hands on my shoulder, jolting me out of my daydreaming as I turned to face h