Rodrigo's POVFabio drew out a seat and settled down, letting out a small sigh as he swept his gaze across the table. “I apologize, Father, I was held up in heavy traffic,” he said without missing a beat. I couldn't help but scoff at his excuse. He raised his head, and our eyes met. He held his gaze, and I had mine. “Cut it out, you two,” Father said, irritated and fed up. I looked away and continued to stuff my mouth with food. Fabio was cunning and tricky. Most of my childhood revolved around him being a naughty pain in the ass and me suffering the consequences for his misdeeds. I began to reminisce about the time when he had broken our mother's priced vase and how he covered up his tracks and put the blame on me.I was grounded for weeks until the maid, feeling guilty enough, decided to confess the truth.Looking back, he never apologized for that and many other similar incidents. In school, I would get in trouble for things he did because he was an excellent liar, and we prac

TANYA’S POV The sudden movement in the bed disrupted my sleep, causing me to awake. The first thing I registered was how parched my throat was. I blinked as I stared at Rodrigo's unclad form on the other side of the bed. He was putting on his briefs. Our eyes met, and he almost instantly looked away, like he was trying to avoid my gaze. It left me feeling perplexed. With his briefs on, he grabbed his remaining clothes and walked out of the room without saying a word to me. What just happened? Did he just ignore me after we had such amazing sex last night? After all the things he said to me during sex? My temper flared up, and I peeled off the white blanket covering me. I put on my underwear and then picked a silk nightie from my wardrobe, and then slid my feet into my slippers. This was not normal behaviour, and I wouldn't let him get away with this. I stormed over to his room and tried to barge in, but after twisting the doorknob and pushing, the door proved an immovabl

TANYA’S POV My eyes were vacant and staring into space as I slid to the ground and cradled my knees. My thoughts raced with theories about the future, and I wondered how long this situation with Rodrigo would last. For how long would I keep pretending to be his wife? What would he do after time had passed and he no longer needed to be married to me? I lifted myself from the ground and headed to my bed and then popped down with a tired sigh. My fingers roamed the nightstand's top until it met with my phone. The glow of my phone screencast itself against my face as I scrolled through. There was a noticeable red-colored pop-up notification, which was an unread message notification. My heart immediately skipped a beat. My fears were confirmed as I read the text message. “You're running out of time, Tanya; keep to your end of the deal.” Those were the words that the text message read. The account that sent it was immediately blocked, and my phone was tossed on the bed. Can'

TANYA’S POV “Wow,” I exclaimed, just staring at him. “You never struck me as someone who cared about things like that.” My cheeks were already flustered and a light shade of red. “Well, I don't, but my father does, and since it's been just a month, I'm sure he's still monitoring our relationship.” There it was, the real reason. Embarrassment washed over me because I even considered Rodrigo to care about me enough to be romantic, which was why he brought me here. When it came to him, every move was well calculated. “So, tell me about yourself,” he asked, leaning forward. A snicker escaped my lips, “Imagine not knowing your wife,” I stated sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes on me, “that’s why I want to find out.” The eye contact was intense, perhaps too intense, because I started to feel like the room was closing in on me, and I was beginning to feel hot. “Well, there isn't much to know. My parents are deadbeats, and I'm just a victim of circ

FABIO’S POV The cool evening breeze crashed against my face as I stood on the balcony, enjoying the view of the city that my mansion offered. It was drizzling, and the heavy rain was slowly coming to a stop. The distant roaring of thunder was like a soothing lullaby. The drink in my hand swirled as I nursed it before taking a swig, old memories resurfaced and they only managed to make me cringe. Whenever I remembered the injustice my father did to me, a fresh wave of anger bubbled within my chest. I met all the requirements, I was married and even had kids, but when he was looking for a capo, he went straight for my twin without even giving me a chance. “Sir, someone is here to see you, Charles, the private Investigator,” my security man said to me. “Let him in, lead him here to the balcony, I'll be waiting.” The security nodded and then left. I made my way back to the chair and plopped down on the couch. Shortly after, Charles joined me at the balcony. A smirk playe