“I’m going to be out for a couple of days trying to locate Dmitri’s place. It won’t be long,” he stated. I watched him move away from my stomach and over to the other side of the bed. He switched off the lamp and then returned to lay right beside me“Fine. Thank you again for today,” I whispered. He pecked my lips before pulling back. My arms were quick to wrap around him in an embrace. For the first time, he actually let me hold him in a way that resembled a hug. It felt nice.“Don’t expect this treatment tomorrow,” he stated. I pulled away from him with an eye-roll. Turning over, I didn’t even want to look at him after that statement. He always managed to ruin every moment with his asshole behavior.His hand was quick to grip my hip, wrapping around my waist and pulling me back into his chest. I didn’t care to look at him, my gaze wandered over to the window as the moonlight danced around the room.“I was kidding, Bambolina.” He chuckled before planting a kiss on the back of my neck
ANASTASIAValentino wasn’t wrong about him having to leave for a couple of days. With him being gone, I guess that also meant Alex had to be with him. The mansion was empty with just me and Isabella. We had gotten closer over the past few days, and I really enjoyed calling her my friend.I made my way to Isabella’s room to find that she had just woken up.“You’re here! I wanted to ask you something,” Isabella said. “My clothes have been getting a little too small, and I desperately need new things. Do you think we could maybe go to the mall?”I bit down on my lip as I thought about it. Even though the men were away, I knew that they still caught wind of everything.“Okay, I’ll ask Valerio to make sure it’s okay,” I told her. She let out a huff of annoyance but didn’t say anything else as I walked out of the room and down the hallway toward the club. The security guy was there with a cold look on his face.“I need to talk to Valerio,” I muttered before crossing my arms over my chest.T
After doing my hair and getting dressed, I made my way to Isabella’s room. Just as I walked in, she was putting on her jeans and a tube top. She smiled at me through the full-length mirror in her closet as I stepped further into the room.“I haven’t seen much of Alex,” Isabella told me as she applied some lip gloss.Her hair was fluffed out in thick, dark waves, which looked really pretty on her. Then, she puckered her lips in the mirror before turning to face me.“I haven’t seen much of Valentino either,” I told her honestly.I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to tell her. I also wasn’t sure if it was my place to. A frown took over my face as I thought about all of the information I had to keep from her.“You ready?” she asked me. Her eyes trailed down to look at my outfit. I smiled at the look of acceptance she shared.“You clean up nicely.” She winked.“Why, thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I returned, just as flirty, before walking out of the room with Isabella by my si
"Dad, I'm going to miss you," Isabella whispered as she stared at the closed casket. Everyone had already left the cemetery hours ago, so she was alone-drenched in her tears. Soon, she got up from her kneeled position and walked toward her car. As she trudged along the short journey, visuals of her father's death entered her mind. The poor girl was beginning to go a little insane, as she attempted to push the torturing thoughts away. A dinging came from her phone, which indicated that she had received a text message. Isabella's blurry eyes gazed down at the text sent from her mother. She scrunched her brows together at what it stated: I want you to move in with me now. Isabella could clearly remember the last time she had seen her mother. It was something she always tried to avoid thinking about, because her mother was a terrible person, in her eyes. However, although she didn't want to go, she had no other choice. With her being eighteen and still being in school, it wouldn't be e
She turned her head back to her mother when she heard a knock against a door."Come in." A dark, enchanting voice had called out from behind it. She looked down and watched her mother twist the knob before pushing the door open. The first feature Isabella noticed was a long scar on his eye; it trailed from his eyebrow to his lip. He had black hair on top of his head and eyes that screamed danger. When he looked up, he smiled at his wife before his eyes turned to Isabella.He got up from his seat and pushed the chair into the jet-black-colored desk. "Is this the lovely daughter?" He asked as he crossed his arms against his chest. Her mother smiled at him before standing beside him."She is. Isabella, this is my husband, Angelo Romano." Her mother introduced. Isabella looked at him and she could feel herself slightly shivering in fear from his cold gaze. He held his hand out, leaving her to place her small hand into his to shake. "Nice to meet you. Your mother has spoken so much about
Isabella's pulse raced in her chest as she continued to gaze into Alex's eyes. The terrified child moved slowly by him and dashed down the stairs in pursuit of her mother. She rushed past a group of maids who glanced at her perplexedly as she approached Angelo's office door. She arrived moments later and knocked right away. Angelo opened the door quickly and with a smile. "What's wrong?" He inquired, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. She wanted to weep out of fury and dread."I want to go home." She remarked as she backed away slightly, concerned. He chuckled as he opened his office door further. He moved back to his desk, and she took a timid step inside, then another."I don't bite." He informed her when he sensed her hesitancy. "Why must you want to leave so soon?"Isabella nervously stood in the corner of the room. "I just don't feel comfortable here." To be honest, she was OK until she met Alex; something about him made her want to flee, and she could tell he was up to no good.
Isabella followed her mother out of the room. "This is Alex's floor," her mother said as they went out of the room, before adding, "No one is allowed on this floor, except Alex himself.""If no one is allowed on this floor, why am I living there? And why are you allowed to be on it?" Isabella inquired as she peered down the hall."To give you a tour of it, and you are living there because you are his sister. Plus, this is merely a three-story house; where else would you live? Maria inquired, and Isabella narrowed her eyes at her mother's receding figure. "I don't know, maybe on one of the two other floors." She mumbled rudely and discreetly. Her mother smiled and kept walking without hearing anything."This is Alex's room." Never go inside; it's one of his major pet peeves. Her mother pointed to the door just beside Isabella's. She fought the impulse to roll her eyes at this reality. They continued walking, and her mother showed her the kitchen, lounge area, hot tub, and balcony on t
"It's really none of your business," she muttered not even caring if he could hear her or not. Immediately, she tore herself from his hold. Turning around, and advancing towards the door, her movements came to a halt when his hand wrapped around her wrist. He was pulling her in closer to his rock-hard body."I'm going to ask you again," she could feel his lips lightly brush her ear as he spoke. "Where the hell do you think you are going?" He asked lowly and deep as if it were a growl.She couldn't hide the fact that she shivered. Her entire body just quivered at the close proximity and the slight scent of mint on his breath. "Home.""Home? You are home," he muttered. The tingles that shot through her body were evident as he pushed her hair behind her ear."I mean my r-real home," she stuttered out nervously. She wanted to kick herself for being so nervous. He was just her stepbrother, and he shouldn't be making her feel so awkward. Thanks to the amount of awkwardness she had already b