Despite my begging Nikolai to take at least one more week to rest, he refused. He wanted to be back to work as soon as he could despite being shot in the arm. His cast was off and all that was left was a sling and a couple of physical therapy sessions. He had called a meeting with all the ranks despite me begging him not to. This was the one thing he refused to take my advice on. I watched as he buttoned his shirt while his eyes were fixated on me. I was sitting on the bed with my arms crossed over my chest with a huff. I was sure that he saw the steam coming from my ears. Despite the fact that I was angry at him for not taking my advice, I had to support him. That was why I was wearing a white long-sleeved silk dress that reached right above my knee and six-inch pumps to match. I had a pearl necklace on my neck and pearl earrings to match. My hair was in a low bun and I had on minimal makeup on my face. Everything that screamed mafia queen. I wasn’t about to let my husband go to
I had never seen such a look in Lily’s eyes. At that moment, she looked capable of taking a knife and stabbing me with it. “ Why would you say that? I was literally just telling you good news when he came in. This is something he and I had discussed all week. “ I tried to explain but she kept shaking repeatedly. Obviously, she didn’t believe me. “ You told me you would tell Nikolai to marry me off and I guess you did. You betrayed me! “ She screamed as tears fell freely from her face. “ That is not what happened. If that is the case, then why were we planning your life minutes ago? “ I asked, wanting to hear what she thought of that. “ No! You lied! You were trying to get my hopes up just so you could crush them. “ She said. She was sounding ridiculous by the second. Did she even hear herself? “ Look, I’ll talk to Nik about this. This was obviously a spur-of-the-moment decision and can still be changed. “ I said and before she could retort and say something rude, I left. I ran o
After Nikolai had calmed me down, he had gotten me a glass of water and helped me wash my face. I had a faraway look as stared into a distance. I knew I was in denial but I wasn’t ready to address the issues that were going through my mind at that point. “ Brie? “ Nikolai called out in a soft voice. I blinked repeatedly and looked at my surrounding. There were men going in and out of the mansion like they belonged there. I had never seen that many people in the estate. “ Did you say something? “ I asked when I saw him looking at me expectantly. “ The officers want to talk to you about what happened, “ he said as if it pained him to say that. I knew if he could help it, he wouldn’t have let me talk to them. “ If you want them gone I can-“ “ I will talk to them, “ I said, my voice quivering. I blinked back the tears I felt threatening to gather in my eyes. I commended myself for keeping it together as I recounted the events of the night. Starting from the moment I went to Lily’s r
“ Maximo Romano. You are? “ The man greeted. I made sure he saw my left hand as I greeted back. “ Brianna, Trentino. “ I introduced “ Ah, the famous Brianna. I have a feeling we will be great friends,” he said but I didn’t like the mischievous look on his face. Romano chuckled and gestured for Maximo to go to his side. He placed his hand around Maximo’s shoulder and a look of pride flashed his face. “ Brianna, this is my son. He is the man your friend was going to marry. “ He introduced. Looking at him at that moment, I knew Lily would have loved him. Lorenzo didn’t hold a candle to how handsome the man was. Since he had been raised by Romano, I knew he was a gentleman. He was much better than Lorenzo would ever dream of becoming. “ Nice to meet you, Romano Jr, “ I said but I noticed that his eyes were raking up and down my body. Unlike with Nikolai, his gaze made me uncomfortable. I felt hands around my waist and looked up to see Nik. It didn’t take a genius to know that he w
“ What’s this I hear about Lily’s mother pointing a gun to your face? “ Nikolai asked, as anger flashed in his features. The guards must have told him what I didn’t see the need to tell him. Judging from the look he was giving me, he was disappointed by my actions. “ Yeah, but she didn’t shoot. Your guards saved me. “ I said as I took off my heels and coat. We were staying at a hotel before we went back to Italy. To be honest, I dreaded going back there because I knew that death hung in the air. Not just any death, but the death of a woman I loved dearly. “ Why didn’t you tell me this? “ He asked and I saw that he was getting angrier by the second. “ Because she is a woman who is coming from a place of hurt. She was looking for someone to blame and that person just so happened to be me. I understand. “ I defended for Lily’s sake. Despite all that her mother had put her through, it was no secret that she loved her mother dearly. She always called her hoping that one day Claire woul
We all had breakfast at the hotel before the flight back to Italy. As opposed to the conversations that always flowed before everything, all that was left was a tense silence. Everyone doubted everyone and there was hate in the air “ We have a new threat, “ Nikolai stated making Viv and Lorenzo groan. I laughed at their reactions because that was the same way I had reacted. “ What is it now? Is there no end to things? “ Viv asked. “ It seems not. Lily’s mother has decided that her daughter did not commit suicide and someone must pay for that. “ I stated. There was silence after that. Looking at Viv, I noticed the bugs under her eyes and how she had seemed to age in the past few days. Lily’s death must have affected her a great deal. “ But didn’t she see the coroner’s report? “ Lorenzo asked. “ She has been absent for most of Lily’s life. She feels guilty for leaving her daughter to die and she must punish someone to feel better. She wants to punish us. It is such a shame that L
I had expected a bad reaction from Nikolai for cutting my hair without telling him but to my surprise, he had liked it. He told me I would look good even if I had shaved my head. I had joked about doing it and then laughed at the horrified look on his face.“ What do you want me to pull when you’re giving me head? “ He’d asked, getting me all flustered.“ You look happy, “ Corinna, my new assistant, remarked as she entered my office.She had been doing a great job and I was glad I had hired her. I wiped the smile off my face and turned to look at her.“ That’s what happens when you’re happily married, “ I said, making her laugh. The smile was back on my face.“ Yeah, I know exactly what makes you happy,” she said, and I blushed knowing what she was talking about.I cleared my throat and tried to think of anything else other than Nikolai and I doing the nasty. However, it was hard because Corinna had already planted that thought in my mind.“ Here are the papers you asked for. Oh, and
I parked my car in front of the restaurant he had asked to meet at. It was a posh restaurant that had immaculately dressed people. I looked so out of place in my sweats and jumper. However, I didn’t care. I had gone there for one reason and one reason only. When I got to the entrance, I was asked if I had a reservation as the server eyed me up and down with a sour look on his face. “ Mr. Romano? “ I said but it came out as a question. “ Miss, if you are guessing and don’t really have a reservation then I will have to ask you to leave. We don’t entertain other guests here so don’t waste your time and mine. “ He said rudely. I gave him a sour look of my own. “ Luca, is it? Start looking for a job because you won’t have one tomorrow. “ I decided I was going to follow through with the threat because of the rude way he was addressing guests. He scoffed, not quite believing me. I went past him and looked for Maximo myself while he called guards on me. When the manager came, he eyed me