Feel it too.

ELENA'S POV.

Dangit!

I was late...

Again.

I held the steering wheel hard with my fingers, gazing out through my window, wheezing past trucks that screamed curses at me while I whispered apologies.

Lateness was what happened when Mia got sick, and I had to stay with her till she was stable a little, for Alessandro never offered to keep her while I worked, and the only nanny Mia was calm with had traveled to see her parents.

I couldn't ask Alessandro; I looked at the ring on my finger and my black eyes in the rearview mirror. Sighing, I pulled out my foundation and dabbed more around my eyes.

That had to do with the concealing, but I couldn't help but wonder for how long I was going to keep on concealing what he did to me, watching his hand slam hard against my face as if I was an animal.

I swallowed; I needed him. There was no how I could do without him, for he gave me the job I had now, and it was because of him I got promoted as fast as I did.

And besides that, I was going to do anything so my Mia had a good life; Alessandro did enough taking in a pregnant woman stranded in a shack, even when the child wasn't his.

Though we weren't married yet, because he chose to take his time, which I was very grateful for, I couldn't leave him now, not because of his frequent threat, but because I needed him more than he needed me, and he knew that too.

My phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts. I looked down at it where it lay on the other chair, and I groaned when I saw the name displayed on it; I was so dead.

"Hey, Charlotte," I greeted with fake cheer after I picked, "You good?"

"Elen, where the hell are you?!" She demanded in her usual bossy tone, and I smiled, knowing that was just a front. That tone could deceive anybody but not me, "Everyone's seated already except you!"

"Mia needed me, Charlotte," I whined, knowing she would understand me; she always did, "could you please stall the meeting a little until I show up?"

I could swear I heard her shuffling on her feet before the phone got snatched from her, and the deep hateful growl of my Boss, Mason, filled my ears, "Again, Elena!"

I rolled my eyes.

"The meeting has ended. I want you in my office once you get your lazy piece of self to work."

I sucked in a breath at the words. It didn't bode well; my boss was also Alessandro's friend, or else I'd be telling him to go fuck himself, which I bet he always did since no woman would want to touch that piece of shit, but all of that, I kept to myself.

Charlotte returned to the phone, "why do you let him talk to you like that, Elen?"

I chuckled at the question but decided not to answer it, or else I'll be sounding like a broken record already, "thanks, Char."

I dropped the phone back on the chair and bounced back to my thoughts, although with everything I had right now, leaving life to the fullest, I knew I was much happier in Italy, working as a nurse to older people.

A tear rose to my eyes when I remembered Dora; too wrong she was dead. I missed the love in her eyes each time she looked at me and teased me about marrying her grandson.

Nikolai Rossi, hotness rose to my chest; he was the reason I was in a mess. I wished we had never crossed paths, and I wish I had never agreed to the contract marriage.

Pushing the thought of him from my head while I walked into La Belle, a fashion company I worked as a lead designer.

I gripped the bag in my hand, walking through the busy hall straight for my Boss's office, waving at Charlotte supervising a young girl close to a mannequin; she shook her head before I disappeared.

Now in front of a brown wooden door, I knocked, and the gruff voice that came through didn't sound so inviting, but I went in anyway, coming face to with a middle-aged man with a dark tuft of hair that was beginning to grey at the center, he had a pen tucked between his ear and the side of his head.

When I shut the door, Mason Hughes looked up at me and leaned down on his seat, "Again? How the fuck are we supposed to run this fucking company without the head of fashion?"

"I'm so sorry, sir, my daugh....."

"Hold your fucking excuses, Elen" He sprang up, then he held up a paper file I had given him the last two days that held my designs on the lingerie collection, "You bring up trash designs. Ok, let's overlook that."

Of course, I overlooked that it also brought extraordinary revenue for the company, and there was no credit for me.

"But showing up to work when an important meeting is already over? How unserious can you be?" Seeing me stay quiet, he threw my designs on the floor, "You should be thankful I know Alessandro, else booting you, that I would have done long ago."

I nodded, swallowing my anger.

He sat back on his seat, his eyes going lower until they stopped on my neck, where he smiled and shook his head. My brows furrowed, and I looked down, too, when I saw it.

The aftermath of Alessandro's fingers wrapped around my neck, threatening to choke me to death.

I quickly covered it with the collar of my shirt, turning my face from his smirk, He sure knew Alessandro was a woman beater, and it seemed he was bent on humiliating me even more.

"Elen, Charlotte led the collection showcased in Prague just the day before yesterday, and as we all know, it was a massive success" He pulled the pen from his ear and tapped it on the table, "and after Prague, our next market is Italy."

He stopped, watching me, waiting for me to say something, so I cleared my throat in understanding, "Do you want me to set up the team?"

He shook his head, "No, Elen, this time, you're leading the team."

My face froze, and immediately I began to stutter, "I am so sorry, Mr. Allen, but I really can't do what..."

"But I am telling you to," he said, then rising to his feet, "on the runway in Prague, customers demanded to know the designer behind the Lingeries, but as usual, you weren't there, Elen."

My eyes widened as my heart began to thud. Italy was a place I swore never to step foot on, especially when I found out I was pregnant with Mia.

"Sir, Isn't there anybody else you can put in the front? Someone that isn't me? Sir, I'm begging you to find someone else."

He waved me off, "It's final, Elen. Plans are currently being made for you and Mia to leave in two days," he then looked down at what he was doing before I came in, "I'll call Alessandro later on and inform him."

If only he knew Alessandro wasn't my problem right now."

I swallowed hard, then bent down and began to pack up the papers he had thrown on the floor; my face felt flushed as The President's face kept replaying in my head, his smile, even right there, I gasped.

Standing up straight with the papers in my hand, I tried my luck again, shuffling on my feet, "Sir, if...."

"Not one word Ellen," he met my eyes, and I silently nodded before retreating from the room.

Coming face to face with Charlotte, who looked at me with expectancy

"He wants me to go to Rome," I whispered, and she began to shriek in happiness; I watched her bounce in ecstasy, reaching forth to pull me in a hug.

I wish she knew. I wished they all knew.

***

I came back to Alessandro's Villa when it was past evening because I had to prepare the team I was going with, which with my unexcitement, wasn't progressive. The thought of going back to that one place that had begun my misfortune taking over half my brain was weakening

Climbing down from my car, the sound of Mia crying hit my ears, and I immediately raced into the house, the noise of Mia screaming coming louder.

In the sitting room, Alessandro held onto his phone, gripping it so hard I felt it would shatter; when he heard me enter, he turned, and I knew I was in trouble.

Alessandro di Salvo was laced with good looks, the ones that made you want to stop and stare, and he did make people stare with a lot of hard work in it; he was a man who was always concerned about his looks.

Blessed with a straight, beautiful nose, and dark pupils in almond-shaped eyes, he was exceptional. There was only one person Alessandro was jealous of, My Ex contractual husband, Nikolai Rossi, whose looks were without effort. To make matters worse, the two men were from opposing parties.

I looked to the post to see Mia with a teddy bear hugged to her chest, peeping from the wall. "Mum,"

"Baby?"

I stretched my hand to meet her when Alessandro's voice stopped me, "Stay where you are, Elena."

I saw Mia shrink back in fear because she knew what would happen, and I hated that she knew.

Turning to him so it changed his mind about what he was about to do next and spared Mia's eyes from the sight.

He was in front of me now, gazing at his tanned, lean body, ready to do what they did best, "it's eight, Elena. Office closes at Five; why are you just returning home?"

Knowing not to move back or try to run for it was going to be worse, I stood still, "Alessandro, Mason promised to call you to explain everything,"

"Explain what?" His fist clenched at his side.

"Alessandro," I whispered, shutting my eyes, "Don't do it while Mia watches; I beg you."

But he could care less, and soon my back was crashed against a wall, my face aching, and I could also feel the bruise on my lips.

When he finished with me, I was on the floor, my body aching and my lips bleeding, and he was at the far end of the room, the phone to his ear.

"Why the fuck didn't you call me sooner, Mason" he growled into the phone while I fought tears from rolling down my face.

"Mum," Mia called, standing before me, looking down at her abused mother on the ground. I peered into the coffee-brown eyes she'd gotten from her father, filled with pity and unshed tears, "Mum, are you ok?"

I nodded, beginning to stand up; holding her hand, I limped into the room, hearing Alessandro's footsteps trailing behind me

"Elena, I'm sorry." He muttered his apologies, "I didn't know."

"Go fuck yourself, Alessandro," I responded before taking my Mia to bed, and that night, something was sure. Once I was in Italy, I would never return to Las Vegas.

But somewhere else, that didn't get me close to the two men who had disappointed me.