VALENTINO"What do you mean?" I asked calmly, suppressing the unease churning in my stomach as fear took hold. My grandfather could be loving as a grandfather, but as Giovanni Sabatini, it spelled nothing but trouble."And you will stay out of this," he pointed at me, eliciting an incredulous chuckle from me."You know that's not possible. What are you planning to do? I told you she's gone! Let her be, Grandfather, I beg you," I pleaded desperately, observing him pull out a file from his desk and place it on the table.Upon opening it, I saw the compensation for breach of contract."We both know this is unnecessary," I remarked with an edge in my tone, attempting to maintain calm."Unnecessary? Yes, it is! Just like it was unnecessary for her to be involved with you and your brothers!""You're making this sound as if she killed someone. Cut it out!" I fired back. I came here to reason calmly with him, but it seemed the Sabatinis resolved things through violence."She killed me! She ki

VALENTINO“Talk about the devil.” Vicente muttered while watching his immediate step brother while I just stood and stared at him like he was never meant to be here and also meant to be at the same time.“Why did you stop? Come on, go on.” Valerio said with a sarcastic tone as he watched me, with a feigned amusement.“It wasn’t her fault that she tried to make you happy again.” I could only say as I watched him shook his head.“Right? Not her fault? She was quite passionate even for a fake.” He replied as I cursed under my breath. This was going no where. With the expression on his face, and him being this sarcastic, it would be impossible to break through whatever Barrier he had built.“Will you watch Grandfather hurt her then?” I asked with a defeated tone as if that was my last card to play.“You know how Giovanni can be when he quite passionate about something.” Vicente chimes in as he narrowed his eyes to look at him.“You too really did gang up.” Valerio said with an incredulous

VALENTINO"Please stop this, Valentino, I beg you," Rose whispered desperately to me, but I didn’t bother to spare her a glance."I didn’t ask you questions when you came in here a few minutes ago, bargaining with my grandfather even after the deal we had to stay together," I said, observing the pain in her eyes. It seemed like she was coerced into this, but I was hurting too."You will have to step down from the position of president if you continue like this," my grandfather's voice cut into our conversation. Still, with that Sabatini pride running through both our veins, I turned to look at him with a challenging stare. "I thought it through. I don’t care," I said with a cocky grin, though I was actually lying. I had never imagined giving up my position as president for anything in my life."You will regret this, Valentino," my grandfather continued to threaten. He knew my soft spot and was banking on that, but there was something that fascinated me more, something I wanted more."

ROSEI stared uninterestedly at the TV series airing, seeing a sharp resemblance to the dynamic of the relationship between me and the Sabatini brothers.I sighed for the umpteenth time, realizing the overwhelming sense of loneliness. It had been two weeks, and the solitude seemed never-ending, deepening with each passing day, making me more miserable than ever. Yet, I couldn't shake off the guilt, thinking about what my presence would do to the brothers.“You deserved it, Rose. You deserved it,” I muttered to myself, sighing again.“It’s not our fault,” Arya cooed as I rested my head on the sofa I sat on.“Don’t try to pacify me, Arya. You are also hurt. Don’t pretend you’re fine,” I murmured, sensing her pain too.“I hope they are fine,” I fought back the tears, recalling the tense scene with Valentino, the clash with Grandfather, and the ensuing drama.A knock on the door cut through my thoughts as I walked over, wondering who it could be.Had the chairman found my location?Had he

ROSE"As I tasted her lips, it did nothing to calm the hunger, the burning need to have her. The urgency only intensified as I held her close, nibbling, then locking our lips in a passionate kiss.“I won’t let you out of my sight again. I won’t,” I murmured, almost entranced, as I kissed her neckline, her soft moan encouraging me to continue.“Princesa…” I whispered as I did unpredictable things to her.“Hmm…” she replied absentmindedly, focusing on giving me enough space to take her, her hands delving into the fullness of my hair, effortlessly guiding me to herself.“What’s your choice?” I asked as she mumbled something in Italian that sounded like, “God help me.”I didn’t bother to delve further because I knew it was a done deal before I even arrived. She wouldn’t be able to stay away from me, even though her feigned harshness felt like it was for my benefit.“I couldn’t even imagine how I survived without you all these days, Rose,” I murmured against her lips as they drew near agai