Romane von Evelyn

Ophelia's Pov “One,”“Two,”“Three,”“Four,”“Where is the remaining?” I asked aloud as I counted the bottle of yogurt in the refrigerator.I checked everywhere in the refrigerator but didn't find any other pack of yogurt.I was sure I counted 6 before I went to bed yesterday. Then how is it 4 left?I closed the refrigerator and walked out of the kitchen. Ryan was playing a video game in the living room.“Ryan,” I called and he paused his game. “Yes, Mum,”“Did you take yogurt from the refrigerator?” I asked.“No mum,” he said and continued playing his game.Maybe it will be Richard and Raymond. Those two are always up to something. Sometimes, I want to lock them up in a room without food and water for a few hours and let them feel the consequences of their actions, but they will just tear my ears down with their shouting.I walked silently to their room to catch them in the act, but they were not inside their room.About to look for them, I saw Ryder's office slightly ajar with a mu

Ophelia's Pov “It took you guys a long time to reach here,” Mom said when she opened the door.“Grandma,” the boys shouted and ran to hug her.“How are you all doing? You all look good,” she said, checking the three of them.“Granny, you want to know the secret? Richard asked.“Yes,” Mum answered.“Then you must give us cookies first,” Raymond said and they all grinned at her. She laughed at the boys’ tactics before following them inside.“My mum doesn't even care about me anymore,” I told Ryder as we walked inside the house and headed to the garden where everyone would be.“That makes the two of us,” he pulled me closer to him and I smiled.“Love birds, thank you for gracing us with your presence this late,” Lily said from where she was grilling meat. “Sometimes I wonder, it takes up all your time, but then I remember that you have 3 boys, and you could be trying for a girl,” Daniel said, walking towards us. Nichole slapped his shoulder as she came into view with her protruding st

Ophelia's Pov After applying makeup to cover up the hickeys and helping the boys finish up their dressing, we all entered the car and Ryder drove out of the compound with another car following us.Ryder increased security around us since we were having more kids. He didn't want a repetition of what happened with Ryan when he was little.The car pulled in front of the cemetery and I looked back at the boys.“Ready?” I asked and they all nodded.Ryder held Richard and Raymond as they walked in front of Ryan and me.“Mum, did you talk to dad?” Ryan whispered to me.“I tried my best, but you know he loves you and loves what you do,” I told him, and I watched him return his eyes to the floor.“I just want him to see how good I am at playing,” he said, his voice low and my heart reached for him.He just wanted Ryder to see how good he is but what he doesn't know is that Ryder knows. I always record him playing, and we both watch it at night before we sleep.“He knows you are good. You are

Ophelia's Pov “Ryan, Richard, Raymond, come down this minute,” I shouted at the top of my voice as I carried plates out from the kitchen to the dining table.I heard multiple steps running down the stairs. I sighed, tired of telling them to stop running around the house.“Mum, I need help with my hair,”“Mum, I can't find my blue shirt,”“Mum, where did you put my socks,”The three of them all said together immediately they stopped in front of me.I looked at them in awe.Ryan was dressed, but his hair was still damp from the shower, Richard was holding an orange shirt, and Raymond was barefoot.“I will help with your hair after breakfast, Your shirt is in the second drawer by the left, and your socks are in the basket beside your bed,” I answered them and turned, returning to the kitchen.“I didn't see it there,” I heard Raymond complain as his brother's footsteps faded up the stairs.“If you check properly, you will see it,” I shouted from the kitchen and heard him mumble under his

Ophelia's Pov I felt a little hand holding onto my hand. I felt weak and heavy in a kind of way.“She will be fine,” I heard Olivia's voice.I opened my eyes slowly but shut them when the light rays entered my eyes.“Too bright,” I muttered as I opened them again but this time more slowly.“Ophelia?” Olivia came to the other side of the bed. Her eyes were puffy as worry etched on her face.Did she cry? I thought to myself before I heard Ryan's voice beside me on the bed.“Mama,” he had a wide smile on his face as he held onto my hand and the other one on my face.I raised my body up to sit down when I felt like something was taken from my body.“Olivia, where is my baby?” I asked as I looked around the room for my baby.“Relax Ophelia, your baby is fine. He is in another room receiving care,” she smiled at me even though her eyes were saying another thing.“My baby is a boy?” I asked as joy slowly crept into my voice.“Yes,” Olivia replied with a gentle nod, her voice cracking just

Ryder's Pov The voices around me faded as I stared at the door long and hard, the image of her lifeless body boring my head.I slumped to the floor as tears flooded down my face. I didn't know for how long I sat on the floor until I heard a footstep behind me.“Ryder” I heard a familiar voice and raised up my head. Olivia was standing over me, her eyes worried as she looked down at me.“Why are you on the floor? Is the delivery successful?” She asked as her eyes moved to the door swiftly.“The delivery was successful,” I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper as I kept my gaze on the door. “We have a baby boy.” Her eyes lit up briefly, “That is good news, when will they be done with her in there?” She asked and I didn't reply to her. I didn't respond. Not because I didn't want to but because I didn't know what to tell her exactly. Her eyes dimmed when she noticed the way I was trembling. “Why are you out here like this?” she asked, crouching beside me. “Is Ophelia and t

THREE YEARS LATERGrace's Pov “Aria! Axel!” I shouted, looking everywhere for two mischievous kids who had gone silent suddenly in the house. I walked down the hall and heard them chuckling at themselves. I entered the room and saw them eating the cake I had kept on the kitchen counter before going to freshen up. “You two rascals,” I said and they sprinted when they saw me. I ran after them but their tiny legs were faster. They entered Silvano's office room and I ran after them. Silvano was talking to Luca and Antonio in his office but when the two rascals entered the office their focus shifted to them.Immediately Aria ran to Silvano while Axel ran to Luca, who carried him up immediately.I entered the room and glared at both of them. “Daddy, please save us from mummy,” Aria, a miniature version of Silvano with her dark, fierce eyes, immediately began wiping her sticky hands on the pristine silk of his trousers.Silvano didn’t flinch, he just smiled and scooped her up.“Oh no.

LAST CHAPTER TWO MONTHS LASTERON THEIR WEDDING DAYThe air was thick with the scent of white roses and orange blossoms, a delicate, hopeful perfume that finally managed to eclipse the stale, metallic smell of old secrets and conflict. Grace stood before a floor-to-ceiling arched window, the Italian sun streaming through the sheer curtains, turning the room into a soft, golden blur.Two months. Two months of silence, therapy, honest confessions, and painstaking rebuilding had led her here.Her dress was simple, ivory silk that flowed like water, a deliberate choice over the extravagant gown Silvano's world might have demanded. She didn't want a show of power; she wanted a vow of love. Between the both of them.The door opened, and her mother, Anastasia, stepped in. She didn't rush. She just stood there, her eyes shining with a mix of joy and the quiet, deep understanding that only a mother can have.“You look beautiful, my Grace,” her mother whispered, finally crossing the room to

Grace's Pov Silvano's jaw was clenched so tight I could hear the grinding of his teeth. His hand moved slowly, almost imperceptibly, toward the inside of his jacket.“She is not yours. She is not a property to claim. Let her go and face me.”Giovanni chuckled. “I am facing you. This is also about you. How I am going to rip everything from you. Your kingdom, your love and your life.”“You think a key is enough for a rule kingdom?” Silvano’s voice was lethal, dripping with contempt. “It takes blood. It takes loyalty. And you have neither.”“Oh, I have loyalty,” Giovanni sneered, his smile widening. “Just not to you. And I am about to have your blood, too.” He nodded sharply toward the back of my head. The man with the pistol pressed the cold steel harder against my skull.“Don’t you dare, Giovanni,” Silvano warned, freezing his hand halfway to his weapon.“Touch the gun, and the girl dies,” Giovanni stated simply, his triumph complete. He had him. He had his Don, his best friend, utter

Grace's Pov “You-”“Why are you doing this?” I asked him. “You are Silvano's best friend.” “Oh my dear. That is where you are wrong. He isn't my best friend. Maybe I might be his but he would never be mine,” he snarled. “Why? Why are you doing this?” I asked, again. I couldn't believe it was Giovanni all along. I just can't. Giovanni was good. He was a good man. Wasn't he?My phone went off on the table and Silvano's name flashed on the screen. “Answer it. Tell me I am here,” he smirked. With shaky hands, I picked the call and put it against my ear. “Thank God you are fine. Don't leave the house and don't open the door for anyone. We found the mole. It was Giovanni all along. He would try to get you but don't open the door for anyone or go anywhere. I am coming now.” I heard the speed of the car. He was driving.“Silvano.” I called his name, to stop him from talking. “He is here. He is here with Noah and I at the cafe near my house. Please hurry,”“Shit,” I heard him cuss befor

Grace's Pov The small café was a short walk from my house, a cozy spot with mismatched chairs and the lingering smell of roasted coffee beans. It was busy enough that no one would notice a tear-stained, agitated woman slipping into a corner booth far from people's attention.Noah was already there, hunched over a laptop, his usual relaxed posture replaced with a rigid tension that sent a fresh wave of dread through me. He looked up the moment I slid into the seat opposite him. His eyes, the same shade of worried blue as my mother's, scanned my face.“You look like hell, Grace,” he said, not as an insult, but a statement of pure fact.I ignored his comment. “What is it? What was so urgent you couldn’t tell me at home and you had to call me down to this cafe?”He closed the laptop with a decisive snap. The sound was too loud in the background chatter. He leaned forward, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It is about Dad.”My heart, already a mess of betrayal and heartach

Grace's PovI was tired of bowling my eyes out and I eventually left my bed to get water from the kitchen because the one by my bed side has finished.I found my mum making food and I was about to turn back before she saw me but she beat me to it. “Don't leave. Get whatever you want,” she said and I entered the kitchen and fetched the jug of water. I was about to leave when she spoke. “I found Silvano waiting outside the door. He said you didn't open the door for him.” I heard him. I heard him call my name, telling me he wanted to talk. Even begging me to open the door for him but I didn't.I didn't feel like talking to him. “Okay,” I said and was about to go when she spoke. “I don't know what happened between you two but you should both talk it out. You are not Grace I know. You are not happy and the last time we talked, you were happy. Talk to him and resolve your issue,” mum said and I nodded. “Mum, did you ever know what dad did exactly? Like his place of work?” I asked her