Chapter: CHAPTER 24: Rosalia I started to speak, only for my mother’s sharp “No!” to whip through the air. She staggered toward me, a shadow of the woman who once ruled our home with melancholic sunlight. Her blue eyes were sunken, ringed in sleepless grey and her movements lacked purpose.Uncle Marco had taken over, arranged another marriage – my marriage – without my consent. And even my mom didn't know this and neither did I want her to.“You will not involve yourself. Do you hear me?” she hissed, yanking free of Matteo’s grip, and her fingers clamped around my forearm.“You keep deciding for me,” I shot back. “I’m an adult now.” Her eyes widened, “Rosalia, your choices are ridiculous. I am trying to protect you! Don’t do anything. Don’t make this worse,” she croaked. “You don't understand. Your father thought he understood these men too. Baby, you won't stand in it and stay whole.”“I am already in it,” my lips pressed into a thin line. “And you know that.”Her fingers dug into my arm. “Not again. I will not
Last Updated: 2025-12-04
Chapter: CHAPTER 23: Vincenzo And a heavy quiet enveloped everyone.Their words scraped at what little restraint I had left. Bastards. All of them. And they dared speak as though Alessandro would ever allow half the things they suggested.And all the while, her bodyguard remained a silent shield. The Capellos sat small, diminished, almost invisible beneath the weight of centuries of Cosa Nostra politics. And when the council waited for consensus, I could already feel how this would end. For them, there would be no mercy.“Go on,” he commanded.“But it's true. He was right. What does she bring to offset the danger attached to her name?” A tall man from Palermo responded to a statement by Andres. “The daughter, the one supposed to be married to the Don-in-waiting, was involved in that… unfortunate circumstance. Her body, if it can even be called that, hasn’t been found. There is nothing they can offer.”Another nodded solemnly. “Service ended with him.”A hush fell like a wave when Andres cleared his throat. “Sir
Last Updated: 2025-11-25
Chapter: CHAPTER 22: Vincenzo“Enzo De Laurentiis, arriving.” The guard intoned.The Sicilian sun had barely touched the horizon when I stepped out of the car from DC. The assembly was already seated, an unusual start, though the ceremonial guns wouldn’t fire for hours. Technically, I was late which was unlike me, but no one seemed to care.Families had traveled far and wide – Palermo, Rome, the American East Coast, the Dominican Republic, even West Africa. All with authority and with stakes. Alessandro presided at the head, as imposing as ever, but here, the council’s voice was a force in its own right.His residence felt more like a stage than a home. I took my place at his left, directly in front of Andres. The seat beside me remained empty, and I could feel the absence like a cold draft across my skin.The Capellos’ discomfort was palpable. Eleanora had resisted the journey until she was informed they could not be discussed without the family present. Reluctantly, she had bent her hand.Their bodyguard's face
Last Updated: 2025-11-25
Chapter: CHAPTER 21: RosaliaI tugged at the ends of my hair, smoothing them down, but my fingers kept trembling. Nelly was right, of course. Davina and Dad were still not here. They had promised to arrive before midnight, but Dad’s endless business meetings, and he'd mentioned something about coverage. Though it had delayed them again, and he would never let Davina travel alone. My chest constricted.“Tell her I’ll be right there.”Nelly cocked a brow. “Tell her yourself. She’s about five seconds away from sending a search party. And for the love of God, fix your hair and feet. You look like you wrestled and lost.”I was about to ask Nelly if she’d seen Mom when she disappeared into my closet. My eyes widened as I noticed her returning with a small box I hadn’t seen before. It was wrapped in creamy, textured paper with delicate silver speckles like stars frozen mid-fall. A thin navy ribbon was tied neatly around it, forming a perfect little bow on top, and my fingers itched to untie it.“How… how did this get he
Last Updated: 2025-11-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 20: Dominic I stared at the dead line for a moment before a knock broke through.“Can I come in, sir?” Louis stepped in, her heels clicking softly on the marble. She was too careful, which meant she’d already read my mood before walking in. I gave her a look before she continued. “Sir, you have an incoming call from Don Alessandro De Laurentiis. He insisted it’s urgent.”I set the glass down next to the empty bottle of whiskey.“He said that?”“Yes, sir. He sounded… impatient. Should I transfer it to your line?”I turned away, sliding my phone into my pocket. “No. Tell him I’ll attend to him when I can. I’m occupied.”She hesitated. “Sir, he –”“Louis, that’ll be all.”Her lips parted to argue, then closed again. For a moment she just stood there, clutching the tablet to her chest.“He said you should leave. He truly is busy.” Nico’s voice came from behind her and she froze, gave a tiny nod, and slipped out quietly. “What is it?” I asked.“Moretti,” he said. “Or at least something that looks li
Last Updated: 2025-11-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 19: RosaliaFor a heartbeat, I thought I was hallucinating. Then I answered and now, God help me, I wished I hadn’t.My phone was still on the floor where it slipped from my hand. My heart had skipped like it was trying to claw it way out of my chest. Before I could think, I flopped onto my bed, punching at the mattress and burying my face in the sheets to muffle the scream that threatened to tear free. It was him. After all these years.I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Be relieved or ashamed. Of course I was happy, ecstatic, even to hear Dominic’s voice again. But not after what I’d just done with Jonathan.Jonathan had asked me out earlier that night. It had been casual at first, joking, teasing, a spark of nervousness that made her chest tighten. I’d laughed at his awkward attempt at coolness, and then, emboldened by the thrill of being seen, had leaned in first, brushed my hand against his, and invited him to the little celebration at my house. The grin that had followed looked like I
Last Updated: 2025-11-15
TWO LIVES - Shattered Illusion
“Are you trying to punish me? I…I don't know how many times I can apologize even if it wasn't my fault that I almost—”
“I never asked you to. You do whatever you want, Niya, and I really don't care. Neither should you bother with what I do.”
“You're hurt. You're hurt, Alex, and you're acting out. Don't worry we could talk this through. This isn't you.” I try to reach him again but he shoots me a deadly glare that pierces through my skin like a dagger.
“Sure it is. You've just never seen me like this. You don't know what I look like when I'm not in love with you,” his brows grow together. “Now we’ve had enough of your drama. You'll find the papers and enjoy the party or use the fucking door.”
He pulls away and my eyes cloud again. My ears and heart find it hard to process what is actually going on. The looks on their faces tell me it is awfully too late—I have already lost everything.
“Niya, careful now,” my grandmother slowly tugs at my arm as if that will somehow make everything better. “We have guests. Don’t cause a scene.”
A scene? I have literally just seen a whole movie, ma.
*************
My name is Niya Kendrick. I’m 25, an author who once believed she had the perfect life. But how quickly can everything I love be stripped away in the blink of an eye? Or worse, what if the life, the family I’ve cherished has always been a blatant lie, a mere fragment of the truth? Now, I’m awake, and reality is far harsher than any dream.
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Chapter: CHAPTER 83: Vanished.Niya crawled to Ma Phil’s side, her knees scraping the floor. Her fingers trembled when she reached out, but the second Ma Phil turned her face toward her, she backed away, her knees hitting the ground with a soft thud, and the cold tile climbed into her bones.What she saw in her eyes wasn’t grief.Or it was. But not only that.Her grandmother’s eyes were red and hollowed with pain. They shone darker like they'd been burned with acid. Hatred and love all at once, and Niya didn’t have to be told who each emotion belonged to.“Don’t get any close!” Ma Phil’s voice cracked through the air like a whip, and Niya swallowed a gasp, recoiling.Ma Phil returned her eyes to May’s lifeless body and held her tighter, rocking her like a baby who’d just fallen asleep. “Oh, baby… oh, baby girl,” she sobbed, over and over.Niya's hands met the floor as she tried to understand what was happening. How this happened and how it could possibly be her fault.Just as if Ma Phil had heard her thoughts, “Fin
Last Updated: 2025-07-14
Chapter: CHAPTER 82: The Murder.Josh had started dating May two weeks after their final exams. “He likes me more,” Maybelle had said with that same syrupy shrug. “Boys don’t like mystery when they can have certainty.”She remembered how Alex barely spoke to May back in high school and how his caretaker only ever saw May when she looked her way. How May would press a possessive hand on her belly, laugh at inside jokes with Alex's caretaker whenever she visited Alex in school. The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never came from your enemies but from the ones who kiss your cheek while carving out your spine. And May had carved her deep so she didn’t even bleed anymore. She was now hollowed.And Raphael wasn’t just complicit. He was willing. And he was worse because he made her feel seen before he vanished behind the same curtain of lies.Niya wasn't going to take the fair and honest road anymore. That road had betrayed and chewed her up, then spat her out with scraped knees and trembling hands. So she was don
Last Updated: 2025-07-12
Chapter: CHAPTER 81: Broken deal.Was it that obvious to him and everyone? Had they all witnessed it before she did, that she'd fallen for a lie? That as they watched, her little heart, sweet and foolish, had been hanging in the open?Was that the reason why Silas never stopped staring at her? If he really knew, why didn't it tell her? Her thoughts were dragging through gravel like a body, and her eyes were glassy.Silas was never on her side. He'd watched Raphael fool her. After being duped once and twice, Niya was no longer even sure what she wanted.Death or paradise? Did it even matter. Both sounded like an escape from the pain clawing at her ribs.It was her own damn fault. She should’ve known better that men like Raphael didn’t fall for girls like her.The ache shot through her. May was carrying Alex’s child. That much she’d known. And yet she was sleeping with Raphael? What kind of twisted, soul-rotting circus had she walked into?Was it permitted? She was aware that it was a contract marriage, but she didn't
Last Updated: 2025-07-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 80: The betrayal.Her brows pinched as she dragged her thumb across the screen. The lock screen was open with no passcode, just messages stacked one beneath the other.It wasn't her intention to open the phone or even read on, but the picture before her had made the quiet night around her went silent, while a million drums beat noisily inside her head. She wanted to be sure she saw it right the first time. ~ ‘I miss the way your lips taste after wine. Next time, don’t wait for me to undress you.’The messages were new, only from tonight. It looked like the conversation went far beyond this, and whatever came before had been wiped clean carefully. All but these last few confessed desires left behind, like the sender hadn’t expected someone else to see. Or maybe they wanted to be caught. The photo icon beside the name was blank. She tapped on it anyway, praying it would lie to her. But no, it opened to the default contact page. The number was plain and simple, without any frills or initials.But it w
Last Updated: 2025-07-10
Chapter: CHAPTER 79: Wanted.Niya couldn’t make sense of her feelings. It felt like she had liked Alex for a long time – maybe she’d even loved him. When she first woke up, she remembered they were married. That they were in love. But the accident had happened barely two weeks after the contract agreement… if that. Which meant it would’ve been impossible for Alex to have loved her back in that short time.Or maybe it was just her foolish imagination playing tricks on her.Thinking that Alexander McKenzie would ever like her – let alone love her – was insane.She shook her head, her jaw setting. No more Alex. Let him stay caught up in whatever shallow world he’d carved for himself. She didn’t care anymore, especially when her body was still marked by Raphael’s touch. She was going to give herself to Raphael and show him the parts of her she had been bottling up for years.At the kitchen sink, she downed a glass of cold water, letting it cool the heat running down her thighs. What could she give him in return?Woul
Last Updated: 2025-07-09
Chapter: CHAPTER 78: Unholy devotion.Even before her lashes fluttered apart, Niya felt the dull ache blooming deep between her legs, a reminder of what she’d begged for hours ago. As she moved, every muscle in her body ached and every nerve lit like candle wax.Her eyes peeled open slowly to a room dimly washed in pre-dawn blue. She didn’t need to turn fully to know he was still there. His slow, warm breath skimmed the side of her neck, earning soft heat over her skin.He was sprawled around her, and carved in moonlight. His chestnut hair had come loose, falling over his damp forehead in feathered strands. His thick, dark lashes were motionless, fanned across his cheeks. A faint mustache framed the curve of his full, cupid’s bow mouth which was still slightly parted and looked too swollen to be innocent. A faded beard darkened the hollows of his cheeks and sculpted his chiseled jawline, and beneath it all, his face held a calmness that wasn’t sleep. It was something else. Something untouched.Niya couldn’t look away. His
Last Updated: 2025-07-09
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