“Stop worrying, Jess, Toby is okay, he’s probably on one of his useless road trips.” My older sister, Joyce told me as she patted my cute three year old niece to sleep. Joyce was a lawyer, married to a handsome six figure earner. She was four years older and was more of a mom than a sister to me since we were kids.
Our parents died when I was only four but luckily, we got adopted by Lola, our wonderful foster mom who lived in the outskirts of the city. “But it’s never been like this, he hasn’t called or texted for days.” I was really worried that something bad might have happened to my boyfriend. “You should seriously break up with this guy, he’s no good to you. When was the last time he took you out on date?” She asked and I couldn’t answer that because it’s been almost a year since we last went on a date. “Don’t say that Joyce, he’s a… great guy.” I tried to defend Toby. “You’ve caught him cheating twice, how is he a great guy?” She frowned. Joyce was a strict person, she was the type of girl that never settled for less—probably why she ended up with a loving and handsome multi millionaire. She was the IT girl in high school and college. She was super beautiful with honey blonde hair, big blue eyes and a body that could belong to a Victoria secret model. I, on the other hand, had a curly darker blonde hair, bright green eyes but too short and pudgy to be called a model. “Alright, let’s not talk about him.” She said, getting up with her little girl snoring softly on her bosoms. “I’m gonna put Lily to sleep and make us dinner, okay?” “Alright.” I nodded and waited until she was gone before picking up my phone to call Toby again for the one hundredth time. ***************** I lived alone in a nice apartment which was about a twenty minute walk from my college and fully paid for by Joyce. I was on a brief holiday from my last semester. I was studying literature, I wanted to be an editor and hopefully a successful author. I wasn’t popular in school and I didn’t have much friends, I also never had good luck in men. Sometimes, I felt like I was meant to be single forever and Toby’s sudden disappearance from my life was like a huge sign. “Damn it!” I hissed as I dropped my keys on the floor and just when I squatted to pick it up, a hard pungent smell came over my nose and I went unconscious. I woke up with a light pain in my head, squinting around and wondering wherever I was. My wrists were bound in a rope and my mouth sealed with a tape. My heart rate sped up when I realized the obvious— I’ve been abducted! “Yoyo is dead meat when he comes here to save that girlfriend of his..” I heard a manly voice say as I crawled closer to the locked door. “I pray he doesn’t so we can take turns on her, she’s a sexy little thing. Do you think she had a tit job?” Another manly voice spoke. “All natural, boy. I wanted a grip on it so bad, I got hard just watching her unconscious in the car..” The first one replied. I felt so disgusted. “The boss might just fuck her tonight, she’s a sight for sore eyes. Yoyo is one lucky bastard.” I wondered who Yoyo was and most importantly, what boss? God, I was in serious trouble. I was being abducted by some men who were talking about their boss having me for the night! “You know the boss. Since Theresa died, he doesn’t look at any woman twice.” “It’s just a fuck bro, what man would say no to a fuck?” “You should know Vincenzo, he’s the most controlled man I’ve ever met.” Vincenzo!? Did I just hear Vincenzo!? Vincenzo of the Black cross mafia!? That was their boss!? I was so dead! What in the world did he want with me!?I sat hunched over my desk, staring at my computer in silence. I had a blank Word document open on my screen, titled: Application for Editorial Position. I was going to quit my job at Lexton's. It already felt like a bad past. I couldn’t keep working here, not when my boss and I are breaking work protocols. Not when Nadia actually caught us. Not when everything felt so wrong. A new job in a new place felt right. I was going for that.I began typing, trying to stay focused, but a gentle knock broke my train of thought.Before I could respond, the door pushed open.“Jess?”“Darren?” I stood up, eyes wide.He shut the door behind him, smiling nervously, holding a bouquet of tulips. He looked as handsome as always—tall, clean-shaven, wearing a navy-blue shirt and jeans.“T-this is a surprise… what are you doing here?” I stuttered, swaying a little from how light I felt.“I, uh…” He stepped closer, behind a chair, the scent of the flowers filling the room. “I brought these for you.” He han
The next morning at work, I felt hungover. I sat at my desk, fingers hovering over the keyboard, trying to focus on the editing brief I’d been meaning to finish since Monday. But my brain just wouldn’t cooperate. Maybe it was because thoughts of Vince kept barging into my head. It was like trying to type through a storm. My chest ached every time I thought about him—his face, his voice. Did he not miss me? Did he not think about me? That last look he gave me... I’d broken him, whether or not I had meant to. And I’d broken myself in the process. And then there was Julian. I can't believe we kissed. It had shaken me more than I wanted to admit... and now, small thoughts of him invaded my mind every now and then. Just as I stood up to take a walk—I needed it to clear my head—a new email notification popped up on my computer screen. Julian Lexton: Can you stop by my office for a minute? I stared at the screen for a few seconds. Why did he want to see me? For another kiss? To strai
It’s been two weeks since I returned from Seattle. Two weeks since I witnessed the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen. It left me empty, a hole in my heart, like someone had ripped out everything that made me feel alive and just… left the shell. Joyce and I started seeing a therapist, Dr. West. He’s good, really patient, but I could tell even he was a little overwhelmed by us. Especially me. I was still too sunk in grief, too haunted by everything I had lost to really open up. But I was trying. After another week, I forced myself to resume work at Lexton’s. Thankfully, Noah had spoken in my favor, put in a word about everything I’d been through. Still, I had to send a ton of apologetic emails and agree to a small cut in my salary. Honestly, it was better than looking for a new job. I didn’t have the energy for that kind of shenanigans. “Ms. Reese?” I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts. My eyes lifted slowly, and I found Mr. Lexton, my boss, standing by my desk. I was f
"Everything keeps getting worse," someone muttered near me. It was Joyce. She'd been staring into space, deep in thought. The mansion was quiet that night—the kind of quiet that made your heart pound just to fill the silence. I hadn’t been able to sleep. Not after the funeral. Not after putting Lola six feet deep. Her face kept haunting me, our last memories together. I couldn't have stopped her death, but still, guilt weighed a ton on my shoulders. "It isn't your fault, Jess." Joyce's hand grabbed mine, interlocking our fingers. "It's that evil bastard son of—" "Stop!" I stood up abruptly. Joyce looked shocked.I paced around the room, pulling my tangled hair from my face. There was no amount of therapy that would make me feel normal again. "Are you still going to defend him?" Joyce asked. I turned to her. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "It's not his fault either, Joyce. There was nothing we could do. It was like being trapped in a nightmare." I shook my head, trying not to r
~~VINCENZO~~Bianca stood in the center of the room, eyes roving slowly over the Cross mansion like she was assessing it for hidden bombs. Her delicate fingers brushed the edges of a marble pillar. After a long pause, her sharp blue eyes shifted to me.I leaned against the wall, still nursing the dull pain in my side. The wound burned with every breath I took, but I had worse wounds inside my heart.“What are you doing here, Bibi?” I asked, deciding to go sit on the sofa before I passed out from the throbbing in my head.“Were you going to bury her without me?” I was taken aback by that sudden question.“Bibi...”“You weren’t even going to tell me, were you?” I could hear the hurt in her voice.I sighed, letting my eyes fall briefly shut. “I didn’t think you’d care.”“She was my mother!” Bianca snapped.I watched that crazy look in her eyes for a brief moment.“A mother you hated.”Bad choice of words—but I’d said it already.“She hated me first,” she whispered, stepping closer to sit
It was against the doctor's advice to be discharged so early, but Vince was the most stubborn person I knew. He desperately wanted to leave the hospital, as though he were being trapped there. Luca had arranged for a private nurse to check on him at home, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. Vince was in no condition to be discharged from the hospital. He reluctantly allowed Luca and I to take him to the Cross mansion. Once there, he refused my help getting into bed. Somehow, he managed to remove his shirt, revealing fresh bandages wrapped around his torso. The poor nurse who had to check his vitals did so under the fear of being snapped at. I left his side only to return with a bowl of freshly made soup on a tray. When I stepped back into the room, Vince was lying still, his eyes locked on the ceiling, his body unmoving, like a mountain. “I made you something,” I said softly, setting the tray down on the bedside table. “You haven’t eaten since yesterday. You need to eat som