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Penulis: Hewrite
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-20 19:08:25

~ANYA POV~

I tighten my hold around the apple until my knuckles turn white. I can feel Monica's eyes on me, waiting for an answer.

My lips stretch into a smile that feels painfully forced. "It's just... weird not having Clara around to insult me all day," I say, my tone light. "I kind of miss her scolding. The house feels too quiet without her yelling about the mess I make."

For a moment, the only sound in the kitchen is the soft chopping of onions on the board. Then Monica looks up and gives me a small smile, her brown eyes kind. "It's pretty silent without Clara, right?"

I nod, pretending to agree, even though my chest feels tight. "Yeah. Too silent."

She returns to slicing onions, her knife making rhythmic sounds against the cutting board, and I let out a slow, shaky breath. Thank God she didn't ask more questions. My heart is still beating fast. I need to relax before she notices something.

I walk to the sink and rinse the apple under cold water. Droplets slide down my wrist and
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  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    097

    ~ANYA POV~The door to the bedroom closes with a deep, expensive click.I stand in the center of the room, my heart beating against my ribs like a trapped bird. Iñigo is gone. The guards are outside. I am alone.I rush to the window.My hands fumble with the latch, shoving the heavy glass pane open. The warm Spanish air hits my face, smelling of salt and jasmine, but I don't care about the scent. I care about the shadows.I lean out, gripping the stone sill until my fingers ache. I scan the tree line where I saw the flash. Where I saw him."Diego," I whisper, the name getting lost in the wind.Nothing.Just the swaying of the cypress trees and the long, stretching shadows of the sunset. The grounds are empty. But I know he's there. My twin brother is out there, breathing the same air, watching this fortress, thinking he can find a way in.He doesn't know that César left the gate open on purpose.I pull back from the window, my stomach twisting in a sick knot. I feel nauseous again. No

  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    096

    ~ANYA POV~The sun in Marbella is different from Italy. It doesn't warm you; it exposes you.I step out of the black SUV, my hand instinctively coming up to shield my eyes from the glare. The air here smells of salt and dry earth. It smells like the ocean. It smells like home.But it isn't home.I look up at the estate threatening in front of us. It isn't a house; it is a fortress of white stone and glass, perched on the edge of a cliff like it owns the sea crashing below. It is beautiful. It is paradise.And I feel like I'm walking onto an executioner's block.César is beside me instantly.He doesn't just walk; he claims the space. He isn't wearing a jacket today. His white linen shirt clings to his broad shoulders, the top buttons undone to reveal the tanned skin of his throat. He looks relaxed. He looks like a king returning to his kingdom to rest.But I know better. I can feel the tension radiating off him, a low-level hum of violence that only I seem to be tuned into.His hand la

  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    095

    ~ANYA POV~The word stays in the air like smoke. ‘Nobody.’I feel César's chest vibrate against my back. It isn't a laugh. It is a low, deep rumble that rattles my teeth. It's the sound of a fault line snapping deep underground right before the earthquake hits.He doesn't stand up. He doesn't shout. He simply stops tracing circles on my thigh. His hand goes still, heavy and hot through the thin linen of my pajamas."Nobody?" César repeats softly.The room is dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. You could hear my heart trying to beat its way out of my ribcage.Giovanni stands at the other end of the long mahogany table. He looks smug. He looks powerful in his three-piece suit, surrounded by men he thinks respect him. He thinks he just put a whore in her place. He thinks he is speaking for the "family."He has no idea he just stepped on a landmine."She is a distraction, César," Giovanni spits, gesturing at me with a manicured hand. "A nothing. A passing fancy. You risk our alliance

  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    094

    ~ANYA POV~I lie back down on the bed, the bright light of the room now feeling like a harsh, unwelcome spotlight. The soft duvet is cool against my skin, but inside, I am a furnace of fear and confusion.Pregnant.The word feels like a physical block in my mind, a stone I have swallowed that refuses to go down. I try to touch the thought, to wrap my head around the reality of this parasitic life growing inside me, but my brain slams the door shut. It refuses to process the consequence of his dark possession. It rejects the future that has been violently thrust upon me.The only thing I can do is cry.The tears spill out, hot and silent at first, then melt into long, broken sobs that shake my exhausted body. I turn my face into the pillow, muffling the sound, letting the despair flow out of me until the silk fabric beneath my cheek is drenched.I cry for the freedom I lost. I cry for the people César murdered. I cry for the life I tried to end in that bathroom only hours ago, and for

  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    093

    ~CÉSAR POV~The heavy oak door clicks shut behind me, sealing her inside.I stand in the hallway for a moment, adjusting my cuffs. The quietness of the corridor is absolute, but inside my head, the roar of victory is deafening.Pregnant.The word tastes like sweet wine......rich, intoxicating, and dangerous.I did not plan for it to happen this quickly. I had intended to break her spirit first, to mold her into the perfect wife before planting my seed. But fate, it seems, is impatient. Fate decided to bind us together irrevocably before I even finished taming her.I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone.I open the tracking application. Immediately, a green dot pulses on the screen. Location: Master Bedroom. Below it, a steady beat scrolls across the display.Heart rate: 98 BPM.She is panicked. Scared. But she is alive. And inside her, a second, smaller heart is beginning to form.A dark smirk curves my lips. She said she didn't want it. She begged to get rid of it. As if I woul

  • CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride    092

    ~ANYA POV~The word pregnant is a suffocating weight.It pushes down on my chest, freezing the air in my lungs. I shake my head...once, twice...a hopeless, useless attempt to dislodge the sound, to deny the reality he just set on me.The movement makes the room tilt, a sudden, fierce wave of dizziness hitting me instantly, making the cream-colored walls swim.No. It's impossible. He's lying. It's a trick to make me stay.But I cannot shake the triumphant, cold certainty in César's blue eyes. That gaze is focused entirely on me, holding me captive in this new, terrifying truth. He is not just telling me a fact; he is asserting a final, total victory.He moves. Slowly, deliberately, as if giving me time to panic before he asserts control again.I flinch violently, shrinking further into the pillows, a desperate physical reaction to the memory of the dark, filthy room. Every movement he makes now, after the cruelty of the cellar and the knife, feels like the opening to pain.He ignores t

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