Mag-log inCHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: HARBORED RESENTMENTNICO————The next morning, I drive straight to Alessandro’s mansion.I’d left Luca behind at the hospital to watch over Sofia. She still hadn’t woken up, but the doctors reassured us again that everything went well. She’s stable and will regain consciousness soon. Then we’ll finally be allowed to see her.I hold onto that, and use the window it gives me.Because instead of sitting around trying to crack my brain and understand what the heck is really going on, I decide to confront Alessia, despite Luca’s warnings to tread carefully.If only he were in my shoes.And the truth is, I am being careful. Because if I wasn’t, Alessandro would be the one I’d be facing this morning. Not his wife.When I reach Alessia’s suite, I don’t knock. I just shove the door open and walk right in.She’s sitting by the window, a book in her hands, and a mug of what looks like coffee resting on the table beside her. The moment she sees me, she’s on her feet.She rus
CHAPTER THIRTY: THE BOSSNICO————-My knee slams into a bench as I sprint, pain shooting up my leg. But I don’t slow down. The bastard knows I’m after him now. I see it in the way he looks back, panic flashing across his face before he breaks into a full run.Luca is right behind me, matching my pace, breath heavy.We tear through the corridors, knocking into carts, clipping corners, shoving past doors. Doctors shout. Nurses freeze. Patients stare in shock as we fly past them.I don’t give a fuck.My teeth grind together so hard my jaw aches. I’ll die before I let this bastard slip through my fingers.I push harder, literally jumping the stairs. He does too, glancing back again when he feels me closing in.“Shit!” He spits, turning forward again.He barrels into a cleaner pushing a supply trolley, shoving the man aside and sending the cart straight at me.“Fuck!” I roar.I grab the trolley and hurl it out of my way, metal crashing against the wall, and I’m moving again without break
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: THE ATTACKNICO————-“We’ll take it from here.”The doctor’s voice cuts through the chaos as nurses and another doctor rush my mother past me on the stretcher and straight into the ER. I’m drenched in her blood, and my eyes burn with tears that I refuse to let fall.I don’t give a fuck how I look.My head is spinning. My chest feels too tight to breathe. Fear claws at me, worse than anything I’ve ever felt in my life.Behind me, Maria clutches her thin frame, shaking as she sobs quietly into herself.“Is she going to be okay?” I ask, hearing the panic in my own voice.The doctor pauses just long enough to look at me. “We need to examine her first,” he says calmly. “She lost a lot of blood, but she’s alive. We’ll do everything we can. Please give us some time.”Before I can say another word, he’s gone, disappearing through the ER doors as they shut in my face.I stand there, helpless, my chest sinking like I’ve been dropped into deep water.“Hey,” Luca says soft
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: SHE LIVES RENT FREE IN MY HEADNICO—————Sleep refuses to come.I just keep tossing and turning all night. Every damn time I shut my eyes, I see Alessia. Even when sleep grabs me for a few stolen minutes, she’s there, waiting.That beautiful image of her face. Her hair spilled across the sheets. Her body bare beneath mine, wet and spread wide just for me.The image burns itself into my head, so perfect it feels permanent. Like it carved a place in my mind and decided to live there.But that’s not the only version of her that stalks me.There are too many.Alessia on her knees, taking me into her mouth. Alessia grinding against my face. Alessia falling apart around me, breaking because of me.Alessia. Alessia. Alessia.I harden before I can stop it, and that pisses me off more than anything.“Fuck.” I growl, yanking a pillow and slamming it over my face.Why the hell am I like this?She means nothing to me. She’s a client. That’s all. So why is she in my head lik
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: THE TRUTH OF THE ULTIMATUM ALESSIA————-When I open my eyes again, I’m lying in my bed, in my room at the mansion.Warm morning sunlight slips through the curtains, stabbing straight into my eyes. I squint and lift a hand to block the glare. My head throbs faintly as I adjust.Slowly, my gaze drifts around the room, as if I need proof that I really am in my room. And I sure as hell am. I frown and push myself up, the sheets sliding down as I sit on the edge of the bed. I’m wearing one of my nightdresses. Between my thighs, a deep soreness settles heavily. A reminder of my wild moment with Nico last night.My heart races. How the hell did I get here?The last thing I remember is blacking out completely, right after the most intense climax of my life, all thanks to Nico. Did he bring me back himself?And if he did… how did he manage to get me into my room, clean me up, and change me without Alessandro noticing?The thought barely finishes forming when a soft
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: THE VIPER OWNS MEALESSIA————-“Okie dokie!” Matilda giggles, brushing off her exhaustion as she crawls toward me on the bed.I’m still lying there, breath coming in heavy pulls, my body weak and overstimulated. The sheets beneath me are soaked with my release. My limbs feel loose, boneless, as I struggle to come back to myself.Through my fading haze, now slowly clearing, I watch Matilda reach me. She grips my legs gently, pushing them apart as if she already knows exactly what Nico wants. She lifts one of my legs and hooks it over her shoulder, that wicked grin still fixed on her face.My chest rises and falls sharply as Nico moves closer.He’s still hard, despite already having released. The hunger in his eyes hasn’t faded. If anything, it’s sharper now. His gaze stays locked on my drenched center, unblinking and hungry. “Wider.” He orders. His voice is lower, rougher and darker. It makes me bite back a moan.Matilda obeys immediately, pulling my leg farther







