Olivia When Leonardo woke me up, I couldn't help but panic. I wondered if he already knew about my latest fuck up. But the man only wanted us to watch the sunrise together, no one would believe that Leonardo could be that kind of a man. If anyone had told me about this version of him, I would have laughed in their face. I wasn't laughing as I laid my head against his chest so I wouldn't be able to look at his face and see all his emotions on full display and be reminded of what I had done. Leonardo was the most powerful person I knew in the city, his power was not loud and flashy, but it was subtle, for an outsider like me, I hadn't even known that people like him existed until I had come into the fold. Now I had betrayed him, not only once but twice over and he didn't have a single clue about it. I felt bad for judging my father when he borrowed money from the wrong crowd and dragging me into this but looking at my choices, I was just as bad if not worse. Because anyone w
Leonardo I sat watching the smoke from the cigar twirling to the air and disappearing into nothing. Everything was going south and after fruitless meetings at the house, I was meeting Stanley at the club. Someone had it in for me and in every turn I took, they were ahead of me. It seems like I was chasing a ghost. Stanley walked in looking prim and proper and sat down on the velvet couch before he took out an envelope from his pocket. “Is everything here?” I asked him as he placed it down on the coffee table before us. “Yes boss, he assured me everything was in there.” He laid back on the couch. I looked at the envelope, all my answers laid in that small envelope or the answers I thought I needed. “Nikolai should be here any minute now.” I said, putting out my cigar on the ashtray. “Nikolai is coming?” he asked, and I looked at him a little longer before I nodded my head, everyone was a suspect until proven innocent. It was only a matter of time before my mom was on my case
OliviaAt first, the wedding was going to happen in a matter of days, but Leonardo changed his mind. He said he was giving me some ‘time’ to prepare for the big day, but I suspected he wanted to make it as special as he could for both of us.In the weeks that followed, Leonardo’s mother came in full force with the wedding preparations. She seemed genuinely happy at the idea of us getting married, even though she had been rooting for Anna.Zera had gone back to her house and was only expected to return a few days before the wedding, a date that was fast approaching.Leonardo was in and out of the house. He and Stanley had more ‘private’ meetings in his study, and I didn’t need to guess what the agenda of their meetings was.Guilt chirped away at me every night when I looked at Leonardo’s face as he came to bed and the line on his forehead protruded from the stress he was facing.“Don’t wait for me,” Leo said as he finished his meal. We were having a quiet dinner, just the two of us. C
Olivia The awkward silence that followed Leonardo’s announcement; I could cut it with a thin knife. Anna looked broken, and I didn’t blame her, she had put her all in preparing for the wedding. When she looked in my direction, I averted my eyes and focused on the golden lines on the marble surface. I couldn’t face her broken stare. “When did this happen?” she asked, her voice cracking under the weight of her distress. I looked at Leonardo for answers but he couldn’t be bothered instead he looked annoyed that he was being questioned. Damn him. If Leonardo could do something like this to someone who was like family, only one question remained: what he was going to do to an outsider like me when the truth came out? I didn’t want to stick around and found out what would unfold next. I excused myself and walked over to the double doors that led to the Terrance outside, the minute I opened the doors, a warm breeze slapped my face and I smiled, knowing I would take that an
Leonardo The rest of the lunch sailed by smoothly, with Olivia fidgeting like a cold puppy. I knew that the marriage proposal was a shock to her, but if things went the way I had planned, we wouldn’t have to pretend for long and will be both out of it sooner than expected. I pressed the ignition button, and the car came to life with a roar of the powerful horse engine it was. I seldom had the time to move around without one or two of my man following me, but when it happened, I made the most of it. “Can I ask you something?” Olivia said from the passenger seat as I navigated my way out of the parking lot. I threw a glance at her, “Shot.” “Why are you doing this?” “Doing what?” “Why do we need to get married?” If I knew the answer to that question, I wouldn’t be where I was. I inhaled. “I told you, you don’t have to worry about it; it will only be on paper and won’t affect our arrangement” Who was I kidding? My feelings confused me and my thought pr
Olivia “Want some cream to go with your coffee, ma’am?” The server asked. I shook my head. “No thanks, black is fine.” He flipped his writing pad closed and left us alone to place the orders. Leonardo had said he wanted to talk away from the mansion. We took a drive around the city and settled at a cosy Italian cafe just outside the city. I wondered how he stumbled upon these spaces. I was getting better in knowing the things that he liked. From the first time I’d been with him, it was clear to me that he favoured rustic and authentic over modern when it came to eating out. “Scared someone might recognize you?” He asked with a catch of amusement when he caught me looking around. 'You do not know half of it.' I thought to myself and made an effort to smile and appear carefree. “You wanted to talk.” I said, rubbing a shaky hand on my pants under the table. “Yes, but before I can get to that, tell me about you.” He leaned on his arms on the wooden table. “Wh
Leonardo At the top of the stairs, I sighed. Why was I on that floor? With the excitement of the kitchen, my feet had taken me in the wrong direction. I could have used the bedroom I kept on the same floor for convenience, but that was not what I had planned. I walked to Olivia's door and tried to knock but my hand stopped mid air. It was past midnight, and what would I say if she opened the door? I was well within my rights to demand to see her whenever I felt like it, but still…that stupid contract; it felt like a mockery. I crunched against the door and thought about budging in there and waking her up. Who was this pathetic person? I didn't recognize myself anymore. I was Leonardo De Luca. I took what I wanted without asking. I squeezed my eyes shut and wiped them with my hand. That was before she crawled under my skin. Olivia Despite the nerves and everything that happened around me, I got some decent sleep. After checking that my room was in a spotless condition, I alwa
OliviaMy palms wouldn't stop sweating. I had plugged the device in Leonardo's santrum, and I was already feeling guilty; last night Leonardo had worshiped my body.If the detective had been listening in last night, she got a lot of steamy moans to put into her report, and that should teach her to mind her own business.I took the stairs down to the kitchen. A crackling of female laughter met my ears before I could reach the landing.It was past breakfast, and thanks to my shenanigans, I was doing the walk of shame.“Hey, where have you been?”Anna asked me the instant she saw.I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Did I tell her what I've been doing all night?“I…I.” I stammered.“No worries. Come and meet Leo's sister.” She pulled me to the sunroom.Leonardo had a sister? I stumbled behind her, trying to sort myself out.“Look who I found. Olivia Zera, Zera Olivia.” She introduced us.Zera got up from her seat and extended her hand in greeting, which ended in a hug.“I'm Zera
Leonardo Finding Olivia in my room was no surprise. I was only surprised that she had taken that long to snoop around. It seemed everyone in their right mind was always interested in seeing what one got up to. Maybe they thought I hanged dead men and skulls everywhere. She jumped when I showed up, a bit on edge; maybe the shopping I heard about with Anna hadn't gone well. My security system had alerted me to someone opening my room; my gut feeling had told me already that it wouldn't be Rosa so late, and I knew Anna wouldn't overstep this boundary. This left only one person who didn't know about the Sentrum. Olivia. “Let's sit.” I said and guided her to a comfortable couch the moment I realized she looked like she was ready to pass out. Despite the intrusion, when my eye saw the exposed delicate skin, I couldn't deny how much I wanted her. I brushed my face with my hand; I was making a mess of an already tricky situation. This was not how things were supposed to go. S