SARIAN By the time I arrived at the house that night, the sky had grown dark. Most likely out of guilt or fear , the club manager had told me I could take the night off or maybe due to my near death experience. I didn't argue in any case. I still felt heavy all over and needed room to sleep.I had heard Don Julio asking him softly in Italian what had happened. I knew just a little Italian but I knew Don Julio wasn't soft or anything.The club manager had gone into an office when Matteo had called me from the club where a stripper had tried to give him a lap dance and he came out after some minutes looking like he had almost drowned in a whirlpool. His clothes were neat but his face was off like he had been given a quick makeover.I didn't ask questions and I was glad to be far away from all that, I needed a place that didn't smell of blood, whiskey or cigars. The mansion was as large, too silent and too cold as ever. I went through the side entrance in the hopes of avoiding a coll
SARIAN. I shouldn't have visited the beach.I should have said no but somehow, Simeon has a charming way of doing what you don't want to do and you have to like it.I smiled as I remembered our time at the beach as I stood behind the bar the following evening trying to concentrate. That was all I could think about. I sighed, when I remembered I was pretending not to notice the heat of Simeon's kiss still burning on my skin.I repeatedly wiped the same glass. I shut my eyes. What was I thinking? The club was more boisterous than normal, packed, drunken laughter here and there, raising and falling.Caresses, rapid discussions , women walking around, looking for the next customer They are conducting business in whispers. It all felt normal. Too normal. Tonight a new bartender was working next to me. A man with a sharp jaw and a slicked-back hairstyle. He was not smiling at all, just serious and focused on what he was doing and he said nothing. Just swiftly mixed drinks without ever
SARIAN The night lasted a long time. It felt hotter than usual under the club's lights. I pretended to smile at the customers and the music was too loud. Too loud for my ears and I felt this was more than a debt Don Julio said I would pay, it was more like a punishment.My heart felt heavier than ever and my feet hurt. Then I saw him again. After talking to me in my room, I had resumed my job and he was nowhere to be found and I was happy for the rest of the day, only to see him now. I rolled my eyes and groaned. I thought he won't come back but he was standing at the far end of the club talking to one of those customers who never misses a day, dressed like he was shooting a movie or something.He smiled slowly and softly as if I were the only person in the room as his eyes met mine. Then he took a seat at the bar he said ..“Good evening Eve.” I forced a smile while swallowing hard. “Back again?”“ Obviously.” He leaned slightly in. “I promised to be here.”I was thinking he had
SARIAN I shut my eyes, trying to push the pounding headache out of my head as I sat on the bathroom floor, naked, my knees drawn to my chest and the water from the shower pouring over me.The quiet wasn't serene. It was heavy and loud. As if I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. My tears had dried up after everything—Don Julio, Catalina the lies, the kiss. I had stopped crying. But I still had chest pain and whenever I remembered what had happened, I felt like crying again.But this pain didn't go away immediately, it was the kind of pain that prevents you from breathing normally as if it were sitting on your ribs. I had lost all sense of what to believe. Gradually, I got up and entered the bedroom. I looked at my bedside tables, the old music box, the drawer and the walls. It had been weeks since I had touched it. I remembered bringing it along that night that I and Marie were supposed to leave that god forsaken town and Marc had sold us out like hand me downs.I haven't
SARIAN She was back in my life. It was my off day and she was the first person I saw or should I say the smell of her perfume fought off the smell of freshly brewed coffee and drifted into my noseThe icy-eyed, gorgeous and expensively dressed woman from the club. That evening she had entered the mansion as if she had been invited for a party or something.She felt at home in Don Julio's arms. Catalina was back when I thought she couldn't return and I didn't know why a bitter taste rose in my throat when I saw her.And she was no ordinary person. She was rich and powerful too.Some of the guards were whispering about her and I heard them. Don Julio was once saved by her father Don Manuel. Even the most dreaded men in South America respected him because he was a strong cartel boss. Catalina was his only daughter and child . A cartel princess with lots of connections. Everything about Catalina screamed poise. She was saucy a
SARIAN I had told myself that I wasn't ever going to fall for another again. It's been three days here but I had told Simeon some very interesting lies. I had told myself that I would focus on repaying my father's debt just as Don Julio had said and then I would leave and her a better life somewhere else. But with him . It was different. I had lied about my name and everything and he had believed and he seemed to like me. Damn. It was a Friday evening. It was him again, same dark eyes. The same serene assured smile. Simeon. He entered like he belonged here with deliberate slow steps that seemed like he wasn't scared of anyone. He had asked for my section for the third consecutive night. Despite his loud presence, he was always courteous and quiet. Too polite for a man who looked filthy rich. I made an effort to remain calm. I took his order, smiled and turned to go. But the truth was that every time he gazed at me my heart raced. It seemed as though he could see right
SIMEON I was seen as weak by everyone. Most especially my father Abraham Moretti. I knew he hated me with the way he looked at me and shifted everything to that stupid cousin of mine. Ever since that night at Calcutta , he had suddenly grown tired of me and never handed me any mission to oversea, he hardly gave me the impression that I mattered. Desperate to show that I was more than just the quiet son in the corner, I had lived my entire life in his shadow breathing his blood-stained legacy and trying to prove a point. But it will all end today. I smoothed down my clean shirt while standing in front of the mirror and slipping my belt through the loops of my black slacks. My cufflinks gleamed under the chandelier light, tonight I exuded control in every way and never appeared weak again. “ You ready, signore?”My driver called from outside the suite. I gave a single nod. “Andiamo.” For the past two weeks, father hadn't laid his eyes on me, he hadn't bothered to call but I had
SARIAN “Don't you dare walk out on me.” He growled and I found myself frozen in place. My ears watered and my breath hitched. He was angry and the sound of his voice made me squirm. I felt so cold all of a sudden and I didn't know which made me cold: the rain outside tapping against the window or the sound of his voice.I turned slowly and his stone cold eyes locked on mine and I bit my lower lip hard, almost drawing out blood.He was different now and not the guy I used to know. Not the man who pressed promises to my lips once. His voice was as sharp as a knife cutting through me when he spoke.“Stop staring at me like I'm the antagonist in your little fairy tale. “He gave me a dirty look when I tried to speak.“Do you think I like what's going on?” “Yes! You act like you have no heart! As if I'm nothing more than a pawn in your mafia game!” I yelled my voice shaking “You do! I know you freaking do.”
SARIAN My eyes hurt. I had stayed up all night even when Greta came back to the kitchen and smiled and asked me to go and sleep. I yawned and got up and I heard the sound of tires on the driveway and I was already racing to the living room. It was Don Julio. He was back. I stood there staring at him like a confused six year old. I quickly held my hair in a messy bun and wiped my face with my sleeves.He would make fun of me and maybe see me as stupid if he realized that I had been crying. I shouldn't be crying. I took a deep breath. . I could hear his deep voice coming from the hallway. Calm and surprisingly inconsiderate. A comment made by one of his men made him laugh. He glanced up when I came out from behind the huge flower vase. He looked directly into my eyes but they were cold. Not a bit of softness. Just a small nod of recog