เข้าสู่ระบบChapter 148The corner of his lips tilted into a smile, and just one stride of his was enough to completely cover the distance between them; then he shut the door behind him.Anna’s heart skipped a bit, inwardly clutching the sides of her gown as she fought for calm, dreading the moment when the kids would suddenly come down to see her with this same man she had warned them about.“Make it snappy, I don’t have much time to waste.” She crossed her hands beneath her bosom and stared at him warily. It was clearly apparent that until this man truly died, she would know no peace.“About six years ago—”“No!” Anna turned her back on him. “I don’t want to hear anything about the past, neither do I want to hear any of the lame reasons you’ve come up with. If you don’t have anything else to say, get out now.”“Anna—”“Lisa!” She swiftly turned back to glare at him. “It’s Lisa.”He gulped saliva down his throat; “Not now, but I hope you’ll give me a chance to at least explain…”“You’ll die hopi
Chapter 147Her red backless gown swept the floors with grace as She made her way into the building; the Pietro Cosmetics was now officially launched and Anna remained the sole CEO of the company.“You have a meeting with the First Lady of Jangseug Groups; she requested you move the time a little to 4pm,” Reile, Anna’s secretary, dutifully reported.Her short brown hair was clipped to the back while her fringes covered her forehead.“That can’t be done. I also have other pressing matters to deal with; I will not be compromising my time,” Anna declared. She of all people knew how she started something was the biggest drive in determining how things would go from there on, and she wasn’t given anyone the leverage to step on her; she’d rather crush that person to dust.“I’ll let her team members know, ma’am. You have another meeting scheduled by 12pm tomorrow with the CEO of the Declorov empire; he came himself to demand a meeting with you, boss.”Anna heaved out a breath of frustration.
Her heart raced madly in her ears as she stared in shock. How was this possible? How was he here?“Mummy!” Alicia screamed in excitement on seeing her mother by the door.She freed her ankle from Leone’s grip and then ran to her, wrapping her small hands around her mother.“Baby, you’re okay.” She stroked her hair, but her lips had to fight to control her racing heart. Nothing could help the way she felt right now.Leone’s gaze remained unwavering, her memory jogging back to the conversation she had over the phone with him that night. It seemed like he always knew her exact location. How on earth had he easily found her and, even worse, found their kids?“This kind man I met at our birthday party helped us too. I’m all okay, mummy,” Alicia beamed.From the looks of things, Leone hadn’t disclosed anything to them yet. This calmed her down a bit.All she had to do now was try to be calm about this. She shouldn’t give anything away.“I’m sorry. If I had gotten here sooner, then I would’v
Chapter 145The scent of freshly baked cake wafted into the living room. An apron was tied around her waist while she heard the cheerful laughter of her kids.A bright smile graced her face, her fingers rhythmically tapping on the kitchen slab to the song playing in her head.The warm rays of the sun cast their glow on her from the open window, and Anna couldn’t feel more alive. It felt like an invisible force or shackles that had been weighing her down had been cut loose, and now she was free—free to spread her wings and fly.It had been a week since she moved out of the Pietro Empire. She had made sure that James was okay, and he seemed to be doing just fine—happy even. She had been worried about imposing her wishes on him and had been ready to withdraw her decision, but seeing him lead the empire with so much grace and wisdom, she knew she had made the right choice.For now, they resided in a peaceful city in the heart of the country, far away from the turmoil of the mafia groups.
Chapter 144Anna shut her eyes tightly, her heart racing in her eardrums. Even now that she was away from him, he still exercised control—and perfectly at that.Her eyes flew open as if snapping out of whatever spell he had cast on her. Her brows pulled together; “Don’t be delusional, and I never want to see or hear from you ever again. Keep whatever bullshit you have to say to yourself.”Anna ended the call immediately, almost smashing it on the wall, but she held herself back. She tugged her hair, groaning in frustration.She picked up the glass of wine and downed the content. This won’t do—she needed some damn rum, just this one time.She picked up her coat and slid into it, packing her hair into a messy bun. She headed outside her room, making her way to the cellar, only to find someone else sitting there already.Several bottles of alcohol sat on the table. Chiara held one more, bringing the bottle closer to her lips as she downed the content.She looked completely wasted, and th
Chapter 143She saw it all—the slight stagger, the drag in of breath. Her lips tilted up into a satisfactory smirk. Finally, she was the one in control now.She lightly pushed past him, not turning back even for a second despite feeling the weight of his stare on her back.The sleek black SUV parked right in front of her, and the first to step out was Rocco. He quickly came to stand in front of her, his fingers brushing her face with worry.“Are you alright?” His eyes narrowed with concern.Normally, his action would have resulted in both his hands being chopped off, but right now, she had to make the best of things—and that included making sure Leone bought her story completely. She wouldn’t want him causing other problems for her in the future.And so, she stretched, almost standing on her tiptoes, placed a hand on the side of his face, and dropped a tender kiss on his cheek.A bright smile formed on her face—one that could bring a dead flower back to life.“I’m more than okay, love







