Chapter 27
Anna stood at her balcony, a glass of juice in her hand, which she drank from. The wind blew her hair, making it fall on her face, but she slowly tucked it behind her ear.
Chiara had retired to her room for the night, giving her enough space for the words she had said to sink in.
She had seen him that night, the way he had leisurely said it like it had nothing to do with her. Her heart raced, her cheeks burned. Anna gulped down the remaining content in the glass as her mind recalled the night of the Omerta ball.
Acting crazy was his thing, but that night, it had been entirely different. He had been… possessive, like he owned her—owned her body.
He had been raspy, like he had lost all patience with her. She hadn’t been aware of what she did, what warranted such behavior from him—well, aside from witnessing him committing an all-out murder, showing up in his tub naked, and trespassing that night when she should have been asleep—but her guts told her it wasn’t because of that.
It was like it was something more than that, something she wasn’t aware of. The way he had cornered her to the wall, held her waist like she belonged to him, and dared her to repeat that she belonged to Domenico.
Anna sighed, clenching the railing of the balcony tightly. She shouldn’t think about it too much. He might’ve been talking about another girl with blonde hair and blue eyes like her. She would stop thinking about it, and although she said that, her mind flashed back to when he had carried her.
His hand on her waist, her nose nuzzled against the crook of his neck to inhale his musky scent, his hand on her bare back. Damn! Why couldn’t she get all of this out of her mind?
She shouldn’t be thinking of this, right? Not when she was in love with another man.
………
Anna sat in the large dining hall all alone as she had her meal. Not just Leone, but she hadn’t set her eyes on the Don and Domenico either. She wondered why that was the case. She spent her day alone as usual.
Later that night, she sat in front of the mirror as Chiara helped her brush her hair. Her mind trailed far, lost in her own thoughts.
“Where did all of them go?” Anna heard herself blurt out her thoughts.
Chiara’s movement paused as she stared at her mistress in front of the mirror. “They went for a battle with another mafia group. Not Lorenzo, but the Gambino mafia group in Albania,” her voice came out low as if speaking about it was a crime on its own.
Anna slowly nodded. That night, she could barely catch even a wink of sleep. Then she heard a noise—the sound of a car.
She scrambled out of bed and quickly went to the window to have a peek. A black sleek car had pulled up close to the entrance of the mansion.
The door flung open and her heart raced when she saw him—Leone. The white long sleeve he wore now stained with blood on his arm, his face stoic like he didn’t have a shot wound which was gushing.
Her breath caught in her throat. She quickly hid when he turned to look at her window, like he could see her staring—but he couldn’t, the glass was tinted.
When she turned back to look, he was no longer there. She tried to go back to bed, her heart ached with worry. Why was she even worried? She couldn’t comprehend, and before she knew it, she found herself scrambling out of her bed again.
Her feet padded against the cold tiles as she grabbed one of her slippers. After wearing it, she slipped out of her room and out of the mansion.
She didn’t know why. She didn’t know how. None of it made any sense to her either, but she found herself standing outside his mansion—Leone’s mansion.
She had only been here once. That was when Chiara had accompanied her for a walk and she had showed her both Leone and Domenico’s mansion.
She had expected guards to be stationed at the front, but there weren’t any, and she slowly climbed up the few steps that led to the grand door.
She pushed the doors open, and her action was followed by a creak sound. She felt uncertain. Why was she even here? What would people think once they find out she was here at this hour?
She took a step back. No, she shouldn’t be here. She turned to leave when she began hearing the sound of footsteps approaching. It might probably be a guard or the butler. She quickly made her way inside and shut the door.
Her heartbeat raced rapidly. The air felt cold against her skin. The lights were dim—too dim—and she wondered how he ever managed to see a thing here.
She picked up a small flashlight from one of the tables, turned it on, and then slowly made her way up the circular staircase.
She reached the second floor, and her eyes fell on a door which was left slightly open. She slowly made her way there. She pushed the door open, and her eyes were greeted with a large luxuriously furnished bedroom.
The dim red lights made the hair on her neck stand. She slowly stepped in. Her eyes swept through the room but—no sign of Leone. What was she even doing?
She turned to leave, but her heart slammed on seeing him standing in front of her, shirtless. Her lips quivered as she stared up to look at him.
Now, staring at him in the dim red lights, he looked nothing less than a devil—a handsome one. She gulped.
His black hair fell across his face, his eyes as cold as steel as they stared down at her, his large arm—which might’ve been shot—was now bandaged. Anna tried not to stare at his broad and well-chiseled chest, but her own eyes betrayed her.
His ink tattoos glared at her. Anna took a step back. She shouldn’t be here. “I just came to check up on you. You seemed hurt before, but now you look like you’re in a better condition,” she spluttered. “I… I should take my leave now.”
Her blood ran cold when he suddenly slammed the door shut. “Where do you think you’re going, Anna?” His sinful lips pulled up into a sinister smile, and Anna instinctively took a step backwards—which never worked in her favor—something she had failed to realize.
Leone took a step forward, covering the distance, but Anna’s nerves felt too jittery to stand still, while all the bells in her head began ringing.
She took another step—and more—till she felt herself stumble and fall on the bed. He didn’t stop coming towards her, and the adrenaline rush had her pushing herself deeper into the bed.
Suddenly, she couldn’t move anymore. She looked down to see his hand wrapped around her tiny ankle, and before she could comprehend things, he was hovering over her. His hand pressed at both sides of her head, his face inches away from hers.
Anna was rendered breathless. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come here. Please let me go.”
Her chest moved up and down as she took labored breaths. The look in his eyes—feral, like he had been starved for decades.
Her feet turned cold when his eyes trailed down her neck, and it was then she realized she was wearing just a thin cloth which left the shape of her breasts completely exposed. To fuel things, her nipples pointed out from the dress.
“Anna,” he called, voice raspy. “Be a good girl and stay still for me.”
Before Anna could comprehend what he meant, his other hand flew from beside her head, ripping the fabric that hid her breasts completely and baring them to his sight.
Chapter 37Anna flipped the pages of the book in her hand, her eyes following every word, her lips pursed.She now sat in an outdoor garden from where she could see some of the guards and the servants who did their work.Anna couldn’t fully place her hands on it, but something was off. The air carried so much stiffness; even the workers didn’t bother to dwindle around. Like programmed robots, they minded their work.“Madam Anna,” she heard the soft feminine voice call her, and Anna instantly turned to see Chiara standing behind her, who gave her a bow. “Your lunch is ready.”Anna mustered a smile. “Please bring it to my room,” she instructed, and Chiara nodded.Anna was in no mood to have lunch alone in the spacious and lonely dining hall—that, and also risking having dinner with the two brothers who were always at each other’s throats.Where one had begun acting strangely nice to her, the other one—who had done nothing but pick on her and make her life even more miserable than it alr
Chapter 36Domenico struggled for breath, his own life flashing in front of him. He tried using both his hands to free himself from Leone’s grip, but his attempts were futile, and it seemed like this time around Leone was really intent on killing him. Tears spilled from his eyes as he battled for his life.“Leone,” the Don called, and Leone rolled his eyes before letting go of Domenico’s neck. Domenico gasped for breath, his eyes dilating as his lungs struggled to collect the air.“Anything but that, Leone. You know that,” Enzo said, his tone grave.“No one touches what is mine. You know that, Don,” Leone’s jaw ticked as he stared at his father, who was ready to pull all strings to ensure he didn’t lose his son.It was shameful that Domenico, the future Don of this empire, now had his life in the hands of his younger brother. He didn’t want anyone witnessing this.Enzo took a sharp breath in. “Anything else but that,” his tone sharp and clear, his eyes unwavering. He walked away from
Chapter 35Enzo stood at a far corner, with a grim expression on his face, his lips pressed into a thin line. He watched Domenico and his men carry out their work. He already knew how this was going to end, and the thought of it all made him shake his head.Yes, it was true that Diego had been his consigliere, and the least he owed him for his dedication to the empire was a decent burial, but what he also didn’t need was any of his sons going 6 feet under the ground.His memory jogged back to the conversation he had with Leone:“Dig around my tree, huh?” Leone chuckled, something that left him a bit starstruck because everyone knew how much he cherished that tree—the only standing memory he had left of his late mother because she planted the tree herself.“Alright then.” Leone’s eyes remained a wild shade of gray.Enzo knew neither of his sons were normal, but this one—Leone—his was on an entirely different level.“So you are okay with digging around the tree, to clear your name from
Chapter 34Anna’s eyes remained wide. For a moment, it felt like time had paused between them as she tried to process the words he just said.He wasn’t being his usual irksome self. His gray eyes were calm and held a kind of warmth she had never seen in them since she knew him, but yet she couldn’t completely trust him.Why? Just why was he suddenly telling her he liked her? When he knew too well that she was going to get married to Domenico. Aside from that, she had no feelings for this man. She liked Rocco. Even if she had let him touch her that night, that didn’t mean anything, right? That didn’t mean she wanted any of this.“I don’t have feelings for you.” The only feeling she had felt towards him up until now was immense hatred. That was it.“I didn’t say that ’cause I give two fucks about what you feel.” She felt his grip on her waist tighten. “I said that as an answer to your question.” He flashed her an insincere smile.Anna blinked twice as she stared at him, and then he let
Chapter 33Domenico’s eyes flew wide. He wasn’t stupid enough to miss the hidden meaning behind his words. He gritted his teeth, his fist clenched. A second later, Domenico lunged towards Leone, grabbing the collar of his shirt. He dragged him up and slammed his back on the wall.“I’ll kill you,” he gritted. “Your heart will rest in my hands.” His body shook fervently as he boiled with rage, while Leone, on the other hand, appeared calm—like he was an angel from heaven. But everyone knew he was the master puppeteer of the devil in hell. “Too much anger makes people shorter,” Leone raised his hand to pat Domenico’s head, which flared his anger even more.He raised his hand to throw a punch at him, but Leone, being taller and far stronger, easily caught it, twisted his hand behind him, and slammed his face on the wall. Domenico grunted in pain.Not just his hand but he felt like his ego was twisted also. His jaw hardened, and he skillfully reached for a dagger in his pocket, but Leone
Chapter 32Her eyes flew wide, his action accentuated by the crackling sound in the burning fireplace.Her lips parted repeatedly, tongue-tied and speechless at what he had just done. She rubbed her now bare neck, which hadn’t been hurt when he tugged the necklace off, as he had done it with so much precision.“You—” she tore her eyes away from the fireplace, now glaring at him, who was already looking down at her. “You had no right to do that.” She took a sharp breath in, trying to build back her resolve, which always seemed to crumble anytime she was with him.“Hmm? Don’t I?” He chuckled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.Anna was perplexed. What was she going to say once Domenico asked her for the necklace he had given her? What if he hit her—or worse—when she couldn’t provide it?She balled her fists as a tear slipped out of her eyes. She hit his chest repeatedly. “What the hell is your problem, Leone?” Her voice broke at the end.She bit her lip hard, staring back at him