LOGINLILA POV
I woke up convinced I was dying because my skull throbbed like it had been split open and stitched back together in the wrong way, every heartbeat was sending sharp pressure behind my eyes. The pain wasn’t clean or sharp, it was dense, swelling, as if my brain was pushing against bone that refused to give. I groaned, instantly regretted it.
Nausea surged, violent and sudden. I forced myself to breathe shallowly, counting each breath like it was the only thing anchoring me to consciousness. Too fast and I’d vomit. Too deep and my head would burst.
Cold air brushed my skin and that was wrong.
It was not the clean chill of air conditioning, this was damp, invasive, seeping straight into my bones. Goosebumps raced up my arms and my teeth chattered before I could stop them. I swallowed, my throat burned and my mouth tasted bitter, metallic, foul enough to make my stomach clench again. My tongue felt thick, useless, glued to the roof of my mouth. What did I drink, I wondered.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the spinning to slow and the pain to dull. I needed a memory just anything but instead, warmth bloomed and Nikolai came to my mind, his laugh slipped into my mind, low and genuine, the kind that made your chest feel lighter just hearing it. I remembered the way he used to pull me into him when I complained about the cold, always wrapping his coat around the both of us even if it meant he froze. “Stop shivering,” he’d tease, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You’re going to give me a complex.”
Lazy mornings followed sunlight spilling across white sheets, his fingers tracing absent patterns along my arm. The way he looked at me like I was something rare and something worth guarding. “You’re always safe with me, Lila,” he’d murmured once, forehead pressed to mine. “No one will ever hurt you.”
My chest tightened but then the warmth shattered and when I opened my eyes, gray concrete walls loomed over me, there was no sunlight, warmth and definitely no Nikolai here.
Cold dread slid up my spine, settling at the base of my neck. The sheets beneath my fingers were rough and unfamiliar nothing like the silk I slept on at home. This wasn’t my bed, my breath hitched as I looked down.
A thin, yellowed nightgown clung to my body, faded and shapeless, like something pulled from another century. My clothes were gone.
Panic surged, sharp and blinding, someone undressed me and where the hell am I?
“Welcome to Hell”
The words weren’t spoken aloud, they echoed inside my head, paired with a smile I knew far too well and my heart stuttered.
“Nikolai?” I whispered. Hope flared weak and irrational but the smile in my memory wasn’t warm anymore. It was dark, a mechanical hiss cut through the silence and I froze immediately.
A section of the wall slid open with eerie smoothness, revealing a hidden door. Pain twisted through my stomach as I pushed myself upright, my head screaming in protest. I pressed my back to the headboard, heart hammering, then I saw him.
“Nikolai?” The word escaped me again, louder this time, hope still surged despite everything.
He stepped fully into the light and it died.
His eyes were completely black empty of warmth and burning with something cold and ruthless. Nothing like the man I loved. “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice shaking as fear finally overtook confusion.
He approached slowly, holding a box. The light revealed him fully darker hair, shaved at the sides, longer on top. A sharp scar carved down his face. He looked older and harder as if violence had rewritten him. “Hello, Lila,” he said softly.
The sound of his voice sent chills racing down my spine. “What’s going on?” I whispered again.
“First of all,” he said calmly, setting the box on the bed, “let me introduce myself.”
I stared at his outstretched hand. “Why would you introduce yourself? I already know you.”
His lips curved faintly. “You don’t know me, Miss Falcone.”
The title landed wrong and cold, my chest tightened. “You’re the man who broke my heart first,” I said. “You disappeared without a word and now you’ve kidnapped me?”
He stepped closer. “My name is Nico. Nico Moretti and the Nikolai you know was my twin brother.”
The world tilted, “That’s not possible,” I whispered. “Believe me,” he said coolly, “this is no joke.”
Fear spiked as his hand suddenly closed around my neck, pinning me back. I gasped, panic exploding in my chest. “You knew he was a Moretti,” he growled. “How could you not know he had a twin?”
“He told me his name was Romano,” I choked. “Nikolai Romano.”
His grip tightened then loosened. “Romano?” he repeated slowly. For the first time, something flickered across his face. It was not rage but confusion. He stepped back abruptly, dragging a chair closer and sitting down, his eyes never leaving mine.
“I can see your family taught you well,” he said after a pause. I caught it, the hesitation. The way his jaw tightened and the way his gaze sharpened like he was reassessing me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I sobbed. “Humanity makes us lie to survive.”
“I’m not lying!” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “Why am I here?”
He stood so suddenly the chair skidded across the floor. “You’re here because you couldn’t keep your filthy hands off my brother,” he snarled. “Someone must pay for what was taken from my family.”
My heart slammed violently. “That someone,” he said coldly, “is you.”
“I dont know where he is,” I whispered.
“You killed him and he is now buried,” he said, eyes blazing, “but you sit here pretending to be innocent.”
“What are you saying?” My voice broke. “We buried Nikolai?.”
The words crushed the air from my lungs. “No,” I whispered. “That’s not true.”
He turned and left without another word and the door slammed shut. I slid down the headboard, shaking, my body curling inward as silence swallowed me whole. Nikolai was dead and somehow, I was the one being punished for it.
Nico POVShe flicked on the lights then let her heavy coat fall into down her arms before she hung it up on the coatrack.Her red dress was backless, showing the small muscles that flanked her spine. The steep curve in her back was prominent, so sexy I accidentally bit the inside of my cheek as I stared at it.I unbuttoned the jacket of my suit as I came up behind her, my mouth hungry for that beautiful skin.I gripped both of her arms as my lips moved to the back of her neck. The second my mouth was on her body, I was lost. My hands squeezed her limbs, and I kissed her hard, devouring her in the entryway. I pulled her against my chest as my kisses migrated more toward her face. I tugged her against me and forced her head back, exposing more of her neck to my reach. My warm breaths fell on her skin as I kissed her, letting my cock grind against her ass through my slacks.I’d been hard on and off all night, and now my dick was about to rip through my pants. She panted right away, archi
Lila POV“One.” I held up my forefinger. “You definitely aren't letting me on what is going on with you. So I better head home and rest to prepare for tomorrow work, Nico.”I held up a second finger. “Two. You said I could leave, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”He slowly slid his hands into his pockets, a quiet sigh sounding under his breath. His jaw tightened and the muscles in his cheek shifting slightly. Disappointment burned in his eyes as he fought the helpless feeling.““I hate that you brought me here only to shut me out,” I snapped, my voice trembling with anger and hurt.“You expect me to stay loyal to you while you keep acting like I don’t exist.”He stayed silent and I laughed bitterly, wiping at my tears before they could fall freely. “What am I supposed to think? You barely touch me anymore." My chest tightened painfully.“Sometimes I wonder if you’re hiding another woman somewhere, sleeping with her while I sit here losing my mind.”His expression didn’t change, and
Lila POVI have never been more conflicted than I was now.“The Falcone are a well-respected family and your father have quite a reputation.”“I bet my father is turning in his grave right now and I haven't even allowed myself think about my mother.”He propped both of his arms on the table, his hands resting right in the center. His watch reflected the light, and he leaned forward slightly, getting closer to me. “Regardless of what you think beauty, I'm the only one for you and don't think you can walk away from me, just because I brought you there.”“ I'm definitely not considering that, where would I even go?”His eyes narrowed even farther, slightly terrifying. “You always have a choice but that choice must include me.”This man was an enigma and he seemed to be a criminal with morals. “What if I don't want you included in my choice?.” I asked.He grinned. “Beauty, I would have let you walk away if you’d put up a better fight but we both know you didn’t want to put up a fight. Jus
Lila POVThe back door to the car opened, and he emerged, over six feet of pure handsomeness. In a three-piece black suit with shiny shoes and a flashy watch, he looked like the boss he is and maybe I have truly forgotten who he really is.With hair perfectly styled and that damned lopsided grin, he looked right at me like this was some kind of game. I faced forward and ignored him.He entered the restaurant, and his footsteps sounded behind me. Heavy.with a slow pace, he took his time as he approached my table.Before he even arrived, I could smell his scent, his pure masculinity that vibrated in the air around us.He pulled out the chair and sat down, replacing Adam who brought me to this restaurant but cancelled at the last minute.Nico broad shoulders covered the chair behind him, and he made himself comfortable with his perfect posture. His hands rested in his lap, and he looked at me with an intense expression that mirrored the coldness of the ocean.Fifteen men took their place
Lila POVHe leaned against the counter slightly, his head tilted to the side as he stared at me.I still remember been held captive in that room in the Moretti family house, a lot has happened but it still feels like yesterday.I'm worried because I don't know exactly what is going out in him life and I'm more concerned about what happened if this is the last time he shows up. “So I heard there's, this guy messing around.” If it was a bluff, it was a damn good one.That would be my first impulse, but since nico was far more intimidating than I realized, I found myself wanting to protect Adam rather than myself.“Are you spying at me, Nico?” My heart warned me with every beat. Nico could be aggressive when his jealous but Adam is just an ordinary guy playing around, I never even took him seriously, it just fun watching him trying to win me over. “These beautiful flowers.”“Nico, I don't know what you are thinking but please don't kill an innocent guy.” I held my ground the way I could.
Lila POVAfter two week passed, the memory of our conversation in the plane still stayed with me. I didn't return to his house rather he got me an apartment in Rome and we haven't seen since then.One of my neighbors seems to even take a liking for me but he didn’t have the sexy confidence I liked in Nico, and he didn’t possess a silent power I found intimidating, but that shouldn’t matter because I wasn’t here looking for love. I don't know what exactly is going on and why he isn't telling me anything.I also started working in a flower shop and people usually picked up their arrangements closer to the weekend.The only time I worked during the week was for funerals because weddings and bridal showers always took place on Saturdays and Sundays.The bell rang overhead when a customer came into the shop. My back was to the door as I stood at the table, tying a ribbon around a vase. My shears were on the table along with chopped rose stems. My gloves were thick to protect my fingers fro
Lila POVThis isn't going to work, Lila." His voice was low, soft, just like the feel of his thumb slowly moving up the inside of my thigh. It was a touch that had the power to turn that flicker of need into a brightly burning flame, and to turn the confusion inside my mind into darkly shadowed hat
As he dragged me to wherever we were going, I tripped and stumbled a few times along the way, but he had no mercy, no compassion. Every time I fell over my own two feet, he just jerked me up without slowing down. My strength had left me, once again leaving the weak, crying Lila to endure whatever l
NICO POV I stared at the monitor. lila was sitting on the bed, huddled in her usual way. I took about ten minutes to go through the footage of what she had been up to the last few hours while I was gone. The entire time she sat in utter darkness, yet she didn't seem rattled more than usual. Even o
LILA POVThere was no mistaking the feral look in his eyes as he stared at me, licking his lips like he was preparing to taste something that he wanted...me."Take your hands off me." I tried pushing him away, but it was no use. His grip around my elbow tightened, the look of alpha possession glowi







