ELENAIt felt warm, like a hug. I snuggled into the softness; it smelled like lavender, a direct contrast to the hell I had shut my eyes against at the first whiff of him.“She’s waking.”“Is she? Pfft, she’s not.”“Ow, Gianna. That hurt.”“Know when to joke like that.”“I wasn’t lying. Lena moved!”Those voices. I frowned at their whispers, so loud they might as well have screamed into my ears with a microphone.Him.Wait—him!My lids flashed open, coming face-to-face with a soft baby-blue ceiling. My brain worked overtime to place where this was and why it felt so familiar, then halted as the memories began to stomp in.I swallowed hard.If I were to believe every scene my brain handed out, then Nico was truly alive, and the blood he was drenched in wasn’t his. If I dared to believe, then he was just around the corner and…“ELENA!”Two pairs of arms suddenly wrapped around me. Blinking through my disorientation, I looked around the room, taking note of every inch for a sign of him—
In minutes, Elena had been tucked into the back seat of Boris’s car, then driven off to the hospital. It had taken Milo pinning him down to stop him from following the car to God knows where.She needed him right now, to be there holding her hand, so when she opened her eyes, the first thing she’d see would be him, so she’d know he wasn’t dead.But Milo was right. Him dashing out there in his bloody, hysterical state would cause more harm than good.With Milo trailing behind, he walked back into the room where she’d been ready to die because she thought he was dead. He should’ve been with her, should’ve never left her side.At the center of the room, Zayne opened the briefcase, pulled out a sledgehammer, shut the case, and tossed it to Milo, who caught it mid-air.“Set it for detonation in twenty minutes,” Zayne ordered. “Cleaning your prints is impossible. Best we blow this place up.” His lips curled. “Who doesn’t love a big bonfire?”Milo chuckled, already moving to the far end of t
The scream had left me a hollow shell, trembling, frozen, and rigid against the metal chair, staring ahead at nothing in particular.I could see nothing, hear nothing, except the last gunshot in the background of the call, playing over and over in my head.He was dead. He had seemed untouchable, and now he was dead. All because of me. All because he’d made the mistake of loving me.“That was a mess,” muttered Axel as he dropped the phone, letting it clatter on the desk. He twisted the red-rubied ring off his index finger and placed it beside the phone.Gun in hand, he walked up to me. At the sight of my face, he tsked. “What did you expect, marrying a Don? He was going to die someday.”What was he waiting for to pull the trigger and stop the pain burrowing deep within me? My lips parted, but there were no words.His fingers dug into my hair, grabbing a handful and pulling up so he was staring down at my face. He pushed the gun between my lips.“I know how you feel,” he murmured sadly.
I could hear the ocean water slouching against its bank not far ahead, beyond this room. Its breeze wafted past my nose, turning my good memories into a nightmare.My face hurt where he had hit me, my body trembling slightly. Despite my defiance—the biting and cursing I had used as a front—fear ate at me, pulling me into a black hole I couldn’t escape.Hopelessness.They weren’t mainly after me. Nico was their target, and they knew the only way to make him docile was to take me. They knew I was his weakness.Tears stung my lids, and I blinked them back. I couldn’t let them see my weakness. I hated how his eyes lit up when he saw the pain in mine after Nico agreed to his deal.Even as he sat opposite me, where I was tied to a chair, the ropes biting into my skin, he looked for a sign of weakness. Bold of him to assume I would give him any.A goon walked into the room, followed by Alessandro, who found it hard to look at my face even now. Instead, he walked to Axel and announced, “She’s
Author’s POVThe campaign trail was a nightmare.Every speech, handshake, and forced smile for the camera was hell.The public Nico was polished, charming, and untouchable—a perfect façade. But the private Nico? He was counting the hours until he could see Elena again.Noah’s voice cut through his thoughts as they stepped into the hotel suite after another grueling day of rallies. “You’re distracted.”Nico didn’t bother denying it. “Hey, Noah, the sky’s blue.”Noah smirked, tossing his jacket over the couch. “She’s got you wrapped around her finger, huh?”Nico shot him a glare, but there was no heat behind it. Noah wasn’t wrong. Elena owned him—heart, body, soul. And right now, his body was acutely aware of how long it had been since he’d touched her.Noah laughed. “You’re screwed, Boss. Maybe just go home. The country deserves someone whose world doesn’t revolve around one person.”Nico narrowed his eyes as Noah slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.The jab stung, not
Like every moment of peace, the holiday ended too soon—at least for Nico and Elena.Elena’s beachwear launch had been a runaway success, drawing attention from major brands with lucrative offers only she could handle. Nico, meanwhile, faced the coming election. It had caught him off guard; he’d checked the dates three times to be sure. When the red circle on his calendar refused to fade, he’d buried his face in his hands in the dead of night, questioning every life choice.Politics was where he hid his skeletons, refusing to face them. In politics, he became someone else, pretending until he was a husk. But in Calabria, Nico dragged a hand down his face, remembering how Rome had drained Elena, only for Calabria to breathe life back into her. She was carrying their baby—she needed the manor’s quiet air.He’d thought long into the night, watching her sleep.But D-Day arrived, and he was loading the last of their luggage into the trunk, kissing Matteo and Mia goodbye. His mother’s voi
“She said she was my mum,” Matteo whispered.I froze, my hand pausing in Matteo’s hair. He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his small voice spilling confusion.I’d known this moment was coming, but I wasn’t ready. It was hours after the party had ended. An hour ago, Nico had reluctantly left my side when his father called him to the study, probably to discuss the fallout from Alexa’s scene. Left with restless hands and a racing mind, I’d decided to tuck the kids in. Sweet Mia was already curled up asleep in her purple pajamas beside her brother, but Matteo was wide awake, buzzing from a sugar rush.Thankfully, unlike I’d feared, Alexa’s outburst hadn’t shaken him too badly.What could I say? That, yes, that woman had given birth to him but walked away because she didn’t want him? That to her, he was just a tool to manipulate Nico? I couldn’t say that. But I also couldn’t lie to his face again.Before I could find the words, Matteo cackled. “She’s so silly. You’re my mum, not he
Cheers erupted. Applause, whoops, and laughter filled the hall. From the corner of my eye, I saw Derinem holding Maya, who wiped tears from her face, glowing with pride.My cheeks burned. Nico had said he loved me. He’d said… was I dreaming? If I pinched myself—“I need you,” Nico murmured, nuzzling my shoulder. “I want to sleep and wake up beside you, watch you model lingerie by the windows, tease you about being a Sardinian girl who can’t swim.”A laugh spilled out, tangled with a choked sob. “That’s not romantic…”He straightened just enough to meet my eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “In summary, Elena, I can’t remember life without you, and…” His voice cracked, heavy bariton trembled. “I don’t want to find out now.”My breath caught, but not from pain this time. His eyes, once so guarded, held nothing back. There was no masks, just Nico, baring his soul in front of everyone who mattered and those who didn’t.“You’re serious,” I whispered.“Yeah.” He took my hands, pr
I couldn’t breathe. The air felt heavy, the hall too big, my knees weak. Right before me, my world burned.The way Alexa held Nico—like pressing against him was the most natural thing, like she’d never left, like she knew she’d always find a home with him—twisted my stomach. My heart pounded so hard it hurt, yet my feet were rooted to the floor.The hall was silent, save for harsh whispers from a bristling Maya, held back by Derinem. Even the music had stopped.Alexa looked perfect, as always, like she’d stepped out of a painting. Her white dress clung to her curves, her wide eyes glistening with tears that were probably fake.“I’m sorry,” she sobbed into Nico’s shoulder. “I understand now. I’m so sorry, Nico. I was too ashamed to come back. But I can’t live without you…”Too ashamed? I remembered how rested she’d looked in her mansion the week the children were kidnapped.Nico hadn’t moved. His hands hovered at his sides, not touching her—but he wasn’t pushing her away either. Why wa