Mag-log inAleena — POVI stood at the hospital, waiting to sign the document that would let me collect my uncle's corpse for the burial service. Why do I feel like someone is watching me? I glanced over my shoulder. No one. Maybe I was just spooked for no reason.I looked down at my uncle's dead body in the morgue and felt nothing but hate for the man who had made my life hell, and Eleanor's too. This asshole had robbed me blind of my mother's assets, leaving me with nothing. He'd taken my freedom away. The hate simmered into regret, regret that I never got the chance to kill him myself."Ma'am, are you okay?" The staff member gave me a concerned look."I'm okay. Can you please drop the body off at this address?" I gave him the details, then stepped out of the morgue toward the elevator. I stepped in. A man in a hoodie slipped inside just before the doors closed. My hand drifted toward the back of my pants."Easy, sister." A voice, cold and familiar in a way that made my skin crawl. A voice I w
Nico — POVI drove at full speed to reach the hospital. I kept calling Ana, and she declined every call. My palm slammed against the steering wheel."Fuck, move." I hissed at the traffic jam. I kept honking, desperate to get to Ana. I should have agreed to her terms. After all, I knewAnastasia was not the type to be okay with this. I should not have led her on, and yet I did.I felt sick about how I'd reacted to the news of the pregnancy. To be honest, I was scared to be a father when the world was out to get me. Scared to hold something so fragile in my hands, to look after someone who would be in danger the moment they were born.My phone sat on the dashboard. I watched the screen as the call rang through, then dropped straight to her voicemail. I still had a few minutes to reach the hospital before the abortion process began. No. I don't want to lose our child.I shouldn't have said those words. I shouldn't have gone to her place at all without thinking straight."You are not happ
Aleena — POVThe whole trip, I couldn't shake it. Nico's eyes were too sharp. Jared noticed too. He didn't smile. He watched me like something was wrong. By the time we returned to the mansion, I felt completely drained. I walked through the door and stopped. Anastasia was sitting in the living room. Nico's shoulders went stiff. Anastasia's glare didn't help."Why are you here?" he said. "Last I checked, we ended things, Ana.""I came here for a reason." She looked at me."I'll let you two talk," I said, and turned for the stairs."No. Stay. After all, you're his wife." Her voice was calm, but I could feel the drama building. My gut never lied to me. Nico looked like he was holding himself back. I figured he still cared for her. No one else would dare start a scene in front of him and walk away fine. We step into his office."Go on, Ana. What do you want to talk about?" Nico said, and led us to his office."Nico. Aleena. I want you both to hear this." She took a breath. "I'm pregnant.
Aleena — POVNico left me alone with the memories. They came in fragments. Broken pieces that didn't connect, didn't make sense, didn't form anything whole picture. Just enough to suffocate.My head throbbed.I wished I'd stayed oblivious.One thing came back clear. A rule I'd lived by so long it was carved into me.Stay cold. Guard your face. The moment you let someone see what you hate or what you love, you hand them a weapon.Another fragment. A woman's face. Warm. Familiar.Aunt Maria. No. She used to make me call her mother.A knock at the door.Nico. Standing in the doorframe, eyes flat and cold and full of something that turned my stomach."How are you feeling?"He didn't care how I was feeling. He wanted to know how much I remembered."You're being polite to me." My voice came out even. Detached. Like I'd never lost it at all."Thought you might like it," he said. Monotone. He stepped closer.My back straightened on instinct. Nico wasn't someone you relaxed around. He killed w
Nico — POVAleena was unconscious on the bed. That bastard had drugged her. If I'd walked in five minutes late, Mathew would have raped her.I stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her chest rise and fall, listening to her mumble something I couldn't make out. I pulled the door shut and walked away before I did something I couldn't take back. Jared ended his call and looked up."Did they get him?" I asked."Luciano wasn't at the location," Jared said."He stashed the drug sample in the safe before he bolted." Jared's jaw was tight. "Prepared. The old bastard planned this.""I'll drag him out of whatever hole he's hiding in," I said. "He doesn't get to run from this."Jared frowned. "I don't know how long it will take. Which means you're stuck with Aleena longer.”"I know.""You want her to suffer for what she did to Zoey." He said it like a fact, not an accusation."Yes," I said. No point pretending otherwise."Nico." His tone changed. "Tell her the truth. What she did. All of i
Aleena - POVI didn't pay mind to Nico's words. Mathew's hand trails slowly up my thigh. I hate it. His lips inch closer, and fear crawls through my frame, cold and heavy. Before I can pull away, he speaks. "You know Nico hates you so much after you..." A loud noise interrupted Mathew before he could finish. He looked at the intruder who barged in. Nico's eyes locked onto Mathew."Nico," Mathew said, with disdain."I am here to take my wife with me," Nico said."Like hell she's going with you. You forget you're bargaining on my turf, asshole." Mathew squared his shoulders and pressed a button. An alarm blared. Mathew's men surrounded Nico in no time, guns pointed at him. He looked unbothered. His eyes stayed only on me."Aleena, come to me," Nico called. Mathew turned over his shoulder to meet my gaze.Mathew mouthed, "You won't find your father's location if you go with him," he warned me out loud. Staying with Mathew is a risk too. I believe this asshole will pounce on me the second
Aleena — POVI woke before dawn, only to find the most annoyingly handsome face already waiting for me. Caldwell. Of course. My day started with his bitter expression and rigid posture, standing in the corner like some damn soldier on guard duty.Ignoring him was impossible. I hated this situation.
Aleena — POVMy eyes stayed glued to the screen as I typed lines of code, trying to create a model for studying human behavior. Frustration gnawed at me when another error appeared. I never made mistakes like this. What was happening? I am distracted.“Sis!” A loud voice made me flinch.Before I co
Aleena — POVHatred simmered beneath my calm expression as I sat at the dinner table. My designer dress clung tightly to my body while the scent of expensive food filled the room. I could feel everyone watching me.“Aleena Caruso will marry your son, Nico Bellini,” my father announced to Mr. Angelo
Aleena–POVI gasped softly and groaned, my eyes darting around the room. I was in bed.“Sis, you’re awake.”El’s calm voice reached me first. Her tear-stained eyes looked at me with concern written all over her face. She quickly pulled me into a hug. I smiled weakly at the warmth in her eyes. When







