LOGINMy hand trembled violently and a few drops of water spilled from my glass and splashed onto my lap as my heart skipped a beat.I stared at the message then read it again and again.Luca.It was him.I didn’t need to see his name on the caller ID to know it was him.For a long moment, I could only sit there in silence, my eyes fixed on the glowing screen.I shewed down my lips and thought, ‘How did he know about the engagement?’‘The announcement hadn't even been made publicly yet.’A cold sensation crawled down my spine. He was closer than I thought. Much closer. Dangerously closer.The fear I had been trying to suppress for days suddenly surged to the surface like a thunder in my chest.I let out a trembling sigh. That silence...God, that silence had been terrifying.I had almost convinced myself that maybe he was busy. Maybe he was distracted. Maybe he had finally accepted that I was not worth his time and attention and…Who was I fooling?This was Luca. Il Don. Cattivo.Luca Hayde
“This dress design will hide your belly and rediance your skin.” Levi’s mother handed me the tenth dress design.I stared at the sketch without speaking. Ten designs. Ten versions of me I was supposed to become. Mila Marceau. The future wife.A woman with no connection to the blood-soaked world she came from. The irony almost made me laugh.On the long marble table, fabrics, sketches, and silhouettes were spread like silent proof that I no longer had control over anything—not even how I would look when the world decided I belonged to Levi Marceau.Even when I said I was tired for shopping, Levi's mother brought a designer.I forced a small nod. That was what I had been doing all morning. Nodding and smiling when necessary.Because I couldn’t risk leaving the villa yet.The dresses were too stunning. Ivory silk. Champagne satin. Pale blush lace. Soft colors that whispered wealth, control, perfection. Everything screamed Mrs. Marceau.Everything felt like a cage disguised as elegance.‘
My smile widened as Angelo jumped off the sofa and ran toward him.“Uncle Levi!” he exclaimed. Levi caught him effortlessly.Something in my chest softened at the sight.Levi truly cared about Angelo. He cared about all the people he loved.Levi was everything Luca was not. And that was one of the reasons I had chosen him.“Uncle Levi,” Angelo said after Levi set him back on the floor, “can I show you the techniques Uncle Luca taught me in the car racing video game?”Levi looked at me. His smile was still there, but it seemed weaker this time.“Sure, buddy,” he said, sitting beside Angelo.After watching them for a moment, I cleared my throat.“Umm... I have an important call. I'll be back.”“Take your time, hun,” Levi said with a smile. “We'll be here playing.”I smiled back and turned away, but an ugly feeling settled in my chest.Every time Levi looked at me with that open, trusting smile, guilt crept in.I pushed the feeling aside, locked myself inside my room, and opened my lapto
MilaI had checked the front gate twelve times in the last hour.Every time a car passed outside Levi's villa, my heart stopped for a second.Waiting for Luca was becoming worse than facing him.“Sorry, ma’am,” came a male voice from the other end of the phone. “Our company doesn’t have free guards at the moment.”This was the same hundredth reply from a hundred security companies. “I’ll pay you four times more than the other clients would,” I said, my voice sounding more desperate than I intended.He paused a little… a breathed, but just for a short moment, as he said, “Ma’am. No one will dare to take your offer even if you offered a hundred times more.”Before I could say anything else…Tooot.The other end of the call had already ended.I looked at the screen as I realized it wasn’t useful for searching for another security company. Every legal security company in the country was compromised.Some politely declined. Some suddenly unavailable, while others told me they already hav
LucaI stared at the closed door in disbelief. She really did this. I pulled harder against the shackles until the metal cut deeper into my wrists and blood slid slowly down my skin.“Mila…” I growled her name again, staring at the closed door as if I could drag her back through it by force alone; but only silence answered me.Where the fck all the guards? Why no one answering me?For the first time in years someone had played me. Only her.The woman I let inside my head. Inside my space. Inside my fcking guard.A dark laugh escaped my throat, low and dangerous.“She drugged me…” I muttered to myself, remembering the sweetness of her voice, the softness of her body on top of mine, the innocent look in her eyes while she was planning all this..My jaw tightened violently.The wine. The cookies. The sweet little smiles.Every single thing was calculated.“Fck…” I hissed, throwing my head back for one brief second.Then rage exploded through me again. I pulled against the shackles with b
I halted at the door, a small smile slowly stretching across my lips as I turned back to meet his gaze.His chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths. Veins stood out against his forearms as he pulled violently against the shackles. Blood had already started forming around his wrists.“Mila,” he warned darkly.I took slow steps toward him until I reached the edge of the bed.Then I leaned closer. Close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body, but still far enough to stay out of reach.“How does it feel, Luca?” I asked softly. “To be helpless like this?”His jaw clenched.“I trusted you,” he growled.The words struck somewhere deep inside my chest.For one brief, stupid second… he didn’t look like Il Cattivo.He looked like a man genuinely hurt.A dangerous man. A cruel man. But hurt nonetheless. And somehow, that was worse.Something twisted painfully inside me. guilt? Almost.I straightened slowly, forcing my expression back into place.“Your bad,” I said calmly. “You shou
Trigger WarningThis chapter contains content that may be disturbing for some. Please don't read if you can’t tolerate themes of animal abuse. A warning will be added before the specific scene.MilaMy heart was pounding wildly in my chest even though I was sitting alone in my bed at the apartment.
"What’s that?" Ricardo asked, swallowing his saliva."A DNA test confirming that I’m Angelo’s father," I replied, my eyes sparking fire.They exchanged dark glares. I tossed the paper into my pocket and sniffed. The bitter taste in my heart got the better of me. Then, with all the rage exploding in
She followed behind me as I walked into the mansion. Our family was eating their dinner. Once they saw us, their eyes trailed between us. I could see them examining the clothes Mila was wearing. I bet every one of them realized what happened between us. And I didn’t give a fck.Fck them all.They m
I could sense her anxiety in bringing this matter up. Maybe it was purely selfish of me. And it was—indeed. But I had to know.We were sitting on the bed in the bedroom. I held her hands to assure her. They were so cold, freezing. And as she looked up at me with an unfocused gaze, I knew she wasn’t







