Hell no! was the answer Don Antonio gave his friend when he begged him to come work with his daughter. Crazy enough, that was Alexa's answer too when she learned that she would be working with her godfather. They both knew exactly what they were running away from. Alexa, a beauty with a body most women would kill to have, and most men lust after, including her godfather. She had brains too. Except that her father thought she wasn't smart enough to handle the family business. He went ahead and took away the CEO position from her, which was the one thing Alexa wanted the most. Don Antonio knew quite well that he would be playing with fire when he was asked to come work with his goddaughter, whom he was very much attracted to. But her job was on the line, and he was the only one who could save it for her. How would both of them handle the brewing dangerous passion that was about to burn them? Knowing what was at stake, would they run away from the sensual heat? Or would they allow it to consume them?
view moreAlexa's POV
Tears stung at the corners of my eyes as his words reverberated through the large office space, bouncing back to my ears. I couldn't bear the harshness, nor could I bear the man from whom those words were coming. "You're a worthless piece of shit! Just take a look at what you have caused! We lost all those millions because of you!" he screamed. "Dad…" I began. "What is it, Alexa? Are you ready to explain how these documents were signed?" he demanded, flinging the papers at my face. The tears that had stung at the corners of my eyes now clouded them, threatening to spill down my face. "I don't know anything about those papers, Dad. I wasn't the one who signed them." He snorted at my words. "But those are your damn signatures! If you weren't the one who signed them, then who did? Who freaking did?" His eyes burned with fury as he glared back at me. I had to bend my head when I could no longer stand the heat of his gaze. Just then, the office doors opened, and the familiar sounds of heels clicking on the floor announced who had entered. I didn't bother raising my gaze from the floor, knowing it was none other than Elsie, my step sister. Her confident steps told me she was more than excited about the issue I was having with our father. It's not that I was expecting her to be anything else but happy. Elsie hated my guts with everything within her and hadn't hidden it even for one day. "Here are the papers you asked for, Daddy," she said in an excited tone. "Hand them over to your sister," Dad replied to her. She came closer to where I was and gave me the papers. "Take, Alexa." The amusement underlying her tone told me that whatever was in those papers wasn't good for me. My eyes widened as I scanned through the words written on it, "you want me to resign from my position as the CEO?" "That's right," Dad confirmed, "I've lost enough millions all because of you. I need you to sign those papers right now." "But Dad…" I began. "I said now, Alexa! I don't want to hear any more of your silly excuses," he stormed over to where I was and landed a thunderous slap on my cheek, "the damages you have done to the family business are enough!" I held the side of my cheek where the slap had landed and signed the papers with shaky hands. "Good," he scoffed, "This is the only good thing you have done in a long time." I heard Elsie squealing excitedly behind me. I thought she was being the typical Elsie until Dad motioned for her to take a seat. She rushed to my former chair with a speed faster than that of light and relaxed in the chair. "Even though you are the younger one, I believe you are smarter than your sister and will take good care of our family business," Dad told her. "Of course, Daddy! I am way better than my older sister. Don't worry, Daddy, Bavarish brand is in the best hands," she bragged and shot me a mischievous look. I gasped on realizing what just happened. Then I burst into tears the next second, while Elsie burst into laughter hearing my cries. "This is not fair, Dad!" I cried out. "Life is not fair, Alexa," he replied, "Besides, I can't sit still and watch you run down my company to the ground. I put blood, sweat, and tears to get Bavarish to where it is now." "And mind you, those aren't the kind of tears he is talking about," Elsie chimed in with a mocking tone. "You're so smart, my baby," Dad told her. He went further to where she was and kissed her lovingly on the forehead. "See, I told you," Elsie boasted as a reply, "And I am going to make you proud, Daddy." The tears continued flowing. I couldn't control them, nor could I stand the betrayal I was witnessing. My dad seeing me as a dumb blonde, instead of the smart girl he raised me to be, was one of my worst nightmares. And I was seeing it come to pass. The pain felt stronger with each passing second. Running the family business was so important to me. He just broke my heart into a million pieces by taking the one thing I loved doing. Never had I imagined that there would be a day when Dad would compare me to Elsie, my younger stepsister, who I gave a solid five-year gap. To think he just chose her over me. What else would he do? Fire me from the family business and marry me off to some old grumpy billionaire? My broken heart shattered more at that thought. And just when I thought I had had enough heartbreaks and embarrassment for one day, the universe sent another. The door opened while I was still sobbing uncontrollably, and the voice I heard next made me wish that the floor would open and swallow me up. "Donald," he greeted my father. "Don Antonio. You are here," my dad responded. My godfather came into the office with his majestic steps and stood right next to me. He cupped my face and raised my head to look at him. That single touch from him sent shivers running down my spine. When I stared up at him and into his gorgeous gray eyes, it felt like the world stopped rotating. "From the looks of it, I believe you have broken the news to her," he said to my father without taking his eyes off me. "And she isn't taking it well. She has been grumpy ever since," Dad responded to him. "But there is no need to be sad, little Alexa. It's not as if you are leaving the company or anything. You are simply changing positions." He must have noticed my confused frown because he continued, still not breaking eye contact, allowing me to remain mesmerized by them, "Instead of being above every other person, you will now be working under me." My eyes widened at what he just said. No! Hell no!Don Antonio's POVThe phone call with Alexa had ended abruptly, her voice strained and hoarse, her words a desperate plea for escape: "I'll take it. I need to leave. Now." My immediate response was to act, to mobilize my resources and arrange her departure without question. That's what I do. That's who I am. But as I barked orders to my men, dispatching a car to the hospital, a cold, unsettling feeling began to settle over me.I was having a double mind about the vacation. On one hand, I was relieved. Her acceptance, even a reluctant one, meant she would be away from this toxic environment, away from Donald and the baffling hold he still seemed to have on his ex-wife. This island retreat was exactly what she needed, a chance to breathe, to heal, to find some semblance of peace. It was what I had planned, what I believed was best for her.But on the other hand, her sudden change of heart, the desperation in her voice, gnawed at me. Just hours before, she had been vague, elusive, seemin
Alexa's POVThe demand still echoed in my ears, sharp and cruel: "You must leave Don Antonio." My mother's words had landed like a physical blow, stripping away my breath, leaving me stunned in the sterile hospital room. I stared at her, then at my father, a silent, baffled scream building in my throat. How could this be happening?The silence was suffocating, punctuated only by the frantic beat of my own heart. My mind reeled, trying to grasp the vileness of her ultimatum. Leave Don Antonio? The man who had been my protector, my ally, my solace through every dark moment? The man who had, in his own way, loved me and sought justice for her? And all for Donald, the man who had caused all this suffering, who had left her to rot?I was confused and angry about the condition my mother gave me. Confusion tangled with a searing rage. It wasn't just a choice; it felt like a betrayal. My mother was now turning against the one person who had truly stood by me. It was illogical, heartbreaking,
Alexa's POVDon Antonio had taken me to a penthouse and tried to offer comfort, but my answer to his question about us had been vague, born of a confusion so profound it had silenced any coherent thought. He'd understood, I think, retreating to give me space, leaving me alone with my churning thoughts.Sleep didn't come. How could it? Every time I closed my eyes, the scene replayed with agonizing clarity: my father, on his knees, begging for forgiveness, swearing a twisted love; my mother's quiet, powerful command for me to leave; and that faint, devastating glow in her eyes as she looked at him.I thought about the hospital scenario all through the night. The hours bled into one another, each passing minute deepening the ache in my chest. I tried to make sense of it, to fit it into the narrative of justice and betrayal I’d meticulously built. But it refused to fit. My mother, the victim, the one I had sworn to avenge, seemed to have shattered my carefully constructed world with a sin
Don Antonio's POVThe soft click of the hospital room door closing behind Alexa echoed in the sterile quiet of the hallway. I hadn't moved from my spot by the wall, the raw emotions from within the room still clinging to the air around me. I'd heard my Little Alexa's cutting question to Donald, witnessed his shattered reaction, and most importantly, I'd seen the subtle, devastating flicker in Alexa’s Mom eyes as she looked at her husband. That faint glow, that hint of lingering affection, was a gut punch. It complicated everything.My own anger, which had been simmering just beneath the surface, felt cold and distant compared to the heartbreak I knew Alexa was experiencing. She had gone in there seeking truth, seeking justice, and instead, she'd found a profound, unsettling confusion.Then, Alexa emerged. Her shoulders were slumped, and her usual fierce posture was replaced by a visible weariness that tugged at something deep inside me. Her eyes, when she finally looked up and met min
Alexa's POVMy question hung in the stale hospital air, sharp and accusatory: "Is it because she's awake, Dad? Is that why you're finally apologizing? Because she's here to hear it?" The words had pierced through Dad's performative grief, leaving him speechless, a man caught in his own lie, or so I believed. His face was a mask of wounded surprise, tears welling again, but I couldn't discern their true source.My mom who had been quietly absorbing the fragmented reality around her, now turned her gaze fully to Dad. There was no immediate outrage in her eyes, no sudden burst of anger. Just a deep, unsettling stillness, a weary assessment that seemed to see right through him.Dad regaining his voice, although it was still raw with emotion, spoke. He didn't answer my question directly, but his words were meant for Mom, a desperate plea for her understanding, or perhaps, for his own vindication."Babe," he choked out, pushing himself back onto his knees by her bedside. His voice was thick
Alexa's POVThe word "Alexa?" hung in the air, a fragile, impossible gift. It was a sound I hadn't dared to dream of, a voice I thought was lost to me forever. My mother's eyes, though still hazy with the lingering effects of her long illness, were open, and they were looking at me. They knew me.My heart, which had been a lead weight in my chest for so long, suddenly soared. The world tilted, not in a dizzying spin of confusion, but in a sudden, overwhelming rush of pure, unadulterated joy. The bitter taste of revenge, the complex understanding of my father's brokenness, the heavy weight of Don Antonio's war – all of it, for that singular, miraculous moment, vanished into thin air.I moved without thinking, propelled by an instinct stronger than any calculated plan. My father, still frozen in his chair, seemed to fade from my view. I leaned over the bed, gently, so gently, as if she were a delicate bird that might fly away. My arms, trembling with emotion, wrapped around her frail s
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