Chapter 5: Under Attack

TW: Violence

Alessandro’s pov:

The blood-curdling memory of my father’s skin being torn apart from his body haunts me. The way his eyeballs are pulled out of his socket. Just thinking about how I was there right in front of him and yet, I couldn’t do anything about it, makes my blood boil.

“Ales…Sand…Dro.” Her voice draws me back. As soon as it hits me that I’m hurting her, my grip weakens. I let go of her and walk away; up to my bedroom.

I have turned into a monster while hunting down my father’s villains. What I did down there was out of order. My head hurts as I try to bury the memories of my father being tortured.

I calm myself down, and after a few hours, I walk outside the room and look down the hallway. She's there.

Walking down the stairs, the automated lights turn on one by one. I see Amber, still on the cold floor. Her body shivered. I say, softly, “Amber, I’m sorry.” She does not respond. I carry her up to my room in bridal style. I sprinkle some water on her face as I place her on my bed.

Her dark brown eyes open, slowly. I sit next to her. She adjusts herself on the bed, then faces me with a soft look in her eyes. All of a sudden, she slaps me across the face, hard. Then says, “I’m sorry if I triggered some bad memories, but you don’t have the right to hurt me.” She never fails to surprise me.

She gets up and says, “Now, we’re even.” The fire in her sparks me up. I like her attitude. As she starts to walk away, I grip her arm and say, “Harlow will be back tomorrow, so you should sleep here.”

She groans and says, “ I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I hear her humming a tune as she walks to the guest room. I feel bad for my actions but she said we’re even now. Does that make me feel better? No. But I am glad that she took a stand for herself.

I take off my shirt and sleep on the right side of the bed, covering myself with a quilt.

She comes in after a few minutes. I hear her say, “Alessandro! Shift to the left side.” I say, “Is that an order?” She says, “Yes, it is.” I don’t budge.

She then tries to push me but fails miserably. I pull her on top of me. Her cute unicorn-themed pajamas are adorable. I say, “Sexy sleepwear, eh?” She rolls her eyes.

I place her hands on my bare chest, and when the realization hits her, her breathing spikes up. “Are you…Are you naked?” She asks. Just to annoy her further, I say, “Yes, I am.” She tries to escape my grasp, but I don’t let her go. She says, in a breathy voice, "Let go of me."

I smirk, fully aware of the effect I have on her. "If that's what you wish." I push her to the left side of the bed. She falls asleep, quickly. Must feel great to sleep in peace. As she begins to shiver, I cover her body with my quilt.

The next morning:

"Good morning, lovebirds." I hear Harlow. As my eyes open, I realize that Amber and I are entangled in each other's arms. She is still asleep. I gesture to Harlow to leave the room. He does so immediately.

I slept well yesterday, and I did not get any nightmares. "Amber, it's showtime," I whisper, and as she opens her eyes, I go on, "As you know, Harlow and I are very close, so it will not be very easy to convince him." Amber says, "I'll try my best." Her sleepy voice is something.

We get ready and present ourselves at the table for breakfast. Amber greets Harlow, "You must be Harlow Bianchi. Alessandro talks a lot about you."

"And you are Amber Williams. What have you heard about me from my brother?" he asks. She says, "About how strong your brotherly bond is and-" He cuts her off with, "Alessandro is not the kind to talk about mushy details of relationships." She asserts, "Oh, he's a different man when he is with me. We are very open to each other." He smirks.

Harlow does not talk for a few minutes, then asks, "Where did you two meet, Amber?" She says, "At a training center." Harlow looked convinced. Then enquired, "What kind of training center?" She says, "A shooting and self-defense center." He asked, "Which one?"

She tactfully dodged the question by saying, "Come on, Harlow, what's with the interrogation? I would like to get to know you better, rather than letting you in on all the details of my darling husband and I's relationship." Harlow was rather friendly and accepting of Amber.

She then left to work at the art gallery with her PA. "Alessandro, you've bagged quite the package, huh?" I don't speak as he goes on. "She'll soon be the heiress of a multi-million dollar company, she has got a great body, witty tactics and she seems like she's a sweetheart." Harlow's analysis was on point.

But, her answers were not convincing enough to outwit Harlow, and yet it seemed like he was playing along. "Yes, Harlow, she's amazing."

"I am glad that you've found yourself a nice lady. Now, brother, may I know why the glass from this previously covered painting was spread all across the floor?" He asked. I say, "Amber loves art, and out of curiosity, she uncovered it. But I lashed out and this was the consequence."

He said, "I'm sure that you guys argued and then made up afterward, she's a keeper." I don't respond. We go on and on about some arms exports and imports.

"There's a masquerade ball the day after tomorrow, on Thursday, you and Amber will have to represent the Bianchi group of organizations." Says Harlow. I nod. To the world, we are just successful businessmen, but our roots are that of the mafia. We've got our hands in many illegal trades; arms, drugs, money laundering etcetera. But I have abolished human trafficking and slavery from our family. A family stands for an organization under me.

At Night:

Amber returns, clearly exhausted, but she plays her part. "Alessandro, I missed you." She says as she gives my shirt a slight tug.

"Me too, Tesoro," I say, despite knowing that no one is around. She then trails up the stairs and enters our room. No, my room.

I follow.

She is back in her unicorn pajamas. There's no denying the fact that she's attractive. Her curves look beautiful even in these pajamas, and her personality is unlike anyone else that I've met before.

"Amber, we've got a masquerade ball to attend on Thursday," I tell her. She says, "Okay, husband." As usual, I take off my shirt and lay down on the bed.

I say, "To the world, I am just an ordinarily extraordinary businessman, no one knows that I am a mobster other than the insiders. We will have to portray our relationship to be one of the most romantic ones that they would've ever seen." She raises her eyebrows to ask me why.

Before she questions, I justify, saying, "I have never been with a woman in front of the media before. You'll be my first, so it is only fair that we play our parts well and make it seem believable." She laughs and then says, "I am glad to be your first."

She stands near the bedstand, scrolling through the messages on her phone. Curious, I ask, "Will I be your first?" She is taken aback, but asks, "What?" I chuckle and walk closer to her. She places her phone on the nightstand as my hand grips her waist.

"Will I be the first man that you will be seen in public with?" I ask. She gulps acknowledging the lack of distance between us, then says, "Yes."

"Have you ever kissed-" A call interrupts my words.

I pull my phone out of my pocket. It's Ken.

I snarl, "Ken."

His voice cracks as he says, "Alessandro, we've got a problem. The Flavias had planned an attack on your residence, and they're executing it as we speak. I've requested a few snipers, but nearly fifty members are surrounding your house right now and it will take over three hours for the other members to return as they're on port duty."