RUTHLESS LOVE

MIRANDA"Please don't go. What if he catches you?" Karen shivered, holding my hands."I won't let him see me. Just don't lose hope, sis. I'm going to get help and come back for you. Just stay safe, please," I promised, encouraging my kid sister.It's been fourteen years since we lost our home and our parents to that monster called Don Vito.A deadly, dangerous man. He wiped our family and took Karen and me as his hostage.For fourteen years he has been maltreating my sister and me, threatening to end us both if we go against him.This life of torment and suffering, I can no longer take it anymore. So, I came up with a plan to escape.I planned on taking Karen along, but she's just too scared to move. She's afraid of Don Vito spotting and harming us both.I can understand her fear. The poor girl has been in trauma for years. The pains, torments, abuse..."Just stay here. I promise to bring back help. Together we'll leave this city and head to a better place, okay?""Okay," Karen nodded

MIRANDA"Don't make a sound," Antonio warned, carefully taking me away from there.But I didn't want to go.Karen.My sister was taken away, dragged like some kind of animal killed for fun.I cried in Antonio's hold, burying myself in his chest."What happened?" I cried, asking him."The gunshot..." I lifted my wet eyes to Antonio, who stared down at me."The gunshot that came in... It was Karen, wasn't it? He shot her, didn't he? " I questioned, demanding for an answer.Antonio sighed, saying, " Let's leave this place. You don't want Don Vito seeing you here. If he does, he won't hesitate to kill you as well.""Then he should!" I sparked, ready to accept my fate.Antonio's eyes shone at my word."What's the point of living anyway? My sister is gone. He took my sister away from me. I don't want to live anymore."Hurt, I pulled myself from Antonio, ready to accept my fate. But he wouldn't budge.He dragged me back, holding me roughly by the arm."Pull yourself together!" He raised his

MIRANDA As the days went by, my life with Antonio grew more and more disturbing, to the point of filling me with nothing but boredom in his absence. But that void was soon filled by Xander, Antonio's right-hand man, and guard. Whenever Antonio was absent, Xander, who was left to watch over me, had a way of putting a smile on my face. You can say he's more of like a clown. I got to know the kind of person Xander was when Antonio scolded me one morning for no reason entirely. He yelled at me to the point of depression. When he left for work, I sat all alone at the dining table, thinking about my life and my future as Antonio's tool. That's when the heavens sent Xander my way. He sat with me and planted a smile on my face. "What's the difference between me and Mr. Dante? " He had asked one time while I was eating. "Between you and your boss? " I asked, lifting my brow at him. "Yep, what's the difference?" He asked, peeling an orange with a knife. "Hmm, well you are a guard and

MIRANDAI fell to the ground as Antonio’s thick hands landed on my face.I held my hands to my face and tears rolled down my cheeks.“Now get inside!!!” he shouted at me.I stood up in haste and rushed to my room while I peeped from the windows.I was anxious to know what he would do to Xander.There is nothing I could do to defend him.I could have tried but that might not end well for both of us.Antonio was a possessive devil and he automatically despises anyone that he sees with me or sees talking with me. “I own you!” his words resonate in my ears every time I think of going against him.I could see the fury in his eyes as he looked at Xander.Xander bowed his head “Mr. Dante.”Antonio dipped his hands in his right pocket and for a moment, I became scared for Xander.Antonio is unpredictable and doesn’t hesitate to do as he deems fit to anybody.Even Xander jokes about it most time when he is with me.“I could get shot from behind by Mr. Dante. Let me go before he sees me,” Xand

MIRANDAMy stomach hurts. I lay on the bed with Antonio beside me.He is fast asleep but I dare not move an inch.That would wake him up.I started feeling so uneasy. I felt like throwing up.It was obviously the pregnancy kicking in.But how am I supposed to handle it with Antonio's eyes all over me almost every second?I kept staring at the ceiling, as I found it hard to go back to sleep.It was 3 am.That day was the La Routage event.Antonio had already booked a hotel for me to stay at all through the day.It was a bit far from the event venue.But he still wanted me close by.My stomach made an awful sound. I grunt in pain.I covered my mouth so as not to wake Antonio.I couldn't hold it in any much longer.My mouth was already filled with saliva and I could feel my stomach making awkward and loud sounds.I stood up from the bed, put on my robe properly, and tiptoed to the bathroom.Ah! I can't go to this one here. The creaking of the bathroom door would definitely give me away.