E L L EThe car ride was a lot longer than I expected, but when he finally stopped, we were already in front of my house.We both sat in silence inside the car, even when I knew I was supposed to be leaving his car.After what could have been minutes, but was only a few seconds. I opened the car door and stepped out of the car.The moment my foot touched the ground, a wave of dizziness washed over me. I staggered and leaned against the car, closing my eyes."Elle!" I heard Sebastian's voice calling me, but it sounded far away.I felt his hands grab onto my waist and pull me close to him. "Open your eyes," he whispered, his voice full of concern.I obeyed, my eyelids fluttering open but they were too weak to open. I closed them again, resting my head on his chest."What's wrong?""I f-feel like I’m about to… puke,” That was the last warning I gave him as I felt the alcohol in my system rise.Sebastian quickly moved and helped me lean over his car and empty the contents of my stomach on
E L L EI slammed the door behind me and headed straight for the kitchen. My mouth was parched and I needed a drink. I reached for the bottle of whiskey, poured myself a glass and downed it all in one gulp.My eyes began watering, and before I could control myself, I was crying. I cried so hard, my whole body was shaking. The pain was unbearable, and I couldn't stop.I felt sick, like my entire world was collapsing around me. Why was this happening to me? Why did he have to come back and ruin my life again?"Because, he's a fucking idiot," I said to myself, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "He's an idiot, and he doesn't deserve my tears!"I was angry. Angry at myself for being so weak. Angry at him for believing his wife's lies. Angry at the whole world for being against me."I hate him! I hate him so much!"I picked up the glass and threw it across the room, watching it shatter into pieces. "Fuck!" I screamed, grabbing a fistful of my hair. "Fucking asshole!"My chest was heaving,
E L L ESitting alone at home, I couldn't stop thinking about Sebastian and the events of yesterday.After his little surprise visit, he kept his word and didn't show his face around. I thought I'd feel relief, but the feeling of emptiness only increased.Why? Why was this happening to me?I couldn't focus on anything, and everything reminded me of him.His smell. His touch. His kiss. His eyes. His smile. His voice.It was driving me crazy.I hated it."Damn him," I mumbled, getting up from the couch.I needed a drink. Or two. Or three.Anything to make the thoughts stop.I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. "Maybe that'll help," I said, taking a sip.I closed my eyes, savoring the taste. I could feel myself relax, the tension in my body easing."Hmm, that's better." I drank the whole glass, and poured myself another.I walked over to the living room and sat down on the couch. "This is so stupid," I said to myself. "Why am I acting like this?"I shook my head, tr
E L L EAnd, together, we were going to survive. I didn't come this far just to fall apart because of some stupid memories.I was done crying over a man who didn't want me anymore.I was done with the pain.And, I was done being a victim.It was time to take control of my life. I couldn't keep living like this. I couldn't be emotionally dependent on him. The way he treats me or the things he does shouldn't control my emotions.If there was anyone who should feel pain, it was him. Not me. Never again.Never.After, putting on fresh clothes that consists of short shorts and a white crop top, I walked back downstairs and headed towards the kitchen.I could hear the sounds of chopping, and the smell of garlic filled the air."Smells delicious," I said, walking inside."Thanks," she replied, turning to face me."Where did you learn how to cook?""My mom taught me. She used to say, a girl should never go to college without learning how to cook, and if she doesn't have the patience, then she
E L L EI woke up with a terrible hangover.I barely managed to drink water, and when I did, it wasn't enough.I felt nauseous, and the urge to puke was getting stronger by the second.After, going into the bathroom and emptying the contents of my stomach, I brushed my teeth, and went back to bed.I was hoping I would feel better by the time I woke up, but my wish didn't come true.My phone kept ringing and vibrating on the nightstand, and I ignored it. I was feeling like shit and didn't need the constant reminder.Whoever was calling would call again, and again, and again.And, the person wasn't giving up, and it was starting to annoy me. With a groan, I reached over and grabbed my phone."Hello," I grumbled."Are you still asleep?" a familiar voice asked."Avery? How did you get my number?""From Giovanna. Anyway, I've been trying to reach you for hours, but you didn't pick up.""Sorry, I was sleeping. What's wrong?""I was hoping you would tell me. Gio came home yesterday, and she
E L L EAt that very moment, he turned and locked eyes with me. I couldn't really see his face as he was covered with his hoodie and the street lights did nothing to illuminate his features.My mind screamed at me to run, and I took a step back, preparing to bolt, but froze when I realized, the man was walking towards me.His footsteps were slow and calculating. As if, he was making sure, I didn't try to escape.I could've sworn, my heart stopped.He stopped a couple of inches from me and stared at me through his hoodie. He was still, and I wondered if he was even breathing.The moment was tense, and it felt like we were the only people in the world.When he took a step back and pulled out a shiny object, my knees gave in and I almost collapsed.The knife was pointed towards me, and I knew, if he decided to end me, I wouldn't stand a chance.My life was flashing right in front of my eyes.I wondered, if my family was going to miss me.My friends.Were they going to mourn my death? I wa
E L L ESebastian's expression hardened and his jaw was clenched. "Just because you harbor a huge grudge with her because of what happened five years ago, doesn't give you the right to accuse her. She isn't capable of such things, Elle. I'm not buying any of this.""She's not capable of hurting me? Do you honestly believe she has no flaws? Do you really believe, Emory is the perfect wife, and she wouldn't go behind your back? She's sick and twisted, and she's always wanted you to herself. She ruined our marriage because of her selfishness. She pretended to be my friend all this while, just so she could get closer to you and destroy our relationship. You're delusional, if you think she's innocent. Emory has done far worse things, and I'm not exaggerating. You need to open your eyes and see her for who she truly is. You're living in a fucking fantasy, if you think, she loves you. All she cares about is herself, and she'll do anything to get her way.""Stop," he gritted out."You want me
E L L EGiovanna arrived at my hotel room exactly one hour later, her girlfriend next to her.I was a mess, and the tears hadn't stopped pouring out.She didn't hesitate, to pull me into her arms, and hug me."What happened? I want you to tell me everything. Don't miss a single detail."I nodded and sat down, telling her everything that had occurred tonight.By the time, I'd finished, her mouth was wide open, and her girlfriend's eyes were filled with sympathy. "Who the hell would try to attack you? You don't even know anyone here," Giovanna asked."I don't know. But, it doesn't seem like, they were going to kidnap me. He was going to stab me, until Sebastian walked in. And I have an idea of the only person who hates me so much and is also in Bali as we currently speak.""Who is that?""My ex-husband's wife."Giovanna's eyes widened, "The same woman who was the reason why you divorced in the first place?"I nodded, "She has been threatening me for a while now, but I didn't take her se
G I O V A N N AI smiled, and put the phone away, before heading down the stairs with Sebastian who had also freshened up. He was wearing a gray shirt, and a pair of dark pants. We found Fabian seated at the dinner table, eating his food, and a maid served Sebastian and I our plates.I hadn't realized how hungry I was, so I dug in, and didn't stop eating, until my plate was empty.Sebastian also cleaned his plate, and the maid came to remove our plates. Fabian was looking at Sebastian with amusement, and I was curious as to what he was thinking."So, young man. What do you do for a living?""I'm a businessman, sir.""A businessman? That's interesting. What is it that you do?""Well, I own a lot of businesses, and have several investments around the world.""Ah, I see. Well, let's get straight into business, shall we? Sebastian, I need you to be prepared, because once we find Laura, she might not be the same girl you met and fell in love with. The kidnappers, they don't care about how
G I O V A N N AThe plane landed in Italy, and it was registered in my blood that I was back here again. Not for good this time.For a blood war. I was either going to return home alive with Laura, or I die trying to save her. But, it will take a whole village to think they could kill me.I was Giovanna Vause, a mafia princess, and daughter of a powerful mafia boss. And, the most notorious and feared one.My father's reputation preceded him, and his enemies feared him, and the power he had.He was ruthless and cold-blooded before he died, and me not taking over his empire was a matter of choice, because his blood ran through my body.Sebastian and I stepped out of the plane, and we were greeted by two men, both holding guns, and wearing the black suit that identified them as part of the Vause's Mafia Family."Miss Vause. We are happy to have you back home. I hope your flight was smooth.""Yes, it was. Thank you."He smiled, and then, he was looking at Sebastian. "Ma'am, we made prepar
E L L EMy heart rate went up as the doctor and nurses prepared me for labor. They gave me instructions, and told me what was going to happen.The doctor and the nurse put on their gloves, and the nurse helped me put my feet up in the stirrups, and the doctor positioned himself between my legs.I gripped Mikhail's hand tightly, and he held my hand, whispering words of encouragement."Alright, Elle. I want you to start pushing now. You can do it. Just push.""Come on, baby. Push. You can do it. Just listen to the doctor's orders. Listen, and do whatever he says. Everything is going to be just fine." Mikhail whispered comfortingly as he stroked my hair, giving me strength. I nodded, and bit down on my lip as I started pushing. It hurt so bad, but the thought of finally seeing my baby in the flesh gave me the strength I needed to keep going."The baby is crowning, Elle. Keep going. Keep pushing." "Come on, love. You're doing so great.""Baby's head is out. Alright, Elle. One more big p
E L L EBlood drained from my face as an excruciating pain hit the bottom of my belly, and blood rolled down my legs.My heart jumped in my chest as Mikhail flew to my side, and helped me off the bed."What's happening? I think something is wrong with the baby, Mikhail. I- I aah!" I screamed as the pain intensified, and I bent over, feeling lightheaded.Mikhail was talking to someone on the phone, and he was yelling, his voice panicked."Elle, love. Listen to me, okay. We have to go.""Where are we going?""To the hospital, love. We have to get you there. It's going to be okay.""O-o-k-kay," I managed to choke out.He picked me up, and carried me out of the house, and straight into the car.He strapped me in, and closed the door, getting in on the other side. He started the engine, and drove down the road."Is- is- the- the baby gonna be okay?" I said, watching the blood spread, and the pain increased."Yes, love. The baby is gonna be fine. Just hang in there, baby."I nodded, and clo
M I K H A I LAs the weeks flew by, we were getting closer and closer to Elle's due date. In two weeks time, she'd be entering the very last month of her pregnancy.And I've been angsty, Michael hasn't got much information on Emory, and we still have no idea where the threats were coming from, and what we were dealing with.Everything had been quiet, and there were no news. It was as if we had entered a state of limbo.A weird, calm, limbo.I wanted to be hopeful, but my gut was telling me that she was up to something, and whatever it was, wasn't good.And, I was right.Elle was at home, and safe, and I had decided to spend the day with her. She was in the kitchen, which I had frowned upon but she had insisted that she was craving 'Her' own food. She was making cookies, and I was watching her, and making sure she wasn't overdoing it.Her bump had gotten bigger, and she was looking more and more like a balloon.She was wearing a grey, oversized t-shirt, and black sweatpants, and her ha
G I O V A N N ASebastian left a couple of minutes ago, to go get ready for our flight tonight. I placed back and forth, tugging my hair in frustration.I should have known that allowing Laura go to Italy all on her own was a bad idea. But for some reason, she has insisted on nobody coming with her, which was quite suspicious, because everyone knows how much Laura hayes bring in Italy, because of the horrid memories it holds for her.Something was off, and I had no idea what it was.I could have insisted more on her to let Sebastian come with her, or maybe me. Or even, one of my trusted security men.But, she had refused, saying it was important that she was alone, and now, look what had happened.She was gone.With no trace of who had abducted her, and no single lead.I was losing my mind.I was worried sick, and had been calling non-stop, asking for updates, and I had none. Avery came up to me, stopping my movements. "Relax. You will find her."I groaned. "This is so frustrating. Th
S E B A S T I A NIt's been exactly twenty four hours of calling Laura's number non-stop, and no response.Something was wrong.Really, fucking, wrong.Laura had never missed a call from me, and especially since she had promised to keep communication open. I have dropped more than 300 missed calls, and several texts, yet no response.Where was she?The last text she had sent me was twenty six hours , telling me that the funeral was ongoing and she would facetime me when she gets back home. But, she didn't. Something was definitely wrong.My heart was pounding in my chest, and anxiety was slowly taking over. Where was she?I was having a really bad feeling about her, and I didn't know if I was worrying for nothing or my worries were indeed valid. Laura wouldn't intentionally ignore my calls, knowing I'm sick with worry.What if something happened to her?What if she was attacked?What if her father's funeral had taken a turn for the worse? What if someone was holding her captive?Or, w
L A U R AThe shot rang in my ears, and I watched in horror as blood spurted from Marco's mouth and his body slumped to the floor."What did you do?!" Bile rose in my throat as I watched the horrific sight in front of me, a cold shiver and a feeling of deja vu running through my body.I have seen Viktor take people's life like it was nothing too many times. He kills humans faster than he kills a mosquito. He has no compassion, no emotions, no remorse. He's a monster.If you think my father was horrible, Viktor is ten times worse than him. He's the devil incarnate."Why? Why did you do that? He was innocent.""What he deserved. No one, and I mean, no one, will ever defy me. If he can't do his job, he is useless. There's no use keeping a man who's a coward. I'll have to get another one who is not a pussy like Marco to get the job done, sí?"My mind ran fast, and I had to think of a way to convince him against this. "What's the point of allowing another man to touch what is yours? It's o
L A U R AI felt a pinch on my arm, and I snapped my head to the side, to watch Viktor piercing a needle in my arm."What the fuck are you doing?""This is going to help you relax. You're tense, and nervous, and I don't want you to make a scene. Not now. Not when we're so close to finally being together again. So, stop struggling, and enjoy the ride. You will get there, eventually."He injected the contents into my blood stream, and I watched him, and the man driving, as the world around me started spinning.And, the last thing I saw was Viktor's smiling face.A face that had haunted me every single day, and a face that was the last thing I had ever wanted to see again.It was a nightmare.I slumped on the seat, and blacked out."Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty. Wake the fuck up. I've waited too long for this."I heard Viktor's voice, and I struggled to open my eyes. I blinked a few times, and the room came into focus.I was in a room, sitting in a chair, with my hands tied behind me, an