LOGINI was in shock for a moment there. Nero looked like he was in so much pain that it was consuming him. Guilt was seeping through like he couldn’t contain it. It was like he had spent years pushing it back, and it was finally surfacing.I didn’t know what was going through his mind, but I knew he was replaying everything he’d done over and over again.“She was the first and only innocent person whose life I have taken. Her name was Daisy, and she inspired my first tattoo. I got it on my heart as a reminder that I was too selfish to prioritize her life over mine.”“Thinking back, my mother would have never killed me. I was the best son in terms of combat stats despite being the youngest. And I had good leadership skills and what she called manipulation tactics to make people trust me.”Once again, I was speechless, but I was also confused as to why she was a target. I empathized with Daisy and Nero. Both people were young, and they had their whole lives ahead of them. One lost theirs, an
“What did he do to her?” I asked.Nero paused, like he couldn’t believe he was getting into telling me what he was about to say. But I wasn’t backing out. I had seen the good, bad, and the ugly parts of Nero, and I loved him.He had also seen the good, bad, and ugly parts of me, and it didn’t stop us from accepting one another. His trauma as a result of someone’s actions would not make me see him as weak.To show him support and that he could trust me, I put my hand on top of his. He softened and looked at me with a lot of emotions swirling in his eyes. For the first time, I could read him like an open book.He stopped being guarded and hiding what he was feeling, and all I could see was pain.“He used to hit her all the time. He beat her until she passed out, and then he lied to us that she was away on a job while she was in the hospital. He hated her because he loved another woman and was forced to marry her.”“My father never stopped seeing the woman he was in love with when he mar
“What changed?” I asked him.“Excuse me?”“You said you were afraid that I would see a vulnerable part of you, and you didn’t want that. What changed?” I asked.“I love you, Serena. I realized too late that it was stupid of me to think like that.”His explanation made sense, and I obviously didn’t understand what it felt like to have a traumatic childhood. Mine was amazing. My parents took care of me and loved me more than anything.However, I knew that it wasn’t an excuse to be an asshole. But I was willing to listen to everything he had to say if he told me. I wanted to hear all about his childhood. I wanted to know the man I had pictured my entire life with.“Are you ready to tell me everything? I will not get married to a man whose history I don’t know. I don’t want to be with you if you can’t even tell me what’s going on in your life.”He looked unsure, but as soon as he looked at me, he nodded. I knew he didn’t want to lose me. I still wasn’t sure if the issue with his mother w
I wanted to forgive him because he looked sincere, but I had to put my foot down and refuse to give in easily. I wanted to see how badly he wanted my forgiveness. He had put me through so much in the past two weeks.I didn’t deserve it, and I wanted him to feel a semblance of that pain. Kneeling was hardly enough. I calmly ate breakfast as I scrolled through my phone while he knelt in the corner.He didn’t complain one bit. He didn’t even reach for his phone to pass the time. All he did was kneel and look forward. I thought he would give up, but he didn’t.“I’m going to design some clothes. If you want to kneel here to get my forgiveness, you are free to do so.”I walked off before he could say a word. It took a lot of strength to continue working while I knew Nero was kneeling in the kitchen waiting for me to forgive him. But I wanted him to realize the gravity of his actions.If I forgave him easily, he would never respect me. At least that was what I thought would happen. After wor
I fucked up. I knew I did when Serena refused to take any of my calls. She was mad at me, she had to be. I couldn’t even blame her for anything because she’d asked me to open up to her, and I had been too much of a pussy to do so.I called Carlos to give him a piece of my mind. He should have called me when my mother approached Serena.“Don’t shit on me for that. She said she was fine, and your mother didn’t look like she was there for violence.”“Sofia doesn’t seem like she goes anywhere for violence, but there’s always violence wherever she goes.”“Should I have called you or tried to make sure your girl was safe? What would you have done if I had told you? I called your ass soon after, and your phone was off. That’s not my fault.”I cursed. I should have just picked up the call when Serena called me. I thought she was giving me an ultimatum, or whatever she was telling me wasn’t serious enough, because Carlos would have called me first.The first time I didn’t take her call serious
My plan worked. Sofia only returned to New York because she was scared we would all realize she was in love with her bodyguard. He was twenty years younger than her, and we had all warned her he was using her for money.She didn’t seem to care. Not only was that man using her for money, but he also had a whole family on the side. Sofia was smart. I never thought she would allow a man to use her for money in exchange for a little attention.When Nico called her out and told her that her decisions of late had been terrible, she ran away with him to Barbados and refused to speak to either of us. That was hardly a bad thing.None of us liked her. But we tolerated her because she didn’t try to control our lives. She didn’t care about what we did as long as the DeLuca reputation remained intact and we didn’t embarrass her.Things were starting to change. She was back because the so-called love of her life ran away with all her money. She needed Nico’s or my approval to access the family fun
I stayed with Lily until she woke up. Her injuries were extensive. She had broken ribs, her fingers had also been broken, her ankles, and her left clavicle. She had sustained a bad beating.Not only that, but she was also shot. She was in and out of consciousness for days. I couldn’t stop blaming m
“Nero told me you were sleeping with Dominic in Italy. Is there something more than meets the eye going on between the two of you?” I asked Lily. “You two seem closer than you told me you were.”She, Tally, and I were shopping in a boutique. Nero had it closed for the day so we could all safely enj
Nero, Nico, and Enzo still weren’t back. It was morning, and I knew they were taking care of the shipments they had stolen. Nero had texted me to tell me everything went well, which told me that a bunch of people died, just not him.It was the perfect opportunity for me to bond with my brother. He
“What is it?” I asked my brother as soon as we were in the confines of his office.“I was told Dominic found Eric Bale.”He is making obvious statements. I didn’t understand why he insisted on speaking to me if he already knew the information that he already had. He knew I had told Serena. This was







