로그인Marcelina's POVThe men looked at each other. Then one of them reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone. He tapped the screen once and after a few seconds, he held it out to me. "The boss will speak to you," Of course, he would.Without hesitation, I snatched the phone from his hand and put it to my ear. "Hello?" A brief pause followed.Then his voice came through the line, smooth and annoyingly calm."Lovely morning, Doc," "Don't 'lovely morning' me," I shot back, my grip on the phone tightening. "What the hell is wrong with you?" As expected, he didn't respond. Like he had all the time in the world to listen to me lose my mind."You have men stationed outside my apartment like I'm some sort of criminal" I continued. "And they won't let me leave. Do you know how fucking insane that is?""Perfectly,"The calmness of his answer made my eye twitch."You. Have. No. Right." I half-growled. "You can't decide to put someone under house arrest because they said no to you," A bea
Marcelina's POV Anger shot through me so quickly I almost laughed. "I'm sorry," I said slowly. "Did you just say I'm not permitted?" "Yes." I blinked, then I pointed at my own chest."This is my house." Silence."I have a job," I continued, my voice rising. "A life. You don't get to stand outside my fucking door and tell me where I can and cannot go." When they remained quiet, my patience snapped. "You can go back and tell your boss that he is out of his goddamn mind if he thinks I'm going to stay locked inside my own home because he snapped his fingers." I took one step forward, intending to walk right past them, but that was all it took for both of them to block the hallway like two concrete walls. I stopped short."You're not permitted to leave." One of them repeated.My jaw dropped."Are you two actually listening to yourselves?" Before I could say another word, the elevator dinged down the hall. The doors slid open and Corey stepped out, a paper bag in one hand and her p
Marcelina's POVI woke up with a stiff neck and a dull ache running down my back. And for a moment, I didn't remember where I was. But then the ceiling of my living room slowly came into focus, and I realized I was lying on the couch.Everything hurts.My body felt heavy, like I had run a marathon and collapsed halfway through, my legs ached from standing for hours in Mr. Vitali's office, my arms were sore from struggling with the men he had ordered to take me home, and even my shoulders felt tight, like the stress of the night had settled deep into my bones.All at once, memories from the previous night rushed back. Dom Vitali's cold voice, his threats, his men grabbing my arms when I refused to leave.Squeezing my eyes shut, I groaned softly. I had fought them at first. Kicked, twisted, argued, and demanded they let me go. But they were stronger. And after a while, my body simply gave up. By the time they pushed me into the back of the car, I was too tired to keep fighting. I curl
Domenico's POV"Wait. What?" Her voice cut through the room, sharp with disbelief.I didn't answer immediately. Instead, I watched her.The shock on her face. The way her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. The faint tremor in her shoulders that she was trying very hard to hide.She truly hadn't expected this.Good.She's in for more surprises."You heard me," I said calmly, despite the storm brewing in my chest. Her eyes widened. "You can't be serious"My gaze drifted briefly to her stomach before returning to her face. I didn't waste time repeating myself because that single glance was enough to let her know I meant every single word."No, you're not taking me anywhere," she said, shaking her head as if that alone could undo what I had just said. "And I am certainly not going to fucking Italy with you,"I said nothing, letting her argue with the belief it could change things."I will raise my child here," She went on, stubbornness sharpening every word. "You don't have t
Marcelina's POV"Can you... Can you take a step back?" I asked, my voice barely steady.But he didn't move.Not an inch.The silence that followed told me everything. He wasn't interested in my comfort or fear. And he definitely wasn't interested in another lie."I was desperate," I blurted out, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "I wanted a baby so badly."I tried to hold his gaze, but it was hard. There was something lethal behind it now. And it scared the living hell out of me."I promise it doesn't have anything to do with you," I continued. "You were never supposed to know." His jaw tightened.My heart skipped."I knew what I was doing was wrong," I admitted, forcing the words out clearly. "But I was too desperate to care." The silence that followed was heavy and pressing."So you used me," he said at last."No," I answered quickly. "No, I would never use anyone. I thought of you as a... a donor."The second the word left my mouth, I knew it was the wrong one. What came after wa
Marcelina's POVAt the sound of that deep, smooth, and achingly familiar voice, I froze. My stomach dropped first. Then came the cold rush down my spine. My heart followed, plummeting so fast it felt like it had shattered against the floor.No.It couldn't be.He couldn't be the boss they had mentioned.He couldn't be the man running everything I had just walked past.My fingers slowly fell away from the door handle. And just as slowly, I turned around. At first, I saw nothing but shadows. Then my eyes adjusted.He was standing in the darkest part of the room, right in front of the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the city. The lights from outside framed him in a muted glow, but his face remained hidden, swallowed by the dimness.That was why I hadn't seen him when I first walked in.Now that I looked closer, I could make out his tall silhouette, broad shoulders, and hands tucked lazily into his pockets. He was still and unmoving, as if he had all the time in the world.He had







