BRUNO“Is that supposed to be a threat?” Alfred asked.I was in no fucking mood to deal with, his antics. Alfred did not know what personal space was and worse, he did not know when to get a fucking clue.That was going to get him killed one day.“I don’t make threats, Alfred, and I was just giving you a subtle reminder of what happens to people who refuse to mind their business,” I replied.He looked to Mateo, probably expecting tobe backed up but, Mateo just shrugged and closed his car door.His driver took off, leaving me alone with, Alfred who has refused to get a fucking clue and move on. “You don’t want to make an enemy of me,” he said and I laughed.Oh, he was hilarious. Just because he held the title of a lord, he thought he could threaten me with the little territory he controlled.“I don’t bother about people like you, Alfred. And just so you know, Mateo and I might be enemies but one thing that’s constant in life is change. You just pray that this change does not end up get
BRUNOI ended the call and turned to look at her.“Oh, good. You’re dressed. Do you want me to call you a cab?” I asked.“I thought at the very least, you would be a decent human being but here you are propositioning another person when I’m still in your house,” she said, glaring daggers at me.“Last I checked, I don’t owe you any explanation about how I live my life. Who I do or don’t invite into my home is none of your damn business,” I replied.“I can’t believe this. You used me and now you’re just trying to dispose of me like trash?”“Now, I’m not going to let you continue slandering me and assuming things I never even said. I have been patient enough with you and accommodating your shit. There’s a limit to the amount of shit I can take so don’t even push your luck, Linda.”“My name is, Lacey!” she yelled. “Jeez, you can’t even get that right.”“And what does that tell you?” I asked. “Why don’t you do us both a favor and just go.”She pursed her lips into a stubborn pout and sat d
BRUNO“You’re not going to offer me a drink?” Mateo asked and I glared at him.“Here I was thinking you were a hospitable host,” he added.“I’m only hospitable to people I invite into my home, you just decided to show up,” I replied.He nodded. “Fair enough, but what was that all about?” he asked.“Nothing important, she was just a girl that I brought home last night. But she seemed to have no idea what the concept of a one-night stand is. Somehow she got it in her head that we had something special going,” I explained.“And her accusation about you being gay?”“She heard our conversation and I told her I was expecting a guest. She interpreted it to mean that it was a lady and when you showed up, she made assumptions.”“Hmm… you sure do know how to pick them, Bruno. I never would have pegged you to be a player,” Mateo said.“Oh, please spare me the righteous act, like you don’t go chasing some tail from time to time,” I retorted.“Unlike you, I don’t sleep around and even if I did, br
RENZETTII slammed my office door closed, still fuming after the disaster of the meeting.What the hell was wrong with those fuckers!Didn’t they realize that I had the power to get rid of them if I wanted to?!I really needed to tighten my leash on them and make them remember who was in charge, and never forget it.How dare they challenge me when I was the one that called for the fucking meeting?Carlos, my second in command walked in and I turned my furious gaze to him.“I need to do something about those fuckers before they get any crazy ideas. They need to remember that I hold their fate in my hands,” I growled.He nodded. “I agree.”It’s not like he could disagree in the first place. That was why Carlos has been such a good right-hand to me. He knew when to shut up and do what he was told. I had also never questioned his loyalty.“But first I need to find the idiot who was stupid enough to order a large shipment of guns on my watch and he even killed my men!”“Whoever is responsi
CLARAI was officially in the awkward phase of pregnancy where I could no longer walk properly. Instead, I waddled like a penguin.And the discomfort, God, I was so uncomfortable. My feet were swollen and I had taken to wearing crocs and slippers because I could no longer tie my shoes on my own, also because those were the only footwear I owned that were comfortable enough.Not to talk about the fact that I was in a constant shitty mood so I was grumpy. Christopher had taken the brunt of my bad mood and he had been gentle, calm, and understanding through it all that I felt really bad for snapping at him.Let’s not talk about how I’ve been actively avoiding Lucaa and Mrs. Antonia because with them it was always something new. Ever since they began planning my baby shower, I haven’t known peace.Did I mention that Lucaa changed her vision board three more times?Yes, she did because she wanted everything to be perfect and the previous ones weren’t doing it justice.Now I was hiding out
CLARAThis time round, I was driven to the hospital by one of Mateo’s guards. I had tried to protest, but he wasn’t having it.It’s more like he didn’t even give me the chance to argue, so I just went with the flow.I was lying down in the exam room waiting for the doctor to arrive. I read that at this stage, there was a high chance for me to start dilating since I was dangerously close to term.All in all, I just wanted everything to be okay.The doctor walked in a few moments later, saving me from my mental torture.He smiled at me and asked, “How’re you doing today?”“A bit uncomfortable, but overall, I feel quite good,” I answered.He nodded. “A little discomfort is to be expected since you’re in your third trimester.”“Well, I’m about ready to evict this baby from my womb, so let’s get on with this appointment,” I replied.“Very well then, lift up your shirt for me, please,” he said.I raised my shirt, exposing my huge belly.The doctor squirted the cold gel on my belly and ran t
CLARAWhen Mrs. Antonia put her mind to something, there was no stopping her.I had barely gotten home from my appointment yesterday when a courier came to collect the envelope from me as per her request.She also informed me that she had spoken to Mateo about using the family room for the gender reveal and he didn’t object so things were on track.The family room was unrecognizable by the time I walked in. The room had been decorated in a tasteful shade of pink and blue. I wondered how they were able to get all this work done without making any noise.I retreated and went into the kitchen to find, Mrs. Antonia sipping a cup of coffee.“Good morning,” I greeted.“Morning dear. You’re up earlier than I expected,” she replied.“I had an early night,” I explained.“Well, I the guests would be arriving in a few hours so have some breakfast and go get ready,” she said.I opened my mouth to respond but someone else beat me to it.“I didn’t expect you here this early,” Mateo said.“Good morn
MATEOI heard stomping in front of my office and I knew who it was before the door was thrown open.My mother came into my office wearing a frown I recognized all too well.I had expected her earlier but a look at the security cameras at the house told me that they were still in the middle of their party and they seemed to be having a blast.For the life of me, I had no idea why I needed to be there, it was a ladies’ affair so if you asked me, my mother’s anger was clearly misguided.“It’s late, Mom. Aren’t you tired after the day you’ve had?” I asked.“What the hell has come over you, Mateo?!”My mother hardly cursed except she was very pissed and that was what she was.“I’m working, Mom, and I don’t appreciate the interruption,” I said.“I don’t care about what it is you’re doing. I didn’t raise you to act the way you did this morning. It was unacceptable and you will apologize to Clara for that.”I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I’ve had a long day and I didn’t intend to a
MATEO“You’ve been smiling a lot lately. Care to tell me what’s got you so happy because last I checked, Renzetti was still alive and well,” Dominic said.We had just finished a meeting, and instead of getting out of my office, he was prying into my personal life, which was on brand for him.“I don’t remember it being any of your business, and last I checked, the fact that Renzetti is still alive doesn’t mean I had to be miserable about it,” I replied.“No, it doesn’t but I’ve known you for years, and you’ve smiled more in the last few days than I’ve ever seen you do. Which tells me that something has changed, and I think I have an idea as to what it is,” Dominic added.“Yeah? Why don’t you tell me since you now seem to be aware of everything going on in my life?” I demanded.“Being your usual self isn’t going to make me switch the subject, Mateo. I’m your friend first, and I’m glad you finally took my advice and told Clara how you feel,” he said, and I stared at him in surprise.“How
CLARA“You better not be messing with me,” Lucaa warned.“I promise I’m not,” I responded.We were at our favorite bistro and had placed an order for some burgers and fries. Since we were waiting for our food, I told her about what had been going on between Mateo and me.“Swear that you’re telling the truth,” she demanded.“Come on, Lucaa. You’ve known me for most of my life. Do you think I would lie to you about something like this?”She thought about it for a moment before she said, “No, you won’t.”Then, her face transformed into a bright smile. "It's about time! Gosh, this is amazing news!" she exclaimed excitedly.“Wait, you’re not mad I didn’t tell you earlier?”She looked at me like I was crazy. “Should I be?”“I guess not.”“I’m definitely not mad. In fact, I appreciate you waiting to tell me in person, and this isn’t about me, remember? This is about you finally fighting for the happiness you deserve,” she said.“Thank you so much, Lucaa. I honestly wouldn’t have had the cour
CLARAI had always thought that people who claimed to be blissfully happy were always so full of it.Oh, I was so wrong.They were absolutely right. Don't get me wrong. Nothing came close to how happy I was when I held Ale in my arms for the first time, but this was a close second.Ever since the veil had been lifted on our feelings, Mateo and I have been in such a happy bubble. These past few days have felt like a dream.He has made it a point of duty to get home earlier than he usually did so we could all have dinner together and this had not gone unnoticed by Lily and his mom who were unsurprisingly curious about what had changed.I told them that we were trying to rekindle the spark in our relationship and thankfully, his mom believed me. Lily, on the other hand, took me to the side and said it was about time we both got our heads out of our asses.Needless to say, that was her way of telling me that she approved of my new relationship with, Mateo.The only person who was still in
CLARA“Was that so hard for you to admit?” I asked.He looked at me like I had grown two heads and replied. “No, that was surprisingly easy.”“Good, because I didn’t have any plans to leave either,” I said. “I don’t know when or how it started but what I feel for you is nowhere near superficial and I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up.”He groaned like he was in physical pain before he said, “It’s taking everything in me not to kiss you right now.”“Then don’t fight it. Kiss me, Mateo,” I demanded.I had barely gotten the words out before his lips crashed onto mine. We both groaned heavily into each other and honestly, for the first few seconds, I didn’t move.I couldn’t move because I was too afraid that this was all a dream and any movement would kill the bubble we were in but Mateo sensed that and slowly eased me into the kiss, making me melt into him.I kissed him back like he was oxygen and I was air deprived. Like he was the air I didn’t even realize I needed in my life.
CLARATalking with Lucaa was exactly what I needed. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right, I couldn’t keep living on ifs and maybes. I needed certainty in my life. So I had to have that conversation with Mateo whenever I got the chance. It was late at night and Ale had been fed, burped and changed. When I finally put him to sleep in crib, I released a sigh of relief.Now that I had put him down, he should be knocked out for at least a couple of hours. Long enough for me to take a quick shower and get some sleep.I grabbed the baby monitor on my way to the bathroom. Although it was unlikely, I wanted to be able to hear my child in case he woke up.I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower, the warm water cascaded through my body, soothing my skin.I debated it for a while before I decided to wash my hair. I haven’t gotten around to doing it for days and I figured now was just as good a time as any. So I grabbed my shampoo and conditioner and proceeded to wash
MATEOIt’s been about a week now and I still haven’t heard a word from, Bruno.I hated to admit it, but the truth was I was really getting worried. I didn’t know what business he had to get done in Puerto Rico and the last time I checked with him, he had moved on to Mexico.There were a number of possible reasons why he hadn’t been able to reach out and none of them were good.I even told Dominic about it and he was also getting worried, that was after he made fun of my ass for acting like a fucking mother hen.I concluded that if I didn’t hear from him by close of business today, I was going to hit up my contacts in Mexico, maybe one of them might know what’s going on.But as fate would have it, just when I had come to a conclusion, my phone rang and I saw Bruno’s name on display.Accepting the call, I put the phone to my ear. “Where the fuck have you been? I haven’t been able to reach you for days now,” I yelled into the phone but I was met with the sound of laughter.“Do I sound li
CLARAAt this point, I was so convinced that Mateo was avoiding me. Apart from the schedule we’ve silently created for Ale’s night feeds, moments when we were both tired and barely able to make conversation, I hardly saw him.He was the one who promised me we were going to have a conversation, but lately, he had been leaving for work earlier than usual and returning late.I couldn’t talk to his mother or Lily about it, they were his family and it was hard for them to be objective so I decided to unload the burdens to my best friend.We agreed to meet at our usual cafe and I was more than happy to leave, Ale in Mrs. Antonia’s care while I took a few hours for myself. I haven’t been out of that house since I got back from the hospital and I was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic.I ordered a latte and muffin and it got served just as Lucaa came rushing in.“I’m so sorry for being late. I got held up at work and traffic was crazy,” she said sounding out of breath.“It’s okay. I have
MATEOThe house was quiet by the time I got back.I’m guessing that was because they decided to turn in early, especially since it was a given that the baby was going to be up crying in the middle of the night.I headed towards the master bedroom but decided at the last minute to take a detour towards the guest rooms.I knocked on the door, hoping that she was still awake and the door was opened a few moments later.“It’s late,” she said.“I know, Mom but I really want to talk to you and I figured now is as good a time as any,” I replied.Mom glared at me before moving sideways so I could come inside. She closed the door and moved to sit on the bed while I remained standing.“Now say what it is you want to say,” she said.“I know you’re mad at me and you have every right to be,” I started and she scoffed.“Mad? That doesn’t even begin to cover the range of emotions that I’m currently feeling,” she replied.I nodded in agreement. “I know and I also know that there’s nothing that I can
CLARAI stared at Lily, unsure of what to say, but I couldn’t keep quiet any longer, so I went with the first thing that popped into my head.“I don’t think you need to thank me. I haven’t done anything except take up space in here,” I said.Lily shook her head in disagreement. “That’s not true and you know it. Stop selling yourself short, Clara, and just take the credit you’re due,” she said.But that was the thing. I wasn’t due any credit. That will just make me more of a fraud.“Listen, Lily. I don’t know what makes you think I’ve done anything to make Mateo a different man since I moved in here but I can assure you that I haven’t done anything,” I told her.“The fact that you don’t see it speaks a lot about the magnitude of what you’ve done,” Lily said.“Hmmm… I really think you’re mistaken. If there’s anyone that has gained anything then it’s me. Although our situation isn’t quite conventional, Matoe gave me access to a community of people that have accepted me and my son as thei