All her life, Sofia believed her father was an honorable man. Until one night, armed men burst into her apartment, and a cursed name was spoken in a voice like steel: Marco Vallardi. “Your father stole millions from us,” said the feared mafia boss with a dangerous smile. “And now, you’re going to pay it back.” Sofia Russo, a brilliant but naïve accountant, is forced to work for the most feared man in New York. What begins as a matter of survival soon turns into something darker... and far more dangerous. Marco isn’t just her enemy—he’s her only ally in a world of betrayal, blood money, and buried family secrets. As she unravels her father’s past, Sofia uncovers something more deadly than any debt: someone inside the Vallardi family is leaking information to their ruthless rivals, the Cortez. And the traitor’s face is far more familiar than she ever expected. He offered her a threat. She gave him a choice. Now, they’re bound by far more than numbers. And in a world where love can be as lethal as a bullet, Sofia must decide whether to save Marco… or save herself.
Lihat lebih banyakKantor sedang heboh dengan berbagai macam cerita tentang pelakor. Yang dibahas mulai dari para pesohor negeri, sampai ada beberapa yang diam-diam curhat tentang pengalamannya pribadi, sebagai korban ataupun sebagai pelaku. Well, memang, kadang manusia ngga bisa ditebak. Ada yang penampilannya santun tapi ternyata mantan pelakor. Ada yang kesehariannya ceria, selalu ketawa, ternyata dia korban pelakor, yang bahkan sampai saat ini masih galau berada di antara mempertahankan rumah tangganya atau disudahi saja.
“Kalau perebut cewek orang disebut apa ya?”, celetuk Ellie sambil memandangiku, kemudian bertopang dagu di atas meja sembari menyingkirkan mangkok bakmi nya yang sudah kosong.
“Ngga ada istilah kayak gitu!” kujawab ketus sambil tetap melahap nasi goreng teri medan, menu makan siangku hari ini.
“Ya kalau statusnya masih pacar sih biarin aja ditikung!” timpal Bara menambahi. “Dulu gue pernah tuh nikung cewek orang, tapi biasa aja.”
“Kalau ternyata pacarannya serius terus udah mau nikah, gimana?” balas Ellie kembali. “Tapi ternyata ada cowok lain yang juga mau nikahin cewek itu?”
“Ya tinggal ceweknya milih mau sama yang mana.”, kali ini Lily yang menjawab. Sementara aku tetap makan nasi gorengku dengan tenang, walau rasanya ingin ikut ngomong juga. Ya, rasanya agak kesal juga kali ini, ditambah Ellie dengan tiba-tiba menginjak pelan kakiku sambil berkata, “sayangnya cowok itu ga berani buat lebih serius lagi.”
“Tinggalin lah. Kalau udah ada niat mau nikah ya mesti serius. Kecuali kalau mau main-main.” jawab Lily lagi, yang disambut gumaman setuju dari Ellie. Issshh sialan. Apa sih maksudnya dia!?
Akhirnya makan siang pun berakhir, dengan perasaanku yang sedikit gondok, oke, nanti akan kujelaskan kenapa aku jadi kesal. Kami berempat, maksudku aku, Ellie, Bara dan Lily bergegas kembali ke kantor, hari ini sedang pakai mobil Bara. Sekarang sudah hampir jam dua siang, dan kemungkinan sampai kantor bisa jam tiga nanti hehehe. Rasanya ingin langsung pulang saja, merasakan nikmatnya bisa tidur sore, lalu bangun saat perut lapar di jam makan malam.
Sebenarnya aku sensitif pada pembicaraan dengan topik perselingkuhan, ketidak setiaan, pengkhianatan, penikungan, dan sebagainya. Karena kadang, apa yang orang lain tuduhkan tidak seperti apa yang terjadi pada kenyataannya kan. Maksudku, bisa saja seseorang menuduh si A sebagai perusak hubungan si B dan si C, tapi mana tau kalau si B ternyata sudah tidak cocok dengan si C, dan si B merasa lebih enjoy dengan si A.
Oke, aku bukannya mau membela para ‘perebut’ itu, karena aku pun tidak mau kalau sesuatu atau seseorang yang kumiliki direbut oleh orang lain. Tapi saat ini kondisinya adalah, akulah si ‘perebut’ itu. Well, kukoreksi sedikit. Aku bukan ‘perebut’ tapi hanya sedang menjalin hubungan dengan wanita yang sudah memiliki hubungan, di mana hal yang kusebut sebagai hubungan adalah hal yang sebenarnya bukan hubungan. Bingung kan.
Bagaimana kalau kubilang seperti ini : Aku bertemu orang yang tepat di waktu yang salah. Atau aku bertemu orang yang salah pada waktu yang tepat.
Jadi begini kalau kujelaskan, aku bertemu lalu aku jatuh cinta lalu aku merasa cintaku pun disambut olehnya, oleh si wanita itu, tapi sayangnya timing-nya sangat salah, sangat keliru, karena dia akan segera menikah. Dan penjelasan untuk pernyataanku yang kedua, aku merasa sudah cukup umur, sudah cukup mapan, sudah cukup dewasa, sudah menyiapkan mental untuk segera menikah tapi aku malah bertemu dengan wanita yang salah, karena dia juga sudah siap menikah, tapi bukan denganku. Tapi aku mencintainya, dan kupikir dia pun mencintaiku, ditambah juga tetap mencintai calon suaminya. I’ve never been so hard to myself…
***
Aku baru bangun 10 menit lalu, dan kepalaku masih terasa berat. Untungnya sekarang hari Sabtu, jadi bisa seharian malas-malasan di kamar, dan kebetulan Jakarta sedang hujan. Kuambil HP-ku dan kulihat sudah ada 15 missed calls dan puluhan pesan yang isinya sama semua : WAKE UP BABY! atau BABY WAKE UP! atau BABY PLEASE WAKE UP!! dan yang terakhir U MUST WAKE UP NOW OR I WILL RUN TO UR APARTMENT AND SMACK U DOWN TO GET U UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aku yang baru bangun jadi kesal sendiri bacanya, tapi sambil geli membayangkan wajahnya yang marah-marah sambil mengetik kata-kata kesal seperti itu. Huruf besar semua pakai tanda seru yang banyak. Ellie.
Sesuai feeling, tidak lama Ellie meneloponku lagi.
“UDAH JAM BERAPA INI KENAPA GA BANGUN-BANGUN??!!”, serunya begitu telepon kuangkat. Kulirik jam dinding di sebelah kanan, dan ternyata sudah jam 12 siang. Oke, pantas dia sudah ngamuk. Kayaknya aku punya janji sama Ellie.
“Sorry, baby…” , jawabku berusaha supaya dia melembut. “Aku baru bangun. Kan tadi malem, eh tadi pagi baru pulang jam empat. Jadi masih ngantuk banget.”
“Kan aku udah ingetin kalau hari ini kita harus ke acaranya Mbak Risa! Kamu ngeselin banget sih, aku udah beli dress sama sepatu baru padahal!”
Cerita sedikit, jadi Mbak Risa ini dulunya adalah senior Ellie di kantor. Dan Ellie sangat sangat mengagumi si Mbak Risa ini. Menurutnya, Mbak Risa itu bisa tetap cantik, langsing, seksi, dan tetap digilai para lelaki dari yang muda sampai yang tua padahal Mbak Risa umurnya sudah hampir 40 tahun. Jadi sebelum eranya Ellie sebagai The Hottest and The Most Desirable Woman di kantor, Mbak Risa ini juaranya.
Namanya Marisa, usia 38 tahun, sudah hidup menjanda selama lima tahun dan sudah punya tiga anak. Sekretaris paling senior, sekaligus sekretaris nya Bapak Presdir yang terhormat. tahunEntah sudah berapa lelaki di kantor yang dekat dengannya, ada yang mencoba serius, ada juga yang mencoba icip-icip saja. Kalau aku sih termasuk kategori yang icip-icip saja hahaha. Pernah beberapa kali dugem bareng sama dia, dapatlah sedikit peluk dan cium darinya.
Sampai setahun yang lalu, dia mengajukan pengunduran diri dengan alasan akan menikah kembali. Lalu Ellie datang, karena Risa senior maka dia jadi mentornya Ellie selama tiga bulan sebelum akhirnya Risa resign. Jadilah hari ini, hari pernikahannya. Makanya Ellie sangat ingin datang ke acaranya. Dan pasti karena aku ngga bangun-bangun daritadi, dia akan ngambek berhari-hari padaku.
“Ya udah nanti ke rumahnya aja, sekalian bawain kado aja…” cobaku lagi membujuknya. Sebenarnya acara resepsi pernikahannya itu sampai jam tiga sore nanti, tapi karena lokasinya di Bandung, jadi bisa kebayang kan kalau kami baru berangkat ke Bandung sekarang akan sampai di sana jam berapa nantinya.
“Lagian kamu ngapain sih baru pulang pagi-pagi gitu??” dia mulai marah-marah lagi. Jadi tadi malam selepas pulang kantor aku memang bersama Ellie, sempat makan malam dan nonton bioskop dulu. Dia juga memang sudah cerewet mengingatkan acaranya Risa, janjinya kami akan berangkat sekitar pukul delapan pagi, tapi setelah mengantarkan Ellie pulang, Bara meneleponku, mengajakku untuk party before your single life over alias ke club alias dugem alias clubbing.
Jadi benar kan tentang hubungan yang kubilang sebenarnya bukan hubungan. Aku dan Ellie. Dia tidak pernah melarangku, tidak seperti kebanyakan pacar lain yang melarang ini itu, apalagi melakukan hal-hal yang mungkin bagi sebagian orang agak ‘liar’. Dia tidak mempermasalahkan kalau aku mabuk, aku pulang pagi, aku joget-joget di club entah sama wanita mana. Kadang dia ikut, kadang ada lelaki yang menghampirinya dan menawarinya minuman, mengajaknya kenalan lalu ngobrol, dan curangnya pasti aku langsung bertindak. Aku pasti mendatanginya sambil bilang, “Watchout. She’s my girl.”.
Mungkin baginya, hubungan kami ini bebas. Hubungan kami tanpa ikatan, mungkin hanya perasaan. Sedikit perasaannya, dan banyak perasaanku. Rasa cintaku. Tapi dia bisa dengan santainya mengatakan “I miss you…” atau “I wanna be with you…” atau datang tengah malam ke tempatku dan saat kutanya ada apa dia hanya memelukku dan bilang “cuma mau peluk aja.”.
“Ya udah kamu ke sini aja ya, Ell?” tawarku. “Daripada bete sendirian.”
“I’m mad at YOU!”
“Yeah, i know. And i know after you mad at me, you’ll miss me.”
“Apaan sih?! Ganjen banget jadi orang!”
Hehehe… Kapan sih kamu pernah serius marah sama aku, Ell? Marah pun hanya karena hal sepele, diajak makan juga sudah baikan lagi. Dipeluk atau dicium juga sudah luluh lagi. Oh Ellianne…
The roar of the sports car’s engine could barely compete with the pounding of my heart as I drove through the streets of New York, the city a blur of lights that did nothing to distract me from the fire Sofia had lit inside me. That kiss back at the club, her courage facing off against Elena, the way her brown eyes challenged me even as she trembled under my touch… all of it had me on the edge of madness. No woman had ever made me feel like this—so out of control, so trapped in a game where the rules dissolved the moment she looked at me. Her words—“I’m not that easy, Marco”—were a challenge that burned in me, and damn it, I wanted to take it.I parked in front of her building, the same place where I’d almost kissed her a few nights ago, where this whirlwind had started. I got out and opened her door, my body humming with a mix of desire and anticipation. Sofia stepped out, her eyes glinting under the streetlights, but there was a wall in her gaze—a determination that intrigued me as
The taste of Marco’s kiss still burned on my lips as we walked back into the betting den, the echo of our argument—and that explosion of passion—reverberating through every corner of my body. My legs trembled, not just from the fury still thrumming inside me, but from the way his hands had claimed my waist, his mouth demanding everything I wasn’t sure I wanted to give.Carla’s words—“seduce and discard”—still whispered in my mind, but the heat of that kiss had silenced them, if only for a moment. Now, walking beside him, the smoke- and testosterone-thick air of the place wrapped around me, and I didn’t know if I was angrier at him… or at myself for giving in.Marco sat at the poker table, his posture relaxed but exuding that air of control that made every man in the room look at him with respect. I remained standing, my body rigid, trying to ignore the curious glances from the players. The clinking of chips and low laughter filled the air—but all of it faded when a figure appeared at
The echo of heels rang through the halls of the Vallardi mansion as I returned from lunch with Carla, her words still burning in me like embers. "Marco is a predator, and you’re easy prey." Her confession about having been one of his lovers, about how he seduced and discarded women, had left a knot in my stomach. But what truly had me on edge was the discovery of the initials C.V. in the accounts. Was Carla a traitor? Or just another piece in a game I couldn’t quite understand?My head was a storm, and the last thing I needed was to run into Marco. But there he was, waiting for me in the foyer, his imposing figure framed against the light streaming through the tall windows. His gray eyes found me instantly, and my heart skipped—not only at the sight of him but at the memory of his breath at my door, just a whisper away from a kiss that never came.“Sofia,” he said, his voice low but authoritative. “Come with me.”I frowned, my body tensing. “Where?” I asked, my tone sharper than I
The hum of the servers in the Vallardi mansion’s tech room was the only sound breaking the silence as my eyes scanned the screens filled with numbers. I’d come back to work that morning with my mind in chaos, the memory of the almost-kiss with Marco at my apartment door still burning through me. His words, his nearness, the way his gaze had stripped me bare without even touching me… it had all left me sleepless, caught between desire and the certainty that getting close to him was like playing with fire. But now, with my father’s ledgers open before me, I had to focus.For Nico. For me.I had to find the truth.My fingers flew over the keyboard, tracing a trail of transfers that seemed to vanish in a labyrinth of offshore accounts. Aurora Holdings was still a shadow, but every line I examined brought me closer to something—though I didn’t know what.Until I saw it.A series of small payments, nearly insignificant, hidden among the operational expenses of one of the Vallardi shell comp
Marco’s POVThe roar of the sports car engine still echoed in my ears as I sped through New York’s empty streets, the city lights a blur that couldn’t quiet the storm in my head. Dropping Sofia off at her apartment had felt like tearing a part of myself away. That almost-kiss at her door—the way her brown eyes locked onto mine, the slight tremble in her body when I leaned in… all of it was a mistake. A mistake I couldn’t afford. Her perfume, subtle yet intoxicating, still clung to me—a reminder of how close I’d come to crossing a line I had sworn not to touch.I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. This wasn’t new. Women had always been part of the game: a quick flirtation, a night without strings, a way to release the tension of my world. With every new girl who started working for me—messengers, lawyers, accountants like Sofia—I knew how to play my cards. A few drinks, a dance, the right words, and it all ended in laughter or in my bed. It was familiar ground. A bo
The music from the club still vibrated against my skin, a pulse that blended with the warmth of Marco’s hands on my waist. The dance floor was a whirl of golden lights and shadows, but for me, the world had shrunk to him. His gray eyes—intense and dangerous—never left mine, and every move he made was a provocation, an invitation to a game I wasn’t sure I knew how to play. He guided me with a confidence that stole my breath, his fingers firm yet careful, as if afraid to break me... or maybe trying to contain me.“You’re tense,” he murmured, his voice a whisper that brushed my ear like a caress. His warm breath grazed my cheek, and the scent of his cologne—leather and spice—wrapped around me. He pulled me closer, our bodies so near I could feel the heat of his chest through the thin fabric of my suit. “Let go, Sofia. Just for tonight.”I wanted to answer—to tell him I couldn’t let go, that I didn’t trust him, that his world terrified me. But his hands, sliding just slightly lower on my
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