AbelFulfilling my promise to Lana had got to be the most liberating thing I'd ever done.It took away the guilt I'd felt on that day I saw her for the first time; star-strucked by those bright-eyes that dimmed when her father announced the purpose of our visit with tears in his eyes. It took away the feeling of possessiveness — the need to control her. It took away a lot of things I wasn't proud about, and left me with a warm glow in my chest. What it didn't take away, however, was my ever-increasing love for her.Andre came over to the house the following morning, and handed me the initial contract she and I had signed. I couldn't look at it — I set it aside, and had him draw up a new one. This one wrote off any debt the Williams family owed any Stravkos, real or perceived, and the two families were no longer bound in any way. In any form. I also directed him, to make that part possible to be overturned in the future at any time.I signed it immediately and had a copy sent to Helen
AbelWe didn't speak for the rest of the drive. There were so many things to say, so many demons to confront, and they hovered right above up, making the air thick with a dense foreboding. Once we reached the mansion, I climbed out of the car, and straightened my shirt, clutching the envelope containing the new contract. It was not necessary getting Father to sign it — his signature mattered less — but for closure to be properly achieved, I had to do it this way.“Ready, sweetheart?”Before I could nod and respond, Lana wound her arm through mine. Since I got shot, we'd gotten much closer to each other. We enjoyed each other's company, craved each other's opinions and bodies, and when she did stuff like this, touching me like this, it made me feel lucky, special. It made my heartbeat quicken, my heart filling with a joy I'd never thought possible.I pulled her back. “You don't have to go in with me. I won't waste any time. Once he signs it, I'm getting right out of there.” I watched h
Abel “Here,” Father huffed, grabbing the contract papers from the attorney and sliding them across the Lucite glass table in our midst. I lifted my gaze to meet his harsh, unyielding eyes. “Quit looking at me and sign the damn papers already. We've got a lot of other things to get to.”I nodded nervously, skimming over the papers quickly, my pen poised over the signature line. It would be fatal to defy my father. Norman Stravkos was a no nonsense man. The head of a powerful underground Mafia gang. A pesky drug lord that evaded the hands of the law like sudden lightening. His word was law, and his actions — unbred chaos.Taking in a deep breath, I scribbled my signature down on the contract papers, pressing so hard that the track of my signature left a groove on the sheet of paper. Setting the pen down, I slid the papers across the table. Only this time, I wasn't passing it to my father but her.Solana.Guilt spiked in my veins as I braved myself to look at her briefly before turning
SolanaSix years later.Tuscany, ItalyThe last time I'd been in church was when I was a baby. My parents were not religious, but Mother had wanted me to have a baptism. It was held in this same cathedral, and Mother told me how proud she felt holding me close to her bosom as she followed the priest to the altar. How afraid, yet confident, that Father walked beside her. How a massive crowd of friends and business associates had turned out, just for me.I would always be her favourite child. Always.Shortly after my baptism, my father tended his resignation letter to Steele Corp — the app developing company he'd worked in for thirty solid years, and struck out on his own, with the help of Norman Stravkos; who became his new master. He stopped going to church, started sleeping around town with girls, and treated my mother like shit. All for the money. All for the fame. All for the glory. All for everything that would ruin him and his generations to come.Today, as I followed his casket
SolanaI straightened, masking my grief briefly behind a wall of indifference before letting my gaze travel up his face. Mother had taught me how to hide my feelings well over the years. She was always at the door whenever Father came back late from work with stuffy excuses of being stuck with traffic or intentionally staying back to finish up some files that had to be turned in the next day. She'd smile, and pat his shoulder as though in understanding. But when he took his clothes off in the bedroom, I watched her sniff them for the faintest smell of a cologne different from his. Her eyes would water, but she'd blink them off the minute she saw me looking. She'd toss the clothes aside and crouch with a million-dollar smile that never seemed to reach her eyes if you knew her well enough.She was the strongest woman I'd ever seen. The strongest.My heart clanged hard against my chest, as I inhaled in shallow, breathy intakes. Time seemed to slow down, the world tilting, a splash of bla
SolanaI didn't speak with my mother. Verbally though. But I could feel her eyes as they followed me about, the grief in them shinning so bright, it was heart wrenching to meet her gaze as I faced Abel Montes, the new Lord of my life. She'd been against the idea of caving in to Norman Stravkos' outrageous demands, stating that she'd already lost a daughter and couldn't lose the other. But her words hadn't been reasonable. Surely, the contract I'd signed together with Abel would hold no water in any court of law, but I very well knew the consequences if I hadn't signed it. If I'd ran away, just like Helen had done. They would all pay with their lives — and Norman Stravkos would hunt me to the ends of the earth. He wouldn't rest until he'd successfully eliminated every single member of the Williams family.Every single one of them.I swallowed hard, turning slightly to glance at Helen and her son again. At Mother, my uncles and cousins. At the family I'd grown up in. The people who nurt
AbelI stared at Solana. At the way she sat up straight, her slender shoulders sharp, her eyes defiant black slits, her chin jutting upwards, and I recoiled, stunned.I'd never seen anything like this. I'd never seen any woman quite like her.Courageous. Strong. Defiant.She would back down for no one. She would fight tooth and nail, and would always get what she wanted. Even if she was afraid. She would not give in to fear no matter what.Up until today, I didn't know a single thing about her. I underestimated her — thinking she was one of those quiet ladies who was foolishly obedient to a fault, and had no willpower of their own. Who cowered at my father's commands, but silently resented him. But she proved that she was different. She didn't hide her resentment. She didn't let his cruelty — I'd heard the insensitive words he'd whispered about her father — weigh her down. She'd challenged him head on, not minding if it costed her life.No one had ever bounced back to my father like t
Abel“You know how it feels to lose a loved one?” Her tone was sharp, and the bitter laugh that followed, even sharper. “Well, newsflash: my father and I were the farthest thing from close. I made a vow to loathe him forever, for selling his daughters off to a rival. I don't need your sympathy, Abel. If I wanted that, I might as well hang myself.”I swallowed hard, unable to look away from her — my shirt collar suddenly felt so tight, my black coat stiff around my pits, my eyes watering.I didn't dare speak. I couldn't. It felt as though my vocal cords had all suddenly gone numb.“I keep wondering though if you really know what it feels like as you claim. To be suddenly separated from the people who gave you life and brought you up? To watch them look at you from a few metres off, helplessly afraid to come speak or console you because they're guilty for what's not even their faults?”That, I had no idea what if felt like. I didn't know it bothered her so much; not speaking to the rest