ANTONIO.The situation between Rosalinda and Sofia was awkward, as Sofia realised that Rosalinda and I admired each other. It was even more awkward for me because I found myself questioning why I had chosen to protect Rosalinda instead of my own bride."Oh, my God." Roberto’s voice pierced the air, and I swung my head to the side to see him approaching us with worries saturating his features."Rosa, Sofia." He addressed his daughters when he came to a stop in front of us, darting his gaze between the both of them. "Are you both okay?"They both nodded gently without uttering a word.He let out a sigh of relief before flicking his gaze at me, a scowl masking his features.Before he could open his mouth to talk, I spoke first. "What happened?""Why don’t you go and ask your men who ruined everything?" He groaned, pointing an accusatory finger at me.Fucking hell! I was going to kill whoever started the fight. I was infuriated that my wedding was disrupted, but the revelation that one of
ROSALINDA.Sofia hasn’t said anything to me about what she saw yesterday, although she had been distant, and I didn’t want to be the one to initiate the conversation. I already felt guilty about being attracted to Antonio, and talking about my attraction for him with my sister—his soon-to-be wife—would be incredibly embarrassing. Even though the wedding turned out to be disastrous, both parties hadn’t lost interest due to the financial gains tied to the alliance. Business priorities overweighed their anger over the event’s outcome.Glancing at my wristwatch, I realised that it was almost time for Papà’s meeting with Antonio and Lorenzo. I was outside, jogging around the mansion, and I needed to get inside before they arrived. An encounter with either Antonio or Lorenzo was the last thing I wanted.Blowing out a sharp breath, I started jogging towards the entrance, but luck wasn’t on my side as a car pulled into the driveway just as I approached the entrance. I tried to ignore it and
I was still trying to wrap my head around what Antonio had done when the door suddenly swung open and Sofia appeared before me.My heart sank to my stomach as I stared down at what I had on me. I was only in a fucking towel, and she must have seen Antonio leaving. Oh, no. Things couldn’t have gotten worse."I came to get my phone’s charger. I left it here yesterday.” She said as she strolled to the dresser where it was sitting and picked it up.My eyes never leaving her, I watched as she turned around and started trudging towards the door without even sparing me a glance.I hated this. I loved my sister, and I never wanted things to be the way they were because of a man. I needed to make amendments and clear the air about me and Antonio. We might be attracted to each other, but nothing has ever happened between us, and nothing will ever happen. I would make sure of that.But given that she just witnessed him leaving my room and, to make matters worse, she found me in only my towel, it
ANTONIO.Mommy?I quickly flicked my gaze between Rosalinda and the small boy as confusion masked my features. Why did he call her that?“She my mommy, right?” The little boy continued as the woman who was carrying him slowly put him down. “You said come meet my mommy.”He was one smart boy. He doesn’t look any older than two years, and he could already speak so well. Not so well per se, but an understandable speech. I felt a sense of relief when I realised that the boy called her mommy out of a mere guess. But who was the mommy they came here to meet? There were only three women in this house. Rosalinda, Sofia, and their mother, Lucia. It couldn’t possibly be Lucia because she was too old to be the mother of a two-year-old, and that narrows the option down to Rosalinda and Sofia.“Dorothy.” Roberto’s voice suddenly booms through the air, and I turned my attention to him. “What are you doing here?” He continued, the rage blazing in his eyes was so intense that I could literally see f
ANTONIO.Without hesitation, I parked my car and scrammed out of it. Lorenzo’s gaze was on me as I trudged towards them in long strides with a frown masking my features.“We have a company now.” Lorenzo grinned as I approached them. I disliked him. He had an off-putting aura about him that I couldn't quite place.“What are you doing?” I quickly asked.“Getting answers.” He simply replied, and I blew out a sharp breath, shaking my head.Did he really intend to kill them just to feed his curiosity?“Aren’t you curious to know who these people are?” He continued.I pressed my lips tightly together. “Do you want to start a feud?"“A feud?” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “These people aren’t precious enough to make Roberto retaliate if I kill them. He would be pissed, but not enough to start a feud. And by the way, I don’t have to kill them. They were about to talk.” He flicked his gaze at them. “Right?”“Right?” He asked again with a firmer voice, pressing the cold
ROSALINDA.“You still don’t know who the father is?” Antonio asked again as he approached us, his eyes growing darker with each step he took."Uhm, he was adopted, and we..." Papà scratched his temple, looking confused as he tried to concoct a lie.“Cut that.” Antonio groaned, shaking his head slightly. “I know that this boy right here is your grandson.”“He’s not—” Papà tried to persist with his lies, but Antonio cut him off.“And Rosalinda here,” he said, pointing his index finger at me. “Is the mother."Why did he seem so sure? I wondered as I narrowed my eyes at him. How did he find out?A thought came to my mind, but I shook it off. I knew Antonio was a Mafia boss, but I didn’t think he was cruel enough to torture innocent people just to feed his curiosity.“Is that why you said she wasn’t a good fit for the agreement?” He continued, his eyes growing darker by the second.“How did you know?” Papà asked, a scowl creasing his forehead. “Don’t tell me you did what I am thinking.”“N
ANTONIO.I had been searching for Carlo’s father for days now, and I hadn’t found any clue. Her phone calls and text messages from three years ago had been traced, and the only people she ever talked to were her family and one Ruby Thompson. Her movements, where she frequents, had been traced by the professional private investigator I hired, and he couldn’t unearth any leads.I didn’t know how Rosalinda managed to cover her tracks, but I was determined to find him, and if I did, I was going to fucking kill him.The list of phone calls she'd made over the last three years was in my hand, and I had been going through it for almost twenty minutes, refusing to believe she hadn't been in contact with any man aside from her family. Talking about her family, could it be that—“No.” I said to myself and shook my head as I waved off the thought. It couldn’t possibly be a case of incest. But how the fuck did she contact her baby daddy?The door suddenly dinged open, and I hoisted my head up to
ANTONIO. “I fucking asked you to treat her with care!” I yelled at the men—Enzo and Stefano—who I asked to bring Ruby to me as they entered with her.Uncontrollable tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her mouth was tightly taped, her hands were securely tied, and she had bruises around her wrists from trying to set herself loose.“She’s a stubborn one, boss.” Stefano said, and I let out a sigh as I observed her.She was indeed a stubborn one. Despite her mouth being taped and her hands tied, she continued to shout and struggle to run. I understood that my men had to do what they had to do to avoid getting caught by the cops.“Make her sit." I ordered my men as I gestured at a sofa, and they promptly followed my instruction.I inched closer to her and crouched in front of her. The horror in her eyes intensified, and I let out a sigh.“I am not going to hurt you.” I assured her, but she wouldn’t stop crying and attempting to scream through the duct tape.I let out another sigh as I t