Adriana’s POVAfter Anna's interruption there was no peace left. The sense of waiting wrapped itself around me tighter each minute stretching longer than the last and i couldn’t sit still. I couldn't bear the thought of waiting in silence, trapped inside my own restless skin. I slipped out of Isabella’s room and wandered aimlessly letting my feet carry me down the familiar hallways until the rich amd warm scent of coffee lured me toward the kitchen like a thread pulling me forward.The kitchen wasn’t empty, of course and i guess Nothing in this house ever was. Anthony stood by the window staring out into the gardens with an expression I couldn’t quite read. The morning light cut across his profile throwing half his face into shadow and the line of his jaw sharp amd the tension in his shoulders obvious even from across the room. He turned when he heard my footsteps, his mouth tugging into that crooked easy smile he wore like armor."Trouble sleeping, princess?" He teased lightly bu
Adriana’s POVThe house seemed to shift the moment Madame Corvina arrived. I felt it before I heard the first sharp clicks of her heels on the marble. Even the light filtering through the tall windows seemed harsher somehow slicing into the room like a blade, picking out every flaw and every imperfection. I didn’t give a damn thiugh. Anna was already there as usual witj her arms folded neatly across her chest and a slight smile playing at the corner of her mouth like she was anticipating a show. She didn’t look at me but shedidn’t need to. Her satisfaction filled the room like a perfume. The doors opened wide with a low groan and there she was. Madame Corvina entered into the room like a storm iwth her black dress flowing behind her. She was taller than I expected with sharp cheekbones that could have been carved from stone and eyes so dark they seemed to devour the light around them. Her hair was pinned back in an intricate coil, not a single strand out of place and around her nec
Adriana’s POVThe heavy clock on the wall chimed then once, twice, three times and the realization hit me. The ball was tonight.In just a few short hours, I would be expected to transform from whatever battered version of myself still remained into something dazzling enough to pass inspection under a hundred cold curious eyes. I was expected to glide into that ballroom as if I belonged there, as if my heart wasn’t still in pieces beneath my ribs and as if I hadn’t once loved a man who had chosen ambition and betrayal over me.My fingers curled slightly at my sides, nails digging into the soft flesh of my palms. The old fear, the old shame, tried to rise in me but I pushed it down with a force that surprised even myself. Tonight, I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me bleed.Without another word, I turned on my heel and left the room with the hem of my robe following against the floor, my head held high even as my stomach twisted itself into tighter and tighter knots.T
Rafael’s POVI’d been walking around the estate with Nathan and Anthony since early morning just making sure everything was exactly the way it should be. I didn’t leave things to chance. Not when the ball was only hours away and not when we had certain names on our guest list. The staff were working fast as the grand chandelier had already been cleaned twice and the crystal was gleaming like it was made of stars. White lilies and deep red roses lined the hallways. Tables were being arranged under the guidance of a tight faced event planner who reminded me of a military commander more than anything else. Everything was moving and everyone was exactly where they should be. There is going to be an after party here after I have been announced the new capo dei capi in Romano’s mansion. Nathan had a clipboard in his hand (of course he did) and he was flipping through checklists like the paper offended him. He was muttering about caterers being late last year and how if that happened agai
Rafael’s POVI froze bevause i hadn’t been hugged in years maybe. Not like that and not by someone who just wanted to with no motive behind it. I stood stiffly for a second then let myself relax just enough to wrap my arms back around her gently and careful not to ruin whatever joy she was carrying.She pulled back just as quickly and ran out of the room, light as a breeze as if she hadn’t just knocked the air out of my lungs. There was something about that hug that I want to relive every moment of. I stared at the door for a long time after Isabella had left still feeling her arms around me. And as I stood there oddly still my eyes drifted again to the pink comb she’d forgotten on the edge of the piano. I picked it up, turning it over between my fingers, wondering why it felt like more than just a comb. Maybe it was nothing. Or maybe it was something strange and dangerous blooming inside me anx some part of me that wanted to protect that girl with the midnight hair and bright eyes
Adriana’s POVThe neon sign outside the club flickered casting a dull red glow on the wet pavement. I stood beneath it, breathing in the thick and smoky air with my arms wrapped around myself as if that would somehow make this easier. But nothing about tonight was easy which is something I have been thinking about for weeks. The bass from the music inside thumped through the walls with that kind of deep pulse that settled in your bones. Or maybe it’s because of what I’m about to do. It is also the kind that made men loosen their ties and women forget they had limits. I know cause I’ve seen it. The kind of music that turned this place into an escape or some sort fantasy for some. Except for me, this wasn’t a fantasy and it has never been for the past six months. It is a place I have to come to so I’ll be able to keep food on the table. This was my last option because there are no other options in the first place. I adjusted my thin jacket, barely feeling the cold anymore. I canno
Adriana’s POV The dressing room was suffocating and filled with thick clouds of cheap perfume and sweat with the overhead lights casting harsh glow on the women thattmoved around me with practiced ease. My hands trembled as I adjusted the thin straps of the red lace lingerie the club provided, tugging at the hem as if that would make a difference. It didn’t. Nothing could hide how exposed I felt. "You'll get used to it." a voice said from beside me and I startled at the sound of it. It’s definitely feminine but it’s also husky like she’s been smoking for a while. I turned to see a blonde adjusting her lipstick in the mirror. She was beautiful in a way that made me instantly aware of how out of place I was. Her confidence and the way she owned her barely-there outfit was effortless. Meanwhile, I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror without cringing seven ways to Sunday. "V said to make sure you’re ready and told me to help you out since today is your first day.” Sh
Rafael’s POVI leaned back in the leather chair my fingers drumming against the armrest as I stared at the screen in front of me. It was the club’s security footage played in real time, every camera feeding into the private VIP suite where I sat. It was a habit I had developed over the years of watching, controlling and ensuring nothing happened in my domain without my knowledge. The last thing I cared about at this stage of my life is how a club I own is going. I have so many of them and this one isn’t even the best I’ve got. I barely spend time here watching this. But tonight was different in every shape and form. I hadn’t expected to see her here. The woman I once loved with every fucking feelings I have been hiding. The same woman I worshipped the literal ground she walks on. The woman who had ripped my heart out and left me to bleed for her own selfish benefit. She never turned back to see how I was faring after she had left. She moved across the stage with hesitant moves, he
Rafael’s POVI froze bevause i hadn’t been hugged in years maybe. Not like that and not by someone who just wanted to with no motive behind it. I stood stiffly for a second then let myself relax just enough to wrap my arms back around her gently and careful not to ruin whatever joy she was carrying.She pulled back just as quickly and ran out of the room, light as a breeze as if she hadn’t just knocked the air out of my lungs. There was something about that hug that I want to relive every moment of. I stared at the door for a long time after Isabella had left still feeling her arms around me. And as I stood there oddly still my eyes drifted again to the pink comb she’d forgotten on the edge of the piano. I picked it up, turning it over between my fingers, wondering why it felt like more than just a comb. Maybe it was nothing. Or maybe it was something strange and dangerous blooming inside me anx some part of me that wanted to protect that girl with the midnight hair and bright eyes
Rafael’s POVI’d been walking around the estate with Nathan and Anthony since early morning just making sure everything was exactly the way it should be. I didn’t leave things to chance. Not when the ball was only hours away and not when we had certain names on our guest list. The staff were working fast as the grand chandelier had already been cleaned twice and the crystal was gleaming like it was made of stars. White lilies and deep red roses lined the hallways. Tables were being arranged under the guidance of a tight faced event planner who reminded me of a military commander more than anything else. Everything was moving and everyone was exactly where they should be. There is going to be an after party here after I have been announced the new capo dei capi in Romano’s mansion. Nathan had a clipboard in his hand (of course he did) and he was flipping through checklists like the paper offended him. He was muttering about caterers being late last year and how if that happened agai
Adriana’s POVThe heavy clock on the wall chimed then once, twice, three times and the realization hit me. The ball was tonight.In just a few short hours, I would be expected to transform from whatever battered version of myself still remained into something dazzling enough to pass inspection under a hundred cold curious eyes. I was expected to glide into that ballroom as if I belonged there, as if my heart wasn’t still in pieces beneath my ribs and as if I hadn’t once loved a man who had chosen ambition and betrayal over me.My fingers curled slightly at my sides, nails digging into the soft flesh of my palms. The old fear, the old shame, tried to rise in me but I pushed it down with a force that surprised even myself. Tonight, I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me bleed.Without another word, I turned on my heel and left the room with the hem of my robe following against the floor, my head held high even as my stomach twisted itself into tighter and tighter knots.T
Adriana’s POVThe house seemed to shift the moment Madame Corvina arrived. I felt it before I heard the first sharp clicks of her heels on the marble. Even the light filtering through the tall windows seemed harsher somehow slicing into the room like a blade, picking out every flaw and every imperfection. I didn’t give a damn thiugh. Anna was already there as usual witj her arms folded neatly across her chest and a slight smile playing at the corner of her mouth like she was anticipating a show. She didn’t look at me but shedidn’t need to. Her satisfaction filled the room like a perfume. The doors opened wide with a low groan and there she was. Madame Corvina entered into the room like a storm iwth her black dress flowing behind her. She was taller than I expected with sharp cheekbones that could have been carved from stone and eyes so dark they seemed to devour the light around them. Her hair was pinned back in an intricate coil, not a single strand out of place and around her nec
Adriana’s POVAfter Anna's interruption there was no peace left. The sense of waiting wrapped itself around me tighter each minute stretching longer than the last and i couldn’t sit still. I couldn't bear the thought of waiting in silence, trapped inside my own restless skin. I slipped out of Isabella’s room and wandered aimlessly letting my feet carry me down the familiar hallways until the rich amd warm scent of coffee lured me toward the kitchen like a thread pulling me forward.The kitchen wasn’t empty, of course and i guess Nothing in this house ever was. Anthony stood by the window staring out into the gardens with an expression I couldn’t quite read. The morning light cut across his profile throwing half his face into shadow and the line of his jaw sharp amd the tension in his shoulders obvious even from across the room. He turned when he heard my footsteps, his mouth tugging into that crooked easy smile he wore like armor."Trouble sleeping, princess?" He teased lightly bu
Adriana’s POVThe bed felt too big without him as I stirred in the tangled sheets that has his scent lingering still clinging to the air. For a while i just lay there staring up at the molding on the ceiling feeling the weight of reality settle over my bare skin. The light had shifted since I’d first opened my eyes growing brighter and demanding slipping through the curtains. A sigh left me as I pushed myself up on one elbow. The sheet fell away from my chest and a shiver ran through me despite the warmth of the morning. The marks he left on my skin with his hands and his mouth and his teeth felt like they were still there. Like a proof of how easily we slipped back into each other’s orbitsno matter how wrong we both knew is was.Dragging the sheet around me, I climbed out of bed my bare feet brushing the cold floor. I padded softly across the room the hem of the mattress trailing behind me and pulled aside the curtain just enough to peer down into the courtyard. The glass was cool
Rafael’s POVThe way she said it wasn't accusation and it wasn’t even sadness. Just that quiet, gutting kind of acceptance she’d perfected over the years. I didn’t answer right away. Just turned away and pulled on a pair of black slacks the fabric stiff against my skin like it doesn’t want to go too. Buttoned up a crisp white shirt with the collar biting into my neck.“Big day. You should sleep in.” I said in a low voice because I’d rather be with her in bed than go out. She propped herself up on one elbow with the sheet falling just enough to reveal the slope of one breast and the shadows of the bruises I’d left. Not from cruelty but sheer need. From knowing this might be the last time because what she would see later might change everything.“You’ll be back before the ceremony?” She asked her voice quieter now. Something unspoken tangled between the words.“Of course.” I turned to her buttoning the last of my cuffs and eyes met.She smiled then and it was small and tired maybe a li
Rafael’s POVThe light was soft slipping through the sheer curtains like a whisper that didn’t dare disturb what had happened here. The air was heavy with heat and thick with the scent of sex and mine. Adriana. It clung to the walls soaked into the sheets and into my skin.Her hair was spread across the pillow like fire and red waves tangled from hours of reckless brutal need. The kind that left bruises in places only lovers knew. The kind that stripped you down to bone and nerve and memory. I was sitting at the edge of the bed, shirtless, spine hunched and sweat drying on my skin in sticky trails. My cock still throbbed from how deep I’d been inside herm and how hard I had pounded into her like she was the only thing keeping me sane. Like I wanted to punish her and claim her all in the same goddamn breath. I looked over my shoulder unable not to. She was on her side with her face turned toward me and lips parted just slightly like she’d been about to say my name in her sleep and lo
Adriana’s POVThe night air licked across my skin. My nipples hardened as his gaze dropped like a curse had been cast. And then I moved. One hand on his chest and the other on the back of his neck. I started to roll my hips, slow and dirty the way I used to back when his mattress was on the floor and the world was nothing but broken promises and our sweaty skin under fluorescent lights. I knew exactly how to move and how to make his breathing shift and how to feel the stiff line of his cock grinding between us and press down just right. He let me take control and let me perform like I used to, back when love was reckless and money was just a dream. His grip landed on my hips alk hard and possessive, holding me in place as I moved. Not guiding me but just anchoring me. And he gripped me so tight I knew there’d be bruises tomorrow and i wanted them. I wanted to look in the mirror and see him everhwrre.He didn’t say anything at first. Just stared like I’d risen out of a ghost story. L