❦ Rosalind ❦ I wiped my damp palms on the skirt of my dress, bitterly marveling at how much water a human body could lose without fainting. I pushed away from the desk and crossed the room to close the windows, though the garden outside was still, with no noise to interrupt me. I was just desperate for something to do with my hands. The closed glass and dim light gave me the illusion of privacy. And I needed that. I needed it to fix my mistake and get back what I foolishly put up for grabs. The glowing countdown on my laptop pulsed like a heartbeat, like a frigging bomb. Thirty minutes to auction.Dante had texted earlier, attempting to sooth me with calm words. His instructions were straight and tactical—wait for the right moment, enter the bid fast, top every offer with an extra five million. Simple. He made it sound like a simple game. I prayed it would work.My gaze slid to the silver flash drive by my laptop. The metal caught the faint light, taunting me like an omen I wa
❄︎ Viktor ❄︎I watched her walk up the winding stairs, the hem of her sundress teasing me with every dainty step. I leaned back almost unconsciously and let my eyes follow the long length of her pretty legs until she disappeared. My lips curved. If I didn’t know what she was sneaking off to do, I’d have followed her and dragged her into the nearest wall to remind her who she belonged to.But I knew.My lovely wife was going upstairs to oversee the auction of her hotel, blissfully unaware that I was one of the players waiting to claim it.I moved to the minibar and poured two drinks. One for me, one for Adrian. The man was sunk deep into his laptop, the glow of the auction site reflected in his glasses.I dropped onto the sofa beside him. The ache behind my eyes pulsed harder, so I shut them, trying to swallow it down with a long sip of whiskey.“Does she know?” Adrian asked.“No.” I responded. “I’m interested in seeing how she acts, thinking I’m still stumbling around with memory l
❦ Rosalind ❦I woke up to the faintest sound of shutters moving. I slowly opened my eyes, and there he was.Viktor stood by the floor-length windows, the morning light casting a glow over his shoulders. His clothes looked the same as last night, but cleaner. Crisp shirt, pressed slacks. For a moment I wondered if he’d had them laundered by the hotel’s twenty-four-hour service or if he’d simply had an entire wardrobe brought in. With Viktor, either was possible.He turned at my movement, and our eyes locked.I shivered. I’d noticed it yesterday, but exhaustion had clouded my mind too much to make sense of it. It wasn’t that he looked different, his face was the same, but the blankness I had grown used to seeing was gone. Replaced with a steadier, surer sheen.As if he knew something I didn’t.I sat up slowly, pulling the sheets to my chest.“Good morning,” Viktor said, his voice rough and warm. He leisurely moved around the bed, and sat beside me.I angled my face away instinctivel
❦ Rosalind ❦ I was sinking into sleep, my head heavy, when the penthouse phone shattered the silence. The blare tore through the quiet, and I shot upright, my heart hammering against my ribs. For a split second, I thought they’d found me again. My hand slipped beneath the pillow, grabbing the small pistol I kept there.But it was only the phone.Still, my body shook as if the danger was real. The ringing cut off, leaving me stranded in the silence, trying to decided whether I had the strength to move to pick it up. I almost laid back down, when it blared again, shrill and loud. I groaned under my breath, dragging myself up, the pistol still in my hand.I picked it up but didn’t speak.Then, his voice. “Hello. Rosa.”My knees nearly gave out. My throat burned. The tears came suddenly because all I could think of was calling him and calling him and hearing nothing. Needing him, and being met with silence.I nearly slammed the phone down. But then he spoke, his tone rushed and raw
❄︎ Viktor ❄︎I was falling. That’s what it felt like. Falling through flashes of lives I both remembered and didn’t remember living. They flashed so fast I couldn’t breathe. Rosa’s figure glowed behind my eyes, her shape flickering like candlelight, her voice shaking: ‘What have you done, Viktor?’ My father’s face, severe and cold: ‘You must crush your enemies.’ My mother, standing on a high bridge, her skirts whipping in the wind. Then Rosa standing beside her, her white dress ruined with a bloodstain at the chest. Blood soaked white lace.I snapped awake with a jolt. My vision wavered, the whole room tilting. But I gripped the edge of the bed for balance, my fingers clawing the wood as I gritted my teeth through the wave of dizziness.The famiglia doctor was beside me , smallish but old, with sharp eyes that studied me intently. She pressed a glass of water into my hand without a word.My wrist burned as I tore the IV out, but I didn’t care. I drowned the water in one go, the c
❄︎ Viktor ❄︎I stepped out of my car, felt my boots crunch against the gravel, and my hand instinctively went to the gun tucked in my waistband. My men stood in a line at the front of the house, like stiff statues under the lamps. Their faces were grim, every one of them, like they were waiting for a funeral to start.My pulse picked up. I didn’t fucking know why. Not only did I not remember all of their faces, but I couldn’t recall if this kind of reception was normal. They looked like they’d swallowed glass.For a fleeting second, I wished Adrian was beside me, but I crushed the thought. I was the don. With or without my memories, that didn’t change anything.My bodyguards closed in on either side of me as I walked forward, heading toward the man who stood half a step ahead of the rest. Now that I was up close, I could see their control slipping. Clenched fists, twitching shoulders. They were trying hard not to shake. Curious.“Speak,” I ordered flatly.I flicked my eyes toward t