Wanted By The Mafia Lord; Attracted to the Bad Boy Nextdoor

/-Octavia-/My body curled on the floor, trembling as the tears streamed down my cheeks. Another kick met me in the stomach, and I rolled, wincing. He took the opening to assault my ribs, and I was screaming helplessly, begging him to stop. I didn't know how much I could take anymore. My heart was constricting tightly; even my lungs were gradually closing up, restricting my airflow. "Please stop... Please..." I sobbed, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. He wasn't going to stop. Nothing would make him stop until I was unconscious or possibly dead. The next blow sent blood gushing out of my mouth. "Pa..." I cried, "it hurts. It hurts."I spat out more blood, and his feet connected to my face; the kick had my blood vessels bursting open. At least that is what it felt like. "I am not your father!" He barked. "How many times do I have to warn you?"He slammed his foot against my chest, pressing down so hard as if the intention was to crush my heart. "Just how worthless can you be?!"A k

/-Octavia-/The coffee shop was the only thing of value I possessed. The light in my miserable, dark world.You'd think six years of stripping and doing his dirty work would have been enough to pay for my father's death, but he told me to my face that even if I worked for the next hundred years, I would only be able to pay half of it. An amount he had yet to mention to me. He gave me a little change here and there from the night's work, and I saved everything up to open this little, beautiful shop. When Axel found out about it, he laughed, of course, asking if I planned to clear my father's debt from the earnings of a coffee shop. The words hurt my feelings, but I was already used to him putting me down at every slight opportunity. I was already resigned to my fate of belonging to him forever. There was nothing I could do to change it, no matter how many men I slept with or how many bags of cocaine I transported. I opened the coffee shop with a bright smile on my face. This plac

OCTAVIA'S POVI caught myself staring into thin air more times than I can admit today. My heart still skips a beat anytime I remember how Nile said he would keep being a regular till I'm ready to accept him. Axel is not going to like this. I closed the coffee shop for the day and headed down the sidewalk to the one-room box-like apartment I rented close to the shop that I don't even get the luxury of sleeping in and took a quick shower. I stare at two teenage girls arguing in front of a dress shop on which color of dress is best to wear to prom as I headed to the casino, where I spend six out of seven nights of the week. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if my mom was still alive. "Would I have gone to college? "Would Philip still be alive and nice to me?". I shrugged off the thoughts and put a lock over my mind and put on my mask of coolness. Maybe if Axel would have a problem with me today. The ground floor was filled to the brim with dancing and grinding bodies, as to

NILE'S POV "I've sent your schedule for the day, including the file from the private investigator, to your email, sir." My personal assistant said as I walked past his table to my office. I opened the file, and I'm not surprised. Two weeks ago I hired a private investigator to get dirt on Axel; it has become obvious that he's not going to let Octavia go easily. Later in the evening, in the shadows of his dimly lit office, I watched him squirm. He thought he was untouchable and treated my girl like a toy, but now he was finally in my grasp. He had a reputation for playing dirty, but I knew his secrets ran deeper than anyone suspected. I leaned back in my chair, a smirk playing on my lips as I laid out my terms. “You think you can run this place without consequences? I know about you betraying and skimming cash from your former don, and I’ve got proof.” The fear in his eyes was palpable. I could almost taste the desperation. He had built this empire on a shaky foundation of illegal

OCTAVIA The weather today is perfect; it feels like Mother Nature's way of telling me good luck, a perfect day for our cafe opening. I can't help but feel excited. The door is already opened, meaning Rose is already here. I meet her in the kitchen, already making dough. "Just when did you wake up that you are here already?" I said as I hugged her over her apron. "Good morning, Octavia, I couldn't sleep for long, you know, first day jitters, but you are one to talk; you are here early too." "I know right, I couldn't sit still too." "I was thinking you would take your time, you know," she said, winking mischievously. I covered my blush with a laugh. "He left for work before I woke up." I was surprised when I woke up and didn't see Nile, but he left a note on the kitchen table that he had to go in for work early due to an emergency. I mean, I find it a bit strange, but then I can't say.It is finally time for the grand opening. As I stood behind the counter, I took a deep breath, t