♕—Delilah My heart was pounding in my chest as I thought about how long it's been since I left Lorenzo's place to run away and ended up here in the same cell where Nikolai Costello first threw me in; I'm sure Lorenzo awake now, no longer under the influence of the drug. I'm scared to even think about what he might do to me once they tell him. I sat in the corner with my arms wrapped around myself. I was still wearing his t-shirt. His scent was all over me, and my eyes burned with tears but I didn't cry. Only a few people have seen me cry—mama, Jack, and now Lorenzo. I hadn't cried in front of anyone else not even in front of my papa because for me crying meant I was at my weakest, where I was most vulnerable and not everyone in your life deserves to see you at your weakest. The door unlocked and my head snapped to it, my defenses going up. I glared at the door as it opened to reveal Nikolai Costello and the rest of his gang except for Lorenzo - the only one I wanted to see because

♕—Delilah His cold threat filled me with dread and then I heard the forlorn jangling of the metal chains, breaking my heart completely. I meekly raised my head from the bed and glanced back at him from over my shoulder. Lorenzo stood in front of the door, his raging eyes fixated on me and a long metal chain was in his hand, not it wasn't just an ordinary metal chain, it was an old ball and chain that is used for the prisoners. It had a heavy iron ball attached to the metal shackle for the ankle with a long chain. I turned on my back facing Lorenzo with wide eyes, I shook my head from side to side, "Lorenzo, please, you promised, you promised you wouldn't hurt me..." I whispered pathetically in an attempt to save myself but I knew there was no going back from this. A look of incredulity crossed his face, "Hurt you? Hurt you?! I should fucking kill you!" he sneered in a low but threatening voice, "I should wrap this fucking chain around your neck and strangle you right here on this b

♕—Delilah I stared at him, fear gripped me. I shook my head from side to side. My heart began to hammer against my chest. My hair was still brutally tangled between his fingers, his long finger still trailing up and down my neck. "How?" I whispered a lone tear streaming down my cheek, "How do you know about him?"With a mocking frown, Lorenzo tilted his head to the side, his hand covering my entire neck now, his fingers digging into its sides, "Do you take us for idiots? You lied to me about that too, didn't you, Delilah? You told me that your little stable boy was executed before your wedding ceremony but for the past week, he's the one you kept calling, he is the one who told you to take a bus to Brooklyn, I even know the name of the motel where he was supposed to pick you up." I furrowed my eyebrows, my eyes burning with unshed tears, "You said you won't listen—""I didn't!" he snapped coldly, "I never lie, I told you that, Delilah. Niko handed over your broken phone to Alessand

Lorenzo - Fourteen Years Old "How was school today?" Aurora asked as soon as Lorenzo stepped into their home. He gave her a big, bright smile, "It was perfect!" he exclaimed. Lorenzo revelled in the last two years of his life, which he deemed as the happiest ever. He was amazed at how wonderful life could be and actively took advantage of all its possibilities. He delighted in learning how to read and write and even enjoyed helping Aurora with chores around the house. In his free time, he was more than happy to babysit the children from the neighboring houses.He went straight to the kitchen where Aurora was baking cookies and started to help her out with the ingredients. They made small talk, and Lorenzo told her about everything new he learned. After getting him out of the orphanage, Aurora fought hard to adopt Lorenzo. She worked day and night to be the model adoptive parent. Aurora's parents had left her more than enough, so she opened up a small bakery, and her little busines

♕—Delilah I dreaded thinking about it... about what is going to become of me or what lies ahead of me, and what my future holds. Desperately trying to keep my tears at bay, I am left with a sinking emptiness as my only companion within this despondent world. Struggling to come to terms with the truth that the captor who holds me prisoner is the only person I have, is an unbearable reality.I watched as the men now patrolled the front gates, the hounds barking restlessly day and night. Sometimes I wonder what if I never tried to run away and stayed here with Lorenzo, but how could I fall for such a person? How could I learn to love my captor? The answer is, I can't... He is not an easy person to love...There was not even a sliver of compassion in him... It was all in my head to think he cared enough that he won't hurt me. He is a merciless beast and he doesn't have any emotion. I kept trying to erase from my memory the brutality he could unleash. How little regard he had for the