The mattress dips as someone sits beside me. The second we arrived, I forbade anyone from coming to my room because I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. That was hours ago. I've been awake for a little over ten minutes and scrolling through the internet, looking for news about Dante. He's not on social media so this is the only way I can find out what he's been up to. For the past fifteen months, I forbade myself from looking him up in case I missed him too much and decided to abandon Mama. The moment we left, she threw herself into work. Spending hours showing me the ropes and training me to take over her position. She pretended that everything was fine. But there were times I caught her crying when she thought I was asleep. It made me realize that I'd made the right decision by choosing her. I couldn't let myself think about Dante. Now? I want to know everything he's been up to. Outside the Mafioso, he's known as a businessman who buys and invests in profitable companies. He has a

Fuck! Did I kiss him? My memory is fuzzy but I remember bumping into him and then getting wasted with Elena. Was Andrei there or is it my imagination? I don't remember how I got home. So where did the kiss come from? I hope it only happened in my head. There's no way I let Dante kiss me while he is still with his mistress. It didn't happen. Judging by the way her arm was curled around his, she's the possessive type that doesn't let her man out of her sight. Especially if she knows who I am. Was. His ex-wife. Because there's no way in hell I'm accepting or forgiving him for fucking someone else. God, at the age of twenty and I already have an ex-husband. What an accomplishment. It makes me wonder how many I'll have by the time I'm forty. My phone dings with a message and I pick it up. I texted Elena when I woke up and she's only replying to me now. I groan when I see her response. "What's wrong?" Mama asks craning her neck to take a peek at my phone. I lock and place it upside down on

She looks stunned but I don't know whether it's from finding out Luisa is my therapist or that I was so fucked up I needed one. It hadn't been easy accepting her help. I was against the idea because of some misconceptions I had about masculinity. That sitting down and telling someone how I was struggling made me look weak. While I don't care about what people think of me, I was raised to be a leader and leaders handled their own shit. They didn't find some quack, especially a woman, and expect them to help them sort through their feelings. The idea of even bumping into one on the street was repulsive. But Luisa was sneaky. She didn't approach me as a doctor but as the daughter of Dr. Mendes. I was surprised he had a family and I thought maybe he was training her to take over from him. I let my guard down, talked to her, and all too soon, I'd told her things I'd never told anyone. She asked me to take her to dinner and consider it her payment. That way, things wouldn't be too formal b

"Can you tell me what happened during the time you were locked up? Rico and Valerio have hinted at some things but they wouldn't explain anything" I won't either. She's too pure to be tainted by that shit. Some of it is buried in the deepest, darkest part of my mind. Never to see the light of day again. No one will ever find out. But I know what it means to tell her these things. It's a sign of trust. She needs to know that I love and trust her enough to open up. So I tell her bits and pieces. Things that might be dark to her but are only the tip of the iceberg for me. "I mostly remember living in the dark. He blocked all the windows and would only turn the lights on when he came down. He'd torture and kill someone in front of me then leave them there for days. The first time was the hardest. I was so scared and freaked out about staying in the same room with a dead body. The darkness made it creepier. I'd imagine the guy getting up and trying to kill me for not helping him. It was

"What if she changes her mind and doesn't come?" Before I can reply, Soraya reaches out and smacks Sal then goes back to fussing with my suit "Don't jinx my daughter-in-law. She's very excited to get married" "But they're already married" "Find him a wife. Someone who will help him settle down" By that, she means someone who will keep him in line. I know that because I can see the twinkle in her eyes. Like Emiliana, she's easy to read. All I have to do is take one look at her and I'll know what she's thinking. I'm not nervous. Actually, I'm confident that Emiliana wouldn't even think of not showing up. She's looking forward to our two-month-long honeymoon. Spending that time with just her sounds like a dream. I'm probably more excited than her. I take Soraya's hands to stop her from fidgeting "It's fine. Everything will be fine" "I... I'll go see if..." A split second. That's all I have. From the corner of my eye, I see movement, someone raising a hand. I manage to push Sora