The lights in the living room were still on and so were the sounds from the TV. Sasha must be watching those ridiculous Italian-dubbed daily soaps again. He had told her to have dinner prepared by eight. Now it was eight-fifteen. He stepped into the living room and to his surprise, it wasn't Sasha sitting on the couch watching TV, it was Lily. Her big brown eyes were glued to the 4k TV, crouching forward with her chin in her palm. The dialogues spoken by the actors floated through the room. The TV screen unfolded the scene where a man and a woman embraced each other in the rain with some extra dramatic background music. Actress: Oh Emilio, I've always loved you! I lied about having a baby with your father.Ridiculous. Actor: Why would you lie to me, Carla?Actress: My mother-in-law threatened to kill me if I didn't leave this family. I know you would never let me go! So I lied...Actor(Hugging the actress tightly): I'm so sorry, darling. I should have protected you from that horri

[TRIGGER WARNING: The following chapter contains violence against women, murder, and mention of self-harm.] Heavy, drunk, and menacing footsteps closed inside the dimly lit bedroom. Mia Armando's head whipped to the door, where her brother stood at a distance. A bottle of half-full vodka in his hand, the rim of his dark eyes were red, and white powder peppered around his slightly hooked nose. "Antonio? Why are you here?" Mia's voice was meek, like a scared mouse stuck in a den of vipers.She was sitting beside their paralyzed father, holding him protectively. She was the one who took care of their father after he was shot. Little bitch. The doctor had informed him that there was a chance that their father might fully recover again. Antonio couldn't afford that to happen. If he did, then his father will surely hand over his birthright to his stupid brother Andrae. Andrae was a soft-hearted idiot, he would ruin this empire with his gullibility. He approached the bed taking slow and

"My father was a good man, he was honorable and charitable even to the ones who never deserved any of it. I'm thankful to everyone who is here to mourn and pay respect to my dearest Papa. May he rest in peace." Antonio's dark, somber-looking eyes dampened as he looked down at his father's black casket. He ended the speech in tears and thanked everyone who attended the funeral. Matteo Russo and a few other male members of the Russo family including his grandson Saint also attended the funeral to pay respect to Guieseppe. Antonio had invited them over for a very important discussion for both of their families. They all gathered inside Antonio's office and got seated on the black leather seats. Matteo was obviously not comfortable coming here after the short dispute they had at the nightclub. "I cannot thank you enough for attending. I thought you would hold a grudge and not come." The corner of Antonio's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Giuessppe was a good friend of mine. I could ne

Drip. Drip. Drip.Lily dropped some sweet-scented lavender oil into the warm bathwater. The lit, scented candles made the bathroom smell like vanilla and roses. She wanted to take a warm and cozy bath after a long day at the hospital.Naked as the day she was born, she stepped inside the tub and soon sunk all the way in. A breath of relaxation left her parted pink lips as she felt the lavender do its trick. Which was relaxing her sour muscles. She half-submerged herself into her delicious-smelling bath, except for wetting her hair, which was tied up into a messy bun. Her eyes closed slowly as she soaked in the peace and quiet.As she was about to fall into a quick nap inside the shower, the bathroom doors abruptly slid open. Her eyelids snapped up, alert. Heavy footsteps closed in and she traced a masculine shadow out of the pale blue curtains.Enzo?He opened the shower and water drizzled down upon his body. When she looked down at the white floor, she saw red running down the drain.

Lily's phone chimed for attention. She took out her phone from her pocket. A smile coasted her lips seeing Enzo's caller ID pop up on the screen. "I'm coming to pick you up," Enzo told her. She checked the time on her watch. It was almost seven p.m. "I'll be finished in like... fifteen minutes." She said."I'll wait," He said and cut the call. Lily pocketed the phone and smiled at her patient. "Congratulations, you're pregnant." Mrs. Miller and her husband looked at each other, their eyes wide and hopeful. "I can't believe this, we've been trying for years and... and..." Mrs. Miller was on the verge of a meltdown and so was her husband. "It's true? Diana is really pregnant?" He asked, still in disbelief. "Eight weeks. There might be some complications because of her age, but nothing critical. Just make sure she's well taken care of." She reassured the couple as she handed back the ultrasound report. Mrs. Miller was here to consult Lily after she suddenly fainted doing chores in