บททั้งหมดของ Marked By Him: บทที่ 111 - บทที่ 120

ARYA’S POVHe paused for a moment before responding. “I'll find it. Is thirty minutes too long for you to wait?"I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. "Okay.""Arya?" His voice softened. "I'm so glad you called. I've been so worried."I hung up before I could respond, my heart racing.What was I doing? What if this was a mistake? No. I couldn't spiral. I needed help, and Marco had offered it before. Maybe he could get me a job, or loan me enough money to make rent until I found something stable.******The café was small and quiet, tucked away from the main streets. I ordered a tea I couldn't really afford and sat in the back corner, watching the door.Marco arrived exactly thirty minutes later. I almost didn't recognize him.The last time I'd seen him, he looked slightly disheveled. Now he looked... refined. His suit was expertly tailored, his hair styled perfectly, his shoes probably worth more than everything I owned.He looked like money. Like someone who belonged in my fathe

ARYA’S POVThree days after Marco gave me the black card, I found myself staring at it on my nightstand, untouched.I had used it once, to pay Mrs. Marta for the month's rent. The landlady had looked at the sleek black card with narrowed eyes but ran it through her ancient machine without comment. When the transaction went through, I felt both relieved and trapped.Since then, the card had sat there, a constant reminder that I was living off someone else's generosity. Cherry had noticed, of course."You know you can use it for food, right?" She said yesterday, watching me count out the spare money he had given me for the cheapest pasta at the market. "That's literally what he gave it to you for."I nodded. "I know.""But you're not going to." She retorted. I looked at her and smiled tightly. "Not unless I have to."She sighed but hadn't pushed. She understood, in her way. The need to maintain some shred of independence, even when accepting help.But independence required income. R

ARYA’S POVI chuckled. "Their mama is a mess.""Their mama is surviving." Cherry's expression turned serious. "Which is more than a lot of people can say. You left a bad situation, you're keeping yourself and the baby safe, you're looking for work too!""That's going nowhere." I set down the cereal bowl, my appetite gone. "I've been to every place in the city that's hiring. No one wants someone with no experience, and mysterious gaps in their employment history.""Then come work with me." Cherry had suggested this at least five times already. "The club is always looking for cleaners or you could bartend, you don't have to dance. The money's good, and most of the guys are harmless.""No." I said immediately, shaking my head. "I appreciate the offer, but I can't. I don't want my baby growing up around that kind of environment.She huffed. "It's not that bad.""Cherry." I took her hand. "I'm not judging you. You do what you need to do, and I respect that. But it's not for me. I just... I

ARYA’S POVWithin minutes, I had three beautiful white blouses laid out but as the associate rang them up, she frowned."I'm so sorry, but we're actually out of stock in the white button-downs in your size.” She actually looked apologetic. “These are display models, and they've already been purchased by another customer who's picking them up tomorrow."My eyes widened. "What? But I need them.” "However," she said quickly, seeing my distress, "we do have something that might work even better. A professional sheath dress that’s perfect for an office environment. Would you like to see it?"I glanced at my phone. Thirty-five minutes left. "Yes. Please and hurry."She hurried to a different section and returned with a white dress that had a modest neckline and hem that would fall just below the knee."Our dressing rooms are right over here. Try it on… I think it'll be perfect."In the dressing room, I pulled off my coffee-stained shirt with shaking hands and slipped the dress over my head

GIOVANNI’S POVI stared at the barrel of the gun pointed to my head and I froze, half-sitting, half-standing."Don't," he said, his voice deadly calm. "Don't you dare sit in my house like you're a welcomed guest."Enzo moved and the other guard too but I raised a hand, signaling them to stop."Where the hell is my daughter?" Robert's hand was steady, his finger on the trigger. “I heard from some very reliable source that you’re turning the entire city upside down to find her.”"Sir." Enzo started."I'm not talking to you." Robert's eyes never left mine. "I'm talking to the man who was supposed to protect her. So I'll ask one more time… where is Arya?"This was a mistake. Coming here was a terrible, terrible mistake.But I had already committed and with a gun pointed at my head, I didn't have many options."I don't know," I said honestly, slowly raising my hands to show I wasn't a threat. "That's why I'm here. I'm trying to find her.""Trying to find her?" Robert's laugh was bitter, da