Anyway Don't Be A Stranger Novels & Stories

Don Fiorenzo Ricci saved me and brought me home, raising me for seven years. During the day, he was refined and restrained, treating me the way a true father would. At night, he was endlessly inventive, making me his and his alone. I drowned myself in this twisted love, naively believing I was the only one for Fiorenzo. Then he turned around and married another woman, made her the Madre of the mafia family, and forced me to watch them together. I was done being a piece in their twisted games. The first time I ran, he nearly killed the maid who helped me. The second time I ran, he shot the gardener dead on the spot. The third time, and the last, I jumped into the ocean right in front of him. I did it all for freedom, even if it was only the freedom of my soul after death.

“Here's the deal. Do that lawyer stuff that you do. Try to send me to jail.” “What?” I blinked. “I'm giving you a year, but in my territory. I'm not sending you back to the U.S, so better get used to Italy like you once lived.” “Excuse-” “But you'll have everything. Every resource. Impress me, show me why you're a top lawyer and get me locked up. Prove to everyone that I killed your parents.” “I'll send you to jail, even if it's the last thing I do, Roman. You're trying to ruin my life again, but this time I won't let you. You're finished.” “Now, the condition.” My eyes widened. Now a condition? “If you don't succeed, you won't ever have an opinion. You'll be my plaything, my pet, my personal slave, my cum bucket. You'll be whatever I want you to be, do you understand?” I felt instant chills ripple through me. “So that's what you want? To control me after killing my parents?” “Yes, exactly that. I want to humiliate you so badly, so better impress me and send me to jail, Gianna. Better do it.” His voice was thick with warning. No matter how much I desire him, I'll make sure he rots in jail. …… We don't always get what we want, Gianna. He killed her parents and she managed to escape the house fire. Years later and this invincible Mafia don gets arrested in the United States, and she's the top lawyer in charge of his case? Hmm, I wonder what happened next.

“Did you think you could run from me, doll? Or is this just your way of testing me?" After being abandoned by her family, being sold by her godmother was the last thing Iris Paulman expected. Raised in a church in a small town, Iris’s world was one filled with faith and innocence. But when her godmother put her up for sale to clear her pending debt, Irish life takes a drastic turn. What happens when ruthless mafia lord Damon Vyon decides to buy her?

The second I opened my eyes, I knew. I was twenty-seven again. Back when I was the Leone heiress. The golden girl of Arezzo. Engaged to the Don of the Grimaldis—Marco Grimaldi. Handsome. Loaded. Time magazine's "No.1 Most Desirable Husband in the World." Even the royal family of Inglane had tried to marry a princess off to him. Everyone called me the luckiest woman alive. Yeah. Right. The first thing I did after coming back? I grabbed the marriage contract and walked straight to my father's affair daughter— the fiancée Marco had actually wanted all along. Bella Leone. I slid the contract across the table. "It's yours. You're marrying Marco." She just stared at me. Six years. That's how long I'd chased him. And now I was handing over the contract like it meant nothing. "Everyone thinks you're the better match anyway," I said. "So go ahead. Convince Dad to get the Grimaldis to switch the contract. You can have the Grimaldi Donna title." Not this time. I'm not becoming that suffocated, invisible Don's wife ever again.

Bound by debt and haunted by a past she can't speak of, Annamaria is offered as a bride to Ares de Luca Sinclair, the ruthless head of the Sicilian mafia. He needs her secret; she craves revenge. Ares believes Annamaria holds the key to stopping a Russian mob invasion, but he doesn't know she blames him for her family's massacre and has vowed to get her revenge on him. As their lives intertwine, the lines between enemy and lover blur. But their fragile bond is threatened by a vengeful half-brother hungry for Ares's power, a scorned woman determined to reclaim her place by his side, and a forbidden love that refuses to be denied. When the truth is finally revealed, Annamaria finds herself a pawn in a deadly game. Kidnapped and tortured, she's forced to confront the secrets she's desperately trying to protect. Ares, consumed by betrayal, unleashes his fury, unaware he's playing right into the hands of his enemies. Will their love survive the lies, the betrayals, and the ever-present threat of the mafia underworld? Or will their dangerous dance end in heartbreak and ruin?

Riley has spent her life surviving, working late nights, loving a man who never quite chooses her, and holding together a future that keeps slipping through her fingers. When a stranger breaks into her apartment with a message meant for her boyfriend, Riley learns a truth Matteo never told her. His father is alive and present in his life. Powerful. And done waiting. Lorenzo Romano is a man who commands loyalty, fear, and obedience. He offers protection, stability, and a place in a world Riley was never meant to enter. All he asks in return is trust and time. As Matteo struggles to prove himself and Riley finds herself drawn deeper into the Don’s household, lines begin to blur. In a world ruled by power, loyalty is currency and love may be the most dangerous bargain of all.

On Christmas night, I've roasted a whole turkey and paired it with the finest red wine. Then, I quietly wait for my boyfriend, Don Carlo Carlione from the Carlione family, to come home to me. When Carlo steps through the front door, he doesn't even spare me a glance. Instead, he throws his blood-stained coat onto the couch and starts undoing his cufflinks. "Something important is going on at the family HQ tonight, so I can't celebrate Christmas with you tonight." He sounds very casual, as though he's talking about the weather. I don't respond to him at all. Instead, I just slice my turkey quietly. Later on at 1:00 am, Carlo's ex-girlfriend, Lucia Caruso, uploads a social media post right on time. In the photo, she can be seen resting her head against Carlo's shoulder. The background shows a night sky filled with fireworks overcasting a grand bridge. The caption reads, "He told me he can always keep me company as long as I say the word." I don't hurl my phone in a fit of anger, nor do I call Carlo to demand for answers hysterically. Instead, I just leave a like on the post. 30 seconds later, Carlo calls me. For once, his voice is tinged with a hint of alarm. "This is just a misunderstanding! I'll definitely celebrate next Christmas with you!" I just shake my head with a soft sigh. "It's a shame that there's no next Christmas for us ever again."

Warning ️ Book Contains Explicit Content I faked my own death to escape a killer surgeon. Then I saved a mafia boss's brother and became his prisoner. I thought I was safe hiding in the shadows. Then Frank Costello dragged his dying brother into my clinic with a gun to my head: "Save him or die trying." Now I'm trapped in his world. Three months of service, he says. Treat his men, ask no questions, and he'll give me enough money to disappear forever. But Frank Costello doesn't play fair. He knows my secrets. He knows I'm running from a murderer who thinks I'm dead. And when that killer finds me again, Frank makes me an offer I can't refuse: Stay with him, let him protect me. The price? My freedom, my principles, my heart. I'm a healer. He's a killer. We're on opposite sides of every line that matters. But when the man I'm running from comes back for blood, Frank Costello might be the only thing standing between me and a bullet. The question isn't whether I'll fall for him. It's whether I'll survive long enough to regret it.

Charlotte Quan, a sheltered and captivating young woman, finds herself at the center of an extraordinary turn of events. As the last female heir of her esteemed family, she has always been protected and shielded from the outside world. However, everything changes when she is unexpectedly persuaded to embark on a business trip with the man who has captivated her heart since childhood. Her crush, a charismatic and enigmatic figure, holds the powerful position of a respected Don in the underworld. Though feared by many, he has always treated Charlotte with a mix of familiarity and tenderness, often referring to her as his "princess." Despite her upbringing in a sheltered environment, Charlotte has always been drawn to his intriguing world. As they venture together on the business trip, Charlotte's senses awaken to a world she has never dreamt of. Surrounded by luxury and danger, she begins to see glimpses of the man beyond the Don—a complex individual with layers of mystery.

A medida que se acercaba mi fecha de parto, salió a la luz una discrepancia enorme en las cuentas de armas de la familia Galante. Por esto el mando tomó una decisión rápida: me enviaron a mí, Sophia Vitale, la esposa del Don —esa mujer que todos decían que no tenía nada mejor que hacer—, para inspeccionar de manera personal el arsenal y verificar el inventario. Yo creí que era una revisión de rutina. Por lo que nunca imaginé que la ahijada de mi esposo, Mónica Leona, lo usaría como tapadera para volar todo el arsenal por los aires. La explosión fue ensordecedora. El fuego rasgó el cielo y el concreto se desplomó a mi alrededor, aplastándome, mientras un dolor abrasador me desgarraba el estómago. Sin embargo, contrario a lo esperable, no llamé a mi esposo por su línea privada de máxima prioridad, sino que, en cambio, envié una señal de auxilio a mi padre. En mi vida anterior, en el instante en que había ocurrido la explosión, yo había usado ese mismo canal prioritario para llamar a mi esposo. El bebé había sobrevivido y Mónica había muerto en la explosión. Mi esposo había dicho que no me culpaba, que Mónica era una extraña y que un heredero importaba más. No escatimó en gastos, contrató a especialistas obstétricos de élite para vigilarme día y noche, diciéndome que me mantuviera tranquila y esperara el parto. Luego, el día en que entré en labor, él mismo nos encerró a mí y al bebé dentro de un almacén abandonado, el cual empapó con gasolina y encendió, quemándonos vivos. —Si no hubieras retrasado todo a propósito, ella no habría muerto. ¿De verdad creíste que haciéndote la víctima ibas a engañarme? Ni lo sueñes —dijo—. ¿Tanto te gusta jugar con fuego? Bien. Entonces te dejaré vivir su desesperación en carne propia. Cuando volví a abrir los ojos, estaba de regreso en el arsenal, justo en el instante exacto antes de la explosión.