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My focus now is on my family business and making sure that the life I continue to live is as peaceful as possible. But I can’t shake the feeling that my encounter with Aria last night is far from over. I call it an instinct. And it’s hardly ever wrong.
There are still parts of my body that ache every time I move, just from the beatings I both gave and received in prison. Every morning when I look out the window and see the city in front of me, my breath is taken away by the view. There were so many mornings where all I saw were the gray walls and the occasional glimpse of a blue sky.
The attacks are what haunts me most. I watched people I became friends with get murdered over small miscommunications. I know what it feels like to have the blade of a homemade knife pierce through my skin and twist. I remember the sound of my skull as it cracked against the ground. There are things I’ve had to endure that have changed me forever, stopping me from ever living a truly normal life. And I experienced all of that because of a woman I hadn’t even touched.
But Aria has had all of me. I looked into her eyes, and something in me changed, and I took a chance on something a little more reckless. It was all for nothing. All of the pleasure I experienced last night now fills me with dread.
She knows where I live, and I’m certain she isn’t happy about this morning. It isn’t entirely impossible that her father will find out about me somehow. Thankfully, I never gave her my last name. On top of that, if she truly is in the habit of giving out false names, then I don’t think her father knows exactly what she gets up to when she’s out.
To be honest, I don’t really blame men for staying away from her once they find out her real name. I learned that lesson the hard way.
I don’t even get properly dressed once I'm out of the shower. I throw on the closest pair of sweatpants I can find and make myself comfortable on the couch. The danger of what I may have started, if Gabriele ever finds out about my night with his daughter, leaves me no choice but to prepare for a potential war. But if I must go down because of this, I refuse to go down without a fight. Thankfully, my right-hand man is only a phone call away. With the press of a button, I have him on the line.
“Mattia,” I greet sternly. “Get some men together. I need you to inspect our weapon stockpiles and make sure they’re in good shape. And I need two more men stationed outside of my place, text me some recommendations so I can ask them to do it personally.”
I can hear the hesitation in Mattia’s voice as he agrees, but he’s an excellent man and I know that he’ll do whatever I say. Even so, he asks me what’s got me concerned.
“I can’t explain now, but there could potentially be some trouble from the Morino family. I’d like to be prepared if they make an appearance,” I explain.
“The Morino family?” he says, with what I think is a reasonable amount of concern. “As in the don that put you in jail? What did you do?”
“I don’t want to get into it right now,” I say, massaging my temple with one hand. “Just make sure that reinforcements get deployed as soon as possible. We should probably have them upgrade the camera systems outside the building, too. I should have done that ages ago to begin with. I want to know if someone is watching.”
As always, Mattia agrees, and I hang up, leaving him to follow my orders. It has taken me eight years to build my empire back up from the ruin it fell into while I was locked up. Since then, I’ve gotten complacent; this is nothing compared to what it was like running it while incarcerated. I could manage a few things from my prison cell, but without me present, a lot of the operation really took a back seat. Now, however, my empire is even stronger than it was when I went in.
I refuse to let Gabriele ruin my life again. If Aria is going to say something to him, and if he is going to come after me, I will be ready. I refuse to give up my freedom again.
The best way to pass the time for now is to sleep, and with my pounding headache, it’s welcomed. But my rest is not sound. Every time I close my eyes and let myself drift off, I seehereyes staring back at me. I see the tilt of her neck and the whiteness of her knuckles as she grips the sheets. I feel the way her legs shuddered when she climaxed. My night with Aria tortures me, only tiring me out further. I try to move from the couch to the bed, but the sheets still smell like her. I pour myself a drink, and then a few more, and I think I’ve pushed her from my mind.
It’s nearly dark when I spot the little piece of lace sticking out from beneath my bed frame. I hadn’t realized it when I kicked her out, but it appears she wasn’t wearing any of her underwear. My chest sinks as the vision of her naked body consumes my mind once again.
How can an encounter so brief have such a lasting impact?
Chapter 3
Aria
Sixweekslater…
My feet can barely carry me fast enough as I sprint for the bathroom. For the fourth day in a row, I’m emptying my guts into the toilet. I keep telling myself that I must have simply caught a bug, or that I’m under some stress and it’s making me sick. The reality is that this feels nothing like a bug, and other than my father, I have very little stress in my life right now.
There are other symptoms that have me concerned. I feel like I can smelleverything. Yesterday I could even smell a guard’s cologne as he walked past the window. It was enough to make me run to the bathroom, I thought I would be sick.
My entire body feels unusual, and my breasts hurt at even the slightest touch. If even the softest breeze blows over them I want to yelp. Worst of all, my period is late.Verylate. Logically, I know what has happened, but I’d prefer to ignore it just a little longer.
Instead, I pick up my phone and call a friend for some advice.
“Jess, please tell me you remember that guy that I left the club with the last time we went dancing,” I say before she can even properly greet me.
“Hi Aria,” she says sarcastically. “Yes, I remember him. Did you two have fun?”
“Great fun!” I answer. “Until he learned my real name and kicked me out. I only had my dress on, my underwear was still on his bedroom floor.”
“You really need to have your name legally changed,” she laughed.
“I’ve thought about it, and my dad would flip,” I say, trying to laugh at the joke. “Then again, my days might be numbered anyway.”
“What do you mean?” I can hear the concern in her voice. She knows as well as I do that my father is not to be messed with. She’s seen him get mad before when he caught us after a night that I snuck out.
