The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ROSALINDA

I wasn’t going to give up. I had to find a way to leave there as soon as possible. I kept looking through the windows at regular intervals, hoping the men there would leave so I could escape. The sky outside was already dark, and the rope I had tied together was still dangling, calling on me to descend with it. But the only thing stopping me from doing that were the fucking men out there.

My mind drifted to Antonio, and my already painful heart was broken even further at the thought of what he would be going through at the moment. He’d be so broken and frustrated looking for me. I just hoped he had found a clue and was on his way to come get me. I had to be found, or escape, for him and for my son.

I looked through the window again, expecting to see the men guarding it, but my eyes widened and a pang of hope filled my chest when I didn’t see them there.

Without hesitation, I climbed over it and began to descend very quickly. But just as I was about to alight, the men appeared, and I let out an exasperated sigh. I had not expected to get away without being noticed, but I just had to try my luck.

One of them grabbed me by my arm and began to drag me inside while I lazily followed.

“Fucking, get your hands off me!” I yelled.

“So you could run?” He looked at me with his dangerous eyes. “We are taking you to the boss.”

“Do you have any conscience at all?” I questioned with a yell. “Your boss is keeping a pregnant woman hostage, and you are helping him. You all are fucking disgusting!”

“Shut the fuck up!” He groaned, tightening his grip on my arm.

“I will only shut up after you let me go!” I retorted fearlessly.

“What is this?” A voice suddenly boomed, and I flicked my gaze to the source of the voice to see a man standing beside Liam, the rage burning within him evident.

Who was he?

“Father, it’s-” Liam trailed off and flicked his gaze at me, his expression darkening. “You little…” he sighed. “Couldn’t you just have fucking stayed put?”

Father? Diego Romano? Interesting.

“How could I stay put when you held me here against my will?” I retorted.

“Liam, what is wrong with you?” Diego bellowed, seemingly pissed. “Are you crazy?”

“I am not crazy.” He mumbled, shrugging. “You were not supposed to find out.”

“Explain what is happening. Now!” Diego demanded.

“I love her, and I can’t just sit back and watch another man take her.” He mumbled.

“You are crazy! That is why you kidnapped her. Antonio would fucking kill you for this. And the Russians…” Diego blew out an exasperated breath, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Fuck! Nikkolai Petrov would murder you for this!”

Liam drew his brow together. “How does this concern Nikkolai?”

“He made an alliance with Antonio.” He sighed.

“But they have an alliance with you too.” Liam pointed out.

“He would choose Antonio over me! He had already warned me not to bother Antonio anymore. Or else our deal would seize to stand, and you know that deal is what is keeping me and you alive. And now…this? Kidnapping her is war!” Diego’s frustration and anger were palpable in the way he ranted. I could tell that he was truly disappointed in his son.

“Then Nikkolai does not have to find out that she’s here.” He shrugged.

“Are you listening to yourself?!” Diego barked. He paused, then shook his head before sighing. “We have to return her before the situation worsens.”

“I am not returning her. She remains here!” Liam declared with a growl, earning him a resounding slap from his father.

“You are returning her. Now!” Diego raged. “You are crazy!”

I agreed. He was truly crazy.

Liam held his face, glaring at his father as he retorted. “She remains here!”

A commotion suddenly erupted outside, and what followed was the sound of gunshots being exchanged. Fear gripped me as I wondered what was happening.

Diego and Liam immediately rushed to the window and peeped through it to see what was happening.

“Damn it!” Diego exclaimed after a few seconds, stomping his foot hard on the floor.

He turned to look at his son, groaning. “See what you have caused. How do we deal with this now?”

“How.” Liam wondered out loud, confusion spreading across his face. “I made sure that no trail was left. How the fuck did he know that she was here?”

A smile curled on my lips as relief washed over me. I trusted my man.

“What do we do now? You brought this upon us?!” Diego yelled.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The sporadic gunshots continued, and before they could even have enough time to think, Antonio appeared before us, his white shirt stained with blood and pure darkness blazing beneath the depths of his eyes.

“I would kill you.” My man groaned, directing his gun at Diego and Liam as he approached us.

“Antonio, calm down.” Diego quickly said, bringing forth his hand cautiously.

“You kidnapped my woman, and you are telling me to fucking calm down? I’ll only calm down after I’ve burst your brains out!” Antonio’s tone matched the darkness in his countenance.

“She’s not your wife. She’s mine.” Liam retorted strongly.

“Shut up!” Diego bellowed at his son before turning to look at Antonio.

“Please. He made a mistake. Let’s settle this. I’ll make sure he never does something stupid again. I’ll make sure to punish him for this, Antonio, please-”

“Why are you pleading?” Liam cut him in. “I only took what I wanted. Moreover, he’s also taken someone from me before. Angelica Guiliani. I’m sure you remember her.”

Antonio drew his brows together. “What has Angelica got to do with this?”

“She was my girlfriend. I loved her. But suddenly, she left me, and I was really heartbroken. I tried to get her to come back to me, but she refused, only for me to find out that it was because of you. She chose to be with you. I was hurt, but do you know what pained me the most? The fact that you never loved her. Your only intention with her was to use her for your selfish needs. And after you were done with her, you dumped her like she was nothing!”

“Despite all she did to me, I was ready to take her back, but guess what? She still didn’t want me. She rejected me. That hurt like hell. And since then, I vowed to take my revenge on you.” Liam spurted, the hurt embedded in him seeping through every word.

He turned to look at me as he continued. “Us meeting at the store that day wasn’t a coincidence. I followed you so that I could talk to you. I saw the way he looked at you, and I decided to take the opportunity to take my revenge on him through you. But…” he took a deep breath. “After a few interactions with you, I fell in love with you. I hated that, but I am not letting you go like I did Angelica. I’ll make you mine, no matter what it takes.”

“I never even knew of your existence, and you tried to take revenge on me through her? You signed your death warrant the moment you approached her at the store that day.” Antonio spat with a deadly tone.

“I would make her mine!” Liam growled.

Antonio clocked his gun. “Are those your last words?”

“Antonio, please-” Diego started, but he didn’t allow him to finish his sentence before he shot Liam in the arm. Liam groaned in pain as he quickly held the injured arm, blood soiling his shirt.

Diego’s eyes widened in horror.

Antonio cocked his gun again. “The next one is going to your head.”

“I wouldn’t allow you to kill my only son.” Diego groaned as he pulled out his gun. In a split second, he pulled the trigger, shooting Antonio in the chest.

My eyes widened in sheer horror, my insides twisting and my body trembling as I rushed to Antonio, who had already collapsed on the floor.

“No. No. No. No. No.” I repeated, my voice barely audible as I kneeled next to him. The room closed in, and my oxygen supply diminished.

“Please don’t leave me.” I whispered. “Please. Please.”

As he looked at me, with fear saturating the depths of his eyes, he drew in a long, labored breath and poised his mouth to speak, but was unable to utter a word. After a fleeting moment, his eyes slowly closed, and in that instant, my entire world closed along with them.