The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ROSALINDA.

Sofia hasn’t said anything to me about what she saw yesterday, although she had been distant, and I didn’t want to be the one to initiate the conversation. I already felt guilty about being attracted to Antonio, and talking about my attraction for him with my sister-his soon-to-be wife-would be incredibly embarrassing.

Even though the wedding turned out to be disastrous, both parties hadn’t lost interest due to the financial gains tied to the alliance. Business priorities overweighed their anger over the event’s outcome.

Glancing at my wristwatch, I realised that it was almost time for Papà’s meeting with Antonio and Lorenzo. I was outside, jogging around the mansion, and I needed to get inside before they arrived. An encounter with either Antonio or Lorenzo was the last thing I wanted.

Blowing out a sharp breath, I started jogging towards the entrance, but luck wasn’t on my side as a car pulled into the driveway just as I approached the entrance. I tried to ignore it and continued making my way to the front door, but before I could make my escape, an annoying voice called my name.

Lorenzo.

Pretending I didn’t hear him; I continued walking without halting or turning to look at him, but he called my name again. This time, he was louder, and it was impossible to deny hearing him.

Plastering a fake smile on my face, I turned to look at him. “Hi, Lorenzo.”

“So, you are into fitness.” He commented as he approached me.

“Yes. Welcome.” I said as I turned around and continued walking.

“Why do I feel like you don’t like me?” His question caused me to stop in my tracks, and I turned to look at him.

Of course, I didn’t like him.

“Why do you think so?” I asked.

He took his hand to his temple and rubbed it gently. “Because you are trying to avoid me.”

“I am not avoiding you.” I responded, wiping sweat from my forehead. “I am just sweaty, and I need to go and freshen up.”

“Is that it?” He asked suspiciously, and I nodded.

He flicked his gaze at my earrings. “Nice earrings.”

Before I could even reply, he inched closer to me and touched my earring, causing me to recoil.

Is that how he flirts with women?

A smug smile touched his lips. “I was just playing with it. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

Who did he think he was?

“I am not afraid of you.” I stated strongly, and that earned a small frown from him. Although that expression faded almost immediately and was replaced by a smirk,

“Good to know.” He said, and from his tone, I knew he didn’t mean it.

Mafia bosses craved one thing-to instill fear in people, and I seemed to have disappointed him.

“But I like your earrings, though. Where did you get them from?” He continued as he took his hand to my earring once again, and I literally had to hold my breath at his close proximity. I didn’t want to breathe the same air as him.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway caught our attention, and we both turned to look at the car.

The car came to a stop, and Antonio stepped out of it. My gaze caught his, and my heart skipped a beat just like it always did. My eyes remained glued to his as he approached us, and with every step he took, my heart rate increased.

When he came to stop in front of us, his attention was focused on only Lorenzo. He didn’t even spare me a glance.

“Don Antonio,” Lorenzo regarded him, extending his hand for a handshake.

Antonio accepted his hand. “Good morning.”

“Shall we?” Lorenzo asked after they withdrew their hands, and Antonio gave him a firm nod.

I waited for him to flick his gaze at me and acknowledge my presence, but that never happened as they both made their way to the front door.

I turned around to trail them with my gaze, and as I looked towards the front door, I saw Sofia standing in the door frame.

When they got to the door, Antonio stopped before Sofia, took her hand, and kissed it. I wasn’t supposed to be hurt by that gesture, but a wave of pain washed over me, and I quickly averted my gaze to stop myself from seeing more.

After they left, Sofia was still standing in front of the front door, her gaze fixed on me. I felt really awkward being around her, and I hated that our relationship had come to that.

“Good morning, Sofia.” I muttered, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Rosalinda. Good morning.” A small smile spread on her lips, and I could tell that it was fake. Jesus, I hated this. “Did you see my AirPods?”

“I saw Matteo using pink AirPods earlier; they could be yours.”

“That-” She didn’t complete her sentence before turning around and stomping inside the mansion.

I made my way to my room and went straight to the mirror to stare at myself, making sure that I wasn’t invisible.

“I am not a ghost.” I asserted myself as I turned around and walked away from the mirror. Why the hell did he choose to ignore me? And knowing fully well how I felt about him, he kissed Sofia’s hand right in front of me, making my chest explode with jealousy.

Something I wasn’t supposed to feel.

My mind was still fuzzy with a mixture of anger, jealousy, and hurt as I made my way to the bathroom to freshen up, hoping that If I poured water over my body, it would help calm me down, but it didn’t. A lot of thoughts were still colliding in my head as I made my way out of the bathroom-thoughts about Antonio.

”I didn’t know you were dumb.” I suddenly heard his voice say, and I veered back with a start. “I expected better from you. Why didn’t you take cover yesterday? Did you want to get yourself killed?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I yelled when I finally recovered from the shock.

“I came to see you.” He replied nonchalantly, as if being in my room was a normal occurrence.

“You came to see me?” I scoffed in disbelief. “I thought I was invisible to you.”

He chuckled softly. “Even if everyone else was invisible, Rosa, I’d see. If I can’t see you, I’ll feel your presence because it’s intoxicating.”

Heat rushed to the pit of my stomach at his words, and I felt my cheeks getting hot.

“You shouldn’t be here.” I said shyly.

He raised a brow. “Why?”

“It’s my room, and I’m half naked.” I said as I stared down at the towel wrapped around my body.

His gaze travelled over my body. “I could see more skin that night than I can now.”

“It doesn’t matter. Leave my room.” I stated firmly. “Before you call me an hypocrite or other derogatory words.”

Ignoring my words, he continued. “You allow other men to touch you. Lorenzo, to be precise.”

He probably misinterpreted what he saw earlier when Lorenzo touched my earring. But I wasn’t going to explain sh*t to him.

“Whatever you saw is none of your business.” I retorted.

“It is my business.” He groaned as he started approaching me, and I recoiled.

“Stop there. Don’t come close to me.” I breathed out. I didn’t know if I would be able to resist his charm if he was in close proximity to me.

He didn’t listen to me as he continued walking towards me until he stopped right in front of me.

“Leave my room!” I reiterated, but he didn’t seem like he was going to listen, as he took his hand to my face and cupped my jaw with his palm, compelling me to meet his eyes.

Despite calling me a hypocrite the other night, despite the fact that just a few minutes ago, I almost exploded with hurt, anger, and jealousy elicited by him, and despite the fact that I had promised myself to get rid of my attraction for him and not fuel it, I was still drawn to him. Right now, as I stared intently into his eyes, there was nothing I wanted more than to kiss him dangerously and have him fuck me.

“Why didn’t Roberto give you to me, Rosa? Why?!” He groaned, cutting through the torrent of dirty thoughts that were running through my mind.

Before I could reply, he continued. “I would have fucked your brains out. You drive me crazy. You make me want you. All of you. You are all I fantasise about.”

My already rapid heartbeat accelerated at his confession. I knew he was attracted to me, but he had never spelled it out, and every single thing he said was how I also felt about him. I was insanely attracted to him.

He began to caress my cheek with his thumb, and I drew in a sharp breath. “Antonio, please stop.”

Being this close to him and hearing those words from him weakened my resistance, and I needed him to leave before the last shred of control in me became severed.

“Do you want me?” He suddenly asked, and I swallowed against my dry throat. Of course, I wanted him.

“Do you want me?” He repeated when he didn’t get a response from me.

“And what would you do with that information?” I asked.

“Stop countering my question with another. Do you want me?” He asked again, with a firmer voice.

Every single thing about him turned me on, and I wanted him more than he could ever imagine. Before I could even stop myself, I blurted out. “Yes. I want you. You are all I could think about day and night. I don’t know how I managed to-”

I trailed off when he suddenly unhooked my earrings from both ears.

“What?” I narrowed my eyes in confusion.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“These earrings-do they have significant importance?” He asked, staring at them in his hand.

“No, I bought them cheaply somewhere.” I replied, still confused.

“Good.” He tossed them on the floor and pressed his heels against them, crushing them.

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at the remains of the earrings. “What? Why?”

“Next time, don’t allow another man to touch anything on your body. Unless you don’t value it.” He muttered in a low tone.

I was too stunned to speak as I gaped at him, blinking repeatedly.

“I should get going before my absence gets suspicious.” He continued before turning around and dashing out of my room, leaving me stunned and breathless.

He fucking destroyed my earring because Lorenzo touched it. His action was infuriating but strangely hot. He was making it really hard for me to get over him, and I hated him for that.