Stella Romilly's pov
I froze as I stared at him in shock. The gunshot vibrated within me and I felt my heartbeat quicken. I slowly turned my head to look at the wood he had just shot and gasped for air. I turned back to look at him bewildered. He averted his gaze from his target and moved to another.
“Go back to bed Stella.”
I shook slightly, unable to bring myself back to reality.
“Stella” he called but I was far from hearing him.
He sighed and held my hand, quietly leading me back to the room.
He set me down on the bed. I stared at him momentarily before lying on the bed. He draped a blanket over me and kissed my crown before leaving the room.
I didn't understand his actions and I didn't even ask where he was going when he left with a gun in his hand.
Why had he pointed the gun at me? Couldn't he have asked for me to move aside?
I almost had a heart attack.
I couldn't ask these questions because my eyes fluttered close.
I woke up this morning with a headache. I wasn't able to sleep properly last night and Antonio still hadn't come back to bed last night. I wanted to question him about the gun. I was still shaken and wondered deep down if he wanted to kill me last night but changed his mind.
I removed my night robe and went to freshen up. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me. Antonio would never do it. He loved me.
When I went downstairs, Anna was there preparing breakfast. I smelled her cinnamon pancakes, bacon, and eggs and my mouth watered. I directly entered the kitchen.
“Good morning Mrs,” she smiled. I nodded in response. I opened my mouth to compliment her cooking but she spoke first.
“Mr Dante wants to speak to you. He told me to tell you once you come downstairs. He's in the living room.”She bowed before resuming what she was doing.
A perplexed me walked slowly to the living room. Was he going to apologize for almost killing me? I clutched my blue dress that flowed past my legs. I caught sight of his face when I entered the room. His black hair. His cold blue eyes. And his black suit. But he wasn't alone. There was another woman who sat by him.
I couldn't recognize her. I hadn't seen her before. Her blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail and her features were prominent. High cheekbones. Sharp jawline. Deep brown eyes. She wore a short red dress with black heels and bright red lipstick. She was pretty.
“Antonio?”I called, drawing their attention. Antonio's expression was grim. I saw papers and a file on the table. What was this?
“Sit down Stella,” he said, gesturing to the black sofa across them.
I caught sight of the blonde eyeing me from head to toe with a certain gaze in her eyes.I sat down, waiting for Antonio to explain. Antonio removed another paper from a suitcase beside him and threw it on the table in front of me. I grabbed the piece of paper, eyes widening at the bold letters written on the paper.
DIVORCE AGREEMENT.
No. No.
My hands shivered as I stared back at him. His gaze held no emotions. My eyebrows furrowed.
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked brusquely.
“As you can see,” the blonde nodded at the paper. I raised my eyebrows angrily at her. Which position was she in to interfere like that?
“I wasn't asking you.”
The blonde rolled her eyes before focusing on her red nails.
“Antonio?”
His eyes flickered to mine
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked, waving the papers.
“You know what it is Stella.”
“No, I don't know” I blinked, staring at the divorce papers in fake confusion.
There was silence except for the occasional clink of the blonde's heels.
He stared at me.
“Okay, fine. Let me introduce you to Lisa Haven,” he said. I glanced at the woman sitting across me like she was nothing. But then it clicked. Lisa Haven. It was the woman Antonio talked to me about. His ex.
“Your ex?”I yelled, standing up and looking at her again.
He didn't answer.
“What is she doing here?”I thundered.
“She is here to stay.”
“Here to stay?”I yelled furiously.
“Yes, Stella. She is here to stay.” he said firmly.
“You can't bring her here. She can't even work as a housemaid!”
“She is here as my wife!” he yelled back, taking me aback. I fell back on the couch as he stood up and took the papers.
“You know what? I'm just making it easy for you. All you need to do is sign the papers. Everything else will be sorted” he said annoyingly.
I looked at him, appalled.
“You are just making it easy for me? Since when was divorce easy? And where the hell did you get that idea from?” Tears pricked my eyes but I refused to let it show.
Not when he did not even care to show an ounce of pity. And certainly not when this Lisa whatever her name was was staring at me and smirking.
I fixed my gaze on her and then back to Antonio.
“Is it because of her? I pointed my hands accusingly.
He didn't answer.
“Answer me, Antonio!”
“I love her!”
“No, you don't!”I spat, my tears betraying me.
This can't be happening.
I walked towards him, holding his strong arms with my hands.
“Antonio, if this is a joke. It is a very bad one. Stop” I begged, staring at him, praying that it was true. For him to suddenly smile and say ‘You are very easy to fool Stella’. And I will laugh and tell him never to repeat the same. Except that didn't happen.
He looked at me in the eye and said,
“If it's money you want, I can give you.”
I was horrified.
“Why the hell do you think I would want money?”I yelled, holding my head and closing my eyes. This can't be happening. Please.
“You think our marriage was based on money? You think our love was based on money? Tell me!” I hit his shoulders. He grabbed my hand tightly to stop me.
“Just sign the divorce papers!”
I shook my head, moving away from him.
“I'm not signing it. I will not sign it,” My head was pounding but I didn't care. I was walking out of the room when he shouted after me.
“If you don't sign the divorce papers..”
I stopped walking and turned.
“You will have to deal with Lisa and I living as a married couple!”
Stella Romilly's pov I didn't know how I ended up back in the living room. All I knew was that the divorce papers were in front of me. As well as Antonio and Lisa sitting across me, holding hands like new love birds. I hated the sight. I certainly didn't want to live with them acting like a married couple. “It's been four years Antonio. Four good years,” I muttered, tears flowing non-stop. I couldn't believe he was throwing all that away. What was I expecting getting married to a Mafia boss? I knew deep down that something bad was going to happen. But not this way. Not this manner. Not this marriage! Antonio and I had been married for four years. I needed someone to invest in my business so I made a deal with him. We fell in love. I fell in love. Then we married. We didn't want babies at that time so we were looking forward to spending time together. It was then that I found out he was one of the most powerful Mafia leaders in the world. It was a blow at firs
Stella Romilly's pov I was with my parents at an event one evening. It was my tenth birthday and my father forgot to buy me a present. As usual. He promised to make up for it by sending me to an event. But I realized soon enough that I wasn't the purpose. He quickly rushed to his rich friends to boast about the money he wasted on cars and houses. My mother and I sat in the corner as my father tried to fit in. When his friends brought their wives and children, I stood pulling my mom out to follow me. My mother was getting out when my father went to call a woman and her child to join them. I was confused and my mother held a shocked expression. The woman had bright wavy hair and rich clothing and her child who looked younger than me ran to her supposed father to hug him. I stared at my dress which was torn at the side because my dad couldn't care to get me a new one. “Mommy, why is Daddy bringing in another woman? Aren't we his wife and
Antonio Dante's pov"Good. Damn good ” my mother smiled as she set down her glass. “Good riddance. I didn't like her at all.” she twisted her face in disgust. “I like the new girl ”“Lisa” I corrected staring at her indifferently. “Lisa Haven”“Oh,” she took her glass and swirled the liquid with no care in the world. “She's got pretty eyes”I nodded. Lisa was the prettiest woman I had ever seen. From childhood, she had been. I loved her. I did. As I escorted my mother out of the house, she told me my father would be visiting soon. She had come mainly to express her satisfaction about my divorce. She never liked Stella and I didn't know why. I called Alfredo. He was my second.“Sir”“I'm coming to the office now, prepare him.”“Yes sir”I cut the call. “Lisa!”I called. Shortly after, I heard her light thumps on the floor. She was so delicate. So small. So pretty. “Baby”“I'm going out”“To where?”“To my office. I'll see you when I get home. Tell Anna to make dinner be
Stella Romilly's povLove hurts. It hurts so bad you can barely breathe. It was six in the evening when I was jotting down things in my notebook about my wrongdoings so far. I was on the high chair directly in front of the bar counter. I was in the bar across the street, pushing my mind back to what I did wrong in the past four years. I stared at the ones I wrote.These were the things I did in the past year. I couldn't remember what I did before that. Maybe it was the loud music. I should move, I thought. Except I couldn't. I was rooted to my chair unwilling to move. I was inert. There was no one to push me either. I raised my hand to request a drink. "Anything good!" I yelled at the bartender who nodded without bothering to look at me.Was I that unappealing? Maybe I stopped taking care of myself. Now I looked ugly. Lisa was prettier. She had captivating bright but deep brown eyes, it was confusing. Mine was just amber. An amber so light that it could pierce your soul. I heard that
Stella Romilly's povI didn't know how I got home. My hotel. I had no idea how I found the keys or how I ended up in my bed. It was morning. Afternoon really. I didn't know. I moved my hands on my bed blindly for my phone but it was nowhere to be found. My biggest mistake was opening my eyes because when I did, sunlight rushed through them. A sharp headache resounded in my head. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.I forced myself to get up from the bed. I rushed to the bathroom to check my face and my body. I stared at my reflection, a disorientated woman staring back. She had a huge bunch of messy brown hair. I had a long white drool that somehow got scattered on my face.My eyes fell in exhaustion and hungover. I touched my neck and then my collarbone. I was in one of my nightgowns. My heart raced. I tried to remember what happened last night but I couldn't. It only brought more pain to my poor head. I could only hope nothing happened. I would kill myself if a random dude took ad
Antonio Dante's povIt's been a whole month since I got divorced. Stella never came after the stunt she pulled. I was glad. She had to move as far away from me as possible. My eyes darted around the quiet park. I was glad I bought this park. It was perfect for my mind. I couldn't help but look to my side. It took some time for her body to shift into sight. Her amber eyes met mine sorrowfully.Her amber eyes shone like a luminous lamp. Bright. It was almost like a light in the darkness. It mostly shifted between hazel and amber. It was dark now. Dark as it could ever be. It was here to torture me. I glanced. And she was no longer staring at me. I shook my head as if I could get it off my mind. It didn't work. Her eyes haunted me. As I continually shot at the roundel in front of me, I heard another gunshot. I turned to look at her. It went straight to the centre of the board beside mine."Bullseye!" She exclaimed like she had done it for the first time. I sighed, putting my gun down and
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO,Antonio Dante's povI glanced ahead of me. We had two more miles to go. I looked ahead at Lisa. I watched as her blonde hair dangled in the bright white lights laced around the house. Her body was covered in dirt. I reached for her arm but she shook it away and ran faster."Gosh, Lisa! Wait for me!"She jogged even further. Her long blue sleeves clung to her skin. I summoned all my strength to meet up and pulled her back."Hey," she yelled after me. I scrambled in front of her almost falling over.I finished a mile and looked back. She was panting. Her dress had been soaked in sweat. "Slowpoke!" I shouted. I could see her roll her eyes. I rushed forward to complete the rest of the mile. I turned to shout at her to hurry up. To signal her that dinner will be ready soon. And that father didn't like us to be late. But not too far away, I could see her on the grass. She held her ankle tightly. Her face pumped up like she was trying hard not to cry. Her eyes were sque
Stella Romilly's povI sat in my office chair situated in my suite as I scrolled through houses to buy on the internet. I ended up not liking any of them. None of them looked like Antonio's. He had a very huge house. Almost like a hotel. The rooms were too many to count. There were long staircases and big balconies with the best of views.I didn't want his big mansion. I just wanted something similar to remind me of him. I can't let him go. I don't want to. My mind cast back to the time we married. The room he called ours. the feelings. The rush. The thrill. The excitement. His fingers on my skin. The butterflies he made me have. Oh, how his whispers made me melt.I took those thoughts off me, my body already reacting to his invisible touch. My fingers lightly tapped a website. It opened on a different tab and I scrolled, looking at many houses with similar styles.A thud on the table startled me. I looked up to see my assistant. She had a stern face as she placed the right amounts of