CHAPTER 7
Ariana's POV
It was Friday today, which meant there were only two days left before the wedding — and I was dreading it. Two days until my life turned into a complete, utter mess, and I wasn’t prepared for it at all. No matter what might happen that day, I knew I didn’t have the strength to get through it.
“Cara, there is nothing to worry about. I can assure you that we will get through this.”
Right now, I was having a mini panic attack in Mom’s room, wondering how we were supposed to escape something that felt impossible.
This was my life now, and there was no way out.
If there had ever been a time to get away, it would’ve been the day I met Nicola — but it didn’t happen. I realized it too late.
“M-Mom... I don’t know...” I began to have second thoughts, shaking my head and looking away from her. I didn’t want to risk anything — certainly not Mom’s life.
“Tesoro... no, think about this. What are you going to do?” she asked.
I lifted my gaze to her, trying to figure out what she was implying — until she placed her hands gently on my flat stomach. My fists curled tightly, my nails digging into my palms. I had never really thought about my pregnancy the way a normal woman would — because I couldn’t.
“You need to break the news... at least to Nicola,” she finally said.
Her words left me frozen with fear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart dropped straight to my stomach.
My skin felt clammy under her steady gaze, as if she were waiting to see how I would respond.
The most terrifying thing imaginable was telling Nicola that I was carrying his child.
I furrowed my brows and stepped back from her, shaking my head. There was no way I could tell him. He would never understand.
“No, Mom. He wouldn’t understand, would he?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted softly, “but he has the right to know. After all, he is the father of this child — of your child.”
Her reminder made my chest ache. I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my jaw as tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t do this. I wanted to leave Nicola right now, but if I even tried, it would be impossible. Someone would die — me, Mom... someone.
“It’s okay, Ariana,” she said gently, “take your time. You don’t need to tell him just yet. No one will rush you into anything.”
“Thank you, Mom... for everything,” I smiled weakly. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Of course I’ll be here for you, always,” she said softly, brushing my cheek with her thumb. “You are my only daughter, and I love you with all my heart, tesoro.”
“I love you too."
***
THE DAYS WERE GOING by too fast; it was already the day before the wedding, and I was beginning to lose hope.
My mind was drowning in conflicting questions and thoughts — mostly about the fact that I was carrying a baby.
If something were to happen to me, the baby would suffer too.
I felt responsible for two lives now, and I couldn’t risk anything at all.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard footsteps approaching — heavy, deliberate — getting closer to my room. My eyes shot toward the door just as Nicola walked in.
“Are you okay, prekrasnyy?” he asked, beginning to undress himself.
I nodded, looking away for a moment before glancing back at him — only to freeze when I noticed a large, dark mark on his neck. My brows furrowed as I rose from the bed and approached him, keeping a careful distance.
“Nicola, what... what happened to your neck?” I asked softly.
He stopped in his tracks, his body tensing before he glanced over his shoulder at me. When he turned fully around, my eyes widened — the bruise was unmistakable. It looked raw and painful, and it alarmed me to see Nicola injured.
“I’m glad you asked, Ariana... moy milyy angel,” he whispered with a faint smile. Stepping closer, he placed both hands on my arms, his gaze filled with a deceptive softness. “It shows that you really care about me.”
He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.
I pulled away, studying him closely, determined to get an answer. “Please, tell me what happened,” I said, caressing his cheek. “Are we safe here? Are you safe here?” My voice trembled with unease.
In my heart, I was convinced Alessandro had done this.
No one else could have gotten close enough to Nicola — he was ruthless and deadly, and anyone who tried to cross him never lived to tell the tale.
Seeing him wounded like this was shocking, almost surreal.
But behind that shock was guilt — because if Nicola was hurt, it meant someone had died for it. I was sure of that.
“Of course we are, Ariana,” he said smoothly, his voice calm and coaxing. “But I was going to tell you something — well, it was supposed to be a surprise for our wedding, but I’ll tell you now.”
I frowned, studying him as he continued.
“It’s Christmas tomorrow — our wedding day. And after we get married, we won’t be coming back here, detka. We’ll be moving into our very own house. Away from everyone else. Away from this.”
My heart dropped to my stomach for what felt like the hundredth time today. A house with him? That wasn’t freedom — that was another prison. The walls might change, but I would still be trapped.
I blinked rapidly, my vision blurring with tears as the realization hit me — Nicola was going to rip me away from my family... from my mother.
He reached out, brushing his thumb across my cheek to wipe my tears. His touch pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts, but it shattered me all over again, because this was my reality.
“O net, detka, I promise to keep you safe and happy through everything. Don’t cry, Ariana.”
I clenched my jaw and scoffed quietly to myself. That was just another lie — one of the many Nicola had told me. Not once had he ever proven his promises true.
There was never going to be a day when he kept his word, because he was a liar. He was an abusive man — a rapist — and the cruelest truth of all was that I was the one who had to endure it.
Nicola's POV
"Nicola, ya mogu podtverdit', chto imenno on prisutstvoval v tot den'."
"I knew it!" I snarled, slamming my fists on the table as my anger exploded. My jaw clenched and I stared at the floor, fighting to keep control of the rage that threatened to swallow me whole. Alessandro should be dead — and D’Angelo had one job, one fucking job, that he didn’t even finish properly.
D’Angelo always underestimated me; that’s why I despised the motherfucker.
His mafia work was garbage because he couldn’t complete a job, and his orders were as feeble as his mind.
In a few days he’d watch his empire crumble to the floor, where it belonged — under my boots.
I’d take everything that belonged to him, then put the number of bullets I thought he deserved into his body and dump him in the water.
I’d waited for this day for years; knowing it was coming filled me with a savage thrill.
He was finally going to fuck off out of our lives.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
All heads snapped to the door. I clenched my fists as D’Angelo stood there, his face set. My skin prickled; my anger spiked. I wanted to kill him then and there. I forced myself not to react — not in front of him — though the urge burned. Grebanyy ublyudok.
“It’s been confirmed — it was Alessandro who was present at the store,” I said through clenched teeth. “He was busy blowing up the fucking building rather than being dead!”
D’Angelo’s jaw tightened; he glared at me with cold hatred. “I’m working on it, so there’s nothing for you to do.”
“Really? What about Vicenzo?” I shot back, furious. D’Angelo’s stare sharpened like a predator’s. I leaned on the table, folding my arms, watching him crumble under the pressure I applied. This was his weakness; I knew it and I used it.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I don’t know, D’Angelo. Why don’t you tell me?” I countered.
It was my turn to test him the way he always tested me — a game I hated.
D’Angelo tensed, and I watched every twitch on his face with the satisfaction of someone who’s been waiting a long time for a crack to appear in the wall.
I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until he stopped squirming.
“What? Are you telling me you don’t know who Vicenzo is?” I scoffed. “Come on, D’Angelo — do you think I’m stupid?” I stepped off the table and moved closer, provoking him, and his agitation only grew. “You see, I did a little research of my own and found that Vicenzo is actually the bet—”
D’Angelo cut me off with a hard, piercing glare. He took two long strides and, before I could react, grabbed my neck and tightened his grip. My jaw clenched; breathing became difficult. He wasn’t going to beat me like that — not without consequences.
“You need to watch what you’re saying, little boy. Have you forgotten who the boss is? Huh, your fucking superior?” he hissed, anger raw in his voice. I gasped for air as he squeezed.
“If you weren’t marrying my daughter, I would’ve finished you right here, right now,” he spat, finally releasing me and flaring his nostrils. “My past is none of your fucking business. If I wanted you to know my past, I’d have taught you.”
D’Angelo turned to leave, then paused. “Make sure to cover up the mark on your neck for your wedding—before your big day arrives,” he said, and walked out.
As his footsteps faded, I slammed my fists on the table and trembled with rage. He had underestimated me for too long. Enough was enough. I would end him in ways he could never imagine. I’d ruin everything that belonged to him and then finish him off — he deserved every kind of pain.
His wife would watch it. His daughter would watch it.
I was going to fucking kill him.