30. Elena
Chapter thirty
Elena
It’s been three weeks since the nightmare with the mayor. Three weeks of peace so unfamiliar that it felt like living on a new planet.
The mayor has been convicted for the murder of the prosecutor, defamation, and multiple counts of corruption. The man who impersonated Adriano to commit the murder has also been convicted.
Enzo is now fully recovered and is already intensifying his efforts to restore the Rossi Mafia.
And Adriano? He keeps surprising me with the man he’s becoming.
Change doesn’t happen in a day… hell, in three weeks, but his willingness to learn, unlearn…
and care for me has been nothing short of intentional.
It still feels a bit foreign—the stone-cold Adriano doting on me, but obviously, the series of past events have made him more receptive to his feelings.
He’s rapidly becoming a steady presence—my safe space. Somehow my world has stopped turning… in fact, now it’s spinning faster than ever.
The Elané Paris and London launches were a resounding success. The Limited Edition Serum Collection and the Bloomsbury Powder Palette and Setting Spray Duo sold out within three hours!
The servers crashed, the waitlist was longer than I’d anticipated, and the metrics?
The ones I always obsess over? Well, they were progressive curves that felt like a dream come true.
Four years of hard work and belief in myself have almost paid off.
Almost, because the goal still remains: a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Still, tears well in my eyes at the thought that the hustle which had begun four years ago with a loan from Bella and a resolve to be my own person, is now internationally recognized.
“So, let me get this straight.” Annora interrupts my thoughts, excitedly. The moment I filled her in on everything, and she realized she could finally come see me, she took the chance.
Now we’re in a spare room, in Enzo’s mansion, which I converted into my office. Puddles lies asleep below the window. Mood boards hang across the walls, layered with color palettes and magazine clippings.
“The one who threatened to tear you apart, the one you called a monster, is now fixing dates and giving you gifts?”
I smile, tracing the rim of my glass filled with orange juice. It’s been my craving the last few weeks. “Yup.”
Annora still couldn’t believe that Adriano was now a man who showed such sweet gestures.
“Feels like something I’d read in a romance book. That man has truly found redemption.”
My smile widens as I think of the previous night, when he had a nightmare about his mother’s death. I was at his place, and he’d woken up drenched in sweat, but instead of pushing me away, he pulled me closer. I’d soothed him until we both fell asleep.
After I finally told her about everything, Bella had said forgiveness happens gradually, and that’s how she’d forgiven me. That night, a part of me forgave Adriano.
“H-He’s just a complicated… damaged man.” Annora wiggles her brows.
“And you’re the beauty to his beast. A beast who, according to you, does justice to your little Miss Elena.” She gestures vaguely toward my crotch.
“I hope you guys are being careful anyway because you know, you have a resident in there,” she says, now pointing to my stomach.
When Annora first visited two weeks ago, I instantly knew I was in for laughs, weird talks, and well… a little scolding.
My hand instinctively lowers to my tummy. After checking in with the doctor, I found out I’m seven weeks pregnant. And I haven’t skipped my prenatals since.
Though I haven’t told Adriano about the baby yet. I just don’t want to drop the bomb when it looks like we’re finally progressing. Or maybe I want him to choose me for me, and not because I’m carrying his heir.
“We’re being careful.” My cheeks flush.
She stares at me for a while then gives a genuine smile. “You’re happy. Like really happy. And I’m happy that you’re happy.”
I don’t hold back my laughter. “Thank you.”
An hour later, she leaves, planning to scheme another epic outing to celebrate my recent success. We’ve been celebrating for three days now.
Everything feels perfect… except for the fact that when I’d asked about her mother’s condition, Annora had responded positively… but with a stutter and a look that negates her response. I wonder why she doesn’t want to let me in.
My phone buzzes as I take in a deep breath. It’s a text from Adriano.
You’ve been away for two days. Francesco will come to pick you up.
I instantly forget everything else. The corners of my lips lift in a smile. I’m still getting used to how curt and direct he is in his texts. But I know what he actually means: he misses me.
I don’t reply; instead, I head to my room and get ready.
Minutes later, the city blurs through my vision as Francesco drives me to Adriano’s.
My phone beeps again, and I think it’s Adriano, but it’s the same fake account commenting on my latest Instagram post about how I used my beauty and pussy to get internationally sold out.
Rolling my eyes, I sink deeper into the seat.
I know it’s that bitch Camila. I just wonder when she’ll give it a break.
Before my mood turns sour, I settle my mind on Adriano. I still don’t know where Enzo stands with this relationship between Adriano and me. But he’d said if it brings me happiness, then he wouldn’t stop me.
Plus, he feels indebted to Adriano for saving his life.
I arrive at the mansion, heading straight to his office. He’s not there, so I waltz into his room.
When I open the door, he’s standing beside the bed, water still dripping from his hair as he drags a tank top over his grey joggers.
My stomach flutters, and I instantly feel the heat spreading between my thighs when I take in the outline of his length.
“You didn’t reply to my text,” he rumbles. “I figured you were coming.”
Of course. Deciding to tease him, I lean into my hip and scratch my chin.
“Hmm. And what if I wasn’t?”
His eyes narrow dangerously, heat scorching everywhere his gaze lands. Within seconds, he closes the distance between us.
“Then I’d come to you… and you’d cum either way.” His breath is unstable against my neck. The innuendo isn’t lost on me.
A whimper is all the response I can muster as he leads me to the bed, sitting at the edge, then pulling me onto his lap.
“I’ve made dinner reservations for 7,” he says before latching onto my lips.
I moan into the kiss as his hand slips under my top, finding my breast. He flicks my nipple once and pulls back, staring at me with hooded eyes. I think he’s going to comment on my lack of a bra when he gently pulls me aside, goes into the walk-in closet, and returns with a large, blue box.
“Congratulations on your successful international launch once again.” His voice is soft, eyes holding onto mine with a feeling so intense that it sends shivers down my spine.
He’s given me several gifts since the successful launch four days ago, but I don’t comment on that and simply accept it.
Inside the box, there’s a beautiful turquoise dress with a matching Birkin and a matching pair of shoes.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my eyes suddenly watering. Ever since I told him blue is my favorite color, he’s been buying everything in blue.
He nods and repositions us again so that I’m sitting on his lap. This time, there’s a boner in his pants poking my ass.
“I missed you.”
My breath hitches as he pulls his thumb out to catch a stray tear.
“Me, too.” I lift the hem of his shirt and drag it over his head, itching to run my fingers down his abs when I see it. My breath stutters, then stops.
There, on the hard plane of his left pectoral, directly over his heart, is a tattoo. It’s still slightly scarred, but I can make out the outline of eyes, nose, and shaded contours of a face. It’s… it’s a tattoo of my face.
I recognize the picture. It was taken on the first night of our date. I throw my head back in a laugh, my eyes crinkled with joy. Tears well up in my eyes again as I reach out to trace the outline. “Adriano… when… why?”
He says nothing for the longest time, then captures my wandering hand, pressing my palm flat over his heart.
“That investor, Jonathan. The way he looked at you… it was a reminder that to the world you’re this beautiful, coveted thing.
” His voice is a low rasp. “But to me… you’re everything.
You are the one that melted the ice around this heart.
The one who taught this heart how to love again, no matter how much it tried to fight it.
You are the new reason why this heart beats. ”
Hearing him express his emotions, so raw, so uninhibited, makes me practically sob now. I realize how much he has indeed changed. How much both of us have changed with everything coming to light now.
A sudden laugh mixes in between all the sobbing as I remember the investor lunch he just mentioned. Adriano had driven me to lunch with Jonathan once. I’m surprised he hung around to even notice Jonathan.
“It was an investor’s lunch. People look at people, Adriano. And you’ve only seen him once.” I shake my head, laughing, but he’s dead serious.
“I have seen him more than once.”
I freeze, my eyes widening. “What did you do?”
He doesn’t respond; instead, he releases a deep breath, pressing my hand tighter to his chest now.
“This is where you live, Elena. I just made it permanent. A permanent reminder carved on my flesh. And so when the moment comes for me to beat the shit out of Jonathan, he will know in every fucking way that you’re mine. He and the whole damn world.”
His words should have triggered me… just like they used to. They should feel stifling… but there’s this odd sense of calm it ignites in me—that I have someone who would go to any length for me.
And it’s something I’ve come to realize. He isn’t trying to take my freedom, he’s simply helping me protect it… in his own, twisted way.
“I am yours,” my voice holds conviction as I bring my other hand to his jaw.
“Mine,” he growls, slamming his lips against mine. The kiss is a heated claim that soon transforms into something feral as he lays me on the bed and enters me. Twenty minutes and two orgasms later, we’re both breathless on the bed.
As we lie together, tangled in the passion of our embrace, something pinches my chest. Somehow, I can no longer keep the secret.
“Adriano.” I turn to him, and his brow furrows when a tear rolls down my cheek. His arm around me tenses.
“Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “No. It’s just… there’s another part of me that’s yours, too. That’s ours.”
Slowly, I lower his hand to my belly, and he freezes, eyes growing wide.
“Elena... fuck. Are you?” His eyes snap to my belly.
I nod, cautiously assessing his reaction. “Yes.”
A rough, broken gasp escapes him. There’s silence for a while, then he pulls me into him, arms trembling around me with a gentleness I didn’t know he had in him.
“A family. Our family!” He pulls back to look at my face. “I thought I wasn’t worthy of that but… fuck, Elena, you’re challenging me to prove myself wrong. Thank you. Thank you for making my impossible possible.”
I melt into his embrace, my heart hammering… because for the first time, I’m sure that our broken pieces have finally fused into something entirely new.