Synopsis Being my wife has its advantages." "Like what?" "Endless money, countless luxury houses." The great manitou eagerly offers her an unlimited black card and a large set of keys. "I'm not interested!" "What about sex?" he asks, starting to unbutton his shirt.
Veronica's pov:
"We're going to Venezuela, " said my father, hanging up the phone.
"What happened?" my older brother, Mario asked. The wrinkles on his forehead are clearly visible.
" Leonardo Garcia is dead."He said, pinching the edge of his nose. "Eighteen of his men died too."
I exchanged a look with my mother. She always looks so scared and so worried. I knew what they were advancing, that the war between the Mafia and the Camorra was intensifying, but I would never have thought that the Capo of the Venezuela outfit would die. I didn't expect to hear these words. Leonardo held a lot of power in the mafia.He sounded like an unstoppable force and was highly respected in the mafia.He seemed invincible.This shows how naive I am. My two older brothers are Made Men. Mario is my father's heir, he will be the next Capo of the Santa Barbara mafia.I was brought into this world,into this life.My dad really put in effort to keep me away from the darker side of his life.
While it might seem like living in a mansion,having a ton of money,and being part of a powerful family is perfect,it's not always the case.Especially when you are the daughter of a Capo.The luxury and power come with a price, and often, that price is freedom. I just have one friend who also shares this type of life. I graduated last year from a private Catholic high school for girls.In line with tradition,my virtue is something that must be fiercely guarded.Without an escort, no man or boy is permitted to come near me.
Father has promised me to move away to get the best political advantage.That's what I heard him say once.
I am happy, at nineteen, that I have not yet been promised to anyone. Father told me about the possibility of letting me go to university. That's all I've always wanted, to graduate in art history and maybe work one day in a museum. The Metropolitan would be the position I dream of the most.
"Go ahead, pack your bags!" my father told us.
Mario, Manuel and I go upstairs, take the corridor and go to our respective rooms to pack our bags. I grab my black dress, modest unlike the cocktail dresses I wear for social evenings. I have always loved Venezuela, I only went there a handful of times when Father took us there for meetings or business. Although I was not allowed to leave the penthouse we own there, we have a breathtaking view. I dream of walking the streets and going to museums where I will meet my great love. We will both admire a painting of...
"Prepare beautiful dresses",said my mother from the doorstep. It looks like she cried, her eyes injected with sorrow. My father had to yell at her again.
"I took my black dress. How long do we stay so that I know how many clothes I have to take?"
"I'm not talking about your black dress, bring some of your most beautiful dresses."
"Why? We're going to a funeral." I frowned.
"We will attend social meetings there..."
"Don't ask your mother questions. Bring the red dress and another",said my father with a distracted look.
"Be ready in twenty minutes, we're flying tonight." He disappears in the hallway and in my brother's room, on the other side of the hallway.
On our private plane, I sit next to Manuel while Mario talks about business with Father and Mother sleeps. Manuel looks nervous, he shakes his leg and fiddles his thumbs. Manuel has always been the most handsome brother, the girls in my class have always been excited in front of him. Even if it was a school reserved for girls, they had more freedom than me. The girls in my class went to parties and that's where they saw Manuel. Unfortunately, I have heard a lot of crunchy stories that a sister should not hear about her brother.
Manuel, like me, has golden blond hair and blue eyes. His tanned skin, white teeth and large size make all girls salivate. Mario on the other hand, with his brown hair and brown eyes, is handsome, but his cold features frighten everyone. He became a man at thirteen, Manuel a man at fifteen.
What a disappointment for my father, but all he could say was to thank God that Manuel was not his heir. He is the spare part, and Manuel has always been angry to be considered as such.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
"Do you know what the death of Leonardo and his best men means?"
I shake my head.
"This means that Venezuela is weak at the moment. They will need soldiers because the Belgians will surely strike again. After the funeral, some of Father's men will stay to help them fight."
"And you, you stay?" I'm looking for his eyes that are now looking out the window of the plane. His jaw is tightening.
"Yes. I stay to fight."
Manuel doesn't desire this part,I can see it in his eyes.He will pretend to be the cold murderer that father expects from him,but just like me,yearning for a different life outside of this crime-filled existence.
I cross my arms on my chest while rubbing my arms because of the cold I feel in the air conditioning of the plane. My breasts are not small, but they are not big either, I have always liked their average appearance. The only thing that bothers me is my silhouette. I feel like a stick, I have no hips, no buttocks, not to mention my small size.Just over a meter and a half. I make up for this with my thick and wavy blond hair that cascades on my shoulders, the length stopping near my navel. I've always been proud of my eyes, it's my secret weapon. Bright blue eyes with long dark lashes that look even longer with mascara. Freckles are sometimes scattered on my nose and cheeks. Though I've never really liked them,Gia, my best friend, always raved about how much she adored them.She believed it enhanced my cuteness,but being cute isn't what am striving for.I crave to be called sexy beautiful,sexy and incredible.I'm at the age of nineteen,I don't need to be labeled cute like a youngster. I want more than anything that I am not taken for a young girl, I am a woman.
Monique Carolll was known for her serious and reserved nature until she fell in love...with someone who didn't reciprocate her feelings. For love, she left everything behind to marry the man she thought was the love of her life. As a housewife, she did everything to take care of him for three years. But in the end, she realized that for him, everything she did,did not even live up to her first love. Discouraged, she finally resolutely applied for divorce: “Farewell, I no longer pretend to be humble and poor!” At that time, a shocking news circulated online: “A certain billionaire is suspected of having divorced?”
Belle is an ordinary teenager, she has few friends, she goes to school (and she hates it), she has three triplet brothers who would do anything to protect their little sister. She is just like the others with one detail: everyone around her is werewolves, vampires, angels, giants, dragons, witches... In any case, they are not beings of this world. She will have to, with her partner and friends, recruit allies for the coming war, yet, in addition to everything, she discovers something that will change her whole life. Belle's fate is written in the red moon.
Werewolves?! Were they real? Hope not because I am leaving!” Maddy Watson is projected into a world she did not suspect existed. She leaves her home in Florida and moves to Texas with her grandmother, but things are not always what they seem to be. Add two witty best friends and a sexy alpha male to the mix and watch how it all goes. Maddy is human but she immediately feels connected to Jake! She doesn't understand why, but she knows that something doesn't fit.
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
She was a world-renowned divine doctor, the CEO of a publicly traded company, the most formidable female mercenary, and a top-tier tech genius. Marissa, a titan with a plethora of secret identities, had hidden her true stature to marry a seemingly impoverished young man. However, on the eve of their wedding, her fiance, who was actually the lost heir to a wealthy dynasty, called off the engagement and subjected her to degradation and mockery. Upon the revelation of her concealed identities, her ex-fiance was left stunned and desperately pleaded for her forgiveness. Standing protectively before Marissa, an incredibly influential and fearsome magnate declared, "This is my wife. Who would dare try to claim her?"
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Elisa watched as the most important people in her life showered the evil imposter-The fake heiress, with love. Elisa, the lost daughter of one of the most wealthiest family was found 18 years later and was brought back to her rightful home. However, someone had already taken her place. A fake heiress, the pampered little princess. Her coy acting and innocent façade made Elisa's real mother love her more than Elisa, her real daughter. That made Elisa, though, the true daughter end up as an adopted child. "Elisa, could you try not to appear in front of her too much as it could trigger her insecurities." Her parents had told her because of the fake heiress. "Elisa, You've taken everything away from her. Why can't you give her a little more?" Her fiancé had ordered her. Because of an unfortunate accident plotted by Isabelle-The fake heiress, Elisa was sent to prison and her family cut ties with her without a second thought. Four years, after much torture which led to her being crippled and blind on one eye, she was released, but got hit by a truck. While laying on the pool of her blood, she wanted to question, Why? Why had they all treated her so cruelly, while they love Isabelle unconditionally? She badly wanted to rip off Isabelle's mask of innocence, to reveal the fake, manipulative woman beneath. She was full of hatred. But after her death, she woke up back to when she was 18 years like all that happened were all nightmare. She was elated. She was reborn to re-live all that had happened in her last life, but now, her mission was to reveal mask beneath that woman and make everyone that made her suffer in her past life pay. It was her time for revenge! And definitely, she won't mess this up!