Anastasia by A. Marie
Valentino
Iwatched her run out in a frenzy. At first, I believed she was a spy or someone trying to bring me down, so I ordered my men to watch her. It was the only explanation I could think of without raising the suspicious brows of my men. She came out of nowhere and was exactly what I favored in a girl. It was easy for me to assume one of my many enemies assigned her a job to get information about me, but I was wrong.
What my men reported back surprised me. She spent nights at the hospital, watching over her dying little sister. There was no indication that she was in contact with Dmitri or anyone else who could possibly want to bring me down. My paranoia quickly vanished the moment I began to discover more about her.
What began as a task to see if she was who she truly said she was became a worry of whether or not everything was okay. I knew how easy it was to be tempted by darkness in dark times, but she was too bright of a person. It would pain me to see the same darkness in me exist in her.
What intrigued me most about the girl was the way she would spend hours and hours at the club, just to spend all of the money she made on her sister. In a way, she reminded me a lot of myself. Maybe that was why I couldn’t rid myself of the thought of her.
Vincenzo walked into the conference room with a raised brow. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to hear him go on and on about Anastasia. She was neither his concern, nor would she ever be.
“You brought one of your whores to a meeting? What the hell are you doing?” he questioned.
“She’s not my whore. The girl just needs…” I trailed off.. I knew what I was going to say before I stopped myself. I was going to say that she needed someone, just like I wished I had someone. The world was lonely when there was no one there, and based on the shakiness of her voice earlier, I wasn’t too sure her sister would be around for much longer.
“I thought you promised to never let those girls into our home,” Vincenzo said in disbelief.
I sighed. “She’s an exception. So, accept it and leave it the hell alone.”
He didn’t seem pleased with my answer, but he dropped it. Instead, he began telling me more information about Dmitri. Dmitri was planning something huge, and I knew it was coming straight for us. He knew we had his daughter, and it was only a matter of time before he tried to come and get her. All I knew was that we had to attack before he could get the chance.
“About Orabella…” Vincenzo began.
I cocked a brow as I gave him a pointed look. The last thing I wanted to talk about was that girl. It wouldn’t surprise me if she were just like her foolish father. She probably believed the world belonged to her, and she would take down anyone who disagreed. Just like her father did to my family.
“She isn’t bad. I know because I’ve talked to her. She seems so upset and lost. I just can’t understand how she is such an angel yet her father―”
“Killed our family! Don’t you ever fucking forget it, Enzo, do you understand me?” I yelled.
With a clenched jaw, he nodded. I didn’t mean to let my anger take control, but I couldn’t hold it back. I didn’t care if the girl was nice or cruel, she was a pawn in the plan to take down her father. There was nothing more or less to the story. She was the spawn of someone I hated, which made her someone I loathed.