Anastasia by A. Marie

Anastasia

Stepping out of the shower, I let a small smile melt onto my face. Two weeks blew away from me, but I was glad for the time I spent to try and evolve emotionally. Not a day went by without me thinking of Alexandria, but I did my best to begin the process of healing.

Even her doctor, Jacob Flores, managed to help me in a way. We had gotten closer, and I was grateful to have him as a friend. He would listen to me talk for hours, and he always offered the best advice. Jacob was such an amazing man, and I was glad he was in my life.

Not only that, but my mother was finally getting better. She was in rehab and had been writing to me every day. The mother I grew up with was returning to me, and I only wished Alex could see it.

I finished curling the last few strands of my hair before I collided with something hard.

“Bambolina,” Valentino said.

My widened eyes went up to meet him in shock. I don’t think I expected him to return so soon.

I was only wearing a towel, and his presence made me cling onto it tighter. It would take only one tug for me to be completely bare, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted that.

Out of nowhere, his lips came down to meet mine. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, begging me to pull him closer, but I couldn’t. I didn’t even get to say two words before he was prancing on me like some booty call. I tried to break away, but that didn’t stop his lips from wandering down my neck.

My gaze strayed in front of me as a loud sigh fell from my lips. Everything was always so sexual with him, and I was tired of it. Pushing him away, I strolled out of the restroom, entering my room, where I turned around and put on a pair of panties without taking off the towel. The sound of Valentino’s footsteps didn’t go unnoticed, but I simply ignored him.

“I just got back, and this is how you treat me?” he teased.

I continued to ignore him as I took off my towel with my back facing him. I quickly put on a white crop top before sliding on a pair of blue jean shorts.

He walked up to me and grabbed my hips from behind before pulling me against his own. I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes when his lips connected with my neck.

“Why are you getting dressed?” he questioned. He reached to my front, where he started to undo my shorts. His lips moved up from my neck to my jawline.

“Mr. Romano―”

“Valentino,” he corrected, annoyed.

I knew he wanted me to call him by his name, but calling him by his professional name was the only thing that made sense. It helped remind me that it was all our relationship would ever be—professional. It shouldn’t be anymore than that.

“I have to go,” I muttered.

“Where? Another date with that doctor?” he asked.

I turned around to face him with narrowed eyes. There was absolutely no emotion on his face and it killed me. I could never comprehend how he could seem so emotionless.

“Are you stalking me now?” I questioned.

He didn’t say anything, leaving me to scoff and push right past him. No more words were exchanged as I opened my door and headed out. I made sure to slam the door shut behind me as I strolled down the hallway.

It had been two weeks since I last heard from him, and I couldn’t understand why he thought it was okay to greet me in such a sexual way. I wasn’t some prostitute who served him for living in his home. I especially didn’t want to be viewed as such by him.

I made it to the kitchen, where Sarah was talking to a raven-haired girl. From the back of her, she kind of looked like Alex. It caused me to fall into a deep state of confusion. I just stared at her, hoping I wasn’t seeing something that wasn’t there.

“Anastasia,” Sarah greeted behind a small smile.

“Hey!” I chirped. Then, I turned to look at the girl Sarah had been talking to. “What do we have here, a new recruit?”

“No, this is Orabella. Orabella, meet Anastasia,” Sarah had introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Orabella. You know, if you ever get bored around here, I’d be more than happy to teach you a new way of life. Maybe a little stripping, or just casually hanging out. I get bored around here sometimes,” I told her with a grin.

Her face brightened with joy.

“You know, actually, I was just about to head out to see a friend. Do you want to join me?” I asked her. Sarah grimaced at my words, leaving my brows to pull together. What was her problem?

“Yes, please,” Orabella said desperately. With a huge smile spreading across my face, I grasped her hand into my own and led her to the front door.

She kept glancing behind her as we walked, but instead of speaking up about it, she followed me outside and we headed to my car. When I glanced at Orabella, I noticed her gaze was off somewhere else. She looked like a scared puppy who was about to pee on themselves.

Looking off in the direction she’d been staring at, I noticed Valentino was angrily heading directly to us…to me.

“Why would you bring her out here? Do you know what you’ve just done?” Valentino spat, his teeth clenching with anger.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, my brows furrowing.

“This is Vincenzo’s girl. She is not allowed out of that house unless he’s with her,” he explained.

My eyes widened. Vincenzo was the boss, the don. He made ruthless decisions every day, and the last thing I needed was to be on his bad side. I couldn’t comprehend why she couldn’t leave the house without Mr. Rossi, but I knew better than to question them. Their business was none of mine.

“I didn’t know,” I gasped.

“I’ll take care of my brother, but you—you owe me.” He smirked before letting me go and dragging Orabella back into the house. He was nowhere near gentle as he manhandled her. I felt bad for the poor girl. For some reason, I felt like there was more to the story.

* * *

The driveto Jacob’s house was short, seeing as he owned a huge place not very far from where I stayed. Once I was parked outside, Jacob walked out with a huge smile on his face. I stepped out of my car and quickly strolled over to embrace him in a hug.

“Hey, Jake!” I laughed.

“I thought we talked about you no longer calling me that.” He rolled his eyes as he pulled away from me. I laughed, wandering over to his front door, where I opened it as if I owned the place. Being an oncologist must’ve meant big money—his house was huge. The best part of it all was that he owned and lived in it all by himself.

“You’re not innocent. My sister insisted that you call her Alex, yet you always called her Alexandria,” I pointed out.

He nodded his head slowly as a tint of pink made its way onto his cheeks. “I am terrible with names. Once I call someone something, it just sticks and there’s no changing it with me.”

I laughed before sitting down on top of his couch. He wasn’t slow to join as he plopped down beside me.

“Max!” I yelled out right after I began making kissing noises with my lips.

As expected, the loud sound of nails clacking against the tile echoed through the room as the huge boxer jumped on top of me. He quickly began to lick the side of my face as I cringed away. His tail was wagging happily as he continued his assault.

“Hi, Max,” I gushed. His tail began to wag faster while I laughed at him. He was my favorite part of going over to Jacob’s place.

“Are you still available to watch him this weekend while I go to a meeting in Vegas? The house will be all yours,” he promised.

I pretended to think about it for a second before a huge grin broke out onto my face. “Of course, I’ll watch Max! Just go do your thing, Doc.”

My fingers skimmed through Max’s soft fur as his wet nose touched my cheek.

“Have you been talking to your mom?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, every day. I told her about you and she said she’d like to meet you,” I answered.

His brow rose as a small smile tugged on his lips. “I can’t believe you actually spoke about me. I thought you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you, Jacob.” I laughed. “If I hated you, I wouldn’t be in your house.”

“Touché to that.” He chuckled.

My phone had been ringing constantly in my pocket. At first, I ignored it and continued to pet Max, but after a while I couldn’t anymore; it seemed too emergent. Knotting my eyebrows together, I pulled out my phone to see that I had several messages from Janice. Each message notified me how pissed Valentino was.

“Hey, um, I have to go,” I muttered before sliding my phone back into my pocket.

A huge smile broke out on his face again as he opened his arms out wide. I hurriedly walked up to him to embrace him in our second hug. He always managed to give the best hugs.

As I was pulling away, I muttered, “Bye, Jakey, and thank you for helping me return to a stable mentality.”

“What are friends for?” he questioned with a grin. I smiled before turning and walking toward the dog, where I ruffled his fur playfully.

“Bye, Maxy!” I exclaimed, bending down and kissing his snout.

Just as soon as I exchanged my goodbyes, I got back into my vehicle and raced home.

* * *

When I entered the mansion,I searched everywhere for any sign of life. Not even Sarah was in the kitchen, which was odd.

Maybe if I moved fast enough to creep back into my room, no one would see me. I could avoid Valentino’s wrath as well as the don’s.

Speed-walking all the way to my room, I entered and quickly shut the door behind me. When I turned around, Valentino was already on my bed, anger shedding off of him in waves.

“Oh, shit!” I gasped, clutching my hand against my chest. He startled me, and the fast pace of my heart was proof.

“So, tell me, Bambolina, where were you?” he asked.

I ignored him and tried to casually head to the bathroom so I could lock the door until he decided to leave, but he was quick to grab me and throw me on top of the bed. Alcohol was present on his breath.

“I was with a friend,” I told him. He scoffed before walking over to me. I had to prop myself onto my elbows to be able to look at him.

“The fucking doctor? Do you think I’m stupid?” he questioned.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to speak, his hands grabbed onto my thighs and pulled them apart. He was on top of me in a second. I was exhilarated, but I didn’t allow myself to forget that I needed to stand up for myself.

“So what? Just because I’m a woman and you’re a man, that entitles you to have friends, but I can’t?” I quizzed.

His eyes narrowed. He knew I was right, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to admit it. Without another word, he got off of me and exited the room. I couldn’t seem to grasp what his problem was.

I exhaled a breath that I didn’t know I was holding. Valentino was such a confusing man.

Placing my phone on the bed, I strolled over to the restroom. With my hands on the sink, I let out a loud groan. Guilt was starting to seep into my heart, and I hated myself for being so sensitive. He had been drinking, and I had never seen him so distressed.

My mind kept replaying the time I had gotten drunk, and the way he was there for me. He had shown me a lot of kindness, and the least I could do was talk to him.

“Don’t do it, Anastasia,” I whispered to myself as I felt the need to apologize.

Throwing open the bathroom door, I exited my room and made my way down the hall. My first stop was his office, but when I pushed the door open—he wasn’t there. So, I decided to go up two sets of stairs toward his bedroom. While he was away, I found myself wandering the mansion out of boredom. One day, I stumbled upon a room, and based on the scent, I knew it belonged to Valentino.

Once I opened his door, I walked in, and heard the sound of running water. He must’ve been in the shower, so like he always did to me—I sat down on his bed to wait.

His bed was much comfier than mine. It was also a lot bigger. Not only that, but his room was two times the size of my room, and it didn’t shed even an ounce of light.

My eyebrows came together as I looked on the floor, where a full folder of all kinds of papers and images sat. Just as I was about to reach down to read it, the shower turned off. I quickly sat down on the bed and pulled out my phone, as if I hadn’t been attempting to snoop.

Seconds later, the door opened. He had a towel wrapped around his lower region and a toothbrush in his hand. At first he didn’t seem to notice me and was about to remove his towel before a loud squeal shot out of me. His eyes met mine while his hand paused on top of his towel.

Then, he did an absolutely unexpected thing by removing the towel, leaving me to quickly cover my eyes with my hand.

“What do you want?” he asked.

I moved my fingers apart on my face to catch a glance of him, still very naked.

“I wanted to apologize,” I muttered, my cheeks coated a bright pink when he turned around and caught me staring. He walked over to me, leaving my heartbeat to increase. I tried to look at anything other than his huge dick, but I failed.

“You keep staring. You want to go for a ride?” he asked. I let out a loud sigh, standing up as I did. “No, stay. I know how badly you want to.”

“I don’t understand where your huge ego came from, but no, I don’t want you,” I seethed, not knowing if I was lying or telling the truth.

“You say you don’t want me, Bambolina. How many times are you going to tell yourself that until you actually start to believe it? If you didn’t want me, you wouldn’t be right here. You wouldn’t be…” His hand entered my shorts, where he made it to my dripping lips. “…wet.”

My finger crept up his abs and to his chest, where I caressed his skin. A smirk made its way onto my face at the realization that I had a plan to turn the whole conversation back on him. “Let’s not forget that you want me. How long have I had this dramatic effect on you? You can try to hide it all you want, but I know you do have feelings.”

He grabbed me by my neck and kissed me harshly. His hands went down to my shorts. He pushed away the fabric until it was on the floor. I tried to respond to his kissing, but he was attempting to get his message across, the kiss was too dominant to be returned.

He grabbed my thighs as he lifted me up so I was straddling his waist. His hand moved over to the back of my neck, pulling my head away from his.

“Do I want to fuck you? Yes. That’s all,” he growled, inches away from my swollen lips. I got down and picked up my shorts before rolling my eyes.

“Keep telling yourself that,” I told him before walking over to his door and leaving without another word.