The Mafia’s Wanted Desires

ASHLEY

While I looked right ahead of me, gazing at the desolate tarred roads, my eyes wouldn’t stop shifting towards the tall trees that filled up the woods on each side of the empty road. The eeriness had fear creeping into me.

There was no car in sight.

The speed at which I was driving, slowly reduced, when I began approaching the only house I could make out in sight. The urge to furrow my brows was irresistible.

Who the hell lives on the outskirts of town where there are no other houses in view? Isn’t he scared of being attacked in the middle of the night, or worse getting eaten by a wild animal?

The creepiness that oozed out of these surroundings made my stomach churn with nerves. I clamped my teeth down on my bottom lip, nearly drawing blood from the soft flesh. My palms gripped the edge of the steering wheel, so tightly that I feared if my stronghold lingered a little too much, I might be detaching the steering wheel from its housing.

I puffed out a hot breath, pulling over and then I sighed. I retrieved my keys and phone, let myself out of the car and slammed the door shut.

My brows were drawn together in scrutiny, darting to and fro the house and the address on my phone. But then, it was Adam. The guy had a thing for penthouses. He loves the luxury accustomed to it. I guess that’s what happens when you have been with someone for two years. You know how predictable they can get…

Yet, you didn’t see the betrayal coming. My subconscious snorted.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my shorts and headed for the porch. I frowned when I saw that I had to input a password to be able to get in__the soft click of the door garnered my attention and I stepped into the house, shutting the door.

I walked further into the living room.

It was starting to dawn on me how stupid I was for coming in here alone when I saw no one in sight. My heart palpitated furiously against my ribcage, hurting me with every moment it made. Chills crawled up my spine and dread descended upon me in waves. I could feel cold sweat breaking out of my pores.

“Damn.”

I whirled around, abruptly, crashing into a hard surface in the process. My breath got caught in my throat and I took a step backwards, swallowing really hard.

My eyes clashed with his chocolate brown eyes that swirled with a chilling coldness, surrounded by heavy darkness. His eyes were so cold, yet they still managed to hold a hint of mischief in them.

They were dark and hollow.

“Adam,” I acknowledged, maintaining eye contact with him. I didn’t know where the boldness came from but I was willing to hold on to it, for as long as I could, because it was the only thing I had left.

“How long has it been again?” He demanded, taking a step forward and I took a step backwards. “Three?” He did it again and I stepped back. “Four, five months?” He whispered and that was it.

I lost it.

“Get away from me, you bastard!” I fired, losing my shit. I couldn’t stand this man. There was no reason to hide it.

He didn’t budge, it only heightened his fascination.

“You have changed…” He stopped walking, his eyes scanning every inch of my face. I was filled with so much revulsion as they descended below my face, resting on my boobs. It didn’t hit me, until then, that I wasn’t wearing anything underneath my shirt.

I wasn’t keeping a bra on because of how sore they made my boobs feel. Oh, fuck it.

“God, you look even more beautiful,” he whispered, his voice infused with fascination. He chuckled and tucked his hands in his pockets.

I swallowed, audibly, tucking my hair behind my ears and I watched his eyes darken in rage, causing my heart to lurch to my throat.

“You married that bastard!” He bellowed, harshly, striding forward and then, he closed in on me. My lungs tightened up and I practically stopped breathing, squeezing my eyes shut.

I needed no soothsayer to make it clear to me that he must have seen my wedding band.

“After everything,” I could feel his breath on my face, eliciting a shudder from me.

He was invading my space, so much, that I could barely breathe. The rancid smell of whiskey that lingered on his breath made me struggle so hard to repress the bile that was building up in my throat. My eyes shimmered with so much liquid and I feared that if I opened my house, the tears would come pouring down my face. Non-stop.

“After everything we have been through together! You chose him over me! You chose to be with him, you fucking whore!”

It was as though the tiny thread binding my waning self-control snapped. My eyes flew open on impulse, coupled with the tears that burned in my eyes, I could feel the sizzling flame that occupied every inch of it, fuelling my rage.

With strength and boldness I didn’t know I possessed, I shoved him. Hard and he went flying backwards. He wavered in his steps. I didn’t miss the look of shock that marred his face.

“Fuck you, Adam Ruiz! Fuck you!” I screamed. All that anger. All that pain. All that hurt. It was evident in my strident voice that boomed across the room, threatening to bring the foundation of the house to its feet.

“You stand there and look me in the eye, calling me a whore for choosing him over you when in truth, you are the asshole, who bailed on me and left town without a fucking word!” I fired at him, my veins coursing with so much anger that it threatened to consume me.

I didn’t care. I gave in to it.

My eyes flashed with fury as I watched him squint his eyes at me in disbelief.

“I loved you. I took care of you. I defended you. I fought my friends and family for you, on several fucking occasions!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face.

“And what did you do?” I scoffed.

“You hurt me. You manipulated and gaslighted me. You abused me, psychologically, physically and emotionally. You messed with my emotions. You made me believe I wasn’t worth anything. And when you fucked me up, you fucking left me out in the cold!”

“I nearly died while trying to get over you!” I was wheezing between my words. My throat was clogged with so many sobs, my eyes blurred with hot tears. My heart wouldn’t stop constricting in so much pain.

I knew Adam had no heart and his next actions further proved that to me. He stared at me, unflinchingly. His cold brown orbs were set dead on me, icing up the blood that surged through my veins.

His eyes didn’t give off any ounce of emotion, even though I was yelling at him so hard, with tears streaming down my face. He watched me go ballistic without saying a word.

And then, he strode forward, brushing his hair off his face. His lips slowly tugged in a sadistic smirk that had fear creeping into me.

“You don’t know?” I didn’t know what he meant, but his question reflexively punched my breath out of me. It gave me a mental whiplash. I didn’t miss the mockery his tone was laced but it was mostly heavy with disbelief, coupled with how he squinted his eyes at me.

“So much for being the husband of the year!” He spat coldly. His words were thick with undiluted malice.

“Your oh-so-precious husband isn’t only a murderer,” His steps were slow and menacing, mirroring the darkness in his voice. “Not only an egotistical bastard!” He fired and I flinched.

“He is also a bloody liar!” His voice thundered across the room.

“What are you talking about?” I asked and he chuckled.

“You stand there and accuse me of bailing on you when in truth, your husband threatened me and saw to it that I took the money he offered, signed a contract with him and got the hell out of town! He made me leave!” The weight of his words had me veering backwards in shock, a surprised gasp invading me. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach at those words.

“You are lying,” I croaked, shaking my head sideways.

“I knew you’d say that.” He scoffed and spun on his heels, heading to the dining table where he snatched off a bunch of papers. He marched towards me and threw them at me.

With shaky hands, I crouched on the floor, desperately hoping that what I heard wasn’t true, but the glaring, familiar signature of my husband stared right back at me on the piece of paper, seizing my breath.

I dropped to the floor with a thud, hot tears streaming down my face.

He made Adam leave? I could excuse that but why didn’t he later tell me when things got smooth between us?

Adam walked over to where I was, crouching at my level and he tilted my chin. My teary gaze locked with his cold one.

“That fucking bastard lied to you all along because he wanted to keep you for himself. If he loved you like he claimed and if he wasn’t so insecure, he would have told you…” Every word was like a slap on my face, gutting me out, shredding my heart into a thousand pieces.

Determined not to let him get to me, I pried my face out of his hold and got to my feet.

“And what about the gifts?” I frowned.

“You said you were going to tell me who the sender was,” I added, wiping my tears.

“I am the one spending them.” He answered, monotonously, without batting an eyelash. I stared at him, arching my brow at him in question.

“That’s not true.”

“Think about it…” His voice trailed off with a sadistic smirk on his lips.

“Shortly after we fought, you got a bouquet of roses, a designer bag and a bottle of wine from an unknown sender. It was only a love note that was in there. I was trying so hard to earn your forgiveness and I knew that including my name would make you reject the gift. I didn’t want that, so I stuck with being anonymous,” he explained, pausing briefly to examine the look on my face.

“There’s no__” My words died in my throat as the memories of that day came rushing back. Adam hit me and I left his place. I went to the club with my friends to de-stress and that was the first time I met Jaxon.

It wasn’t long after our first night together that I got a gift from an anonymous person. Over the months, I have allowed myself to believe that the gift was from him. I didn’t allow my thoughts to explore other options.

“And the second time!” His harsh voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“The one at your office,” he sneered and clicked his tongue in distaste. “I sent it through a delivery guy,”

“Oh, my God…” I whispered, tears filling my eyes in realisation.

“You have been the person texting me!” I screamed, glaring daggers at him.

“Bingo!” He snapped his fingers, releasing a menacing chuckle.

“Took you long enough,” he scoffed. “You should have connected the dots when I called you but what do I expect from someone as dumb as you are?” He began approaching me and I stepped backwards, abruptly with my heart thudding in my chest.

“What do you want from me?” I let out a shaky breath, my eyes darting around for any source of escape, but I found none and the minute my back hit the wall.

I knew it was game over.

“Isn’t it obvious?!” He growled, closing in on me. He slammed his fists against the wall and I flinched, snapping my eyes shut. A tear rolled down my cheek in the process.

“After how hard he tried to make me stay away from you, I still can’t.” His voice softened at the end of his words.

His hand gripped my waist, roughly, pinning me against the wall while pressing himself against me. The contact of his bulge against me made me shudder in revulsion. His hot breath that reeked of alcohol fanned my skin and I felt him press a kiss on my jaw, eliciting a whimper from me.

“Adam, please, just let me go…” I begged him.

“Fuck it, I missed you.” He squeezed my waist, burying his head in the crook of my neck, which he pressed a kiss on. His rough hand disappeared beneath my shirt.

“Please!” My eyes flew open.

I began thrashing beneath him, desperate for an attempt to get out of his excessively hard grip. Tears filled my eyes and my throat was clogged with sobs, reducing my voice to croaky whimpers.

“Stop fighting me, Ashley. You know you want it,” He groaned, his hands brushing the swell of my breast. He grabbed it roughly, eliciting a frantic scream from me.

“Fuck, you got bigger!”

“They are just as succulent as I remember!” He growled, sucking on the skin of my neck. My desperation to get away from him was heightened and amid my attempt to escape his harsh grip, a thought struck my mind and I willed my body to go limp in his hands.

“I’ll do anything you want, just stop being rough. You are hurting me.” I whimpered softly and he halted his kisses on my neck, chuckling.

“My whore. All mine. I knew you missed me.” Those degrading words made me feel like a knife was being driven into my chest.

His thumb found my nipple, brushing it softly and he groaned in pleasure. And that was it. He loosened his grip around my waist and I wasted no time in kicking him where the sun doesn’t shine, extracting a painful grunt from him and he dropped to the floor with a thud.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

With the speed of light, I bolted out of the house.

“YOU BITCH!” The thick, dark resonance of his voice echoed behind me.

I didn’t stop running. I dashed out of the house and got into my car, retrieving my keys with shaky hands. I ignited the engine and drove out of the residential area.