ILLICIT DESIRES | 18 +

45: Punishment

Warning: There is SMUT, and it's a little harsher. But he asks her if he shall stop. And still cares for her consent.

She thinks his harshness is punishment, but it's not. It's just angry sex.

RITA

Staged.

He believes all my sacrifices are feigned. He doubts me. He cannot see behind the veil or recognize the source of my strength.

But it is him, and my affection for him.

When love entered the fight, my fears receded, and an immense courage took hold of me. The battle was no longer about me, but about the lives I cherish.

Two sides, one seed. One seed, two sides.

Love and hate — which side dominates determines the matrix.

Alessi made him hate me after I escaped. My initial hatred for him turned to love after spending so many weeks with him in his loft.

He changed my matrix a lot.

Before we met, I was a bundle of fear; my father's nature had always suppressed my courage. But Roman awakened my true self — my most malevolent side. The murderer within me emerged in all her glory.

Every cruel thought I harbored to save him, I carried out without batting an eye. Every sacrifice I had to make for him, I made without hesitation.

I lost face. I lost my status.

I gave up everything I could bear to lose, just to avoid losing him.

And yet, I have lost him.

He won't talk to me. He wants nothing more to do with me. Feelings are still so foreign to me, yet I respect his wish, even though I cannot comprehend why he hates me.

Therefore, I decide to disappear from his life — and from his mansion. I have almost nothing left: just the house in Seattle and the money in my account to cover the fees for those who lied for me in court.

Now I'm packing my bags and moving to Seattle. I'll stay there until he wants to talk to me. I won't pressure him. If he really wants to leave me, I'm ready to let him go.

"Madam, Mr. Esposito has arrived. He claims the estate belongs to him and wishes to be admitted."

I freeze mid-movement, and the clothes in my hands fall to the floor.

"Roman has arrived?" I ask, surprised, slowly turning to the maid. I thought he would not come back to me.

"Yes." She nods. "Should security let him in?"

A big smile spreads across my face. Too excited to answer, I rush out of my room, eager to greet him. I hurry down the stairs and run to the front door, then dash toward the gate.

And there he is — standing behind it beneath the glow of the night.

"Open the gate!" I demand.

My bare feet feel cold against the ground, but the warm flutter in my stomach makes me forget the chill. As soon as there's no barrier between us, I run into his arms.

My lips meet his, and I smile as he returns the kiss, wrapping his arms around my waist. I missed him more than I could ever put into words.

"I knew you'd come back. I missed you so much."

"You gave me the villa; it's mine. I've come to see my home," he says, glancing at the property.

My breath catches. A lump forms in my throat.