𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒂

𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻; 𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻

12 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛...

Rosa had passed out on the spare bed, her bed.

It was far from an easy ride to get to the sleeping creature that lay surrounded by blankets.
In the past 20 minutes, she had punched me in my jaw, unsuccessfully stripped off at the after party and ruined my cherry tree with her vomit.

Closing the door, I turned down the hallways.

I had business to deal with.

The corridors were solemn, they knew what had to be done yet they did nothing; after all, they were only walls, what could they generally do?

If this meeting didn't happen, there would be blood.
But surely either way blood would be shed.

It came with the territory.

"Mendoza," the words twisted slyly out of Grayson's voice, "shall we get down to business?"

☾︎༒︎☽︎

6 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛...

The water disappeared down the drain, the murky red liquid gone for eternity.

My office, the hard concrete floor that was formerly white, now tarnished with bullets.

OK maybe that meeting didn't exactly go to plan.

Whilst someone was supposed to die, I was the one who should have shot the bullets.
Not the other way around.

"Morning Aidie-poo," Matteo said, sipping at his mug of herbal tea.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked, walking towards the mini fridge and grabbing the bottle of orange juice.

"Michelle," he responded, "she saw the bullet holes this morning and assumed the worst. I sent her home."

Michelle was my assistant.
A young woman with big brown eyes and coiled black hair.
We had a fling a few months back, but she loved her husband, and I didn't want to get beat up by said husband.
She was married to a wealthy Russian businessman, I assume that explains that.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a meeting last night?" Matteo asked, his mood suddenly changing from his normal laid-back attitude to stern and serious.

It was always concerning when Matt of all people was serious, it meant the problem in hand was, well, serious.

"I told you, didn't I?" I lied, sipping the orange juice.

I sure as hell didn't tell him shit.
Valentina had nothing to do with him.
End of.

"You are lying through your teeth."

"Am I?" I raised my left eyebrow, "how do you know?"

"Tell-tale signs really, you may be able to lie to some of the most dangerous people in America, but I'm your best friend, I can tell.
You raise your eyebrows and always try and change the subject," he smiled, taking the carton out of my hand.

"When did I try and change the subject?"

"Drinking."

"How the fuck is drinking changing the subject Matt?"

"It just is, so tell me Aiden, why don't you fucking tell me what happened last night, and why I wasn't invited."

The problem with Matteo was he always found out.
He found out everything

It could be a written on a scroll of paper, erased from your mind, locked away in a fortress surrounded by sharks in the middle of the Pacific, and still, he would find it out.

But that didn't mean I couldn't still bargain my time.

"Valentina," I began, "fuck that man drives a hard bargain."

"What did he offer?"

"A new business associate and $100,000 dollar's worth of premium cocaine."

"And what did he want in return."

Rosa.
The name was on the tip of my tongue.
That's what he wanted.

In return for his side of the bargain, I would divorce Rosa and let him marry her.
But I couldn't.

Caterina was an asshole for letting her daughter marry me, however she wasn't all bad.

She knew something about Grayson, a secret, a liability, something.
Caterina called off the betrothal between the two of them for this exact reason, that's why Rosa was married to me.

"Money," I replied, "and a lot of it."

He didn't look convinced.

"How much?"

"3 million."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Matteo sighed, "you're a shitty liar."

𑁍❣︎𑁍

Hey hoomans!
Long time no see.

Finally another update of Rosa, a medium length chapter is all I can offer at the moment.

I need to kill writers block before anything else.

as much love as ever,
m<3