Adriano

Prologue

She stands there, her hair is as pink as ever and from over here I can see her baby bump.

I haven't seen her in nearly three months.

Mimi turns to me.

'Mimi?' I gasp.

'Dilara!' She exclaims.

She rips her arm away from the bodyguard holding her and runs to me.

Mimi pulls me into a tight hug and my hands stay by my side.

'What are you doing here?' I ask.

'You know her?' Cora asks.

'Yeah, she's my...friend.' I reply.

'I needed to see you,' Mimi says, letting go of me.

'And how exactly did you get here?' I ask.

'Vittoria.' She says. 'I followed Vittoria.'

My eyes narrow as I hear that woman's name.

'Doesn't Vittoria work for Adriano's mafia?' Cora asks.

'Yeah she does...' I reply.

What is she doing here?

Why did she come here?

'Mimi you need to leave.' I say, straightening the sleeves of my black suit. 'Immediately.'

'I'm not going anywhere.' She crosses her arms. 'Not without you.'

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

Cora is looking at Mimi curiously.

I need Mimi to leave now, if Christianto or Dominico were to find out she's here they'll kill her on sight.

I can't risk her life.

'You're risking your life being here, they'll kill you if they find out.'

'They won't, Alessandro won't let them.'

Cora laughs.

'Of course, the big bad boyfriend will save you.' She says mockingly.

'He's my fiancé actually.' Mimi snaps. 'And what do you have against him?'

'He gave me this scar.' Cora snarls. She turns around and lifts her butterfly locks to reveal a huge deep scar at the back of her neck.

'And what makes you think that Alessandro has a choice?' I ask. 'What makes you think that he'll make the right choice?'

'I don't know what you're implying, but Alessandro is nothing like Adriano.'

I scoff.

'They're brothers after all,' Cora says tonelessly. 'Who says they're not exactly the same.'

A moment of silence passes between us.

'Listen Dilara, I don't know if I'm talking to my best friend or if that girl even exists anymore.' Mimi starts.

'But I need you, we need you.'

'Believe me you don't.' I laugh dryly. 'I have nothing to go back to.'

'And how do you know that?' She asks.

'Because someone would've reached out to me, even if it was Xuan, Zoya or even Adriano.' I say. 'But they don't care.'

'That's not true!' She says.

'And why would I want to go back to a place where my ex hates me and his bitch of a mother criticises my every fucking move?' I snap.

Mimi stays quiet.

'And where are they?' I ask. 'If they care so much why aren't they here right now?'

Mimi hangs her head.

'They don't know I'm here.' She mumbles.

'Of course they don't.' Cora says. 'Pinkie pie here will be labelled as a traitor.'

'Listen to me.' Mimi snaps. 'We can't trust Vittoria, I've been watching her and at night she's always on the phone to someone talking to the about Adriano.'

I knew we couldn't trust her.

'That's not my problem.' I reply.

'She also mentions you.' She says. 'She was on the phone talking about you when I followed her.'

Cora looks at me, then glances at Mimi suspiciously.

'Mimi, I'm only going to say this one last time.' I take a deep breath. 'You need to leave and forget about my existence.'

'What?' She asks.

'You can never come here again or try make contact with me unless you want to end up six feet under.' I reply.

'Dilara, we've been by each other's side since we were ten.' She says. I can see her eyes become teary.

'Forget about that, forget about all of it.' I reply, not looking up at her.

It's for her own good, for both of our own goods.

'You've changed.' She mutters.

'Yeah well that's life.' I say tonelessly.

Cora shoots me a sympathetic smile.

I take a deep breath.

This hurts so much, Mimi is the only family I've ever known but I need to push her away.

If I'm going to be powerful, if I'm going to take down Adriano I need to get rid of my old life.

I need to get rid of it completely.

Mimi grabs my hand and slips something into it.

'If you need anything, you know what to do.' She says.

I look down and see that she placed a burner phone in my hands.

I quickly pocket the phone and clear my throat.

'Now get the fuck out.' I look away and wipe a tear from my cheek.

'Escort her out.' Cora says to the body guard.

I turn around and walk out of the room, with Cora following behind me.

'You're doing the right thing,' she says, rubbing my back comfortingly.

'Then why does it feel so wrong?' I ask.

*AUTHORS NOTE*
Hey guys I'm back! I hope you all enjoyed the break we had and now get ready for a lot cause a lot is about to go down during this new book!!!

Have a nice day!