Smoke and secrets | 18 +

XXX

-Victoria's POV-

"Greyson, what a pleasure to see you again."

I'd caught this man with his hands on my girlfriend. I knew I should've been by her side more. I should've come down with her instead of staying upstairs waiting so long.

I took Arabella upstairs and helped her into pyjamas and took her makeup off. She didn't want to talk. I kissed her softly before I headed downstairs.

One would think in stanza five, I was done with easy torture. This man had to die.

I walked outside to the lowest part of Eden. My mother was already waiting there for me.

"Why am I here?" He asked in a low voice.

I didn't take any time and pulled out a gun and cocked looking him dead in the eye.

"Because I don't let offenders live scratch-free in my house." I said coldly to him.

"Who are you?" He asked angrily fighting my guard's hold they had on him.

"I'm Victoria. It's best you know my name before I shoot you." I said aiming the gun, I watched for a moment as his eyes widened in the realization that I was the woman he'd heard so much about.

"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't know any better. I was intoxicated and—"

"You could make as many excuses as you like but they are no use to me." I said coldly.

"I'll make it up to her. I'm sorry, just don't shoot me." He pleaded.

"Ciao." I said harshly as I pulled the trigger landing a bullet in his left lung. He fell to the ground.

I told my guards to take him to the pig farm once he was done bleeding out.

I walked away without shame.

"You did the right thing tesoro." My mother said.

"I know. I should've done it a long time ago." I said as we walked up together. I went straight to Arabella, who was lying in my bed.

I took my dress and makeup off quickly. Slid into some pyjamas and laid next to her.

She moved into my arms and I held her close as I placed small kisses on her head.

"Is he gone?" She asked softly against my skin.

"Yes, bambina. He's gone." I said to her. Running my hand up and down her back as she lay next to me.

"I'm sorry Tori." She said. I raised an eyebrow in question. Why was she sorry?

"Why are you sorry bambina?" I asked her.

"I don't even know why I let him walk off with me, I don't know why—"

"Don't apologise for the things you can't control. What he did or was about to do wasn't your fault." I said to her sternly.

"I still walked away with him." She said. 

"Bambina, that wasn't your fault." I said to her, turning her chin.

"I know." She said looking at me.

"Good. Now we should get some sleep because tomorrow's a different day." I held her close. "Good night bambina." I said.

"Good night Tori." She said as she lay in my arms with her head on my chest.

There was a moment of silence. We both started falling asleep, or I did. "Tori, who's Cierra?" Arabella said lifting her head up.

My ears perked up at the name. That was not a name I was expecting to come out of her mouth. To me, it was particularly distasteful.

"Cierra?" I asked her, wanting her to explain further.

"I met her the first few hours of the ball and we danced and she said you were her ex." She said. I nodded for a second.

Cierra isn't my ex. She and I were a thing but we were never together. There were other people involved with us while we were involved with each other. Cierra was a constant, someone I could sleep next to or just mess around with when our energy was too high.

She was never mine and I was never hers. It was just always that way.

"Is she?" Arabella, as she turned her head towards me.

"She isn't, bambina." I said truthfully.

"Oh okay. I was a little thrown off when she said that." She said moving back onto my chest.

"Don't worry bambina." I kissed her softly before placing my head back as we fell asleep.

———

"She is not going in without Oscar or Michael." I said in the boardroom as I sat down.

"There's simply no other way to do this without Cierra. We've tried every entry we could. There's no space left for either of them." Enzo said.

I was getting annoyed. Arabella is supposed to leave tomorrow for France.

We've got an in for her because she's leaving with Anna, who still believes she's here on a mission.

Arman has been more than happy to take her.

I'm stressing and growing angry at my team. We've been working on getting Oscar to go along but only for it to amount to absolutely nothing.

"Capo there's no other option than to let her go with Cierra." Alessandro said at my side.

"There isn't capo." Enzo agreed.

"Fine. But I want Alessandro to go along with three full bodyguard teams." I agreed harshly. I wasn't a fan of them being in the same space together for three days on end.

I felt like their time together at the ball was more than enough.

"That we can do. Discreetly." Enzo said and he typed away on his laptop.

Arabella has become phenomenal at using a gun. Her targets are on point and she has a really good aim.

I finished up my meeting and went back upstairs. Arabella hasn't left my place In a few days.

The days where I don't mind her going are the days she decides to stay. And the days she decides to go, I want her to stay.

Since being with her, a lot has changed for me. It's a sense of warmth being around her. It feels like I've spent so many days in the snow and she's the sun.

I enjoy the days when she's here and she snuggles close to me in the middle of the night. When she wraps her arms around me for no reason.

It all feels so new. Not like it's scary new but it's good new.

It was late by the time I finally got upstairs. Maybe nearing 9 pm.

"You're back earlier than I thought." she said as she lifted off the bed.

"Mhm, it finished earlier than I thought," I said walking to meet her halfway.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I placed a kiss on her lips. Soft and slow.

My hands around her waist drawing her to me. Once soft and slow now turning rough and messy.

Low satisfactied moans vibrated in her throat.

Her hands moved off my neck to my shirt.

She pulled back slightly. "Tori..." She trailed off, close to being breathless with cheeks that tinted pink. She clung to my shirt for a moment.

"Bambina..." I trailed off looking her in the eye.

"Touch me." She said. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I want you to fuck me like you're not seeing me again." She said in a lowered voice.

Something about the way she said it. Her eyes darkened as she talked. She had a fire behind her ocean-blue eyes.

One I wanted to put out.

"Is that what you want bambina?" I asked her and placed my hand to the back of her neck.

"Fuck me, Tori."