THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

I was woken up by a ticklish feeling that felt more like small kisses being trailed on my cheek, lips, and neck. I moved, trying to get away from the person while I snuggled closer to the sheets.

I expected the feeling to stop, but it just continued, and this time it was even more intense than before. I opened my eyes slowly due to the sun shining through. I turned to find the culprit to my discomfort and was met with a shirtless Sin laying next to me with a grin on his handsome face.

“Happy birthday, Amore!” He whispered, pecking my lips.

I smiled at him, lifting my hands up to hold both sides of his cheek. I brought him closer, kissed his lips, and turned to the other side to continue my beautiful sleep.

A hand strapped onto my shoulder, shaking me, and I was turned back around. Groggily opening my eyes again, I looked at Sin, waiting for him to explain why he was disrupting my sleep.

“Are you just going to go back to sleep?” he asked, baffled.

“Yeah,” I stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Then I guess you don’t want this,” he teased. My eyes followed the movement of his hand to find him holding a black iPhone 14, I sat up instantly, taking the phone away from his grasp.

I smiled as I watched the phone come on. “Since it’s your birthday, I know you would love to talk to them. Their numbers are already programmed in there. You have Zoey, Samantha, and Luca in there as well. You don’t need to contact anyone else.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

“I’m taking you out on a date tonight, so do get ready at 7.”

“Where are we going?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” He stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I finally have a phone, and I let out a squeal, not being able to contain how happy I was.

I unlocked the phone and strolled through the contacts until I came to Stephanie’s name. I pressed the call log button and waited patiently for her to answer.

“Hello,” Stephanie answered weakly.

“Steph.”  Her name slipped out of my mouth as I waited for her response.

” Mani. Mani is that you?” she replied, surprised.

I nodded at first, then realized she couldn’t see me. “Yes, it’s me, Steph.” I heard her let out a breath, and the line went silent.

“Steph”

“Where the hell have you been? You got us all worried sick,” she voiced out in anger. “You promised to call and didn’t for months. I thought something bad happened to you,” she finished, crying hysterically.

“I’m sorry, I lost my phone and haven’t been able to contact you till now.” I cried along with her.

“But still, Mani, I had to report a missing case to the police.”

“I’m sorry, Steph, for making you all worry. It won’t happen again.”

“It’s better not; I won’t be so forgiving next time,” she said sternly.

“I won’t; I’ve got a phone now,”

“I hope you’re alright,” Stephanie asked, still worried and trying to know if I wasn’t in any danger.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

” Good. I need to call my parents and aunt Sera to let them know you are fine.”

“I will send them a text to let them know too.”

“And before I forget, happy birthday! Love you”

“Thanks, babe; I love you too,” I said as I hung up the phone. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face; I was really happy to know that they were all doing okay. I sent a text to Stephanie’s parents and my aunt Sera and got back an instant reply. They were all asking how I was and how worried they were, and it ended with a happy birthday wish, which was more than enough for me.

◇◇◇◇◇

I wore a black gown that grabbed my body, aligning every feature of my body. I matched the dress with high-plunging silver heels and some silver earrings. I tidied my hair, putting it up in a ponytail with two strands at each side of my face. I did a little touch of makeup, so it didn’t take long to get ready.

I walked out of the dressing room and back into the bedroom to find Sin seated on the couch, looking dazzling as he types away on his phone.

“Are you ready?” he asked casually with his head bent down, still typing on his phone.

“Yeah, I think,” I said, walking toward the bed to where I had placed my phone. I turned around to look at him; his face had an unreadable expression.

Do I look bad? Was he disappointed?

“What’s wrong?”  I suddenly asked, feeling self-conscious. Maybe I didn’t pick the right dress, or was it my hair?

He didn’t speak for some time and kept staring at me intensely; finally, he turned his phone off and stood up, sauntering towards me.

He backed me against the wall, and my back pressed against the cold tile. He towered over me predatorily. I put my hands on his chest as he lowered his face until his forehead touched mine.

I couldn’t control my breathing, and I was positive that he could hear my heart beating rapidly out of my chest.

“You always manage to take my breath away.” His warm breath blew across my face.

“Oh.”  I tried acting nonchalantly: “I can’t do anything about it; I was born to dazzle people.”

His lips cut me off, and his tongue swirled around the inside of my mouth. We made out like two starving humans before Sin pulled back.

“You look perfect, Mani,” he said, kissing my cheek sweetly.

“Thank you”.

“I’ve got something for you.” Sin took out a small box from his pocket and gave it to me. I took it, wondering what it was as I opened it. Inside was a beautiful pendant with a thin gold chain and a small diamond in the middle.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said softly.

“They will look more beautiful on you,” he replied.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He took the chain from the set and put the chain around my neck, a soft click joining them. He looked at my neck in satisfaction and leaned down to kiss my cheek.

“We should probably get going so we can get back on time to finish what we started.”

“Yeah, we should,” I said, trying hard to contain my excitement. When we got outside, there was already a car waiting. Mateo, my assigned bodyguard, got out of the front seat and came to open the back door for us.

“You look great today, Mani. Happy birthday,” Mateo said cheekily.

“Thanks Mat.” I said.  I got into the back seat along with Sin. Mateo rushed right back to the front seat and got in.

“You know where to go.” Sin says to Mat. The car started, and we drove out of the mansion. It took an hour and a half to get to our destination.

It was dark when we stepped inside, and I could barely see a thing. “Nikolai where are we going?” I asked him while he pulled my arms, leading me into the darkness of the night.

He suddenly stops and walks in front of me, saying, “Close your eyes, Amore!” I looked at him skeptically at first, then finally complied.

I let out a shudder when he picked me up in his arms and walked. “Don’t open your eyes yet.”

“Not even a peek,” I whined.

“No,” he replied sternly. He walked for a minute. He stopped again, dropping me on my feet. I opened my eyes and was met with an amazing, romantic view.

There were candles lit up in every part of the room, with a beautiful view of the city. In the middle of the room was a table with two seats and a candle lit in the middle, with two wine glasses on either side. At the extreme end of the room was a table filled with a variety of my favourite foods, and at the side of the room was a band playing a birthday song to welcome me in.

I turned to look at Sin with blurry eyes; I still couldn’t believe he had done this for me.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it, Nikolai. Thank you.”  I pulled him close, dragging him in for a hug.