CHAPTER 22: I SUDDENLY BECAME A LADY BOSS

HAVEN'S POV

My eyes were fixed on the cold and unforgiving walls of the basement. The place was dimly lit, adding to the bleak atmosphere. On top of that, the loud crying and pleading of the two people now in front of Allessio and me echoed through the room.

If the place looks cold, nothing could beat how icy the expression on Allessio's face was. It seems that the look he gave the older Venturini earlier could be considered warmer than the one he's giving the Venturini siblings right now who are both tied to a chair.

"Gattina."

I turned to Allessio. From the worry I could see in his eyes, he's probably been calling me for a while now."

"Yes?"

"You can wait for me upstairs. You don't have to see this."

I turned to look at the Venturini siblings. Livio looks like he's been beaten up, but Leandra looks unscathed. Although, unlike when I first saw her, her hair is now a mess and her clothes are dirty. She still looks like a living Barbie, but one who went through a room full of toddlers.

"Are you going to kill them?" The siblings paled even more than they already were. Before Allessio could answer, I continued, "Because I'd rather you don't. It's not worth it."

He traced the back of his hand across my cheek. "Are you saying that you're not worth it?"

"No, but—"

"That's how it sounded to me." He playfully nudged my nose. "But no, I won't kill them."

"Will you hurt them?"

He answered without needing to think twice about it. "Yes."

"Because they hurt, Fierro?"

"Fierro's a grown man. He can take care of himself." He put a hand on my cheek, and his thumb caressed my skin gently. "I hate that they tried to hurt you."

Despite where we are and his words, I can't help but narrow my eyes at him. "I'm a grown woman too."

"That's debatable, gattina. You look little to me."

I pressed my lips together, ignoring his teasing. "They didn't hurt me, Allessio."

"Her words hurt you." I didn't have an answer for that because he was right. "And you're wrong. They have every intention to hurt you."

"W-What?"

"Leandra wanted you gone and Livio wanted you for a different reason." Lorenzo walked toward us, and he handed something to Allessio. My eyes widened a bit when I saw that it was a brass knuckle. "Did you know that Livio was the reason why I met your parents?"

I glance at Leandra. "She mentioned it."

"Well, our dear Livio appears to have a wide connection. Since we found out that he's been talking to people about you."

"About me?" My gaze went back and forth from Allessio, who's downright looking murderous, and to Livio, who looks like he's about to lose consciousness because of fear.

"He wants to put you up for a bid."

"He's trying to sell me?" I asked in a whisper. "Why?"

The wrath in Allessio's eyes tells me that there's no way in hell that he would have allowed that. "They didn't just offer you to me, gattina."

They. My parents.

It took me a moment, but it wasn't long before I understood what he meant.

My parents offered me as a payment to Allessio. When he saved me that night at the grocery store, people were coming after me. I always thought that they just want me to get even with my parents, but I really didn't think much about the possibility that there could be more to it. That just like with Allessio, I was like a piece of property they are willing to give up to save themselves.

I couldn't fight back the tears that started falling down my cheeks. In the blink of an eye, Allessio was standing beside me, gathering me in his arms as if we're the only people in the basement.

"I-I always knew that our family was different. They were never affectionate. But I didn't think that they cared for me so little that they were willing to sacrifice me for something I wasn't even involved with."

"I'll shower you with affection, gattina, that you will drown with it." He plants kisses on my cheeks, running after the tears that just keep on flowing. "I'll sacrifice the rest of the world, I'll burn it to the ground, if it means showing you that I care for you the most."

"I... I hate them."

"Okay, baby. We hate them."

My lips trembled, and Allessio's face went hard. It's like he's willing to demolish the world himself just by the sight of it. "I'll take care of this first, gattina, okay? Stop crying. I don't like when your lips are trembling that way. You still look adorable but you're breaking my heart. You're also making me want to kill someone, and I'm really trying not to because you told me not to do it."

His words only made me want to cry more. I found myself wrapping my arms around him so that I could bury my face on his wide chest.

He gently stroked my back, his patience and calmness evident, despite the fact that there were more pressing matters he should be focusing on at that moment. Allessio gave me what I needed, not caring about the rest of the world.

"T-That's what I wanted. That... that's supposed to be me."

"Stai zitta, Leandra!" Livio hissed in a mixture of fear and anger. "Shut your mouth!"

Still in Allessio's arms, I glance at the Venturini siblings. Livio looks like he wanted to smack some sense to his sister. Maybe he should.

From what I'm seeing, it seems Leandra still has no intention of letting Allessio go. The way she looks at him is making my skin crawl.

"We can still have that, Allessio. She only has a drop of Italian blood in her. She's not the right one for you. We're... we're good together, aren't we? You like being inside me. You love when I take you with my mouth. She wouldn't be able to fully satisfy you. I'm perfect for you—"

She wasn't able to finish what she was saying when Allessio's loud laughter filled the room. He turned around so that we could both look at the woman, who I don't think even cares that her brother is bleeding right beside her.

The threat in Allessio's eyes couldn't even be called a threat. It looks like a promise of bringing hell to her if she doesn't stop running her mouth. "My cock is close to being raw and bloody from being inside your mouth for too long before you can even make me hard, Leandra. Don't make me laugh."

"I was the longest you've been with out of all the women you had!"

"You were the longest because I was too busy to end things with you and I was away half of the time to even do it personally."

"That's not true!"

"You're an attractive woman, Leandra. I wouldn't have been with you if you weren't. We both wanted the same thing or I thought we had. But I made it clear to you from the very start and you agreed. I never had plans on having anything with you except what we had."

"Allessio—"

"You're a funny woman. Like your father said, you're not the sharpest crayon in the box, but you have a personality that makes conversations with you not boring. But you're also a snob and you talk shit to people every minute of the day. Funny alone can't make me put up with the attitude that you have."

Allessio's eyes glinted with understanding as he searches my face. I was no longer crying, but I was vibrating with the same murderous intent that has been surrounding him moments ago.

"Unless you're my gattina. Then I'll put up with any attitude you throw at me." He brushed his thumb on my lips. "But that would be impossible since my baby is not only the most beautiful thing I ever laid my eyes on, she's also smart, funny, adorable, and—"

I am sure that there aren't many that have the guts to interrupt Allessio when he's saying something, but it's beginning to dawn on me that he's going to let me get away for a lot of things. So before he could finish what he's about to say, I stood on my tiptoes and I kissed him.

I didn't just give him a quick touch of the lips. I gave him something that is at the level of the ones he gave me. Especially those that we shared behind closed doors.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss. A groan rumbled in Allessio's throat, and I couldn't help but smile against his lips.

He gripped me tightly on my waist, and I felt him pull me closer so that he could grind his hips on mine, letting me feel the bulge inside his pants.

It almost makes me want to forget where we are and why I'm doing this. Almost, but not quite. I can't say the same for Allessio, though. The way he's almost fusing me to his body makes me think that he had already forgotten where we are.

I realized that I was right when our lips pulled apart so that we could breathe, and he automatically shifted to raining kisses on my neck. I bit my lower lip to stop myself from moaning when his tongue made a wet path on a sensitive spot on my neck.

I glance at Leandra, who's looking at me with so much hatred. If looks could kill, I'll be dead by now. But being in Allessio's arms and with him doing things that should be illegal to do in front of others, it's giving me an ammo to a better gun than the ones she has.

"I don't satisfy him? I hope this is enough of an answer for you." I ran my hand from Allessio's hard chest down to the buckle of his belt. The growl that escaped his lips when my hand landed on top of his straining cock could be only described as animalistic. "A kiss from me can make him hard already. I bet you couldn't do that."

"She couldn't," Allessio murmured in my ear. "Definitely not."

"He was mine first!"

Leandra's scream vibrated around the basement. Allessio stiffened, and I saw the murderous fire return in his eyes. I placed my hand gently on his chest—a silent communication to let me handle this—then I pulled away from his embrace.

I am shaking from the inside, not just from Allessio's kiss that always has an earth-shattering effect on me, but also from the anger that I've been feeling since the woman opened her mouth. But still, my steps didn't falter as I walked towards her.

I wasn't from this life. I'm still not used to this world. But hell if I will let anyone think that they are more perfect to be standing beside the man that is recognized by many as their king. Well, too bad for them, I'm the king's tamer.

With a hand that I was thankful didn't tremble, I gripped Leandra's chin with my fingers so that she could look at me straight into the eyes. "He was never yours. He's mine."

"I had him first—"

"And I'll be the one who'll have him last." I let go of her rougher than I intended to. Oh well. "I'm telling you this because you look like a good girl who's going to get both her dream and heart broken."

I said it so condescendingly, and I wasn't surprised that it flamed her anger even more. It's the same words she used to me during the party.

I took a step back at the same time that she decided to spit on me. It landed on her lap, which only infuriated her more.

"I'm not going to slap you. I'm not really into violence." I jerked my thumb over my shoulder toward where Allessio was standing and Leandra visibly paled. The air around the man is so heavy that it wouldn't be surprising if it made the ceiling of this basement collapse on the Verturini siblings. "But he is."

I walked back to Allessio, and I softly patted his arm. As if there's a switch inside him when it comes to me, his eyes immediately softened. A power I'm beginning to realize that only I wielded.

"Don't hurt yourself." I glance at the siblings. "Just make it so that they learn their lesson. They hurt Fierro after all and he's one of my favorites."

Allessio's forehead knotted. "I should be your only favorite."

I stood on my tiptoes and whispered on his ear. "You're in a completely different category... Daddy."

He growled and swatted my bottoms. Grinning, I walked past him and headed toward the door of the room we were in. But before I could step out, I stopped and turned to Lorenzo.

"You should really clean this place. I get that this is where you torture people or something, but it's unsanitary to just let blood stain everything." I pointed at the wall that I was looking at moments ago while Allessio was questioning the two. "Is it part of a scare tactic or just for the ambiance?"

Lorenzo grinned. "It's the first one."

"Oh." I grimaced. "I guess there's nothing that could be done."

"Don't worry. We'll have it clean. From the looks of it, we will never run out of blood around here." He tipped his head towards Allessio, who delivered a blow to Livio in a powerful strike that makes me want to wince even if I hate him as much as his sister. He's trying to create a bidding war for me for Pete's sake! "Our capo will make sure that anyone who tries to hurt you or even disrespect you will shed blood here. And so do we, Lady Boss."

Lady Boss, huh?