The Mafia’s Wanted Desires

ASHLEY

I had been awake for the past twenty minutes, my duvet draped over my unclad body. I had tossed and turned in my sleep countless times, at night, unable to get any ounce of sleep, because I had been so nervous. And, during my restlessness, I had taken my nightie off because I felt hot everywhere.

Throughout the girl’s day out I had with Dawn and Ivana, my mind was elsewhere. The girls could tell. I couldn’t stop thinking about Adam.

But, it was only when pigs flew that I would tell my friends the reason I wasn’t participating in what was supposed to be a hangout. I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said. He sounded so broken over the phone. Like he really missed me…

I missed him too.

A lot.

So much.

I missed him. I missed his smile. I missed the way his eyes lit up whenever I walked to wherever he was. I missed the way my heart skipped around him. I miss the way he touches me and makes me feel. I longed for him, and the comfort his warm embraces had to offer.

Adam was a great guy. He just had slight temper issues. We could work things out. Everything could still be fine. We just had to talk about the things that caused our relationship to go downhill. That causes arguments between us.

‘He hit you, Ashley.’

That tiny, sane voice in my head, reminded me subtly, as though I was high on hemlock grove and I didn’t know what I was saying anymore, as though I had completely lost my mind. But, I didn’t care. I just wanted my man back. I wanted Adam back. I missed him so much, and I was going to go see him.

I didn’t care if that made me stupid. Insane, even. I had taken the day off from work, and luckily for me, Gen might have been in a good mood yesterday and allowed me to have the day off. I didn’t know what had gotten into her and started making her give me passes, but whatever it is, I was grateful. Work could wait, but my boyfriend couldn’t. I loved Adam, and I hoped to start a family with him one day.

‘You’d really marry a guy that treats you like shit?’

The tiny voice asked, and I did what I do best, I shut it out.

And with that, I pushed the duvet off my body. I dropped my feet into my flip-flops and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. I unlocked it and dialed his number. It rang for a while, but he wasn’t picking up. The second time I called him. It was just switched off. I brushed it off casually. He might still be pissed.

I walked over to my dresser and inspected my body. My facial face had morphed into that disgust as I assessed every inch of my bloated tummy and fleshy thighs. I exhaled, heavily, throwing my hair into a messy bun. A Girdle should fix it. I got into the tub and grabbed my wax, and then, I did a quick wax. I prepared a bubble bath for myself and washed my hair with his favorite shampoo.

Once I was done showering, I sauntered into my closet and picked out a matching set of undies; a lacy black bra and matching lacy panties. I got dressed in a black cleavage-revealing dress and walked toward my dresser, then proceeded to dry my hair. I did a quick make-up and tied my hair in its signature ponytail, applying a seductive cologne.

I paired my outfit with a pair of gold heels and a matching handbag. I stuffed my things into the bag and picked up my car keys, plodding out of the room.

The drive to the particular estate on which Adam’s penthouse was situated was long. I was a nerve-wracking mess because, by the time I got into the car and started heading to his place, I realized that I didn’t know what I would say to him. I didn’t have any inkling as to what to say to him or how to appease him and let him see the reasons that I only wanted some space for myself, and that was the reason I stayed away.

I punched the steering wheel and groaned, the minute his penthouse was in view. I could feel the air in the car starting to thicken up without his presence. My palms suddenly got itchy and sweaty, then my throat was completely dry and void of any liquid. My lashes wouldn’t stop fluttering and I wouldn’t stop tapping my leg on the floorboard of my car.

I pulled over in the driveway and dipped my hand into my ponytail, detaching the hair band from it and shaking my hair out. I picked up my bag and stepped out of the car, trying to steady my wobbly feet. I slammed the door shut and trudged toward the automatic door, inputting his password. The door clicked open and I stepped in.

The state of the living room, which I have always known to be clean, was severely disorganized. The couches and sofas weren’t in their initial position, the throw pillows were strewn around. The center table had also been moved from where it used to be, and the floor of the house was completely littered with food packs and containers.

The whole place reeked!

I was utterly baffled. I took slow steps forward, my eyes scanning every inch of the room, for his tall figure.

“Good morning, ma’am.” A soft voice called out to me, and I jerked my head in the direction where I presumed the voice came from. My gaze settled on a petite lady, who looked like she was in her late thirties. She had a warm, inviting smile on her face, and her blue eyes glowed under the lights.

“Hello,” I uttered, puzzled.

She was going to say something, but I beat her to it.

“Where’s my boyfriend?” I questioned, arching my brow at her. A look of shock completely married her facial features, and she squinted her eyes at me.

“Your boyfriend?” She quizzed, and I nodded my head in response.

“I’m sorry, but is Mr. Malcolm your boyfriend?” She asked, again, confusing me, even more.

Who the hell is Malcolm?

“Who is Malcolm?” I asked, irritated.

“I’m asking for my boyfriend. Adam.” I spelled out boldly for her and I watched as recognition dawned all over her face. She moved forward, approaching me. She walked past me and picked up a brown file from the table.

“The owner of this house just sold the house to my boss.” She dropped the bombshell, and my handbag dropped to the floor, from my hand, with a loud thud that resonated as it sounded twice across the walls of my ears.

“What do you mean by the owner of the house sold this house to your boss? What the hell are you even saying?! Do I look foolish to you? Get upstairs, now, and produce my boyfriend! I mean it! Now!” I bellowed at her, my voice quivering heavily.

“I am telling you the truth. You can go through the file yourself if you don’t believe me. The owner of this house employed me and my team to do a total cleanup of this house today. My team will be here soon, anyway.” She revealed, rendering me speechless.

“No!” I shouted once I collected myself.

“Give me the fucking file!” I fumed, snatching the brown envelope out of her outstretched hands. I tore the envelope open, my eyes skimming the contents of the white sheet.

I could feel a wave of dizziness hit me all at once, sending me to take a few steps backwards, without being shoved by anything, as my eyes scanned the paper, zeroing in on Adam’s signature that I knew so well, and could tell apart from a thousand signatures if I was being woken up and asked to differentiate.

“No,”

“No,”

“No!” I screamed, shaking my head vehemently. My eyes stung with unshed tears that hung in the corner of my eyes, struggling to let themselves out. My temples occasionally felt like a hammer that weighed tons of kilograms was being jammed at it. Non-stop.

This can’t be happening.

This isn’t possible!

Adam loves this house!

He would never sell it! It’s the only thing left of his dead parents! He wouldn’t do that to them. He wouldn’t do that to me. To us. It was impossible. A terrible dream that I desperately wanted to wake up from because it was so hard for me to process.

“Ma’am,”

“Ma’am,”

It sounded so distant.

I could barely process it.

“Ma’am, you have to leave in an hour. My team will be here soon.” The voice which I could barely recognize anymore, pierced through my disordered thoughts, snapping me back to reality. A painful reality that I wanted to escape from. One that still felt like a fucking dream!

My life was spiraling and flashing right before my eyes, multiple times that I could barely keep track of, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I got up from the couch I had settled on earlier and managed to stand on my wobbly feet, my breath coming out so heavily. I staggered, squeezing my eyes shut, and allowing my tears to drop, and they poured so heavily like a waterfall.

I paused and took a deep breath, chuckling.

“It was just a terrible prank, Ashley. He’s going to step out now, and tell you that it was a terrible prank that he wanted to play on you, for abandoning him.” I smiled through my tears, and sighed, trying so hard to convince myself that Adam wouldn’t just walk away from me. From our relationship. He would never do that to me, to us.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

‘Wake up, Ashley! He left you!

He fucking left you!’

“No!” I screamed, and dashed upstairs, almost toppling over my feet by the staircase. I ran toward the door that led to his room, pushing it open, and it was as though the breath that was left in my lungs was punched out of me.