Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

“It’s just a family gathering, which can ensure Luzia’s safety and provide an opportunity for you and Giulia to get along. This is a super valuable gathering, its value has exceeded the gathering itself,” Alajos said.

Simpson was speechless, “Do you believe what you just said?”

Alajos, dissatisfied with his questioning of his wise decision, replied, “There’s no point in discussing this.”

Simpson, holding back an eye roll, left the ward without looking back, slamming the door behind him. Still, he could hear Alajos’s laughter.

When everyone had left the ward, Vivian’s tense posture collapsed, and she leaned against Alajos, her eyes welling up.

“If you want to cry, go ahead,” Alajos patted her back and said, “I won’t bother you.”

“No, I don’t just want to cry,” Vivian left Alajos’s shoulder, her eyes still red, “I know you have plans regarding Joseph. You will ensure Luzia’s safety, won’t you?”

Alajos’s brief silence made Vivian feel afraid, “Alajos.”

Vivian held his hand, her voice slightly trembling, “Please let me believe that you will treat every one of your family members kindly, okay?”

“What are you afraid of, Vivian?” Alajos replied, squeezing her hand, furrowing his brow.

“I don’t know, I’m just afraid,” Vivian admitted, “You will love our child, won’t you?”

“Of course, that’s our child,” Alajos’s expression carried a hint of impatience and disbelief, “Why would you have such doubts?”

“Because…” Because Luzia’s experience is so sympathetic, because facing this kind of Luzia, your expression is too indifferent. Your indifference makes me feel like your statement of love is not an evasion or a platitude, but a genuine feeling.

But Vivian didn’t dare to speak out loud; she was too enamored with Alajos’s tenderness during this time. She had a premonition that if she said all these words, Alajos would revert to being that cold, selfish Alajos.

“Do you want to hear my story?” Vivian said.

Alajos kissed her forehead, “If you’re willing to tell, I’m willing to listen.”

“That was many years ago,” Vivian found a place to lean against in Alajos’s embrace, seeming to seek support in his arms.

Alajos understood her thoughts, embraced her from behind, and placed his hands over her abdomen.

He quietly listened to Vivian recounting the events from several years ago.

“I vividly remember that year, I was twelve, Vilem was fourteen, and Joseph was even older, he was already seventeen,” Vivian said, “We were kidnapped at a family banquet.”

Alajos asked his question, “Family banquets have always been a focus of security, the children of the Capo would receive priority protection, and unfamiliar bodyguards and servants should not appear around you. With such tight protection, why were the three of you still kidnapped together?”

“I don’t know,” Vivian shook her head, perhaps she had been too scared, and many details from that year she had already forgotten, “I only remember that day, I was supposed to stay by my mother’s side, but one of my father’s bodyguards told me that Vilem wanted me to find him in the garden, so I went, and then I fainted.”

“When I woke up from the coma, we had already been kidnapped. Vilem, Joseph, and I were all locked in a warehouse, Vilem and Joseph were thrown into a corner, and only I was dragged in front of those men.”

Perhaps as her memories started to resurface, that terrifying feeling of being surrounded by strange men, the pulling at her clothes, came back to Vivian, and she started feeling cold, shivering.

“They wanted to assault me,” Vivian fought back tears, but as soon as she spoke, the sound of her crying leaked out, “They pinned me to the ground, tore my clothes, and tried to force me to perform oral sex.”

Alajos, hearing such a thing, was deeply angered. He knew the methods of the mafia, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to tear those men apart.

Feeling Alajos’s arm tighten and his rapid breaths, Vivian struggled to calm him down and continued, “That day, Vilem saved me. He broke free from his bindings – he dislocated his own hand – and charged at those men, but he was only fourteen, he had no gun, no strong body, or agile skills, those men were all tall, strong Russians, they subdued Vilem. One of them…”

Vivian, with tears streaming down her face, gestured with her hand, speaking intermittently, “One of them took a thick, long stick and viciously struck Vilem, shattering his knees.”

This outcome seemed expected; Alajos had no doubt about Vilem’s bravery. He believed that even if faced with danger, Vilem, no matter how weak, could summon infinite courage when it came to protecting Vivian.

He asked, “What about Joseph? He didn’t break free from his restraints and rescue you, did he?”

“No!” Vivian choked, gritting her teeth, “He ran away.” That selfish man, their own brother, when she was nearly assaulted, when Vilem’s knees were shattered, and he was coughing up blood, Joseph took the opportunity to cut his own restraints and escape.

If the kidnappers hadn’t hidden their tracks so well, if they hadn’t kidnapped the son and daughter of the Capo of Los Angeles, if Vilem’s life had been even slightly more fragile, they might not have waited for rescue and died in that remote warehouse.

Vivian thought her aversion and fear of Joseph probably reached its peak at that moment. She knew all too well how selfish Joseph was; he was self-serving and disregarded family ties. In Joseph’s eyes, she and Vilem were not siblings, but rather obstacles that could be removed at any time.

If one day their interests clashed with Joseph’s, Vivian had every reason to believe that he would not hesitate to kill them.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

But the story didn’t end with their rescue; many things that happened later were things Vivian didn’t want to remember.

“My father loves me very much. He gave me everything a Mafia princess could have, and while he did tame me, he also made promises to me. As long as I graduated from high school, he hadn’t given me away as a gift to any man, he would let me go to college in New York. I would study fine arts, learn musicals, as long as I worked hard enough, I had a chance to step onto the grandest stage of the New York Metropolitan Opera.”

Vivian covered her face, tears escaping despite her efforts to hold them back, they raced down her cheeks, dripping onto the pure white hospital sheets, leaving a small wet patch.

“Since I was twelve, I’ve been hypnotizing myself like this. I told myself I was happy, my father loved me, not to argue, not to escape, not to cause any trouble for Vilem; he had already lost too much for me.”