Pull the Trigger | ✓

t w e l v e

N O A H

Leaving Astoria at the main house by herself was the last thing I wanted to do but I had contacted Javier to make sure that the men completely surrounded the private estate in case anything had happened. The moment I had received a phone call from Javier about a shooting and Astoria had been injured, I almost went out of my mind. I didn't really remember what had happened between the time span of receive the phone call to seeing Astoria lying down on the table, all bandaged. It had passed by in a blur.

"Hey, I bought new Disney movies since the last time you came and you can watch it on that sofa," I whispered to Juliette who's eyes lit up and nodded before skipping her way towards the sofa, remote control in hand. I ran a hand over my face and sat at my desk before opening one of the files that made my heart lurch forward.

It was the official merging documents that Astoria and I needed to sign.

I needed to find a way to prolong this merge before my father finds a way to fasten the process. He wanted me to put a bullet through her forehead and it would've been a lot easier if I wasn't in love with her. The morning that we had spent together, side by side, was a memory I was going to cherish till my last dying breath. She had seemed so happy and carefree. And when Juliette had asked if she loved me, I hadn't let my hopes too high, knowing that they were going to come crashing down to the ground if I had.

"Mr. Bellucci," a voice rang from the telecom, forcing me to glance down at it. "Your fiancé, Miss Moretti, is calling. I'm transferring her over to you." The words 'fiancé' and 'Moretti' in the same sentence had a warm feeling appearing in the pits of my stomach and my heart strings tugging. Never in my life had I thought this day would come.

I bit my lip and chuckled when I reached down for the phone and pressed it to my ear, awaiting to hear her lovely voice. "Noah, how do you not have pads or a tampon in this entire house? Didn't you plan this out before asking me to move in with you?!"

I frowned in confusion. "Princess, I lived alone and no, I thought you'd provide them for yourself."

A sigh came from the other line. I could already imagine her flushed face whenever I call her by her nickname. She was adorable. "My arm is bleeding and now, my uterus is too. Can my life get any better?"

I chuckled. "Is there a reason as to why you called?"

A pause. "Um...no- you know what, I am your fiancé so that gives me the right to rant to you!" And with that, she hung up immediately.

"I wasn't complaining, princess," I whispered to the dead line before placing the phone back down.

"She makes you happy," Juliette called from the other side of the room, her head slightly tilted to the side as she watched me with a small smile. "Mon frère, you love her."

I chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"

She nodded almost immediately before returning to the plasma screen TV and yelled in a thick French accent, "die, you evil stepmother!"

Looking down at the merging documents again, I ran a hand through my hair and tucked it back into the folder, unsure of what to do.

•

A S T O R I A

With Karlo handing me files that needed to be signed, I sighed and grabbed my pen before printing on my signature on the soft paper. Karlo had explained to me that the shipments of our guns were a day late which meant the other dealers have fled so by signing this document, I was giving permission for them to do things how they'd like. Shoot or toss them into an ocean, I didn't care.