Pursued by the Rival Mafia King

Chapter 3

Brielle's POV

When I opened my eyes, there was silence.

Not the uncomfortable kind. The warm, homely kind. The kind that made you believe you’d wake up to the smell of breakfast cooking somewhere nearby.

And speaking of breakfast...

Was that cinnamon?

I took a sharp breath, almost desperate to catch the scent again. It smelled like a bakery had opened somewhere close, filling the air with freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

That would definitely taste good with chocolate milk.

I blinked against the sunlight streaming through the curtains, waiting for my vision to adjust. Then I yawned, stretching my arms and legs wide as I turned my head.

And froze.

A handsome man was sitting in the corner of the room, smoking.

He was relaxed, almost too relaxed, leaning back in a single chair with one leg crossed over the other. But there was nothing relaxed about him.

His entire presence filled the room. His broad shoulders strained against his black shirt. That wasn’t the dangerous part about him. It was his sharp gaze.

They were already fixed on me, as if he had been waiting for the exact moment I opened my eyes.

Enzo.

My breath caught.

I sat up too quickly, and my head immediately spun. For a moment, I could only stare at him, confused as to why he was right here, in front of me. I swallowed, my eyes drinking him in. My stomach tightened with fear... and something else…

Something I refuse to acknowledge.

The years had changed him. He was no longer just the intimidating boy I remembered from school. He was something far worse. Even though his face was still handsome enough to be unforgettable.

Something that made my skin prickle and my heartbeat stumble.

“Good morning,” Enzo said, his tone light and amused.

His eyes moved over me slowly, and suddenly I was far too aware that I was lying in a strange bed, in a room I’d never been in before.

My cheeks warmed. “Is this a dream?”

I heard him chuckle. A low, amused sound. Enzo crushed the cigarette into the armrest of the chair before looking back at me.

“A dream?” The corner of his lips lifted. “I didn’t think you hit your head that hard.”

I let out an awkward laugh, but my eyes immediately began scanning the room. The dark curtains. The expensive furniture. The heavy, almost suffocating atmosphere.

The realization slowly settled in. This wasn’t a hospital, neither was it my home.

Where am I?

“Should I have the doctor check you again?” Enzo asked, leaning forward slightly. For the first time, there was something close to concern in his voice. “You might have a concussion.”

“There was a fire.” The words came out quickly. My fingers tightened against the sheets. “I heard gunshots…”

Something shifted in him.

Enzo stood.

The movement was so quick and precise that it startled me. The next second he was standing at the edge of the bed, looking down at me.

“What did you see? What did you hear?”

I swallowed.

The closer he was, the more obvious it became. Enzo Black was not the same person I remembered. His whole presence screamed danger.

My first impression of Enzo in high school had been simple: Avoid him.

Even before I met him, I had heard the warnings.

“Avoid Enzo Black. Never piss him off. Never get involved with him.”

Back in school, his temper was impossible to read, one day fine, the next day storming. Someone would set him off, and by the next morning that person had simply vanished from school, never to be found again.

Some people said he might come from a mafia family, but back then, no one dared to ask a single question more.

Years later, with him standing in front of me, my first instinct was still the same.

Run.

“I don’t know anything.” I looked away from him. “I just know there was a fire... and Jayce left me.”

My words trailed off as my memory jerked me back to that cruel moment Jayce chose Kenna over me. The betrayal… the pain…

“Jayce, who is he?” Enzo’s eyes darkened. I didn’t think it was possible for him to look more terrifying. His eyes darted to my ring finger, and then to me.

“You’re married? To Jayce?” The disbelief in his voice was almost insulting. “One would think you would have outgrown his pathetic excuse of a man and found someone more reliable.”

His eyes narrowed. “Someone who actually deserves you.”

I blinked. The way he said it caught me off guard. He sounded genuinely disappointed, like my marriage was a personal offense against him.

“How long have you been married to him?” Enzo asked.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze. I had no desire to answer his question.

“I have to go.”

His brows lifted slightly.

“I should not be here right now,” I added, looking around the unfamiliar room. “Wherever this is.”

“You’re in my villa.”

I paused. “Your villa?” I looked around again, actually taking in my surroundings this time. “You have a villa?”

A small smirk tugged at his lips. “Yes, Princess. I have a villa.”

The nickname sent an unexpected flicker through me, but I ignored it.

Enzo returned to his chair, his gaze lingering on me. “Why did Jayce leave you in the middle of a burning lounge?”

I lowered my gaze to avoid him, and the rest of my words died down. That was when I noticed the oversized grey shirt hanging over my body.

My pink dress was gone.

My eyes widened. Immediately, my hands flew to myself, checking beneath the shirt. I pressed my hands to my chest, and then lower around my hips.

My bra and underwear were still there.

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. A second later, I glared at Enzo.

“What did you do to me?”

He scoffed, amused. “Excuse me?”

“Why am I wearing your shirt? Did anything happen between us?”

The room went quiet. Enzo’s mouth twitched. He looked like he wanted to say something, then changed his mind.

“No. Nothing happened. Your dress was covered in dirt and blood, so I threw it away.”

I stared at him. He said it so casually that it annoyed me even more. “You threw away my dress?”

He laughed. He actually laughed!

“You’ve asked me a dozen questions since waking up, Brielle, but not one of them was thank you.” Enzo murmured. “I didn’t think you’d still have this unapologetic streak in you.”

His words stopped me in my tracks.

“You owe me a debt once before… and now, another debt.”