UNTAMED OBSESSION

CHAPTER 2: DIAMOND CAGE

Mellu’s POV

The chandelier above me flickered slightly, casting golden light across the marble floors and velvet drapes of the massive penthouse. But I wasn’t paying attention to the luxury around me, cause they were all smuggled money; not like I care or anything.

I was sprawled on the plush leather couch, staring blankly at my phone screen, scrolling through meaningless posts. My life had become this—empty, repetitive, dull.

Then, the front doors swung open with a crash, and my mother waltzed in like she owned the world.

Her black silk dress clung to her curves, her crimson lipstick unapologetically smeared, and her long curls bounced with every exaggerated step. She radiated energy—wild, reckless, and high off something that wasn’t just happiness.

"Mírate, niña aburrida, siempre en ese maldito teléfono!" she sang dramatically, her accent thick and playful. (Look at you, boring girl, always on that damn phone!)

I barely glanced up.

In her hand a bottle of aged Italian wine, the kind we could never afford. Then like a woman possessed, she yanked two glasses from the bar shelf without care.

“Drink Mellu!!” She beamed shoving a glass into my hand.

I wasn't thirsty, not for wine, not for any bullshit she was about to say.

She spun toward me, eyes glimmering with triumph.

"We’re finally rich, baby!" she declared, pouring the deep red liquid into our glasses with a flourish.

That made me pause.

I slowly sat up, my eyes narrowing. Rich?

Her fingers danced across the rim of her glass as she hummed a tune, twirling around the room. It took me a second to recognize the song—Cielito Lindo, a nostalgic old Mexican melody.

Then I saw it.

A flash of brilliance on her left hand.

My stomach twisted as I stared at the monstrous diamond on her finger—a Graff Pink diamond, blindingly large and impossibly expensive.

I nearly choked.

"Dios mío..." I whispered.

"That’s right, baby," she smirked, raising her hand dramatically. Giggling like a schoolgirl, waving it to my face"I finally found the love of my life!"

I scoffed, leaning back against the couch.

"Love " I repeated, my tone dripping with disbelief.

She didn't fall in love. She fell into money

“ more like you found a man rich enough to buy you”

She gasped in mock offense

“Mellu, how dare you?” Then she grinned

“At least I found one. You're the one sitting here, wasting your youths and always depending on me”

Then I rolled my eyes cause that was the truth.

She twirled onto the couch beside me, kicked off her heels, and spun her fingers in the air like she was some goddess of fortune. Her wine sloshed in the glass, but she didn’t care. She was too drunk off her own victory.

"Oh, Mellu, you have no idea," she sighed dreamily, sinking into the cushions. "This man is rich, powerful, and completely obsessed with me."

I raised a brow.

"Do you even know how much that ring is worth?"

She giggled, wiggling her fingers. The diamond caught the light, sending prisms of color across the ceiling.

"Of course, pendeja! Why do you think I married him?"

I exhaled slowly.

"And just so you know," I muttered, taking a slow sip of my wine, "if you steal from this one, I’m not running away with you again, remember relocating, fake passport and always on the run”. I said, trying to remind her.

Silence.

For a moment, her drunken haze lifted, and her dark eyes snapped to mine—sharp, calculating. Then, as quickly as it came, she laughed, waving me off as if I were some silly little girl.

"Ay, Mellu, you worry too much." She waved her hand dismissively. "This one’s different. He’s dangerous. He owns half of Italy. No one touches him, and now, no one touches me."

Her voice dripped with satisfaction.

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, until you get bored of him and screw someone else’s husband."

Her smile didn’t fade. If anything, it grew sharper.

"Oh, cariño, you don’t understand yet, do you?" she purred, tilting her head. "We don’t run anymore. He wouldn’t let us. We’re untouchable now."

The way she said it sent a strange chill through me.

I exhaled sharply, setting my glass down. “What’s his name?”

“Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo. The name rolled through my mind like a slow, dark wave.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she jumped up and pulled a handful of silk dresses from a boutique bag, tossing them onto my lap.

Look at these, Mellu!" she gasped, her voice breathy with excitement. "All designers. All our. Because of him, I got us all these glamour”

So soon, I thought to myself. Who was this man?

I lifted one lazily, feeling the expensive fabric between my fingers. It was a deep shade of blood-red, shimmering under the lights.

"Get ready, corazón," she grinned, holding up her glass. "Because tomorrow, we’re meeting your new stepfather!"

My fingers went stiff against the silk.

Stepfather? After my dad died, my mum got married to four more men. The first was married, the second married, third a politician, fourth a young crackhead nearly my age and now this.

She was good at this, seducing her gender’s husband to fulfill her lust for money and power.

And of course it always ended up the same way; relocating, running away or getting nearly killed by their wives.

She twirled away, still humming, still drinking, as she disappeared into her room.

I sat frozen on the couch, my mind reeling.

We had only been in Italy for a month.

Thirty days, and she was already married to some billionaire ?

How the f**k did she catch this one?!.

Something was wrong.

Men like him from my mum's description didn’t fall in love with women like her. Men like him didn’t marry impulsively and for f***s sake this is Italy, millian to be precise. This city was ran by power mafia lords.

And I knew it, Men like him didn’t give away power for free.

I tightened my grip on the wine glass, staring at the closed door where my mother had disappeared.

She thought she had won. That she had played the game and come out on top.

But something deep inside me told me this wasn’t a happy ending.

Or is she that dumb to notice?

No, I know my mum, of course she knows what she's about to get into.

And for a man to put that million diamond ring on her finger just so soon,

it screamed wealth,

it screamed power,

it screamed danger!.