The Mafia King's Forbidden Desire

Amelia woke to sunlight cutting through thin curtains. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and then it all came rushing back. Marcus, Derek, the bed, eight months.

She sat up slowly with her body stiff from sleeping in her work clothes. The hotel room looked even worse in daylight, with water stains on the ceiling, carpet with suspicious dark patches, and the smell of stale cigarettes stronger now.

Her phone buzzed. No, not her phone, the burner. Amelia grabbed it from the nightstand.

Lucia: Are you awake? How are you feeling?

Amelia stared at the text. How was she feeling? Numb, empty, like someone had scooped out her insides and left behind a hollow shell. She typed back, I'm okay. Going to get my things today.

The response came immediately. Be safe. Call me if you need anything. I mean it.

Amelia set the phone down and looked at herself in the mirror above the dresser. Her hair was a mess, mascara smudged under her eyes, and her blouse wrinkled beyond repair. She looked exactly how she felt, destroyed, but she did not have time to fall apart, not yet. She needed to get her things from the apartment before Marcus came home from work. Get in, get out, never see him again.

Amelia used the tiny hotel soap to wash her face and tried to smooth down her hair. It did not help much, but it would have to do. She checked out of the hotel at nine and drove straight to the apartment.

The parking lot looked the same as it had last night, normal and ordinary. Marcus's car was gone, which was good because he would be at work by now. Amelia sat in her car for a long moment, gathering courage she did not feel, and then she got out and walked to the building.

The elevator ride up felt like descending into a nightmare she had already lived once. When she reached the apartment door, her hand shook as she inserted the key. It turned, and she pushed the door open.

The apartment was quiet and empty. The Thai food was still on the kitchen counter with containers unopened and cold, the pad thai she had bought for Marcus and the green curry she never got to eat. Amelia walked past it without looking.

She went straight to the bedroom. The bed was unmade with sheets tangled, the same sheets she had seen them in last night. Her work bag was on the floor where she had dropped it.

Amelia grabbed it and pulled out her phone. Fifty-three missed calls and seventy-two texts, most from Marcus and some from Derek. She did not read any of them.

Instead, she opened her email and typed quickly.

To: Jennifer.Harris@AccountingFirm.com

Subject: Resignation Effective Immediately

Jennifer,

I am resigning from my position effective immediately. I will not be returning to the office. Please mail my final paycheck to the address on file.

Thank you.

Amelia Harper

She hit send before she could second-guess herself. Done. No two weeks notice, no explanation, just done.

Amelia pulled two suitcases from the closet and started packing. Clothes, not all of them, just the ones that mattered like jeans, sweaters, and the few dresses she actually liked. She left behind anything Marcus had ever bought her. Laptop, charger, the few photos she had of her parents before they died, her passport. Everything else could stay because she did not want it anymore.

Amelia worked quickly and methodically with her hands steady now that she had a purpose. Twenty minutes, that was all it took to pack up two years of living here. Two suitcases and a work bag, that was all she was taking.

She was zipping up the second suitcase when she heard the door open.

Her heart stopped. Footsteps in the hallway.

"Amelia?"

Marcus.