When I was younger, I let people take advantage of me. I had problems standing up for myself which is why my brother is probably so protective of me. This time around I knew that Alessio would not be able to protect me, I had to take matters into my own hands and help myself. I was done putting myself through torture for love.

A love that was forced in the first place. A love that was created through fear and hatred. It's like having a dog. You may love that animal with everything in you but once the dog does something wrong, you discipline it. I couldn't continue to be that loyal, loving dog. I had to love myself more.

"I see you've learned your lesson Alessandra?" Valentin spoke walking into the house with his brief case. He walked into the kitchen where I was washing dishes and grabbed my waist. His lips found my neck, as he sucked on it harshly I found myself gripping the glass in my hand tighter. "You know I love you?" He asked. I brought a smile up onto my face and nodded, leaning into his touch. His hand squeezed my hip briefly before slapping my ass. Valentin turned to leave the kitchen. "Dinner is ready on the table." I said as he left the kitchen.

"Such a good girl." Valentin sat at the table and began to eat.

I slowly dried my hands before grabbing my wine glass and stalking into the dining room. I sat across from him at the new table we got after he destroyed the other. I watched as he began to eat unblinking. "Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"I don't have much of an appetite." I said showing a small smile.

Then the very moment I had been waiting for came, he picked up his wine glass and took a drink. I held my breath as he downed the glass. Valentin continued to eat as his eyes slowly became heavy. Then finally, his head hit the table.

I sipped my wine.

+++

It was taking longer than I had expected for Valentin to wake up and I was unsure if I had given him the proper dosage or if he was on the brink of death. Obviously either situation worked out pretty well for my side of this.

I sat in my chair across from Valentin for quite some time before a groan sounded from across the room. "Finally, you're awake! I've been waiting for quite a long time. It's not polite or smart to keep a woman waiting." I humored.

"Why did you do this to me?" He asked looking up at me with a glare.

"Why did I do this? You're asking me why?" I growled.

I stood from the chair I was sitting in and squatted down in front of him. I took in his features. Valentin wasn't a bad looking guy, he was actually quite handsome. With dark hair and these striking green eyes, he was one of the most handsome men I had ever seen.

I brought my hand up to his cheek and caressed softly before staring deeply into his eyes. "I did it because I love you." I smiled.

He scoffed, "You're delusional Alessandra."

"What's wrong? Isn't that what you told me? We do these things because we love each other." I extended to my full height before walking around to the back of the chair he was chained to. Running my fingers through his hair before gripping the strands between my fingers and pulling his head back toward my chest.

"Don't you love me Val?" His eye met mine with an annoyed look across his face. "What? You don't want me no more?" I growled gripping harder.

Then I felt it again, the fire sitting on my chest begging to be freed. I leaned down and kissed his neck. "Answer me baby. Don't you want me?"

"Alessandra, stop this. You know your place." He spoke finally.

I scoffed softly. One thing I had come to realize was that it took most men a little longer to grasp the concept of things. Didn't he understand?

Was this a joke to him? I walked back around to his front and pulled out the knife that was in the waistband of my pants before placing myself on his groin.

"You see Valentin, I'm tired of you choosing my place. I wanna choose my own." My lips found his as I slowly moved the knife to his neck. "I don't wanna play housewife. I want to be a queen."

"You are my Queen." His manhood pressed against my ass.

"You don't treat me like a Queen." I nicked his soft flesh before standing. "I love you so much, I would do anything for you and you repay me by sleeping with her. You know you talk about her in your sleep, she has it all, doesn't she? I wanna know how she could handle a man like you." Staring straight into his eyes I asked, "She must be good right? For you to come home and sleep in our bed with the smell of her on our sheets?"

To top it all off you throw it in my face that I've struggled to have kids. I tried to be who you wanted me to be Val, I was docile, I let you play with my head, I did anything you asked, but it just isn't working for me."

He rolled his eyes before staring into the depths of mine, "You're a woman, you're jealous, and psychotic, but you won't do anything to me Alessandra. You know how I know you won't do anything? You said it yourself, idiot, you love me."

I scoffed before gripping the knife in my hand, "And you're a man, an egotistic, coward, and you think you know everything. Don't think for a second that just because I love you, it means I don't love myself more." With that, I pressed my lips to his and plunged the knife into his center. I sat there for a while, relishing in the feeling of the warmth his blood and freedom brought me. I stood and straightened my clothes after wiping my hands clean. "If I cannot bend heaven, I will raise hell."

+x+

No one had heard from her in years, to many people she just fell from the face of the earth. Little did they know, she resided in a small town in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. No one thought to look for her there because she typically hated crowded places but, she found lots of room in her heart for the authentic place. She created a place for herself where she was feared by all who knew of her and she enjoyed being there.

Her father wasn't there to look down on her and tell her how she should be getting ready to have children or get into another marriage. Her brother wasn't there to tell her that she was better than what she had become. She was free to do whatever she felt; whatever she wanted and no one was there to stop her.

After all of the betrayal she went through, she needed some freedom to find herself again. Alessandra had always had an idea of who she was, or who everyone knew her as, Alessandra Rossiano, daughter of Ciro and Nicoletta Rossiano, and sister of Alessio Rossiano or Alessandra Bianchi. It had never occurred to her that she never had her own identity. If she wasn't Ciro and Nicoletta's daughter, then she was Alessio's little sister or someone's wife. It occurred to her that although she and Alessio were twins, no one had ever said Alessandra and Alessio. Only Alessio and his sister. Or Alessio and Alessandra. No one had ever said that she was Alessandra Rossiano, just Alessandra.

Here in Brazil, she was Alessandra Rossiano. Not the daughter of someone, the sister of someone, or the wife of someone, she was who she was. She loved it.

She made a name for herself and she was proud, but she knew it wouldn't last long. Every morning as she got out of bed, she kneeled on the ground and prayed for redemption before continuing on with her day.

She took a shower and put on her Cross shaped necklace before making her way to the local bakery. She walked into the small bakery and did the same thing she did every day; keep tabs on her family. There was one person that knew where she was, her mother. Her mother was the person that she trusted the most and she knew that her mother would never tell anyone where she was. Therefore, she spoke back and forth with her mother as usual.

After the short conversations, she would walk through the farmers market and buy fresh food and sometimes bought food for others. Today, in particular, something was different; she felt different but could not pinpoint what it was. As she walked home, she paid very close attention to her surroundings but her senses weren't as heightened as they were when she was in the mafia with her brother and that is how she woke up in a warehouse.

Bound in a chair, her hands and feet were tied to the chair and a piece of cloth was placed over her mouth. Alessandra could only assume that she had been kidnapped because of her last name. Footsteps echoed throughout the room as a man approached her tired figure. She lifted her eyes to the face of the man and studied him closely, he would regret doing this to her. A glare set on her face and a smirk painted on her face.

"Alessandra Rossiano," The man said with a strong accent. He had dark facial hair and menacing hazel brown eyes, he wore a navy blue colored suit and she could see the outline of a gun at his hip. Did he intimidate her? Yes, he reminded her of her brother. Did he scare her? No, he did not. Alessandra had seen many things in her life, death, torture and many other things but not once had she been afraid of anyone. The very worst they could do to her was kill her and she had been on the verge of death many times.

She never spoke, never made a sound but the look in her eyes told him exactly what he wanted to know. She had a stare that every Rossiano had and he could see her father when he looks at her. For only a moment, he rethought what he had just done but decided against his thoughts. There was no turning back now.

"What do you want?" She asked with annoyance in her voice as she raised a sharp eyebrow.

"Let's get one thing straight, I ask the questions here, you answer. Got it?" The man spoke.

Were all men so typical? She wondered sighing.

"I owe your brother some money, surely he would forget my small loan when he realizes that I have his baby sister."

"I just want you to know that my brother doesn't know where I am, therefore," She smirked. "I'd suggest you find another plan. Preferably one that doesn't involve kidnapping and one that hopefully works."

"This will work, I'll contact your brother and he'll come for you."

"What is your name?"

"Dominic." He replied.

"Well Dominic, my brother can't come for me if he doesn't know that I was here," Alessandra said standing before bringing her body down to the ground, breaking the flimsy chair. Although her limbs were still bound, she found it more useful than a challenge.

Standing in shock, Dominic had his mouth open before finally jumping into action. Dominic reached for his gun faithfully but Alessandra had been trained for a year just to encounter this situation. She quickly grabbed his gun clad hand and bent his wrist back before grabbing the gun for herself and shooting him in the shoulder. She pocketed the gun and freed herself before walking toward a door.

Opening the door, she snuck throughout the small warehouse and encountered a few men before she was finally free. What she did not know what that Dominic had already called her brother and there he was.