Wrath (Malice Mafia, #2)

by Coralee June

William was the only one to stop me from jumping into the flames. He wrapped his arms around me as I cried out. I hated him for saving me, for loving me.

He wanted to chop them up and hide them like the serial killers in my podcast. And me? I just wanted to make him happy.

It was wrong and nightmare-inducing. I wasn’t sure if I was just so deep in my own disassociation that I couldn’t comprehend what was happening, or if my love for him managed to defeat the odds and overcome the horror of it all.

Anthony Civella was an ache I couldn’t soothe.

But oddly enough, my humanity died when I fell in love. It was the price I had to pay for selling my soul to three monsters.

Anthony, Nick, and William still fought over me, but Nick? Nick claimed me. He destroyed the competition.

“I think he’s going to stop letting you come with me soon,” Anthony grumbled before kicking the wall of dirt in front of him with his sneaker. “He thinks I’m getting worse. Maybe I am.”

he's gonna shatter my heart into a million pieces at some point i can feel it 🥹

I didn’t know how to make things better. Sometimes happily ever after was just a state of existence.

Anthony lived a life of chasing flies.

not the flies again 😭 pls i will have a breakdown worthy of a punch on my grippy sock facility punch card

I hate hearing how I’m not good enough. My brothers have bad days and no one bats an eye, but I have a bad mind, babe.”

“I know you prefer the dead, Anthony. The dead can’t hurt you. They can’t make fun of you or question you. The dead can’t judge. But the living?” I paused to whisper in his ear. “The living can please you. The living can love you back.”

“You should have died when they kidnapped you,” I said. And the asshole nodded in agreement. He looked at me with pleading eyes, begging me to end his fucked up life.

😧 ouch that hurt

I knew that I was responsible for the mess of a man he’d become, but I wasn’t going to let guilt ruin Juliet’s life.

We were all guilty of dancing with our toxic desires, but this was the first time I had seen the effects of it on my body with clear eyes.

“You think I don’t know every hair on your head? The color of your skin when it bruises? The fear in your eyes? The way you tremble when you’re scared? I know every fucking nuance of your body, Juliet. I know your mind. In fact, I’ve crawled inside every fucking crack in your soul and built a home for myself there. Not only did you lie to me, but you insulted our relationship by pretending I couldn’t see how much you’re suffering right now.”

I was nothing more than a darling little casualty.

i am not prepared for the pain that's about to come 🥹

“You never need me anymore,” he said bitterly before dropping his arms to his sides.

that was so vulnerable of him that hurt me not gonna lie 🥲

Since I had to be everything for everyone all the time, there was seemingly nothing left for me. Love was supposed to be this magical thing that kept multiplying, not this twisted jealous thing we’d become—men fighting for the scraps that made up my heart. I felt used. I felt selfish. I was running on half a heart with full intentions.

aha ouch 🥹

“Anthony needs to fight for himself. I think time is the best thing we can give him right now. Would you rather drag a broken man back to his dungeon, or welcome a healed man back into your arms?”

“I’ll fight my brother for you, Juliet.”

find your fucking chill

“Don’t look so shocked.”

“You don’t usually go up ag...

“I never had a reason to fight before,” he said before kissing my forehead and pull...

“I don’t want anyone to fight, William. I just want u...

I held William tight for what felt like hours, while slowly letting go of Anthony.

damn stabbing me in the heart would hurt less

Money was just another word for power. The powerless scream. Wealth whispers.

“You talk a big game, but when it comes down to it, you wouldn’t have been able to make the decision I made. You wouldn’t have banned Anthony. You’re just benefitting from my difficult decision.”

You hide from them. Anthony creates them. That’s how it’s always been. That’s how it’s going to be.”

uhm ouch 😓

“You’ll have to pry her from my cold, dead hands before I let you have her all to yourself.”

👀

“Tell me what you want, Little Fighter,” he snapped. The sentimental nickname was like a balm on my heart. “I don’t know.” “Yes, you do. You always know what you want; it’s something we have in common.” My eyes prickled with tears. “I want Anthony back.” If my words affected him, he didn’t show it. “What else?” “I want you back.” He reached out and cupped my jaw with his tattooed hand. “What else?” “I want me back? I want to feel like myself again.” He kissed my forehead before speaking. “And who are you, Juliet?” I didn’t know how to answer his question. Was I the girl that killed a man to save herself? Was I a student? A lover? A sex club worker? A hardworking granddaughter willing to sell her soul to help the ones she loved? Was I a victim? No. I knew I wasn’t that. I was never a victim. I survived, adapted, and overcame. “I’m a fighter,” I whispered, the admission felt both comforting and overwhelming.

proud of you juliet 🥹 yes you are a fighter

“Rewarding you,” Malice purred.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GROCERY STORE?!???? SIR- 💀💀💀

“We still have a lot to work through, Little Fighter. I just wanted to give you a taste of what you’re missing by keeping your distance.”

oh you're slick 😳

I held my breath, waiting for her to speak again.

fuck me 😭 every single chapter of his is going to emotionally destroy me isn't it?

Listening to her true crime podcast was all that brought me joy these days. “She saved him, can he save her?” Something told me he couldn’t save her. Not when he was the monster she had to run from.

FUUUUCCCK 💔🥹

But right now, I couldn’t stomach much of anything. I wasn’t even sure I deserved the nourishment, because I was a walking, talking, breathing, fly-swatting psychopath.

IVE. HAD. ENOUGH. 😭😭😭

I spoke back, because talking to myself on a crowded Miami street wasn’t even on the top ten list of crazy things I’d done. “Hey, beautiful. How are you?” I greeted her.

i'm experiencing emotional distress 🥲

I was a monster. I ruined every good thing I had. The voices in my head—the souls of the dead—made it hard for me to function like a normal human in society. I wanted to go home. But I couldn’t go home.

The longer I went without talking to them, the more I wondered why the hell William hadn’t come after me.

the way he thinks he has no one is BREAKING ME 😁

I sped up. The girl with the hoodie over her head matched my pace. I turned right at the end of the street, and so did she.

what if it's vicky???

No fucking way. Vicky.

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!! i fucking called it! like it wasn't that hard to guess or whatever BUT I WAS FUCKING RIGHT I KNEW IT!

But I would not ask permission. Not this time. Not ever again. I was the girl who murdered a man to save herself. Not the girl that allowed someone to claim every part of her.

bad bitch behaviour 😌 finally juliet is feeling like herself again!

Just because I was making a show of choosing him, didn’t mean I wasn’t choosing Nick. I was choosing myself and finding equal homes for each of the men in my heart.

“You can’t control me. Not if you want to be with me. You can capture me. Lock me up in your bedroom. Fuck me. Ruin me. But it won’t be love. It won’t be real. It’ll just be you and a warm body.”

“I let Nick be in charge of this relationship because I suppose I wasn’t confident enough to say what I wanted. It was easier to let him call the shots, because I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I never meant to hurt anyone...”

“I’m paying for Ruthie’s doctor appointments and medicine. Hell, I’m paying for your schooling. Your food.” “If you took all of that away, you’d just be confirming what I’m feeling right now. You’d be well within your right to stop. I can’t force you to care about me, Nick. I’m just done letting you hold the world over my head in exchange for love.”

oh girly popped off 👀

“We have a fundamental difference of opinion, Little Fighter. You seem to think that is none of my business, and I think every bit of your existence on this spinning rock in space is my business.”

why was that romantic??? spinning rock in space? did he just speak to my ongoing existential crisis? fuck me

Something told me that I won this battle, but he would win the war.

Malice and I had become pen pals. Except we weren’t writing letters, we were just mailing a necklace back and forth. Every night, I’d drop it off in his mailbox, and every morning, it would be back in mine.

how depressingly romantic 🥹

Wait. Three weeks? That was about the time that Anthony left.

nah this has vicky written all over it 😤

Pest92: He’d be crazy to leave you. A girl that can hide a body and talks about true crime? Be still my beating heart.

i had my doubts but this is anthony 😌 has to be