

EVEN AFTER YOU
Chocolatefinger16 · Ongoing · 86.0k Words
Introduction
A sealed envelope from her father's lawyer deepens the mystery — an addendum to his will, locked behind a single condition: it must not be opened unless something happens to Giuliana De Luca — the woman who raised Alessia, but never quite loved her. The woman who replaced her mother. The woman with secrets buried deeper than the grave.
As Alessia begins to peel back the layers of the house — and her own memory — she uncovers missing tapes, manipulated truths, and a man named Matteo who seems tied to it all. A man she should stay away from. A man who might already know who she really is.
But nothing in the Moretti legacy is what it seems.
Not her past.
Not her family.
Not even herself.
And some ghosts don’t stay buried.
Even After You is a dark, slow-burn romantic thriller about power, obsession, and the brutal things we inherit. For readers who crave revenge laced with longing, and love that demands blood before it offers softness.
Chapter 1
The rain fell like whispers — soft, steady and unforgiving — soaking into the old bones of Florence. An atmosphere that usually bring comfort to Alessia now taunting her, reminding her of what she had just lost. Narrow cobblestone streets gleamed under the gray sky, slick with water and age, each stone glistening like a memory too heavy to forget. Puddles quickly forms around the feet of wrought-iron balconies and marble columns, rippling with the passing of polished black shoes and unsmiling faces. The sound of church bells can be heard ringing from somewhere beyond the Duomo, muffled out by the low-hanging clouds and the hush of umbrellas opening like secrets. Ornate buildings with decade-old façade loomed tall, their fading frescoes watching over the living like ghosts carved into stone while the city hummed with the kind of stillness that carried weight.
A slow procession of sleek cars moved through the narrow alleys near the cathedral, their engines nearly drowned out by the sound of the rain. Mourners stood in small clusters beneath awnings and arches, their expressions guarded. The scent of wet pavement, old incense and freshly cut lilies mixed with the metallic tang of grief too long to withstand filled the air.
Alessia Moretti stood at the edge of it all, just outside the old chapel’s threshold, the black heels echoing faintly on the rain-slicked marble. Behind her, the city exhaled centuries of secrets. Before her, a coffin waited — and somewhere in between, the weight of everything unspoken pressed down, as if Florence itself was holding its breath.
“We gather here today, not only to bury a man, but to acknowledge the silence he leaves behind.” The priest begins and the subtle murmurs from the mourners seize. Alessia’s body stiffens as the priest’s voice floats over the pews like mist, slipping between candlelight and marble. She can barely hear the words , not because they didn’t reach her but because they didn’t touch anything real.
“Dario Moretti was many things to many people — a father, a protector, a public servant. Some knew him through his service, others through his stillness. He moved through this city with a certain weight — like stone beneath water — rarely loud, but always present.” Alessia holds herself back from rolling her eyes. To some, maybe. But to her? He was a locked door. A man who called her his daughter but never held her hands. Who gave her everything but never himself. She had grown up in his shadow, but never his warmth — a figure built from rules and routines, not memories. It has always been hard for her to get anyone to understand how distant her father was, because while she always felt the emptiness of his absence, others saw a girl who got everything she wanted and took that as fatherly love.
“Florence remembers men like Dario. It holds their names in stones and shadow. But memory, as we know, is not always a clear mirror. It is fogged with what was never said, with what was lost in the spaces between who we are, and who we pretend to be.” Once again, Alessia holds herself back. Florence remembers all these good deeds but it didn’t remember how he would turn his back on her whenever she cried, or how he never said her mother’s name. Let’s not forget how, at the age of ten, she had to learn to stop asking questions that left his jaw tight and his eyes far away.
“Today, we do not pretend, nor do we unravel any truth. We simply lay him down, beneath the same sky that has watched over our grief for centuries, and we let the rain do what it always does: fall, and keep falling.” The priest continues.
“But we do.” She thought, jaw tightening, reminding her of her father’s expression whenever she would mention certain topics as a child. We pretend that this city is the end. That this city doesn’t know where the blood was pooled. That Giuliana DeLuca isn’t seated three rows ahead, veiled in black like a widow to a man she was never married to, head bowed, fingers stoll and ringless, but smirking beneath her silence and occasionally looking around like she’s trying to find someone.
“May peace find what he never spoke. May love find what he left behind.”
“It’s a little too late for that,” She murmurs silently. The words lands on her like soft rain on cold stone. She didn’t cry. Not because she couldn’t, but because she had done all her grieving the moment she first realized her father was two people: One she lived with and the other she would spend the rest of her life trying to unearth.
As the casket is lowered, she didn’t whisper ‘goodbye’. She didn’t reach out to touch the roses. She simply watched with one thing on her mind: “Let peace find him, I’ll take the truth.”
The sound of the piano fills the air, along with the clattering of shoes and the clanking of champaign glasses. Men and women in black attire make their way up and down the room. Alessia holds in a breath as she sights another couple approaching her to offer their condolence. They looked like they couldn’t care less about her or her late father, but that didn’t surprise her as she knew all of this was just for show; the fake tears, half-assed sympathy, and side hugs. The only thing that seemed authentic about the entire ceremony was the melodious sound of the piano. She knew that tune like the back of her hand and it held so many memories; good, bad and ugly.
“Miss. Moretti, I am so sorry for your loss. He was such a good man,” A slightly obese woman with a thick accent says as the stretches out her arms as if asking for a hug. Alessia smiles weakly as she accepts the hug. Behind the woman is a middle aged man. The tip of his nose and ears are red, no doubt from the cold outside. He stands quietly behind the woman who kept rambling about how loved her late father was and how dearly he would be missed.
“Thank you, Mrs…”
“Riccardo. Mrs, Riccardo”
“Mrs. Riccardo, can I ask how you knew my father?”
“We worked together on a case a few years back. He helped burst a drug lord that managed to infiltrate about ten private school in the city.”
“Oh, okay.”
“You look drained, how about a drink?”
“Sure.” The woman places her palm on Alessia’s shoulder and leads her towards the bar that was setup in the kitchen. The middle aged man followed behind tgem, not getting close enough for her to get a good look at his face in the poorly lit room but she was certain that he could hear them clearly.
“So, who’s the lingering man?” Something about his presence made her uncomfortable.
“Just ignore him. He’s my husband but he’s a bit awkward. He never really got along with your father.”
“Well, my father is dead now so…” If he had some beef with her father, he ought to have buried it with him. The two women downed a few shots in silence. For a brief moment, Alessia felt a pang in her chest as a memory of her father flashed though her mind, but was cut short by a weird sound from the piano.
“The pianist must have hit the wrong key,” Mrs. Riccardo murmurs.
“What?”
“You flinched when the pianist hit the wrong key. Do you know the song?”
Before she could answer someone interrupts them.
“Miss. Moretti, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Although I wish it was under better circumstances.” An all too familiar voice calls from behind her.
“Uncle,” She smiles ginuely for the first time since she arrived in Italy. Her uncle was the closest thing to a friend that she had. They had never met physically, but she could recognize that voice anywhere after all, he always sang lullabies to her over call when she was a child. He wasn’t related to her but she always called him uncle.
“Little bunny,” He smiled warmly as he pulls her in to a hug. “I’m sorry about your dad. His soul rest in peace.”
“Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure, tell me about work.”
“It’s stressful. My boss is an absolute witch and her husband is a pig…” For the first time since the night started, she was having a proper conversation with someone she was familiar with about something other than death and her dad. It was refreshing, but short lived as her uncle cuts her off.
“Has she approached you tonight?” The look in his eyes was cold and hateful and she stared over her head and into the distance. She didn’t need to look back to know who he was referring to.
“That Giuliana DeLuca,” She whispers.
“Has she?”
“No, but she has be glaring daggers at me all night.”
“Stay far away from her, Ally. She’s bad news.”
Last Chapters
#62 CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Last Updated: 8/17/2025#61 CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Last Updated: 8/17/2025#60 CHAPTER SIXTY
Last Updated: 8/16/2025#59 CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Last Updated: 8/16/2025#58 CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Last Updated: 8/15/2025#57 CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Last Updated: 8/15/2025#56 CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Last Updated: 8/13/2025#55 CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Last Updated: 8/11/2025#54 CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Last Updated: 8/10/2025#53 CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Last Updated: 8/3/2025
You Might Like 😍
The Wolf Prophies
The Badass Mafia Princess and Family
Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
"You want me to fuck you, I know it"
"As much as you don't like me, you're my mate and you can't deny it."
He stood up behind me, one hand holding my hip, and leaned down, his breath ragged against my neck, his voice was husky,
"You'll listen to your body... what it wants... and my body... what it needs. Only the pleasure that a small bite can bring."
At the age of 15, I was shocked to hear the ruthless Alpha claim that I was his mate.
To make matters worse, he killed my father, who was trying to protect me. At that time, I successfully ran away from him.
However, when I turned 18, I fell into his trap again.
I hated him and wanted revenge, but the moon goddess had a different plan for me.
I was his mate, and we were fated to be together. No matter the circumstances, my body couldn't resist him.
Sold! To the Grizzly Don
Selling her virginity online is a surefire way to make sure The Grizzly cancels the agreement and when she lets her father know she's sold it to the highest bidder and never got his real name, the contract is ended but so is her association with her own family.
Six years later she is no longer the treasured principessa of the Mariani family, but the single-mother to a five-year old boy who bears an uncanny resemblance to the man to whom she sold her innocence.
Torquato Lozano has searched for the woman who left him high and dry after an incredible night of passion nearly six years ago. When he stumbles across her in a newly purchased company working as an IT tech, he's stunned to find out she's the woman his family arranged him to marry so many years before. A perusal of her file tells him she didn't leave their rendezvous all those nights ago empty handed. Her little boy is the spitting image of him, right down to his massive size.
When Alcee's family realize they are losing out on a lucrative financial alliance they should have been part of, it starts a war. With enemies appearing at every corner, Alcee and Torquato will need to let the past go and work together to keep their son alive. Their passion will reignite as they strive to keep their family safe and forge a new power to take over the New York criminal underworld.
The Alpha's Hunt
If she is claimed she will be his. If she is not, she will return in shame and be shunned from her pack.
Hazel knows the ways of the Alphas, being the daughter of a Beta, but what she doesn't count on is the presence of the Lycan King. The leader of all is participating in his first-ever hunt, and she is his prey.
Warning: This book contains a LOT of mature content such as strong language, explicit sx scenes, physical and mental abuse, BDSM, etc.*
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL
MXM R18+
A FORCED CONTRACT MARRIAGE WITH THE DEVIL.
I sucked in my breath when he all of a sudden took hold of my jaw and kept my other hand above my head" "Let go of me, you devil," I beat against his chest repeatedly. I wanted to shove him off me but he didn't even budge a bit. Within minutes , l brought my knee up and kicked him in the shin. As soon as I did, he groaned out in pain and I took that as an opportunity to free myself from his grasp. I rushed quickly to the other side of the room desperate to get away from him.
He wasn't going to do as he pleases with me and yet we are fellow men
Stuck With My Three Hottie Boss
"Do you want that, buttercup? Do you want us to give your little cunt what it craves?"
"Y…yes, sir." I breathed
Joanna Clover's hard work through university paid off when she got a secretary job offer to her dream company, Dangote Group of Industries. The company is owned by three mafia heirs, they don't only own a joint business, they are also lovers and had been together since their college days.
They are sexually attracted to one another but they share everything together including women and they change them like clothes. They are known as the world's most dangerous playboys.
They want to share her but will she accept the fact that they fuck each other?
Will she be able to navigate business and pleasure?
She has never been touched by a man before let alone three, all at the same time. Will she oblige?
An Ice Queen for sale
Alice is an eighteen-year-old, beautiful figure skater. Her career is just about to climax when her cruel stepfather sells her to a wealthy family, the Sullivans, to become the wife of their youngest son. Alice assumes that there is a reason a handsome man wants to marry a strange girl, especially if the family is part of a well-known criminal organisation. Will she find the way to melt the ice cold hearts, to let her go? Or will she be able to escape before it’s too late?
I Am His Wolfless Luna
Ethan also kept emitting deep roars in my ear, 'Damn... I'm going to cum... !!!' His impact became more intense and our bodies kept making slapping sounds.
"Please!! Ethan!!"
As the strongest female warrior in my pack, I was betrayed by those I trusted most, my sister and my best friend. I was drugged, raped, and banished from my family and my pack. I lost my wolf, my honor, and became an outcast—carrying a child I never asked for.
Six years of hard-won survival turned me into a professional fighter, fueled by rage and grief. A summons arrives from the formidable Alpha heir, Ethan, asking me to return as a wolfless combat instructor for the very pack that once banished me.
I thought I could ignore their whispers and stares, but when I see Ethan's emerald-green eyes—the same as my son’s—my world tilts.
Mating Moon
From omega to luna
As he took in her face, his eyes met her ice blue ones, and he stopped breathing for a moment.
While he was frozen, his wolf was ecstatic and tried to push him forward. She looked just as surprised as him. He took two strides and ended up inches away from her.
“Mate!” he growled, never breaking eye contact.
***Bella is an omega, lowest in rank of the pack. But she has accepted her place in life. Graham is the alpha, top of the rank. Strong, fierce, and determined to do what is best for his pack. In his mind, he doesn’t have any time for a mate. Yet they meet each other in the midst of the biggest conflict between the packs and rogues to date.
Heartsong
I looked strong, and my wolf was absolutely gorgeous.
I looked to where my sister is sitting and her and the rest of her posse have jealous fury on their faces. I then look up to where my parents are and they're glaring at my picture, if looks alone could set shit on fire.
I smirk at them then I turn away to face my opponent, everything else falling away but what was here on this platform. I take my skirt and cardigan off. Standing in just my tank and capris, I move into a fighting position and wait for the signal to start -- To fight, to prove, and not hide myself anymore.
This was going to be fun. I thought, a grin on my face.
This book ”Heartsong” contains two books “Werewolf’s Heartsong” and “Witch’s Heartsong”
Mature Audience Only: Contains mature luangege, sex, abuse and violence