EVEN AFTER YOU

EVEN AFTER YOU

Chocolatefinger16 · Ongoing · 88.7k Words

445
Hot
445
Views
0
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Alessia Moretti was born into a legacy of wealth, silence, and shadows. When her powerful father dies unexpectedly, she returns to Florence — not in grief, but in search of what never made sense. The funeral is lavish, the condolences practiced. But what catches her eye isn’t in the eulogy. It’s a name in the guestbook. A stranger who stood apart. Watching.

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

You Might Like 😍

The Biker's Fate

The Biker's Fate

949k Views · Completed · Piper Davenport
"You are absolutely my fucking woman, Dani. Got me?"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
The Prison Project

The Prison Project

483.7k Views · Ongoing · Bethany Donaghy
The government's newest experiment in criminal rehabilitation - sending thousands of young women to live alongside some of the most dangerous men held behind bars...

Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?

Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.

Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.

Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...

At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…

Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?

Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?

What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…

A temperamental romance novel.
From Substitute To Queen

From Substitute To Queen

653.4k Views · Completed · Hannah Moore
For three years, Sable loved Alpha Darrell with everything she had, spending her salary to support their household while being called an orphan and gold-digger. But just as Darrell was about to mark her as his Luna, his ex-girlfriend returned, texting: "I'm not wearing underwear. My plane lands soon—pick me up and fuck me immediately."

Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.

Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.

In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?

From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Accardi

Accardi

273.7k Views · Completed · Allison Franklin
“I thought we discussed this earlier, Weakness? I warned you. His death is on your hands.”
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.


Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
His Mission

His Mission

355.3k Views · Completed · Sakz Hussain
Meet Emily Wentworth. Since the death of her father, she's been living a home life full of abuse. It's remained a secret for years until she meets the town's bad boy, Jake Melvin. It doesn't take long for him to figure out her secret.

Emily is suddenly thrown from one world of danger and uncertainty into another. The two teens ride the rollercoaster of love, unbelievable betrayal and heartache.
Badass in Disguise

Badass in Disguise

350.6k Views · Completed · Sherry
"Everyone out," I commanded through gritted teeth. "Now."
"Jade, I need to check your—" the nurse began.
"OUT!" I snarled with enough force that both women backed toward the door.
Once feared by Shadow Organization that drugged me to replicate my abilities into a more controllable version, I had escaped my restraints and detonated their entire facility, ready to die alongside my captors.
Instead, I woke up in a school infirmary with women arguing around me, their voices piercing my skull. My outburst froze them in shock—clearly they hadn't expected such a reaction. One woman threatened as she left, "We'll discuss this attitude when you get home."
The bitter truth? I've been reborn into the body of an overweight, weak, and supposedly dim-witted high school girl. Her life is filled with bullies and tormentors who've made her existence miserable.
But they have no idea who they're dealing with now.
I didn't survive as the world's deadliest assassin by allowing anyone to push me around. And I certainly won't start now.
The mafia princess return

The mafia princess return

386.1k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Talia have been living with her mother, stepsister and Stepfather for years. One day she finally get away from them. Suddenly she learn she have more family out there and she have many people that actually love her, something she have never felt before! At least not as she can remember. She have to learn to trust others, get her new brothers to accept her for who she is!
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

200.5k Views · Completed · Jessica C. Dolan
Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
Mated by Contract to the Alpha

Mated by Contract to the Alpha

252.3k Views · Completed · CalebWhite
My perfect life shattered in a single heartbeat.
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
Omega Bound

Omega Bound

441.5k Views · Completed · Veronica White
Ayla Frost is a beautiful, rare omega. Kidnapped, tortured, and trafficked to rogue clans and corrupt alphas to do with as they pleased.  Kept alive in her cage, broken and abandoned by her wolf, she becomes mute and has given up on hope for a better life until one explosion changes everything. 

Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life. 

Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate

636.9k Views · Completed · Veejay
"No... You can't do this to me..." I almost squeezed the words through my teeth, my voice trembling.
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride

225.9k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
On the day Evelyn thought Liam would propose, he shocked her by getting down on one knee—for her stepsister, Samantha. As if that betrayal wasn’t enough, Evelyn learned the cruel truth: her parents had already decided to sell one daughter’s future to a dangerous man: the infamous War God Alpha Alexander, who was rumored to be scarred and crippled after a recent accident. And the bride could’t be their precious daughter Samantha. However, when the "ugly and crippled" Alpha revealed his true self—an impossibly handsome billionaire with no trace of injury—Samantha had a change of heart. She was ready to dump Liam and take Evelyn's place as the family daughter who should marry Alexander.
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”