Reborn as His Well-Behaved Temptation

Cesare Xandri, the rising gangster of the Nalitan mafia, unexpectedly lost a bet at an elite private casino in Ithel, the kind that smells like cigar smoke and blood money. The penalty was simple, he had to call his hard-to-tame pet.

The phone was on speaker. The men circled him, whistling and hooting, waiting to be entertained. He asked what I was up to in a relaxed and amused tone. I replied softly, insinuating he was sinful, hiding my defiance behind innocence and fake devotion. When I finished my insult, the room fell silent, then burst into loud and uncontrollable laughter.

The call ended. Less than thirty minutes later, the mansion gates were smashed open.

He stormed in smelling of gunpowder, a Beretta still in his hand. He pushed me against the wall furiously beneath the Virgin Mary statue. I leaned into him without hesitation, fingers brushing the heated gun, and I met his gaze without fear.

I chose virtue and rejected him in my past life, in return I was thrown into the open sea to die.

I intended to be his temptation when I got a second chance at life, I wanted to be a beautiful sin that ends his story under the Cecilian sun.

It was late at night in Koma, and the air smelled of salt from the sea.

Cesare pinned me into the corner of the wall in front of the angel statue. The cold muzzle of a Beretta was pressed hard against my chin.

"How dare you use God as an excuse to avoid me, Rene Santoro?" he accused.

He reeked of alcohol, and there were dark, dried bloodstains on his shirt. I did not know whose blood it was, only that it came from the raid he led on the Blue Note gang earlier that night.

I had screamed in fear at that demonic version of him in my past life. I cried and cursed him as a monster. In return, he broke my leg himself and locked me in a basement, forcing me to fight vicious dogs for food.

I looked straight into his eyes that were menacingly red. I did not pull away in this life. Instead, I pushed my chin closer to the gun.

I sneered and slid my soft fingers into his shirt.

"It hurts, Cesare," I said.

My voice was sweet and soft, almost tempting, mixed with restrained and shallow breaths.

"I saw how tired you were after fighting tonight, and I felt bad for you. I just wanted God to protect you. How is that avoiding you?" I asked.

His hand shook.

Suspicion filled his gaze.

I had always been cold and prideful in his mind. However, my eyes beguiled him like a flower that bloomed on a rotten corpse.

"What trick are you playing now, Rene?" he asked with a cold sneer.

Still, he lowered the gun without realizing it.

His large hand tore my robe open and threw me hard onto the expensive antique-style carpet.