Chapter 85RUSSEL ~~~°~~~I stormed out of the house, unable to understand the reason for the rage that was brewing inside me. Trust old ladies to fuck up your day, as if fucking up your entire existence was not enough. Allesia’s mother was knocking on death’s door if she imagined she would force her away.I walked to my car, deciding to drive today since tasked Luca with watching Allesia closely and keeping a close eye on that chicken shit brother of hers. The entire building was swarming with my soldiers and with the instructions that no one was to be allowed in or out without my explicit permission in place, the security system had been restored and the estate security doubled.Everything was perfectly in place for now, all I had to do was find those bastards who thought they could send some foolish tech boys in here and leave alive and send them back to hell. I parked the car in front of the warehouse, the soldiers acknowledging my presence with a nod as I stepped out. Striding
Chapter 86RUSSEL~~~°~~~Nikolai's revelation was cut off by the sudden buzzing of my phone. When I checked, it was Kegan.“What's up?” I asked, my eyes darting back to Nikolai, who returned my stare with an obvious frown.“I need you back right away,” Kegan replied urgently.I rose from the bed swiftly, ready to leave without wasting another minute. The urgency in Kegan's voice was enough to tell me all I needed to know. “What's going on?” Nikolai demanded seriously, his tone betraying a hint of concern.“I don't know. Kegan says it's urgent,” I replied, already halfway out the door. Without waiting to see if he followed, I took long strides towards the exit, the urgency in my steps palpable.Outside, the hot afternoon air hit my face as I reached my car, with Nikolai following close behind. When he entered, I revved the engine to a start and sped towards the warehouse. Nikolai remained understandably silent during the drive, but I could tell that the weight of his half revelation
Chapter 87ALLESIA~~~°~~~⚠️ A BIT TRIGGERING⚠️I was startled awake by a sudden noise, or so I thought. Shooting into a sitting position, I absentmindedly rubbed my hands over my eyes as I scanned the room, a desperate attempt to get my brain to register my surroundings. My mother was lying beside me, after what happened yesterday, which I still didn't understand because she wouldn’t tell me anything, she was still scared, even too scared to visit the restroom herself or return to her assigned room. I pulled the sheet down and quietly snuck out of the bed, ignoring the dull ache at the back of my head. My eyes were stinging from a familiar burn from all the lack of sleep I've had to endure, and yet I was so sure I hadn't slept up to an hour tonight. With a sigh, I strolled towards the dressing mirror, picked my phone and gasped when I saw the time. It was past one in the morning and Russel wasn't back, or if he was, he hadn't sent for me. I had waited up for him all through the n
Chapter 88ALESSIA~~~°~~~I woke up started, my eyes hazy and my entire body feeling like I had been run over by a whole train the night before. I leaned against the headrest and allowed myself a moment before finally opening my eyes. Last night, I had the most terrifying nightmare. I sighed, but then the first thing my eyes registered was the unfamiliarity of the bed I was lying in. I looked up, scanning the entire room urgently, that was when I realized that I was indeed in Russel's room. Oh my God, so last night was not a dream?Quickly, I got out of bed, rushed to Russel's closet and grabbed one of his shirts which I hastily put on. Then I ran out of the room, all the way down the stairs. My throat was burning from all the screams, sobs and desperate cries I had made last night, a desperate attempt to get Russel to let me go, but he didn’t.Kegan was the first person I found, he was standing at the foot of the stairs, directing some men who were dragging some stuff outside. Wh
Chapter 89RUSSEL~~~°~~~“Fucking New York,” I cursed silently, “I don’t know which one I hate more, the city or the people in it.” I mused as we entered the car. Kegan looked watched me through the mirror and grinned, “You're about to become an in law there, how sweet does that sound?” “Fuck you!” I hissed loudly. I rested my head on the seat and closed my eyes as Kegan drove out of the estate. The nostalgia was there, more than I had ever felt about leaving this house. But so was the resentment bubbling deep inside me. Fury burned within me like an unquenchable inferno as I tried to convince myself that it was the right thing to do. Her presence in my life would only keep driving me to inexplicable points, compelling me to shatter the carefully constructed barriers I had painstakingly built for years. No, I couldn’t give her that right. She was just another girl. Despite my conviction that it was the best thing to do, the pang of knowing I had hurt her gnawed at my insides,
Chapter 90RUSSEL~~~°~~~We pulled up at Ignacio Salvatore's mansion at exactly twelve noon that, accompanied by two convoys plus the one I was driving in. As soon as we stepped out of the car, Ignacio's men surrounded us, eyeing me suspiciously. One of them particularly, a burly brute fellow with an ugly scar running down his left cheek, a scar which I could easily tell was an unfading signature from my brother, Marcel.The man stepped forward, seizing me like his eyes alone were enough to lay out all my plans before him. He flexed his burly muscles menacingly, sniffing the air like a wolf in heat while I remained unfazed and just returned his gaze with a hard one of own.“Why have you come?” He asked in a deep voice. "Tell Ignacio I'm here," I replied curtly, my tone brief and dismissive.“He's not expecting you.” The man returned icily.“Well, he has something of mine that I need, so it doesn't matter whether or not he's expecting me, I'm here to collect it.”The thug exchanged
Chapter 91RUSSELA WEEK LATER~~~•~~~I sat in front of Ignacio Salvatore, flanked by his men and mine. To his left was Matteo Salvatore and to his right his daughter, Stacy Salvatore, my unlucky fiancée. Nikolai strolled into the crowded room, taking a seat on the armchair next to his father, which left him sitting directly across from me. For Ignacio’s benefit, Nikolai would maintain a moody facade while I kept my expression stoic, only nodding when Ignacio made sly remarks or gestures for my benefit. Kegan sat silently beside me, his eyes scanning the room as he took occasional sips from the glass of Martini in his hand. I tried my best to keep my face straight each time I stared at Stacy, but each time, I couldn’t help the deep sense of aversion with my own self that ghosted underneath my skin like a persistent bug. It didn’t take me long to realize that Stacy was a fucking bitch from the minute I met her last week. At the time she stepped into the room after her father sent
Chapter 92 RUSSEL ~~~•~~~ Stacy's possessive grip on my hand tightened as she led me through the dimly lit corridors of the Salvatore mansion, her voice a constant buzz in my ear. I tried not to appear as uninterested as I actually felt while she kept prattling on about things that didn’t go beyond my right ear. My mind was consumed by the overwhelming sense of unease that had settled over me like a suffocating shroud from the first day I stepped feet into this place, which had become like a prison. “You know, Father has always known that you and I were made for each other,” Stacy was saying. I gave her a sidelong glance and lifted a brow, “Oh? Is that so?” “Of course!” She rattled on with a proud smirk, “He told me you were a busy man and that it would take more than just a few winks at all those parties he took me to just so I could get a chance to see you to seduce you.” I swallowed, “Seduce me?” I asked with a surprised frown, “You’ve been— trying to?“ “Oh yes,” She s