Chapter 39ArielSettling onto the chair tucked under the dining table with the events of last night flashing into my mind caused my lips to stretch into a wide grin. I didn't care if anyone was looking. To be honest, I yearned for another session of jerking into orgasm this morning. He had gotten me addicted to it. My train of thought was interrupted by the footsteps that steered toward the dining table, and then the squeaking of chairs. In curiosity, I whipped my gaze toward the noise and found an unmasked Dmitri, plopping down on a chair adjacent to me. Immediately, my jaw dropped and my eyes bulged at him in befuddlement. "Your mask, you don't have it on?" I reminded him; my voice shrill with surprise.It was funny how I used to resent him for hiding his face, but after he shared his story with me, I saw him from a different perspective coupled with the kind of things we'd been doing that brought a paradigm shift to our relationship."I won't be using it anymore," He replied fl
Chapter 40ArielThe warm afternoon breeze washed over my skin as I sat at the edge of the pool. I was clad in a short flare skirt and sports bra which gave me the freedom to take a dip in.Liora was still deeply asleep and Dmitri had gone to settle an urgent business that I didn't bother to ask him about. I was yet to come to terms with their kind of business so I didn't get inquisitive even though into one of the families that did such business and my father was one of their heads.Guilia strolled to the pool as well and sat beside me. I looked away, waiting for her to begin the conversation. After how she reacted the other day, I was being careful of the things I said around her."I'm sorry," She whispered, staring at me with misty eyes.It came too easy and I contemplated accepting her apology immediately or giving her a hard time. However, she had been a sweet soul and we'd never had a reason to fight so I chose the former. "You hurt me though. How could you say those mean word
Chapter 41DmitriLeaving a beautiful woman, who I was having a great conversation with to be in the office at this time of the morning just to attend to an uncle that I never saw eye to eye with had never felt so annoying.A few weeks back, I'd do anything to be away from the house, away from her, but these days things were different. I desired and wanted to be with her most of the time."Why are you here?" I questioned in the coldest and most irritated tone ever.He leaned on the backrest of the chair, his big stomach bulging forward. "To know how you're doing," He replied flatly and pulled out a cigarette from the wooden holder on my desk.Courteously, I passed a lighter to him and rubbed my forehead. "And you expect me to buy that bullshit?" I scoffed.He dragged in a smoke and puffed it out while I clenched my fist impatiently. My uncle, Petrov was one of the people who fought against my ascension to the post of Capo.He'd always thought that his son would take the position becau
Chapter 42ArielOur plan to have some fun at the café and library was cut short as Guilia couldn't help the tears that kept pouring down her cheeks. The only thing that could mollify the rage welling up within me was seeing Vladimir beaten up to a pulp.She scooted on the floor, her palms covering her face and I crouched beside her with my arm circling her neck. "You shouldn't be crying over him, Guilia, he's not worth it," I whispered softly.She sniffed and dragged in a deep breath. "I know, and this will be the last time I'll cry over him. I'm sorry that we won't be able to go to the library, but right now I just want to go home,""It's fine, I understand. I'll tell Fedor to drive us back to the house,"Her sadness was like the dark clouds hovering over the sky with a vicious threat to rain heavily and then there was this feeling that didn't sit well with me— knowing that what Vladimir did could make her want to return to Chicago.My only regret was that I allowed her to wander
Chapter 43ArielI flailed my legs into the air violently after I crashed on the bed, angry at myself for allowing these strange feelings to flood me—the ones that made me extremely jealous and possessive of Dmitri.The door was opened slightly and he poked his head in. I'd never seen him this laid-back and remorseful. A few months ago, he used to be extremely cocky and rude, but the sullen expression on his face showed that he had a lot of things to say to me."Can I come in?" He questioned softly.Quickly, I sat up, folding my legs and resting on my knees. "You don't have to ask. This is our room," I reminded him.He strolled in, his shoulders slightly slouched and he leaned against the wall with one of his hands tucked into his pocket."Forget about everything she said, they aren't true," He urged me.I did a little eye roll and sighed, like forgetting all about how he made her fall in love with him was that easy. And now he was doing the same thing with me.He was making me play
Chapter 44Dmitri"Vladimir!" I roared as adrenaline mixed with anger surged through me while I inputted his passcode and burst the door open, making my way into the room.My voice reechoed in the dark living room and I turned on the light to find different clothes akin to female wear littered on the floor. I guessed that those clothes were torn off in the heat of passion and the words that Ariel had said concerning my brother and Guilia replayed in my head again.I'd never been so mad at him as I was right now, and that rage spurred me to march all the way to his room until I was almost smashing his door down. "I don't care what you're doing right now, but you'd better get out right now before I completely lose it and spoil your fun," I never had to employ my Capo tone when speaking to him because he was always respectful, but presently, he was pushing my buttons so hard. Hisses flew around inside the room but I didn't care. A few seconds later, two ladies trotted out, their faces
Chapter 45Dmitri"You can still change your mind now that there's still time. Marriage isn't a joke, Vlad," My heart constricted at the thought of the loveless marriage he was about to put himself into.I didn't have a problem doing it because I'd fallen in love before, but the responsibility of keeping the Bratva afloat depended on me, not him.He folded his arms and shook his head. "There's no need to beat around the bush, brother. This is what I want to do for us. Lately, I've been feeling somewhat inefficient as consigliere, chasing women around and living life to the fullest while abandoning my duties and making things hard for you, so allow me to do this,""No, no, don't look down on yourself. You've been a great source of help to me and I don't know what I'd have done if you weren't by my side when Anya died, but take a look at me, I'm doing better now. And if you're helping me out just because I'm yet to get a good supplier then I'm telling you right now as your Capo that you
Chapter 46DmitriAnger boiled within me as my fingers tapped the edge of my desk rhythmically; The feeling of rage doubled when the bastard barged into my office with his usual surly smirk that I badly wanted to punch off his face.Twenty minutes was all I needed, and he'd be together with his ancestors."Hey, pup," He always called me that name when he wanted to annoy me.I wondered if he knew that he had done more than too just grate on my nerves. He'd overstepped his boundaries and death seemed too painless a punishment for him."Good morning, Uncle" I replied with my usual nonchalant tone, though there was nothing indifferent about how I felt. "You're learning punctuality these days, huh? I thought I'd have to call you over and over again,""As long as it's business, I'll be here. Maybe something good can come out of your being Capo," He taunted, his callous grin broadening.Slowly, I eased off my seat, undoing the first button of my shirt that made my neck feel like it was in a
Chapter 98ArielTWO MONTHS LATERI stood before Dmitri with the priest holding a book in his hands. A petal dropped from the canopy of flowers that was used as a roof to shield us from the harsh rays of the sun.And Dmitri beamed at me with the brightest smile I'd ever seen as we renewed our vows to each other in the presence of my parents, Vladimir, Liora and a few important Bratvan members.He reached for my hands and squeezed them tenderly, peering into my eyes. "A year ago, I was bittered by the fact I'd be getting married to a woman whom I barely knew anything about. We met for the first time unconventionally and your sassiness strengthened my dislike toward the idea of marrying you. I continued to console myself with the fact that the alliance would help solidify the gang and our trade, but what I never knew was that the marriage was arranged to make me a better version of myself,"His voice cracked as he paused and I began to wonder when he became this emotional.I leaned clos
Chapter 97DmitriAriel should have been here with me to say goodbye to the last phase of our trauma, but her body suddenly started acting up this morning, and after what happened three days ago, I admitted her for a general body check."Wait, Dmitri," Anya's raspy voice stopped me from taking any further step out of the ward.She'd be locked in here until the psychiatrist decided that her mental health was back to normal. At least, it was better than living in guilt for the rest of my life.I spared her a backward glance, my eyes roving through her pale face. How did I go from being madly in love with this woman to feeling nothing for her?"What do you want from me?"Her hands had to be chained to the metal rail of the bed after she made two attempts to escape from her ward this morning. I couldn't have her doing more damage to my family so the doctor and I decided on forcefully restricting her to a place."I'm sorry," She sighed, running her tongue over her lips. "Can I have thirty
Chapter 96Ariel Anya smirked. "Who else do you think it was?"Dmitri's eyes shimmered with tears. "I loved you so much, Anya. Why didn't you just tell me who you were?"She sunk her ass on the edge of the chair and shrugged. "I was scared that you'd break up with me if you found out so I faked my death. The plan was to watch you from afar and make sure you were alright. I didn't want a woman whom I couldn't control to be around you so I sent Margaret to watch over you, fortunately, she was indebted to me,""Don't you think you need to visit the hospital? Who sends a woman to fuck their man?""I do," She flashed her teeth vilely. "The plan was going smoothly until you decided to get married to this bitch and fall for her. I couldn't bear it anymore and then I thought to come back and get my man. It's that simple,"Dmitri paced around the room in frustrated struts, while drawing in shallow breaths to control his anger. "I have a question for you, Anya, and I want you to answer me trut
Chapter 95ArielIt was another chill morning for me to experience different kinds of emotions while everyone went about their day peacefully. The worst part was that I couldn't follow Dmitri around as I wanted.His work was just too violent and unsafe and we couldn't tell the next enemy who'd waylay us and use me as bait.The drama playing on the television was too chaotic for me to follow so I turned it off flippantly in a bid to head out. Maybe take a stroll or stop by Cake Treats.The doorbell rang twice and I abandoned my initial plans, hurrying off to get to the door. I placed my eye on the peephole and my heart skipped a beat.Overcome with trepidation, I dashed back to the sofa to get my phone to inform Dmitri about Chiara's visit, unfortunately he wasn't reachable.Back in Chicago, we had a safe house where we'd hide if anyone was in danger, but I couldn't make assumptions and raise an alarm when I wasn't sure of her identity.At least she was here, and I'd get the opportunit
Chapter 94DmitriMy knuckles met on the wooden frame of the door and then I halted for a while, impatiently waiting for the permission to come in. Nikolai and I had never related to each other as brothers so I didn't have access to his house.We fought a lot when we were younger and while I thought that we'd grow out of the resentment we bore for each other, it tripled when I found him banging a girl I liked in high school.I was met with silence so I knocked again and my instincts urged me to open the door. The door gave way and I strolled in, quietly taking in the features of his mansion.I didn't even know he had a mansion here in Seattle.Giggles and murmurs resonated from the staircase to the living room where I was. Then he appeared behind her, spanking her ass while she blew a kiss at him.She froze when she noticed my presence, her eyes bulging in surprise. Nikolai trained a smirk at me, clad in a long black robe that he didn't bother to tie up.His face was quite red, his li
Chapter 93ArielAnger and jealous tears streaked down my cheeks as I palmed my face; my raging hormones spurring the roller-coaster of emotions that rode through me.I quickly wiped the tears off my face when the door made a creaking sound.Shit! How could I have forgotten that Dmitri would be returning home soon? Not wanting him to find me in this embarrassing position, I dragged my panties up to my butt and kept the dildo back in the drawer, leaving the frame on the desk.In hasty and sad strides, I pushed the door open and he waltzed in, his dark orbs scrutinizing my face meticulously. My emotions chose to betray me at that moment as tears welled up in my orbs again."What's wrong, Ariel?" His voice was so soft and soothing."I don't know. I missed you so much," The part where I missed him was partially the truth, but I couldn't tell him that I was grieved about his past.He cupped my cheeks, his thumb wiping off the tear that hung around my eyelid. "I missed you too," He replied
Chapter 92Dmitri "Shoot them," Enzo's gruff voice resonated in the darkness and I lurched forward, falling flat on my stomach as more shots were fired above me. Nikolai single-handedly cleared all the guards that came with Enzo and then the light flickered on. Dead bodies were littered around the room, some of them stacked upon each other like a pack of cards. A deep pain-filled groan caught my attention and I found Enzo, holding onto one of his thighs, the same one I'd planned to explore my artistic carving skills on. A black vest was flung at me and I put it on quickly. As I crossed over to him in slow and calculated strides, he cowered, his body trembling visibly while blood seeped out from the bullet wound on his thigh. "How the mighty has crumbled," I mocked him, reveling in his fear. He flitted his gaze around and the light dimmed in his eyes when he realized that no one was coming to rescue him, just the same way he'd made me feel some moments ago. "Please," His lips qu
Chapter 91DmitriIt was one week already and I was yet to believe that Ariel was in love with me, just as I was with her. My lips stretched wide with a grin spreading over my face; a light chuckle cracked from my throat. Fortunately for Vladimir and me, I wasn't in the driver's seat or our lives would have been under threat without how I was chuckling nonstop. Vladimir spared me a glance, his brows arched. "What's wrong with you man?""I'm in love again, brother. Never knew it would happen this soon," I declared, pressing my knuckles. I was sure that if we weren't on a mission, he'd have parked the car to the side and drilled me of all the details. "Fuck that shit, Dmitri! What did she do to make you this excited about love again? I thought you just wanted a physical relationship with her,""It's hard to not fall in love with a woman who's everything to you. She's carrying my child,"This time he couldn't help but step on the break and floor the gas. "How did that happen so fast?
Chapter 90ArielThe rays from the bright incandescent bulbs fixed on both sides of the room jolted me from my sleep. At least, I wasn't feeling exhausted anymore and my vision wasn't blurry.Forgetting that a cannula was fixed to the vein on the back of my palm, I sat up abruptly and passed a paranoid glance around and realized I wasn't in my room. This wasn't even the queen-sized, plush bed I enjoyed sleeping on every night.It wasn't that the bed wasn't comfortable. I mean it was bigger than the size of most beds in each ward, and maybe a little birdie might have told the nurses whose wife I was, but I wasn't just comfortable being here.Then my mind flashed back to the reason I was here and Liora who was earlier staring at the window, spared me a glance and came to me with a huge smile plastered on her face."Mommy, you're awake. I'll go call, Dad,"I grabbed her arm in shock before she could take another move. "Your father is here?"She nodded with a sweet smile. "I called him on