“You made her a maid,” I said to Mikhail.I flew to Finland for a few hours and he already made decisions without me. He may have been my second in command but that didn’t mean I wanted him anywhere near Livia’s business.She was mine to deal with.“I told you people would talk if we didn’t do something. No one will question who she is and what her role is if she is already working for us. The last thing we need is people claiming you bought a girl.”As much as I hated it, Mikhail was right. I only rose to the throne because I supported the agenda that women and children were not commodities for sale. That and the fact that I was the most dangerous man in Russia.If people found out I kept the girl Viktor bought, my men would break my rules.No one would respect my authority. It was important to lead by example. However, when it came to Livia Brown, I made impulsive decisions because I was so taken with her.I wouldn’t let her go until I figured out why she made me feel what no woman
When Mikhail told me he would give me a new role, I didn’t expect it to be Maxim’s personal maid. I didn’t understand what it meant. I thought Maxim was trying to lure me into his bed and I had yet to figure out if I was right.The uniform I was given was very different from my previous one. The previous one consisted of a long blue dress with a white collar and a white apron.The new one was much shorter, sitting a few inches below my mid-thigh. It was a short-sleeved black dress with lace trimmings on the sleeves and the hem and a sweetheart neckline that accentuated my cleavage.The outfit was topped off with a short white lace apron, white stockings, and short black Mary Janes. My hair was in a low bun with a few tendrils hanging on the side of my face.My cheeks were flushed red and I couldn’t stop shaking. I was both excited and frightened at the idea of seeing Maxim again. I always cowered under his intense gaze.“I don’t know what Maxim sees in you,” Polina said in her terribl
I blushed profusely, embarrassed that I had been caught staring. Maxim wasn’t wearing glasses and he looked better without them. I briefly wondered where he got his scar from. Not that it made him ugly. It only added to the allure of darkness that surrounded him. Maxim’s gaze was almost predatory as he angled his head to get a better look at me. His gaze lingered on my chest and my thighs. For reasons unknown to me, his gaze excited me. Unlike other times when the male gaze made me feel self-conscious. I liked the fact that a man as powerful as Maxim found me attractive. I may have been a virgin but I wasn’t stupid. We both stood there staring at one another for a few seconds before he turned and disappeared into his walk-in closet. I wanted to leave but I couldn’t since he had stopped me before. The last thing I needed was to get on Maxim’s bad side. I may have been a strong girl but I remembered what Carlos did to me when I disobeyed him. Men in the mafia didn’t like resistance
I left Russia as soon as I left my mansion. I didn’t tell Livia that, though. I still didn’t know who she was. Before I trusted her, I needed to know where she came from and why she was so special that Viktor broke the rules so he could bring her home. Every effort Mikhail had made to try and find out where she came from hit a brick wall. She didn’t raise any red flags but she remained mysterious and I hated that. Mikhail couldn’t even find her family. Not knowing who surrounded you in the mafia was like giving your enemy a loaded gun. Anyone could put a knife in your fucking back and I had to learn that the hard way. I’d taken way too many knives to my back. I was on my way to Italy to meet Nikita. He said he had something for me. Nikita was my cousin but I looked at him as a brother. He had stood by my side more times than I could count and saved my life a couple of times too. He was the best assassin I had ever trained and the best enforcer in the Bratva. He could get informa
Maxim never came home the day he told me he would. I didn’t understand why he lied to me. He shouldn’t have told me to wait for him to come because I did. I was angry at him and I didn’t understand why. He kidnapped me and kept me in his house against my will. The only thing I should have felt for him was hate. However, it was the contrary. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I thought about his eyes, mysterious persona, and intense gaze. I felt things for him I wish I never felt. Whatever happened, I knew it would end badly. I was the daughter of his enemy and one of the reasons his sister was dead. He would kill me sooner than later. What I needed to do was stay away from him and hatch a plan to get away from him as soon as possible. The Bratva was no place for a former Italian mafia princess who was masquerading as an American. I couldn’t help that my anger increased every single day that Maxim didn’t come back. It had been a week. That week was very miserable. What was worse
After about thirty minutes, my hair was in a neat but messy bun. I stood in front of the full-length mirror and admired what I saw. Everything reminded me of what I gave up when I left home five years before. I hated to admit it, but I missed a life of luxury. Alfonso may have been a toxic parent but he always gave us whatever we wanted. It didn’t matter what it took. He would kill anyone if it meant his little children, also known as his trusted servants did whatever he asked. In exchange, we had to worship the group that he walked and unconditionally obey his every order.And he never failed to remind us that we wouldn’t survive in the real world without him. I proved him wrong for a while before he finally caught me and sold me off to his enemy. I wondered if he knew Carlos sold me to the Bratva. Had it all been a part of an elaborate plan to make my death nice and slow without having to do it himself?My train of thought was cut short when I caught something in the reflection
I hated Vadim with everything I had. If it wasn’t for what he had over Nikita, he would have been dead. He was the kind of a man to stab you in the back and then wonder why you retaliated.When Nikita was a rookie assassin, he accidentally killed the wife of a Columbian Don. She was caught in the crossfire of a shoot out and it just so happened to be a bullet from Nikita’s gun that ended her life. Considering we have been getting product from them for years, we naturally hid the culprit and blamed it on someone else.The bad news was that Vadim got ahold of the tape and held it over our head. None of us knew how he got this tape, how he knew Nikita killed the Columbian queen or who he had shown the video to. He said that as long as he got a high-ranking position in the Bratva, everything would be kept secret.For three years, he kept his word. I didn’t trust him, though. I monitored everything he did. His mistake was thinking he was invincible. If he knew the information I had colle
I rushed to my room, unable to be at the party any longer. I knew I would get in trouble but at the moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away.I was wet and I’d just found out that Maxim had a fiancé. I didn’t know what I expected from a man in the mafia, let alone a Pakhan. He could have any woman he wanted—of course, he wanted them all.I didn’t understand why I was so hurt by what I had discovered. I should have expected it. I’d been fooled one too many times by the men in the mafia to have had such high expectations.I thought he really liked me but he was just using me as a substitute for his gorgeous fiancee. She was the one he wanted and he was using me to make her jealous.It suddenly made sense why he wanted to take me to the party. He was hoping she would show up and see us together and she did. In the end, he got what he wanted.I rushed to the bathroom and closed the door. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and wiped my makeup angrily. I wasn’t as gorgeous as V
Veronika paced the grand bedroom she now occupied, her manicured nails tapping against her arm as she wrapped them around herself. The sheer opulence of Maxim’s home should have been enough to make her feel victorious, but instead, her stomach churned with rage. Livia.That girl was a thorn in her side, a pest that refused to be exterminated.“What does he see in her?” she muttered under her breath, her words dripping with venom.Polina, seated comfortably on the chaise lounge, smirked. “A plaything, nothing more.”Veronika turned sharply, her emerald eyes flashing. “Then why is she still here? Why does he let her breathe in his presence?”Polina scoffed, twirling a strand of her graying hair between her fingers. “Men like their distractions. But trust me, he will tire of her. She is nothing but a dirty little street rat Maxim took pity on. Where did he even find her?”Veronika clenched her jaw. “I don’t know. And that bothers me. I know every woman Maxim has ever touched, every mistr
“Why are you crying? Are you hurting? “ Knox asked. I was sitting on the balcony at 3am in the morning. I had been unable to sleep hence why I was awake.My hormones were running wild. Something very small was enough to hurt me a lot.“I just want ice cream, “ I said as I broke down and cried some more. I couldn’t understand why I was so emotional.The minute I reached the balcony I felt like crying because the ice cream was downstairs and I didn’t feel like going down to get it. It was a stupid reason to cry but I couldn’t stop myself.Neither could I help it.Knox was fighting the urge to laugh and I hated it. I felt like he was mocking me. It made me cry even more and harder. It was a weird sight to someone looking from afar.One would think he had hurt me in a very bad way.He reached for my hand so that he could soothe me and I rejected it. I went from sad to angry in minutes. I pushed him away, huffed, and crossed my arms against my chest.“I hate you! You are mocking your pregn
The moment my phone buzzed in my pocket, I almost ignored it. Business in Europe was taking longer than expected, and I was in no mood for another disruption. But when I saw Mikhail’s name flashing on the screen, a gut instinct told me to answer.I pressed the phone to my ear. “Mikhail?”“You should’ve never let Veronika near Livia,” he said without preamble. His voice was tight, edged with something I rarely heard from him—anger.My grip on the phone tightened. “What the hell happened?”“I think she’s been physically abusing her. Things aren’t how you left them, Maxim. That woman—she’s destroying Livia. You need to get back here. Now.”Something in my chest twisted, dark and violent. I pushed back my chair, standing abruptly. “Tell me everything.”Mikhail didn’t sugarcoat it. He told me about Livia’s bruises, about the way she flinched when people came near her, about how Veronika humiliated and tormented her at every turn. He told me about the stolen phone, the desperate call to Mir
I may have promised myself that I wouldn’t break but I was slowly unraveling. I hated to admit that Veronika was slowly winning the one-sided war she had unleashed on me. Every day in Maxim’s house and in a foreign country and continent chipped away at me, breaking me down piece by piece.I barely slept. My body ached from exhaustion, and the bruises decorating my skin were fresh reminders that I was at the mercy of monsters. Polina and Veronika were the devil’s incarnate. They hurt me as a source of entertainment. And everyday, they grew old with the new tricks and came up with new ones. They got more cruel and creative with their means. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on. I needed to get out of there. I didn’t know when Maxim would come back and even if he did, I wasn’t sure he would defend me. I couldn’t wait for some knight in shining armor to come and save me. I already knew that he wouldn’t. But I knew one thing—I had to get my hands on a phone.I didn’t know how
I didn’t know it was possible for things to get worse than they already were but they did. I thought I only had to worry about Veronika when she came around for events. I should have known the universe was working against me. I used to be free–a girl with a purpose. Life was so good in Chicago even though I barely had enough to eat. At least I knew my purpose on Earth was to dismantle the Cosa Nostra.Now, I was just a maid with no contact with the outside world. No, worse than a maid—I was a punching bag.Veronika had moved in a week ago, sweeping into Maxim’s house like a queen reclaiming her throne. First, she came with a suitcase the day Maxim left. However, the next day, she came with trunks of designer clothes, an army of beauty products, and a sneer permanently etched on her lips whenever she looked at me.She made me carry all those items by myself from the foyer to her room which was on the third floor of the West wing of the mansion. I wasn’t naïve. I knew my place in this
I pretended it didn’t bother me that Livia said she hated me. Her words played over and over again in my brain. The way she had me wrapped around her little finger was something very shocking.I didn’t understand why I had such strong feelings for her when I had just met her. I used to think that feelings were overrated but I was starting to understand why people died for love.She must have done something to me to make me this obsessed. I especially hated that she told me to let her go. Did she not feel the connection she and I had? How could I let her go after that?That was damn near impossible. I knew I couldn’t live without her. Even before getting to know her, I knew I would love everything about her. No one could tell me otherwise. The next morning, she avoided me like the plague. She barely looked at me or acknowledged my presence. She acted indifferent and it killed. The worst part was that I had all that power and yet, I couldn’t make her like me.I wanted to force her to t
I rushed to my room, unable to be at the party any longer. I knew I would get in trouble but at the moment, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away.I was wet and I’d just found out that Maxim had a fiancé. I didn’t know what I expected from a man in the mafia, let alone a Pakhan. He could have any woman he wanted—of course, he wanted them all.I didn’t understand why I was so hurt by what I had discovered. I should have expected it. I’d been fooled one too many times by the men in the mafia to have had such high expectations.I thought he really liked me but he was just using me as a substitute for his gorgeous fiancee. She was the one he wanted and he was using me to make her jealous.It suddenly made sense why he wanted to take me to the party. He was hoping she would show up and see us together and she did. In the end, he got what he wanted.I rushed to the bathroom and closed the door. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and wiped my makeup angrily. I wasn’t as gorgeous as V
I hated Vadim with everything I had. If it wasn’t for what he had over Nikita, he would have been dead. He was the kind of a man to stab you in the back and then wonder why you retaliated.When Nikita was a rookie assassin, he accidentally killed the wife of a Columbian Don. She was caught in the crossfire of a shoot out and it just so happened to be a bullet from Nikita’s gun that ended her life. Considering we have been getting product from them for years, we naturally hid the culprit and blamed it on someone else.The bad news was that Vadim got ahold of the tape and held it over our head. None of us knew how he got this tape, how he knew Nikita killed the Columbian queen or who he had shown the video to. He said that as long as he got a high-ranking position in the Bratva, everything would be kept secret.For three years, he kept his word. I didn’t trust him, though. I monitored everything he did. His mistake was thinking he was invincible. If he knew the information I had colle
After about thirty minutes, my hair was in a neat but messy bun. I stood in front of the full-length mirror and admired what I saw. Everything reminded me of what I gave up when I left home five years before. I hated to admit it, but I missed a life of luxury. Alfonso may have been a toxic parent but he always gave us whatever we wanted. It didn’t matter what it took. He would kill anyone if it meant his little children, also known as his trusted servants did whatever he asked. In exchange, we had to worship the group that he walked and unconditionally obey his every order.And he never failed to remind us that we wouldn’t survive in the real world without him. I proved him wrong for a while before he finally caught me and sold me off to his enemy. I wondered if he knew Carlos sold me to the Bratva. Had it all been a part of an elaborate plan to make my death nice and slow without having to do it himself?My train of thought was cut short when I caught something in the reflection