(Karis's pov) Xander was one insensitive jerk; how would he just tell her the truth that way? I was still processing the fact that Emma had miraculously found out the hospital where I delivered tricked them into compromising my maternity records and then stole my baby. Then something hit me: that meant my premature labour might have been induced during my antenatal visits. I was so stunned about this that I failed to notice how mad my fireball was until her voice broke my line of thoughts. "Why did you tell me to stay away from Vance and my daddy?" Val asked me, sounding aggrieved. I was at a loss for words; what I did then was selfish, but in my defence, how was I to know the boy was mine? I was tongue-tied and had nothing to say. Her face scrunched together then she started to cry. I was confused about what to do if she was mad or sad. "I am sorry," I hesitantly said, pulling her into a hug while I was glaring at that abominable man. "I am happy, I thought my
(Karis's pov) I never thought that my birth experience was something out of the ordinary. Slowly the fear of what Emma was capable of became more frightening. She knew I was pregnant in Germany but didn't have any idea I was Madam Esmeralda. This made everything confusing; there was a missing clue, and dread filled my heart as it popped into my heart, but that could not be the case. "I will go get her birth certificate and other information I have with me." I urgently sensed how important this situation was. From how I saw Xander earlier with Valeria at the competition my heart was secretly warmed with how tender he acted towards her. It healed my greatest fears that he would hate her but yet there was this uncertainty I felt. I opened the door to my room, and then quickly went through my travel documents to find Val's birth certificate and brought out my laptop, which had some of my antenatal information saved. I turned around to the door and was stunned to f
(Karis's pov) Fuck call me dumb because how the fuck did I get myself in this situation. Xander should not be in my life, my house or on my bed, as a matter of fact, but here I was under him in this inappropriate position. He had me trapped with no means of escape. "This is inappropriate; Skyler would not like the fact of us being this close," I wanted to use Skyler as an excuse; my words went back to my throat when I felt a sharp pain in my neck. That abominable man bit me. I had fucked up and let the devil inside. "Mention Skyler one more time and you will be moaning under me all night. Don't push me, or I will keep on evading your boundaries. The only thing I can promise is that I won't hurt." Xander's voice was so smooth and low the tone was bounding me to listen but I had to be strong. "You are already disrespecting me and my boundaries. If you continue acting like this it will only make things worse. Get me out, and let's talk like sensible adults." I struggl
(Karis's pov) I felt something lightly graze my face, my brows furrowed, but I refused to open my eyes. "Val, let me sleep. It's still early," I mumbled but she was being mischievous today. I felt her press her lips against my forehead then a chuckle rang out. It was magnetic with a deep baritone. That could not be Val's laugh. My eyes popped open and met a pair of grey eyes. "Wake up, we have arrived," he said in a soothing tone. My head was still hazy, and I seemed to be drunk with sleep as I slowly tried to process why Xander was in front of me with Val sleeping in my arms and we were in a car, but it wasn't the car I was using. From the familiar air freshener, I could recognize it was Xander's car. "Where am I?" I asked, trying to sit upright; Xander opened the door and then took sleepy Val from my hand; she quickly cuddled up in his embrace with her head resting on his shoulders. "The De Marco estate," Xander answered; my brows furrowed, and the sleep flew from my
(Karis's pov) I jolted awake when a mischievous fireball jumped on me, "What's happening!!" I screamed with my heart racing. The next thing I heard was a childish laugh. Valeria was on the duvet laughing at me. It wasn't how I expected to be woken up but it was refreshing to see she was in a good mood. "Merry Christmas, mummy; wake up. It is already 10, and you have been sleeping for so long." she chimed excitedly. "Merry Christmas Angel," I replied with a small smile on my cheeks. "How was your night?" I asked her, stretching out my hands. Oddly, I slept like a baby last night. My insomnia didn't come at me. I slept so long. "It was fine. There is someone I want you to meet." She chimed, then got off the bed, running outside the room. It seemed like she was urging someone to come in. "There is no need to be scared. She isn't scary." I heard Val's little voice. I kind of had an idea of who it was and it only made me nervous. My hands clutched the duvet as I waited. Fin
(Karis's pov) It feels like I was set up because why was it taking so long to get a butler. "Because you are the devil I hate." I retorted. It was dangerous to stay in the same space as him. "Xander, please, you are invading my personal space..." I want to tell him to let go; I wasn't comfortable in my ex-husband's arms with him holding me this close to him. I felt his heartbeat and his breath was trickling on my skin. His hoarse voice cut me off, a very bad personality trait of his. He never let me finish talking and it was very annoying. "I love your personal space since, unfortunately, I am the devil that loves your sin. I love the sin you committed to having fallen in love with me and gotten married. I will say it a thousand times, Karis: no matter how you run, my arm is the place that will welcome you in the end." My heart skipped a beat; ever since I met Xander again, he felt like a different person. The Xander I knew was not expressive of his feelings b
(Xander's pov) Her hands were wrapped around my shoulders as she straddled my back; at times, I wished I knew what was going through her head. Karis went silent; deep down, I had a feeling that she was probably thinking about running off again. She loved to run, and I do love to chase, but at times, I wished she would stop running from me. I know what happened between Emma and me really fucked up things between us but there was something more than always stood as a barrier between us. I only hope with time I can melt the ice that surrounded her heart. This morning, I was woken up by the twins, Val and Vance, demanding an explanation about everything that happened. Of course, there was only so little I could say to 4 years old, but it seemed my words worked because they were playing little matchmakers. I was glad I got to be close to Val before knowing she was mine it made things easier. The only one I had to win over was Karis for her to open up her heart for the h
(Xander's pov) It was surprising that Benji was able to get information on the hospital in less than 24 hours. It was pretty assuring how reliable he was. "That's not news; the issue was how they were able to steal the baby," I asked Benji, although I had a good idea. The most possible situation was that Karis was drugged and her memories are hazy about what happened in the labour room. She gave birth to twins but couldn't remember. "The doctor that helped her deliver was found dead this morning. He was assassinated, but from his personal files, I was able to dig up information about how he swapped her medication records during the scan, and originally, they didn't know it was twins because Val was blocking Vance. So the plan then was to give Karis a dead child but it turned out to be twins." The more Benji explained the angrier I got. My fist clenched until my knuckles were white. Emma was rescued yesterday, and a few minutes later, the doctor was found dead.
CHAPTER FOUR - THE ROMANOV BROTHERSADELINA'S POV I was completely blown out of my mind when I heard him. Mikhail Romanov was a mystery to me. A seasoned businessman who suddenly popped out of nowhere and stormed the entire business world. There was very little about him online but there were rumours of how ruthless he was when taking out his competition and how much underground connection he has. When I said I was ready to do anything in my mind, the most degrading thing that crossed my mind was to be his servant at his mercy, but it never crossed my mind he would tell me to strip in a public event. I bit my lower lip in between my teeth, not only because of how nervous I felt in his presence but also thanks to the Bullet wound in my arm. "You must be joking, that can't be a request." I blurted. Thinking he would laugh out, saying it was a joke, but he didn't budge one bit. He stood tall with his hand in his pocket and his eyes keenly observing me. His lips p
CHAPTER THREE - TYRANT OF THE BUSINESS WORLD MIKHAIL'S POV I hated crowded places, especially ones filled with humans, but this was what I could not escape if I wanted to make sure I stood at the Pinnacle of the business world. Twirling the wine glass in between my fingers, my eyes glanced around the hall, looking for anything that could pique my interest. "What do you think about the corporation? Mr Romanov." An annoying voice chattered in my ears. I glanced at the middle-aged man who had been trying his best to strike a deal with me, but it was not a profitable venture. "I will think about it." I politely declined, even though we both knew I was not going to give him a second thought. How boring? A sigh left my lips for the hundredth time today. I was bored out of my mind. Maybe I should have attended the wedding even though my beloved brother didn't invite me. It would be fun to see the unfortunate human he tricked into marrying him. The unfortunate soul I would have t
CHAPTER TWO - THE BLOODY BRIDE ADELINA'S POV The best day of my life slowly turned into a scene from a nightmare I could not wake up from. Sitting in a white pool lace of my long princess wedding dress, my face was pale, and I froze. "Papa," I said again but it came out like a whimper this time around. The flower bouquet in my hand was on the floor. I grabbed my face with both hands, shaking my head over and over again, thinking it was a nightmare, but it was real. All that was on my mind was to reach my father's side, but Viktor had other plans. He firmly held my arm. "Where are you going, Mrs Romanov ?" He asked me. I did not care about that title. All I wanted was to run to my father's side. Why did Viktor shoot Dad? We were his allies. No matter how I think of it, my head could not think of a reason why. "This is a wedding present from me to you." He grinned at me. Everyone was in shock because of the sudden gunfire. Soon, it sank into my father's men's heads that thei
COMING SOON CHAPTER ONE - A BLOODY WEDDING ADELINA'S POV The happiest day of a woman's life was meant to be the day she gets married to the love of her life and I thought it was true. I had never felt this genuinely happy in my life before, despite all the resistance of us being from rival mobs. Finally, I was getting married to Viktor, the Mafia boss of a rival Russian mob today. Although my marriage was not purely based on love, the main goal was to join two of the biggest Mafia underground associations. My fiance, Viktor, owned one of the richest and most dangerous Russian mobs; my father agreed to this marriage to seek his protection as our group, despite its large size, is nothing compared to Viktor's association. The soft organ melody echoed through the large sculptured walls of the old cathedral to the outside, it was loud enough to reach the environs. Stepping down from the car I made my way towards the large doors of the ancient cathedral. The doors swung open
(Xander's pov) The soft sound of running water echoed from the bathroom; I pushed the door open entering the bathroom filled with steam with a thick scent of Lavender oils. It smelled like heaven, my little heaven. I got rid of the towel wrapped around my waist and then brushed my hand through my hair before my eyes drew to the glass walls of the shower. A silly grin graced my lips as I made my way towards the shower, where I could see Karis's figure from the glass taking a shower. I couldn't help but smile wider; I slowly walked towards the shower, the only place where I was sure the children wouldn't disturb us because Xavier sometimes cries to sleep with his mother. My life was pitiful, fighting with my children over my wife's time and attention; maybe we should have stopped with the twins. I stopped in the shower; Karis's back relaxed, sensing my presence. "I thought you weren't coming," she said, rubbing her hair with her back against me. "So you were expecting me." I c
(Xander's pov) SIX YEARS LATER The cool spring breeze blew, carrying a little scent on wet soil. It was another spring again and 15 years after Alessia left this world. I placed a bouquet of flowers on her tombstone, along with several others, which have been kept here. A lot has happened these past years, and I have been so busy I barely had time to visit Alessia aside from her death anniversary. Karis and I are hosting a small get-together to celebrate. Mum and Dad loved the idea of getting old friends and family together. "Alessia, it's been a while, and we all miss you, but you are in a better place now..." I started my one-sided dialogue with my sister. I had a feeling she was listening. Honestly, everyone was fine these past years, at least from what they told me. Skyler was getting better. At least he wasn't hallucinating again, but his condition was permanent. Either way, he was doomed; he deserved it. It was crazy, but I think I am ready to forgive
(Karis's pov) " So he planned everything before you even knew you were pregnant. He knew and understood the danger it would put you in. There was no way he could hurt the child you have been looking forward to, a baby he secretly wished for, so he planned everything..." " Have you ever wondered why he hid the affair until that day? His plan was to make you divorce him and heartlessly take the child away from his messed up life. You deserved better and still do. But I can't imagine living a life without you. That's why I am sorry for his insensitive actions." So that was the truth, it was crazy but I chose to believe him more like I didn't care anymore. I got a redo, and this time, none of those things happened. Xander never cheated even when he was hypnotized. "It is fine, Xander; I really don't care. It never happened to us, but to them, and if you could never bring yourself to have sex with Emma when she was carrying the illusion of being me, I can't possibly se
(Karis's pov) The heartbeat slowed down and dropped to my stomach. I felt emotions and I didn't understand happiness and dread. I was happy that the man I loved was back but dreaded it because it felt like the old Xander. "You remember everything," I muttered, and I felt Xander stiffen his hold. "I am sorry that Xander was a jerk, but he did not mean to break you that way," Xander muttered his words, swallowing. My jaw clenched, "Xander, let go," I stated, but he only held on tightly. "If you don't let go it will only make things worse. I promise I am not running unless it's to you." Those words seemed to have worked because his hold relaxed. I took a step back to look clearly at him; he truly looked sorry. This was the Xander I had known for four years and not the jerk who cheated with Emma, yet there was this fury that bloomed in my heart. Next, the sound of skin striking against each other echoed in the room; Xander was stunned as he gazed back at me; conf
(Karis's pov) Time seemed to have ticked by slowly every minute took forever. I was sitting in the waiting area with my hands still covered in Xander's blood. I was too anxious to even get cleaned. Xander was in surgery already, and Ivan kept on assuring me that everything would be fine. I also hoped the same thing, but I would have felt more assured if Kyle was here. Although he was an annoying prick, Kyle was, without a doubt, a genius doctor. "Mummy," I heard childish voices call out, slicing through the tension. I glanced at the direction of the voice and a soft smile crossed my lips when I saw Val and Vance running towards my direction with Camilla following behind. They ran into my open arms, and I embraced them, feeling at home. "Where is Kyle?" Ivan asked instead. "I ran into him and the twins while heading for the emergency ward. He had to leave to prepare for the surgery. It seems things are a bit complicated." Camilla said, sounding exhausted; I