Roman Pestov was trouble. Elena could see that even from a mile away.He was charming and flirtatious, always saying the right thing to make Elena laugh. And she hated that she was enjoying herself so much, especially when she was here for answers, not to make friends.But then again, perhaps this was the only way she could get them to lower their guards around her. Perhaps if they took a liking to her, it would be much easier for her to gain their trust. After all, Roman was already on her side, flirting and complimenting her. All she needed to do was play her part and keep him happy.Easy enough, Elena thought as she took a bite of the delicious food served before her. She glanced over to Roman, who was busy talking to one of the guests, telling them about an incident in Russia. Elena couldn’t help but listen to him as he talked animatedly, all the while exchanging glances with his brother, Danis, who seemed to talking to no one in particular, just nodding and humming whenever his p
Simon noticed the changes in Elena’s expression in slow motion.Normally, she was good at keeping her thoughts to herself, sometimes even better than good. But right then, as Nina Pestov revealed their relationship among the dozen attendees, her thoughts were somehow written all over her face. She couldn’t hide the way questions rose in her head, the way she frowned and tipped her face to the side as if wondering what the hell was going on.Not liking what he was seeing, he tore his gaze away from Elena, focusing instead on Nina Pestov, who was beaming proudly. He had the terrible urge to roll his eyes, not sure how she could act as if everything between them was alright when it clearly wasn’t.Nina placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Simon fought the urge to pull away from her touch, knowing that it would be rude. Not that he cares—not even a bit—but he couldn’t exactly create a scene as well. He was curious to find out why she was interested in making contact with
Elena was glad the dinner was finally over.Damn! She had never felt more uncomfortable in her life. Being surrounded by people with unlimited wealth was one thing, but being trapped in a room with men like Simon, Roman and Ian Pestov was something else. They all had the vibes of Alpha males, and seemed to be competing for dominance somehow. Elena had no idea what was going on between them, but she was certain that Roman was doing his best to piss Simon off. And damn, he was succeeding.After Simon had hit the table, effectively breaking his fork in the process, Nina had quickly ushered Elena out of the dining room. Elena had no idea what Nina was thinking, but she was grateful to her nevertheless. She had hated seeing Simon upset. He seemed like he was struggling to control his anger, and Elena had no doubt that if he had stayed there for another second, he would have ended up punching Roman right in the face.Nina led Elena to her bedroom, gesturing for her to take a seat on the cou
Elena stared at the room she was led to by one of the maids.It was one of the guest rooms. There was a king-sized bed in the centre, with white sheets and pillows. There were two nightstands on both sides of the bed, each having a lamp on top of them. A wardrobe stood on the other side of the room, next to a door that probably led to a bathroom. Upon looking up, Elena noticed a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Crystals and diamonds decorated it, reflecting the light coming from the lamps. The room looked beautiful, elegant and expensive.Elena thanked the maid and entered the room. As soon as she closed the door, she slumped down on the bed, breathing out a sigh of relief. She was exhausted. Everything that had happened today had taken its toll on her. She could have never expected the drama that unfolded right in front of her eyes.One would think, a family like Pestov would do better to keep their family affairs and controversies under wraps. However, it seemed as if they could
Elena couldn’t believe she had decided to leave the Pestov castle with Simon. Seriously, what the hell was she thinking? Why would she do something so reckless when everything was going according to the plan? Well, maybe she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Or better yet, Simon didn’t give her much choice in the first place. He dragged her out of the castle in less than three minutes and had her sitting in his car in the next five minutes. The whole thing was crazy. Elena had no idea why he was so adamant about leaving that house, or why he looked so damn pissed off all of a sudden. One minute he was being civil towards her, the next minute he was practically manhandling her out of the house. It was as if he was a different person altogether. She bit her lip, as she stole a glance at the man sitting next to her. He had told her driver to follow them, while giving instructions to his own driver to not let anyone know that she had left the house. But why? Why did he want to kee
Elena woke with a severe headache the next morning, her body aching and sore. God! She thought, as she rubbed her temples and sat up slowly, trying to focus around herself. It was taking a lot of time and effort for her brain to make sense of everything that was in front of her, her eyesight blurry as she blinked several times in succession, trying to figure out where she was exactly. “Fuck!” She cursed out loud when she realized she was completely naked under the covers. And then, it dawned on her. The dinner at the Pestovs. Sex with Simon in his car, and then at his place, in his room, on his bed, in his bathroom, and then, on the floor and then, back in the bedroom and then… “Fuck!” She covered her face with her hands, trying to block out all the memories of the night before. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have lost control like that? Ugh. Why would she sleep with the man she swore not to have anything with? Why would she break her own vow? What the hell was wro
“What is it?” She asked him after finishing half of her plate. “You’re beautiful,” he replied simply. No shame. No hesitation. No joking tone. He was completely serious. She felt her cheeks burn slightly, unable to meet his gaze. “Um…thanks?” He chuckled lightly before placing his hand on top of hers, caressing the skin gently with his thumb. “I mean it,” he whispered huskily, causing goosebumps to run down her spine. “You’re absolutely breathtaking.” She glanced up at him for a brief moment, catching a glimpse of something strange flickering across his eyes, but then, it was gone completely, replaced by his usual charming smile. “Thank you.” She mumbled under her breath, avoiding eye contact with him. “I appreciate your compliment.” “I’ll be honest with you.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek tenderly in his palm. “You were gorgeous yesterday in that dress but right now, you look even better.” She arched a brow, not able to help
Richard McDowell stared at the picture the detective had sent him on his number, scowling darkly as he studied it carefully. The image was blurry and taken from a distance, but Richard could still make out the subject clearly enough.Elena, with no one else but Simon Walsh. They were stepping out of his car, him carrying her in his arms and into his house. It was like they were…Anger jolted against frustration in his mind as he clenched his jaw tightly, and barely held himself back from tossing the damn phone across the room.“What the hell?” He growled, dialling instantly for the detective. “When did you take this picture?”“Yesterday,” the man answered calmly, not bothered by the anger in Richard’s voice whatsoever.“Why the fuck didn’t you call me earlier? I could have done something…anything.”“Well, Mr. McDowell, I did send you the text message on this morning.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “And besides, you told me to keep an eye on Elena Matthews. Not interfere wi
Hey lovely readers,First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you if you’ve made it to the end. It wasn’t an easy journey, I know, but you stayed, and that means everything to me. :)Secondly, let me get straight to what I said I would be talking about in this note.I know a lot of you (probably all of you) must be wondering what happens with Josh next, and what about Angelina, Betty, Caleb, and the other kids.No worries—the reason I decided not to continue their stories here is that I’ll be exploring that story arc in a new book. It will probably be published soon (I’ll do my best, I promise). I realized that Josh’s story needed its own space because there was so much I wanted to write for him, and that couldn’t happen alongside Simon and Elena, who were obviously nearing their happy ending.But yes, it’s impossible to write about Josh without Elena, so Elena and Simon will be making appearances in the new book as well. Maybe sometimes more than I intend, because God knows I lov
After their little party was over and everyone went back to the guest rooms to rest, Elena laid their sleeping daughter in her crib and tucked her nicely.A pair of warm hands slid around her waist from behind, a kiss landed on her shoulder. “Thank you for today. How long have you been planning all this? And how the hell did you manage to invite Josh? I didn’t take him for a party person. Not these days.” He whispered into her ear, making her skin tingle.“You have to ask me how I got your brother to attend? I have my ways of making people do what I want.” She grinned as she turned in his arms and looped hers around his neck.He grinned as well. “Is that right? Do those ways include threatening? Do I want to know the details?” He said jokingly, knowing how Elena is, and she was very much the kind of person who’d go out of her way to make the things that were important to her, happen.“Oh, I think you don’t really want to know. But, I just had to do it for you.”She gave him a light kis
Simon woke up in the middle of the night, his heart racing.He looked around himself, patting his hand around in search of the person he was hoping to find. But to his dismay, there was no one else on the bed with him.“Elena?” he said out loud, frowning at the darkness.His hand patted the sheets and pillow again, trying to feel for her body, but he found nothing. Where was she? Where did she go?“Elena?”No response.He was starting to worry now. Where was she? He could feel a sense of dread slowly filling up inside him. He needed to find her. He needed to know if she was okay.Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from outside his room. He quickly got out of bed, put on his sweatpants and a t-shirt and opened the door.There was no one in the hallway. It was eerily quiet.He frowned, he could swear he heard someone walk by just now.“Elena, are you here? Please say something, darling. It’s me.” He said as he walked slowly to the end of the hallway, bare feet.Just when he thought he
Elena stood outside the doors, clutching the bouquet tightly in her hands. She was shaking, and she knew that anyone who could see her right now would notice, including her brother, Josh.“You’re not a very confident bride, are you?” he teased.She rolled her eyes, wanting to punch him but refraining from causing any casualties at her wedding.“I’m just nervous, that’s all.”“Understandable,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Trust me, you’re not the only one.”She looked up at him, unsure of what he meant. “What do you mean?”“Simon probably feels way worse. I mean, did you see him before he went into that room with his friends? He was sweating bullets.”She shook her head. “You’re making that up.”“I’m not, I swear!” He chuckled. “He’s just as scared as you are, if not more. And that’s a sight I never thought I’d see in my life.”She smiled a little. “I guess you’re right. He is pretty intimidating.”“Exactly. So you have nothing to worry about.” He patted her shoulder. “You’ve got thi
Richard whistled, and Danika watched as Greg, standing outside the room, appeared and uncuffed him.“What the fuck?” Danika was shocked. “How did you… How did you do that?” She turned to face Greg. “You… you work for me, not him! Cuff him back to the door, you giant imbecile!”“Sorry, miss,” Greg said in a deep voice, “I don’t think I will. Mr. McDowell here paid me a lot more money than you to change sides.”“What?!”“That’s right.” Richard stood up, rubbing his wrists. “This is over for you, Danika. Let’s just end this before anyone gets hurt.”Shocked and now furious, Danika was not someone who would give up so easily. Her fingers tightened around the scalpel in her hand. She would fight. She would not go down without a fight.“You think you can win, Richard? You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, you’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere. If I can’t have Elena, then no one can.”Without warning, she lunged at Elena, swinging the scalpel towards her throat. But before she could eve
“Is everything set up?” the first man who carried the unconscious bride asked.“Yes,” Greg, who stood outside the operating theater, nodded. “The room is ready. All the equipment is working fine. Just leave her inside, and that woman will handle the rest.”“Sounds good to me,” the other man said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.“Yeah, me too. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I don’t want to be here for too long. My wife and daughter have been going on and on about this wedding, and if they come to know I was part of it, they’ll never let me hear the end of it,” the first one said.“Don’t worry. You’ll be paid handsomely,” Greg assured, opening the door for them. “I’ll make sure of that. We just need to do our jobs and get out of here. Simple as that.”“Fine,” the two men said in unison.Danika was waiting for them next to the table, a smile on her face. “Ah, there you are. Any trouble?”“No. Everything’s fine.”“Excellent. Place her on the table, please.”They
Danika was so damn ready for the final stage of her revenge.She had planned everything meticulously, and now all her efforts were coming to fruition. She was smiling to herself when the phone rang, and she picked it up, already aware of what she was about to hear.“We got her,” the man with the deep voice said. “On our way now. Will be there in twenty.”“Perfect. See you then.”She hung up, unable to stop the grin from forming on her face. Everything was going according to plan. And it was just getting started.She looked around. She was standing right in the middle of an abandoned hospital, the perfect place to host her little celebration. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Simon’s face once he realized his bride was gone. And this time, for good. He would be devastated, broken, destroyed. The thought alone was enough to make her laugh.“What’s so funny?” Richard asked as he walked into what looked like an operating theatre.“Just imagining Simon’s face once he realizes I’ve taken
Simon was pacing outside the bridal suite, restless and nervous. One of the servers had informed him that Elena wasn’t feeling well, and he had dropped everything he was doing to rush over and see if she was okay, or if they needed to cancel the wedding. Because he totally could. Nothing was more important to him than his soon-to-be wife’s well-being.“Come on, open the fucking door! Let me in. Just once. I swear, I won’t even say a word.”“Not yet, Simon,” came the familiar voice of Diana. “We talked about this. You can’t see the bride before the wedding.”“Fuck that. This is a fucking emergency. She’s not answering the phone. What if something’s wrong?”“Relax. She’s fine. She just needs a few minutes alone. The excitement is getting to her. But she’ll be out soon. Don’t worry.”“Diana, I swear to God, if you don’t open the door right now, I’m breaking it down. I don’t care if I have to chop the entire thing down.”“Go away, Simon. Or I’m going to tell Elena what you did the other da
And while celebrations and laughter were being shared in one part of the world, in another corner, a different kind of gathering was being planned—a more sinister, dark, and twisted celebration.“I knew I’d find you here,” a familiar voice whispered in his ear. Richard glanced over his shoulder, frowning at the face he hadn’t seen in a while. But there was no mistaking it. The woman was actually here, and the first thing he wanted to do upon recognizing her was to wrap his fingers around her throat and squeeze until she stopped breathing.“What do you want?” he growled, turning back to his drink as he sat at the bar of one of the elite clubs.“Why? No welcome? Where are your manners, Richie?”He hated it when she called him that.“What are you doing here, Danika? I thought I made it clear you were not to contact me again.”“And I thought I made it clear that I have no intention of backing off until you realize that we both have the same enemy. Until you agree to work with me.”“You are