"I couldn't do it, I didn't do it, and I don't plan to do it. That's it... I'm sorry for losing my hope.""When you regret something and express it, the idea is not to do it again. If you're going to do it again, then don't say you're sorry!"Igor was angry. He had trusted in her sanity, and she had only disappointed him and thrown in his face how foolish he had been to trust the judgment of a woman who, in his view, still acted like a child.Elisa bit her lip, wanting to explain why she had planned this stupidity, perhaps then he would understand."I know, I'm foolish, but I didn't know what else to do... Talking to my mother now gave me more strength... Igor," she took a step towards him, "I didn't even make it noticeable, I didn't even shout it from the rooftops. I didn't want anyone to find out."He looked back at her. Why did he feel a chill in his chest at the thought of her hanging?"No. By opening that door," he pointed carelessly while looking at her, "I would have found your
The sky was covered with clouds, casting a greyish hue over the entire city, and under that sky, the dull gleam of a black Lamborghini Veneno caught the attention of those passing by on the street at that hour.Its destination was clear, the same purpose that had kept it in use during these few days: collecting debts, and within it, the man responsible for making it happen was delighted and excited for that moment.Upon arrival, a house in the lower districts of the city seemed dimly lit, perhaps fearful of what was about to happen inside it and to the people who had sheltered it for so many years."Vitali, come with me," Stefan said as he left his prized car to head towards the place where they would receive the money he had lent six months ago, and if they didn't give it to him, then he would have to vent his frustration in blood.A man and his wife were watching television, the man had been out of work for several weeks, and the worry of not having all the money he owed was distres
"That night Mr. Sokolov disappeared because he left with a dancer after a show, one who performed in the main act, and when I found out something had happened from the club manager, who was frantic, I rushed over because I knew something was amiss.""A woman..." he lowered the gun and smiled, raising it again to fire a shot into the ceiling in celebration. "Wow!" He holstered the gun in his pants, then gave Jasha a friendly pat on the shoulder as Jasha looked at him with fear. "Well, that's some information. I even think it's worth more than the money I lent you..." He genuinely smiled; this information gave him leverage over Andrei, and he would flaunt it. "Vitali, write a check with a good sum for our fortunate Jasha here," his smile was uncontainable. "You're a good man."He winked, planning his next moves against his rival and how to contribute the final piece needed to avenge his only cousin.***Elisa had an eternal pout on her lips after that. She had been happy, but now Igor w
Would he know what she had wanted to do? He was surprised by this calm conversation, far from the usual excitement they had between them."Elisa," he called out before she closed the door.She stayed inside without closing the door, waiting."What?" she asked."If you ever try to do something stupid again, I promise your pretty corpse won't have a pleasant ending, understood?"Elisa pursed her lips and slammed the door shut, letting out a quick sigh, realizing she didn't want to swallow that. She then opened the door again and went to the brown-haired man because he always had to threaten her with unpleasant things."Idiot!" she called out, reaching his side and growing angry again. "You can laugh at me and my lack of courage because I didn't have the guts to kill myself. But stop rubbing in my face the power you have over me!"The leader looked at her with that cold gaze, seeing her desperation and anger. This was the Elisa he rarely saw."You lacked the courage you claim not to hav
Elisa was dressed up and ready for what would be the meeting at Kirill's cousin's house, but at the same time, she had mixed feelings about Andrei because she had seen him with a woman in the main hall the previous night.For that reason, she wore a cream-colored short and loose dress that naturally fell over her silhouette to a length that revealed quite a bit but still covered decently. It had a shy V-neckline with sleeves cinched at her wrists.She adorned her neck with a golden necklace that hung down past her chest along with a bracelet of the same color. Her feet were adorned with light brown ankle-strap sandals with heels that she was sure wouldn't allow her to run if necessary.But what did she have to worry about if she was going alone with Andrei? Besides, she had dressed like this on purpose to show him that she was much better than the woman he had brought home.She never thought she was jealous, and that made her laugh at herself.She looked at the dragon fountain and wis
Andrei accentuated his raised eyebrow upon hearing her.Yes, he had called a woman to please him because he somehow needed distraction and also needed to get the idea out of his mind that this place should be Elisa's.But how could he achieve that if she was in this house twenty-four hours a day, available to him?"Why do you want to know?" he couldn't help but keep that smile on his face. "Do you think only prostitutes would agree to spend time with me?"It was starting to feel like an interrogation full of jealousy, and he found it amusing in an adorable way.Elisa, on the other hand, remained silent in the face of these questions. Suddenly, she understood that this questioning was silly, and that woman didn't have to be a prostitute. She wasn't one, and she was willing to be touched by him in every way, so it made sense.She blushed."Come on, let's go," he offered his arm, and she looked at him hesitantly, while he maintained a victorious smile on his lips seeing her like that."W
Andrei looked ahead as he entered Stefan's mansion.Something was going to happen; he could feel it in the air, and he could see it in the faces of his men as well.His expression turned colder, rejecting all the looks those men gave him.He knew Kirill's cousin wouldn't break the rules they had or the protocols; he wouldn't try anything against him. However, one could never be too sure about that man, whose eccentricities displeased him because everything seemed to be done to appear as a public billboard with neon lights.He was intrigued by the discovery that the idiot had bragged about over the phone, and he knew it involved the brunette. Nevertheless, his concern didn't consume him since intelligence wasn't among the qualities of the dark-haired man.Elisa pursed her lips as she looked around; apparently, this party wasn't much different from the ones at Andrei's house.No one there seemed to have good taste in music; no one dared to bring live bands, and she didn't feel like danc
“Andrei…” she called out curiously.“Mmh?” He replied without looking at her.“Why did you call a dancer yesterday?”He couldn’t help but laugh, then glanced at the brunette who furrowed her brows at his reaction.“Should I have called you instead?”“Don’t mock…” She stopped walking to look at him seriously. “It’s just that you treat me differently, and I can still dance, you know?”“Did you prefer how I treated you before? Well, we can go back to that, little masochist.”“No, I don’t want that either!” She exclaimed without raising her voice too much; she was starting to get whiny. She untangled her arm from Andrei’s to face him directly. “Just give me a role in that house, okay? Make me believe I have a purpose.”Andrei had to be able to, he had to be able because if Igor had given him value, and quite a conciliatory one at that, he could too.He shrugged to relax, having tensed up upon hearing the imminent tantrum from the dancer, preparing to be patient and give a little attention
"Thank you..." She didn't know how to address him, as she couldn't remember if he had told her his name before."Arnold.""Arnold," she replied with a smile. "I'll step outside for a moment, I need some air," she excused herself."Go ahead."The brunette made a small bow to him, as she wasn't too used to dealing with formalities in that culture.She wanted to be outside to see if she could find Igor and talk about the afternoon, but she quickly remembered it was Saturday and she would probably see him in a couple of hours.As she was heading for the exit, Samuel blocked her way, and she frowned. Was Andrei now controlling her to prevent her from leaving that part of the house?"Yes?""Andrei wants to see you.""Andrei is talking to a woman, so I doubt he wants to see me," Elisa replied somewhat angrily. "And if he really wants to see me, tell him to stop sending messengers and to stop being an idiot," she continued on her way, and Andrei's man smiled.That girl had grown up so quickly
Idiot Andrei, he was an idiot and didn't deserve her love, her tears, or her sadness.He deserved a prostitute who wanted his money and sex, nothing more, not a girl like her who offered him pure and sincere love.“Fine…” she got up and climbed off Andrei, and he frowned, surprised by his own reaction, realizing he didn't really want her to get off. “You're not doing your job right, I told you that to get back into my pants you were going to have to lie to me, but you're still being insensitive…” she started walking away without looking back, just walking angrily, and he watched her from his spot."That stubborn, obstinate girl," he thought, rolling his eyes.Elisa, for her part, slammed the door and threw herself onto her bed to cry, thinking about how miserable she was, with a man who was unwilling to let himself be loved and also, with a guy like Igor, so sweet and tender who had confessed his love to her.She thought about the irony of her situation and again wished to be far away
"Promise you won't drive drunk again?" she continued hugging him."I promise..." He stopped looking at his leader to look at Elisa, gently moving her away from his shoulders, without alarming himself or anyone else.He wasn't sure how much Andrei had heard, but his gaze didn't seem like a threat either.Elisa smiled as she watched him stand up. She offered her hand to help her up, and she accepted it, looking at him with a smile bidding him farewell, and he reciprocated.When he turned around, he found Andrei looking at the dummy, and when he saw her from the corner of his eye, he then turned his gaze. That scared her. Why hadn't Igor said anything or reacted? What did he intend with that or what did it mean?"Hello..." she greeted him, and he continued to look at her face without any expression.That distressed her and slowly killed her hopes; it was like living day by day in a slow and complete torture."Hello," he approached her a few steps, while she hesitated to step back or sta
Her bed felt so cold! She didn't want to move because every other place felt equally chilly, and she longed for warmth.Pouting, she remembered that this was the first night she had spent alone in quite some time, and that brought Igor to mind.She couldn't help but smile. How were they supposed to talk now? Would it be right to pretend that nothing had been said?Of course, pretending wasn't right; it was rude and could hurt that strange yet adorable blonde boy. But she was also scared; she feared Andrei's reaction if he found out. What would he do to Igor?She couldn't bear to see him in trouble because of her. She didn't want him to lose everything he had gained just because of her.Elisa missed seeing Igor come into her room to deliver Andrei's messages. It wasn't necessary anymore, as now it was the leader himself who would talk to her, or rather, he was the one she saw every day when she woke up.Andrei... She missed him and closed her eyes. Why couldn't she fall in love with Ig
After a while, Elisa recognized the smell she had recently sensed on Igor and remembered that he arrived alone. He had driven drunk, and he had come alone."Igor, you drove drunk," she scolded him, sitting up again and raising her voice. "It was dangerous and foolish."He opened his eyes and laughed at that, feeling good that she cared about his life."Yes, I did... Can you help me get to my room?""Yes..." She stood up and helped him to his feet, putting her arm over his shoulders. "Don't fall, or I'll fall with you..."Igor smiled, imagining that scenario because it had a good ending: her on the floor and him on top of her, so he could kiss her.He looked up and saw Sergei, in whom he had found trust besides their leader, coming towards them, surely to help Elisa take him to his room."Don't touch me, Elisa is taking me," he said before she could lay her hands on him."Okay, I'm not the only one supporting him," she excused herself.The man looked at him strangely. What was he doing
Andrei looked at her for a few seconds with a furrowed brow.Great, she was giving him orders, and like an idiot, he was obeying. He made his way to his seat and didn't look at her throughout the entire drive."Andrei," she spoke once he parked the car, and he prepared himself to listen without looking at her.She held back all the hateful thoughts during the journey, just so she wouldn't cry in front of him, and now she wanted to say more."For being who you are, you do a pretty good job of getting into my pants," Andrei furrowed his brow. Was Elisa speaking like that again? "And if you want to get in there again, then the difficulty level will rise."The girl didn't want to feel as miserable as she did before."Are you going to force me to love you?" she turned slightly."No, I'm going to force you to lie to me," her voice broke, and she began speaking as if crying, "and I'll know it's a lie, but I'll keep loving you anyway, but it will hurt less..."She opened the car door and got
Andrei settled into his chair and observed her tense expression, eating from his plate."Alright, enough of this conversation now. You're ruining the enjoyment of this place for me...""I'm just asking for a little tact, Andrei," she swallowed to respond, a little more offended than angry, "because I feel like I can and deserve to ask. It's my name you moan every night, and I think that gives me some right.""And isn't my attention enough for you? You met me, Elisa. You know how I behave, yet you continue to push your luck," he spoke firmly, hardening his gaze.He didn't like this conversation because she was correcting his behavior, and she wasn't anyone to reproach him for anything. Besides, it was extremely strange to hear sexual references from her mouth."Don't look at me as if I'm spouting nonsense. It hurts me when you look at me like that!" she exclaimed exasperatedly, unable to even bend him a little.He looked at her angrily and reluctantly; he didn't understand all this fus
The drive to the restaurant was simple and normal, nothing out of the ordinary for her to share with him.She looked out the window and smiled faintly because Andrei was discreetly covering the fact that a group of his men was following to guard her. She knew he had put effort into that, so she preferred to pretend not to know anything.When they arrived at the restaurant, she stepped out of the car in her loose pink silk dress, which she had checked to make sure it was covering her properly, reaching a little above mid-thigh."I hadn't had time to tell you how beautiful you look," he took her hand and spun her around.She laughed. "That's usually said earlier, Andrei. When you see me for the first time...""But it's what's normally said on a date," he chuckled, sealing the gesture with a kiss on the back of her hand. "I feel lucky to have you as my company; I must be the envy of the entire world."She couldn't help but blush deeply after hearing all those lovely words, and it didn't
"Well, don't say things that make me feel strange," he declared."Why?" She laughed, furrowing her brow. He always had to be so rough, and she found it adorable.Andrei clicked his tongue."Why do you always want to know everything?" He raised an eyebrow, somewhat annoyed. "Enough with the questions..."He pulled her closer, resting his face on the perfumed neck of the dancer, his arms wrapping around her waist, wanting to cushion his awkwardness with that gesture.She smiled; these kinds of reactions were typical of him, and she loved it when he regretted his words and hugged her, as if he were afraid of pushing her away with his character, which he was."I love you so much, Andrei..." She rested her cheek on his broad left shoulder, unable to hold back her feelings for a second longer.She didn't expect an "I love you too." She wasn't that naive; she knew that what she had with Andrei, which had started recently, might be the best she could get from him, and that was okay.Andrei op