Ava It's official Tatiana’s sister hates me. How do I know this for sure you might ask? Simple, when I arrived this morning with Tatiana by my side, she made it her first mission to stick me with a look while asking her sister who I was. I thought that at least an introduction would make things better, but boy was I wrong. She immediately picked apart my outfit and insisted I wore makeup even though my face was clearly bare. I can't help it if my skin is naturally rosy. That's what happens when you take good care of it. Faina has made it her entire day's purpose to make sure that everybody knows that she's the one running the show. She's been a bitch to not just me but her sister too. I now fully understand what Tatiana meant yesterday when she explained just how much of a control freak her sister is. To be honest, I think she gave me the watered-down version. Because the real thing is so much worse. There were three bridesmaids in total, but with Faina included,
NikolaiMy heart is pounding as I storm into the guest house, having cancelled my meeting with Dmitri only to find my wife curled up on the couch wearing the black shirt I gave her to sleep in last night, a tub of ice cream in her lap. She looks up at me, the rims of her eyes swollen and puffy as she scoops another spoonful of ice cream from the tub In Front of her into her mouth.I set the bottle of Advil down on the coffee table and crouch down In front of her, cradling her face in my hands.“You're back,” she says, sniffling as She leans towards my touch, her eyes closing briefly at the contact.When I got her text earlier, asking me if I could get her a bottle of Advil from the pharmacy, I expected to find her curled up in bed when I got back and not In front of the television surrounded by snacks and pillows with a red nose and puffy face.“What’s wrong Solnyshko?” I ask softly, my heart clenching. I brush a teardrop from the corner of her eye and tilt her chin so that she's look
Ava My head is throbbing. I pop an Advil into my mouth and tilt the bottle of water in my hand to my lips, allowing the liquid to push down the pill. I cringe at the surprisingly sweet taste of the pill on my tongue and set the bottle back on the coffee table beside my half-eaten tub of ice cream. There were only a few spoons left. When Nikolai returns seconds later from placing our sushi order, his dark green eyes flicker to my form perched on the other side of the couch. He frowns and I pretend not to notice while he shrugs off his jacket and sets it down on the armrest of the empty chair nearby. My gaze flickers over his broad shoulders, admiring how the fabric of his shirt strains slightly with each movement. I have to stop myself from salivating when I catch a glimpse of his inked skin beneath his shirt. How did he make something as simple as removing a jacket look so attractive? Nikolai's lips curl into a knowing smirk, the kind that makes my cheeks burn and I q
Ava “What's your favourite Colour?” I blurt out. Nikolai raises a brow at me, the corner of his mouth twitches as though he's holding back a grin. We are currently facing each other on the couch and my legs are curled under my butt. Our sushi order is spread out on the coffee table in an uneven arrangement, the boxes of rolls slightly askew, and a pair of chopsticks precariously resting on the edge of the table. The tub of ice cream and the rest of the snacks I’d devoured during my Emilia in America marathon now sat discarded in the trash along with my hopes and dreams of James being revived for a season four. So far, Nikolai and I have both had a turn and while I've been faithful to the rules and answered his question about my favourite colour without a moment of hesitation- it was pink, by the way - his lips had remained shut when I questioned him about his most embarrassing moment. But then again, I suppose a man of his calibre doesn't just hand out such information eas
AvaI blink, groaning softly as I try to adjust my eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the thin curtains of my bedroom window. A delicious aroma drifts through the air, teasing my senses and stirring a faint pang of hunger in my stomach.Blinking again, my gaze bounces off the walls of my bedroom taking in the dark blue curtains and the…Wait a minute, dark blue?The curtains in my bedroom are beige.I shoot out of bed, my hands clamping down on the silk sheets beside me. This isn't my bedroom.Where am I?It takes me a moment but I quickly put together that I'm in Nikolai's bedroom.Why am I in Nikolai's bedroom?I squeeze my eyes shut while simultaneously running my fingers through my loose curls as I try and conjure up what the hell happened last night.After Nikolai skipped my question for the second time, I came up with the rule that whoever skipped a question would have to take a shot of Sake.It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time—probably because I was already feeli
Nikolai“Papa”Kira barrels into my open arms as soon as she sees me standing in the private terminal, her little legs moving so fast that, for a second, I worry she might trip.“Pomedlenneye, moya malen'kaya printsessa. (Slow down, my little princess) I say, picking her up and kissing the crown of her head when she gets to me.She squeals and giggles while trying to free herself from my grip but I don't let her go.I've missed my daughter more than I want to admit. These last couple of days have been the longest she's gone without seeing me, and although we've done a lot of face timing, nothing compares to this moment. Having her in my arms once again.fShe wriggles in my embrace, her little hands pushing playfully against my chest. "Papa, you're squeezing me too tight!" she protests with a pout, though her laughing eyes betray her happiness."I can't help it," I reply, setting her down but keeping her close to me. I crouch down so that I'm eye level with her and also because I want
AvaCalling my husband to come pick me up from a holding cell wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my Wednesday evening, but what is life if not full of surprises?Tatiana sits across from me on the metal bench, her fingers idly twirling a strand of dark hair. Her lips curl into an amused smile and the sight makes me wonder what's so funny.Tatiana… Ta Ti Ana. Anaitat“Hey, do you know that your name spelt backwards sounds really funny?” I giggle, waving my hand in front of my face. Tatiana raises an eyebrow, her smirk turning into a full-blown grin as she watches my outburst.“Oh yeah, what is it?”I frown, furrowing my brows “What is what?”She shakes her head which in turn causes me to start giggling.“Nikolai is going to kill me.”The mention of my husband's name sparks a wave of nervous tension in my chest. I straighten against the bars, trying to move my legs from under my ass. It doesn't work.My leg feels numb.I struggle to rearrange my legs but the sound of a baton striki
NikolaiMy wife was trying to kill me.“Are you mad at me?” Ava murmurs, pressing her lips against the base of my throat. I bite back a groan, clenching my fist at my sides to keep from touching her. Her words are slow, and a bit slurred, reminding me that anything beyond this was Impossible.She's been like this since we got into the car. Her body partially draped over mine, warm and inviting, the scent of cherries mixed with the heat of her skin, making it impossible for me to think straight.I know I should stop her at this point but what can I say? I'm a sucker for pain.And my wife's touch.Her fingers glide across my chest, tracing invisible patterns across the skin where my shirt was unbuttoned. She looks up at me from beneath her lashes and it takes me a second to process that her hand is moving until it dips and brushes the waistband of my slacks.I grab hold of her wrist, stopping her before she can go any lower. My fingers tighten around her wrist just enough to serve as a
AvaThe Uber rolls to a stop in front of a barely standing building. The middle-aged driver glances at me through the rearview mirror, his brows pinching together. I ignore the look he gives me and shove a few bills into his hand before stepping out.The address Aaron sends me leads me to the industrial side of Chicago, where rusting metal fences and abandoned buildings line the quiet streets. Why the hell did he want to meet up in a place like this? The moment I shut the door, the Uber peels away, the roar of the engine fading into the distance, leaving me with nothing but a puff of engine smoke and dust.Coming to an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere simply because my brother preferred it over coffee in a cafe like normal people should certainly count as my top ten biggest mistakes.My gaze scans the area, and so far, it seems safe and normal.Slipping away from Benjamin had proven difficult. I'd asked him to stop at a random art store, claiming I needed to get some art
AvaMy phone buzzes in my pants as soon as I step out of my art history test on Wednesday. I reach for it, my pulse thrumming when I see the unknown number flashing across the screen. I hesitate for only a second before answering, my hand fisting the phone tightly."Hello?" "How are you, Ava?"That voice. I knew that voice. I grew up with that voice."Aaron?""The one and only"It's meant to come off as playful but there's a restrained edge to it. He sounds tired somehow and nothing like the boy I grew up with.Whereas that voice was lighter and always playful, this voice sounded older, wearier—like life had taken its toll on him in ways I would never understand.Why was he calling me? Now of all times. He abandoned me and now he's calling me like everything is just peachy between us when it's not. He knows it's not.I open my mouth to tell him he's an asshole for ignoring me for months and then trying to joke it off like nothing happene
Ava"I want to show you something," Nikolai tells me when I step into the house after a very long day of classes. I'm tired and my feet ache from shuffling between one lecture hall to the other in hopes of learning something relating to the path I chose to walk in life but am now violently cursing myself from doing.Kira throws me a toothy grin from over her shoulder as she's escorted back to her room by Lydia, her nanny, a grey-haired Russian woman with manners as stiff as a stick. She smiles at me politely as she ushers the little girl who'd tumbled into my legs the moment she saw me walk through the door, her tiny fists clutching the fabric of my skirt tightly like she couldn't let go.It took a while for her to notice me when I first came in, but when she did, she smiled at me so brightly from her father's lap that my heart stopped right there in my chest. Is this what it feels like to be missed?I lift a brow at Nikolai clearly confused at what he needs to show me. Today he's dr
Ava"You look different"Cara announces when we meet up later at one of the cafés around campus. The place is buzzing with students even though it's a Saturday and the campus is less crowded than usual.I glance up from the heart shaped design on my latte, shooting her a puzzled look."Different how?"She shrugs, "Just different"That's strange. I hadn't done anything peculiar to up my style this morning. My hair was in a loose ponytail and the dress I wore to the studio today was less than flattering on my figure. It had to be since I knew that it'd be coated in paint whenever I decided to leave the studio today. Which was thirty minutes ago when Cara called to ask if I was free for lattes.Cara tilts her head, deliberately trailing her gaze up and down my body. She looks at me the way a scientist would look at an equation they can't solve, stern and focused and I try not to let it unnerve me more than it already does.I lift the latte to my lips, taking a sip. The heavy creamy textu
Ava."Are you going to the studio?" Nikolai asks me once I sling my backpack over my shoulder. I'm now fully dressed and trying to ignore the lingering heat on my skin from what happened barely thirty minutes ago between us. After running me a bath, Nikolai asked to join me to which I declined with a firm no. When he realised there was no shaking my conviction, he reluctantly left the bathroom with a small pout, eventually giving me the space I required to clean up.After my bath, he hopped into the bathroom while I got dressed. Since it was a Saturday, I didn't have any classes today, but the deadline for my art project was drawing fast, and I was still a thousand steps away from starting it, not to talk of finishing it. I had to be having some type of artistic block. I mean, what else would you call me just staring at my canvas for three solid hours before deciding that the line I sketched wasn't straight enough and redoing the whole thing.I've been going to the studio every day
AvaI wake up to the feeling of my husband's lips dotting wet kisses across my cheeks, down the column of my neck to the base of my throat and then lower.I stir in the bed, my eyes still closed, when I feel his smile against my skin. "I know you're awake, Solnyshko" Nikolai's deep, husky morning voice rumbles against my collarbone, sending goosebumps erupting all over my skin. He sounds so good for someone who just woke up."Open those pretty eyes for me"He drops another kiss on my collarbone, following it with a quick nip. I wince, involuntarily arching towards him. My eyes snap open and I glance down at the head of dark curls brushing lightly against my chest.Nikolai lifts his head, his piercing green eyes colliding with mine. His lips stretch into a slow, lazy smirk as he looks at me, and I can feel the organ in my chest go into partial shock from how gorgeous my husband looks at the moment. A small teasing glint sparks in his eyes when he sees me watching him and my body ten
BearThe new prisoner his father brought was rather chatty, Bear decided after he heard the third knock on the wall on the second day of his exile."Bear?" came the little voice, soft and curious, as always. He'd come to realize that despite himself he actually found her voice rather tolerable. It was a drift from the normal silence that consumed him whenever his father would send him on one of these exiles.He'd grown so used to the silence his father's punishments often left him with that he never thought that he'd appreciate the sound of another person’s voice. Yet here he was, lying against the cold wall, listening to the sound of her timid knocks and hesitant words, almost as if she was afraid he wouldn't answer.And he almost didn't."Bear, I know you're in there. The least you can do is tell me you don't want to speak to me instead of avoiding me"She had him there."Mozhesh' li ty byt' gromche?" he muttered, his voice slightly hoarse.(Can you be any louder)"I knew you were s
NikolaiAva returns with a pack of frozen peas, a thin towel and a change of clothes. She places the things she brought by my side on the bed and returns to her position on her knees. On any other day, the sight of my wife on her knees in front of me would've sent me coming in my pants, but the tightness in her lips, the subtle puffiness around her eyes, mixed with the throbbing pain in my ribs makes it impossible for me to get aroused in this situation."Take off your shirt?" She orders and I bite down on my tongue to keep from making a joke on how eager she was to get me naked. Considering how well she'd taken my last attempt at a joke stopping myself before the words slip out seems like the only wise thing to do.I discard the blood-stained fabric of my shirt to the floor a few feet away from her, wincing as the movement pulls at my ribs. Ava notices. Her fingers pause, hesitation flickering across her features before she schools her expression and reaches for the ice pack."Hold
AvaI spend the next day exploring the halls of the Volkov mansion. The library more than anywhere else and by the time it's evening, strange as it might sound, I'm more than excited to see my husband again Except I don't see him.Because he doesn't return. At first, I thought maybe something might have come up to keep him a day longer, but then, I didn't hear from him for the next two days, which only grooms my worry.My thoughts spiral, raging from, did something happen to him? To, What if he's hurt? And then my personal favourite, Why won't he answer his goddamn phone?I do everything I can to reach him. Calls texts, you name It. I try it all, and each time, I'm met with nothing. It's almost as if he just disappeared.By the time the third day rolls out, it feels like I can't breathe. I can't focus on anything else, and I try, my God, do I try to reach him, but as usual, I'm met with the constant automatic voice, which I've come to grow annoyed with, informing me that the number