Hello, dear readersI wanted to let you know that I won’t be uploading for the next couple of days as my final exams begin on the 20th and will end on the 30th of this month.These exams are an important part of my final grade and assessment before I leave school, so I need to give them my full attention. I’m truly sorry for any inconvenience this might cause, but I promise to return on the 1st of February with new and exciting chapters.Thank you for your understanding and support—it means so much to me. See you soon ❤️
AvaFinding out my father sold me off to a sadistic Mafia Don to save himself was not how I expected my twenty-first birthday to go.But alas. Here, I am. “Are you okay?” My father asks, his voice layered with concern. I turn to observe him, my eyes roaming up and down his slouched shoulders. He was dressed in a black tuxedo one of the men who had brought us in had given him shortly after we arrived at the church. His hair was pushed back, the result of countless hand motions through the balding strands in order to appear much younger than he actually was.It doesn't work.“Ava… Please talk to me”I let out a breath, then pressed my lips together forming a thin line. How exactly did he expect me to answer that?Oh, of course, Dad, I’m fine; it’s great that you sold me to a literal mafia boss to save your life; I totally understand and forgive you.My lips twist downward at the thought.My father had sold me to one of the most ruthless men in all of Chicago in order to save his neck a
AVA I believe you have something that belongs to me. His words linger in the air for only a second before gasps erupt from the audience. My heart hammered against my ribs, and I blinked at the intruder in disbelief. His? What was he talking about? My gaze finds my father. He stands frozen, his lips slightly parted and eyes wide with shock as he looks at the man who called himself Nikolai. “What is going on Marcus!” Alessandro roared, his rage-filled gaze fixed on my father. His face filled with rage. A smile peaked at the corner of the intruder’s lips as he shoved his hands into his pocket. “It’s quite simple, Alessandro. You’ve been played.” Played? As if snapped from a trance My father looked up, his gaze finding mine amid the chaos. Remorse clouded his features. “Forgive me, Ava.” my father says, giving me an apologetic look. My brows knitted together as a slow wave of dread settled at the pit of my stomach, “What have you done?” “It was a long time ago.”
Ava I was married. Married. I still couldn't believe it. I was married to a man who crashed my wedding ceremony, declaring that my father had sold me to him when I was only seven. That couldn't have been legal. Oh, and that’s not even the crazy part. Far from it actually. Not only was I married to this crazy person, but apparently, this man was the long-lost heir of the Russian Mafia who was supposed to be dead. And they say weddings aren't fun. I drag my gaze towards the man seated in the driver's seat just a few inches away from me. He sits there composed and unruffled, an effortless control radiating off him like he hadn't just hurled me on his shoulder and out of the church like a caveman seconds ago. There was no denying the fact that the man beside me was the most painstakingly gorgeous man I had ever seen. His chiselled jaw, sharp cheekbones and tousled dark hair framed a face that belonged on the statue of a Greek god. But that still didn't give him the r
Nikolai Volkov “Papa” Kira's excited squeal hits me before I see her. She runs up to me, wrapping her tiny arms around my leg like a vine. It's a habit she's developed recently and one I planned on breaking - eventually. Her small, chubby face beams up at me, and her eyes sparkle with the kind of joy that I've become immune to. I let out a breath, resting my head on her curls. “What are you doing here Kira? You're supposed to be with Lydia” Kira giggles, clearly missing the annoyance in my tone. She's made a habit of escaping her nanny at every little opportunity since we got back from Russia. It was a habit that was becoming increasingly worrisome, considering she was a five-year-old child who thought that every opportunity should be seized to play hide and seek. Shaking her head, she grins up at me, revealing a missing tooth that was still intact when I left this morning. I make a mental note to put a hundred-dollar bill under her pillow tonight because the last thi
Ava I hardly get any sleep throughout the night. Each time my eyes fluttered shut, Nikolai’s face would emerge from the darkness, just inches from mine, the words he said yesterday lingering in the space between our barely touching lips. I had spent the majority of the night reminiscing about the events of my botched birthday turned wedding day trying to make sense of my current situation. Letting out a disgruntled groan, I turn away from the harsh rays of sunlight streaming in from my windows. Everything was so confusing. My entire life had changed. Everything I knew had been ripped out from under my feet and without an anchor, I had come crashing down into a pile of confusion and uncertainty. Nothing about my life felt real anymore. In the last twenty-four hours, I had gone from birthday girl to wife-to-be, and now I was married to a man whom I barely knew anything about and trapped in his house. Could my life get any worse? The low rumble of my stomach forces me out o
Ava The walls of Nikolai's office are cloaked in a deep charcoal that blends seamlessly into the dark wood design, creating an intense atmosphere. The shelves are filled with all kinds of books, new and old, all turned to the spine. The books are arranged in such precise colour coordination that they look a bit too perfect. The space is much bigger than I expected it to be and I'm almost consumed by its vastness. A large mahogany desk stands at the centre of it all, polished to a gleam with neatly stacked papers arranged on each side, and not a single paper document out of place. A sleek black leather chair stands just behind the desk, its high back giving off an air of authority against the soft glow of the crystal chandelier above the room. Nikolai occupies the chair, matte-framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose as his pen moves frantically over a document, his brows furrowing in concentration. In the last twenty minutes I've been seated opposite this man
Ava "No" The word tumbles out of my mouth in a rapid fit. I shoot out from my chair, instinctively stepping away from him. A wave of disgust trickles up my spine before sinking its claws around my throat. "No?" Nikolai’s voice is deceptively soft, but his eyes flash with a dangerous intensity as he leans back against his desk. You would think he had never heard the word before with the way he was looking at me. "No" I repeat, firmer this time. "I will not help you kill my father. My God, what is wrong with you? I mean, I knew you were insane, but this? This is a whole new level, even for the likes of you." He leans back against his desk, watching me. He remains annoyingly calm, unfazed by my reaction. "Your father isn't the man you think he is.", My brows furrow as I try to read his expression"What's that supposed to mean?" He steps closer and runs a hand along his jaw, "Your father has blood on his hands, Solnishko, Russian blood to be exact." My shoulders stiffen,
Hello, dear readersI wanted to let you know that I won’t be uploading for the next couple of days as my final exams begin on the 20th and will end on the 30th of this month.These exams are an important part of my final grade and assessment before I leave school, so I need to give them my full attention. I’m truly sorry for any inconvenience this might cause, but I promise to return on the 1st of February with new and exciting chapters.Thank you for your understanding and support—it means so much to me. See you soon ❤️
AvaTomorrow arrives sooner than I expect, and before I know it, it’s already 4:43. With just barely twenty minutes left to spare, I stare at my reflection in the mirror, wondering if I'd picked a good enough dress for my date with Nikolai.When I woke up I was simply met with a text message from Nikolai telling me to pick between the two dresses he'd selected for me to wear on our date. I, of course, had no idea which to choose and had called Cara to help me.The soft lavender dress I'd chosen out of the two dresses now clings to my figure, highlighting my curves with just the right amount of elegance and sluttiness. Not that I wanted any amount of sluttiness, but Cara insisted that a bit of sluttiness is okay for a first date and a lot of sluttiness is okay for a second, which was why the Lavender dress would "do excellently. Her words, not mine.Twenty minutes after our video call ended I still have no idea what she means by that.My hands smooth over the front of my dress, admirin
Ava ( Seven years old)I'm not going home.Ava realises this as she sits on the floor of what appears to be an empty cell-like room, except the walls are pretty and only the floor is damp.She tilts her head back against the wall, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as she silently hoped that the men who'd brought her here would finally let her go. Although she doubted they would.It had been over an hour now, and the men who'd taken her were nowhere to be found. They had shoved her into the darkness and left, leaving her with only their warnings of quietness to keep her company.Then men who'd taken her from her ballet studio reminded her of the men she'd sometimes seen hanging around in her father's office. Her father had called them business associates and told her that they were nice people with hard faces, but all Ava saw when she noticed the men pull up in front of her studio was their hard faces. She shivered, but it was not from the cold. The room
AvaNikolai scatter kisses down the side of my breasts then lower, lathering my stomach with the same attention. He hooks his fingers around the waistband of my shorts and my body tightens with anticipation.Nikolai's mouth had felt divine between my legs, and as much as I wanted to deny it, I loved every second he spent tasting me until my throat turned raw from the intensity.I want to feel that again. He'd been so perfect, so gentle with me. I study the way his eyes shut and his nostrils flare with each steadying breath he draws.“Go on a date with me tomorrow night"I think I'm dreaming until his voice breaks through the fog clouding my thoughts. I pry my eyes apart, looking down at him and meeting his gaze.“A date?”He nods then nips light at my hip bone, sending a violent shiver rippling through my entire body. “Yes, a date”, he murmurs, trailing lower.“Why?”He glances up at me briefly, his dark green eyes piercing into me in a way that makes my chest feel all tight and achy
AvaThe bed is warm when I stir awake. I instinctively reach out my hand, only to be met with the softness of the pillow barrier I'd created last night and - Surprise Surprise - an empty bed.I frown, sitting up, my eyes surveying the expanse of the mattress noting the rumpled sheets and the faint scent of cinnamon clinging to the linen, the only evidence that he had been here.I force out a sigh, running my fingers through my now tousled hair as the weight of crushing disappointment settles heavily in my chest. I swallow hard against the lump forming in my throat.He's left me before; why did I think this time would be any different…The sound of a door creaking open and slamming shut behind me stops my thoughts trail, and I whip my head towards the source of the noise.Broad shoulders fill the doorway of the walk-in closet as Nikolai steps into view, every gloriously scarred and tattooed inch of his torso upwards on full display. The pyjama bottoms he'd worn last night to bed are n
Ava"What are you doing, Malysh?" Nikolai asks, his voice low yet curious as he watches me stack pillow after pillow in the space between us.The corner of my mouth pulls downward, barely sparing him a glance. “Isn't it obvious? I'm building a barrier” I reply simply, reaching for another pillow.Nikolai leans back against the headboard, the mattress crinkling softly under his movements. His gaze never leaves mine as he watches me effectively build the only thing I could come up with last minute to serve as a barrier.“And why exactly do you need a barrier, Solnyshko? Especially one made from such flimsy building material" He says, eyeing said flimsy building material.His comment shouldn't bother me half as much as it does and yet it does.I release a puff of air, tucking the stray strands from my bun to the back of my ear before shooting him a sharp look.“If you must know I intend for there to be some sort of distance between us tonight. As long as this barrier is in place, there
AvaI didn't know what I expected Nikolai's room to look like and yet this right here manages to live up to the image I'd built up in my head. Compared to my room, Nikolai’s is massive, a plain that seems to stretch the further It goes.This amount of space seems absurd for one man and yet Nikolai seems to manage it just fine.A king-sized bed laid in dark satin sheets dominates the centre. The colour matches the charcoal grey drapes that hang from the ceiling to floor window that leads to a balcony. Identical armchairs facing each other serve as the only piece of furniture in the large room.There's nothing remotely homely about the place, and yet, for some odd reason, it feels warm.After I adamantly told Nikolai that there was no universe where I agreed to move into his room, he'd simply taken my hand in his and led me towards his bedroom door at the end of the hallway without so much as a word.The words he'd whispered to me in the hallway, our forehead pressed against each other
NikolaiMy wife is ignoring me.My fingers clench at my sides as I watch my wife walk into our house, her shoulder subtly grazing mine as she steps into the living room, just enough for me to catch the sweet scent of cherries and vanilla she leaves in her wake.That fucking scent had been engraved in my mind all morning, and after last night, I determined I never wanted to get away from it. I wanted it everywhere I was, and I was willing to have it engraved in my fucking veins if I had to.I could think of every word in the dictionary but none would do justice to how absolutely devastating last night had been for me. I'd been wrecked in more ways than one and my wife was the only one with the ability to put me back together. Her soft whimpers of pleasure had filled my head and haunted my mind, making it impossible for me to focus on anything else.I watch her ascend the staircase, admiring the denim of her jeans clinging to her curves, the sway of hips equal parts mesmerizing and temp
Ava Anger does not even begin to cover the synonyms of emotions that coursed through my veins when I woke up the next morning. Alone. Nikolai was nowhere to be found, and after a few disgruntled attempts at reaching for him on his side of the bed, I realised the horrible truth. I'd been abandoned. His sheets were cold, and I realised he'd probably been gone for hours, maybe even long, before I woke up, and in his place lingered only the faintest trace of cinnamon on the sheets. A pang of disappointment surged through me, sharp and aching. How could he leave? I wasn't familiar with the terms of one-night stands, but I'm pretty sure leaving your wife in bed after giving her not one, not two, but three mind-blowing orgasms was filed under the cabinet of dickery. He could've at least waited until I woke up before pulling the rug from under my feet. I'd pushed myself out of bed thirty minutes later, determined to find my husband and give him a piece of my mind but he was nowhere