Brielle Clarke ~•~“Father wants to see you.”“What the fuck for?” Those were the first words that came to mind and I could not stop myself from saying them.The man I called father had deliberately sold me by tricking me to meet him at a bookshop. He wanted to get rid of me, not caring about the kind of person I’d end up with. And he suddenly wanted to see me? It had to be a fucking joke.Axel sighed. “He said he wants to talk to you,”“Why didn’t he call me himself then?”“Would you stay on the call if you knew he was the one speaking?”He caught me there. That was true. I didn’t want to see my father, but there were unanswered questions I had. I needed answers. I needed clarification. I needed closure.“Let him come to me.” I felt more comfortable when I knew Maxim was around because my father wouldn’t dare hurt me in his presence. Even if Maxim wasn’t around, most of his men would be close by. Axel kissed his teeth. “You know he can’t do that.”“Why?”“He and your boyfriend are
Brielle Clarke~•~Maxim followed me anyway. He was much more stubborn than I was so I knew there was no winning with him. If he wanted to do something, he could barely be stopped.It was weird standing in front of my father’s house after all these months and I found it hard to take a step forward and knock on the door. Maxim held my hand and squeezed. I took a deep breath and smiled at him before we finally started moving.There were guards on either side of the door but that did not stop me from ringing the doorbell.“Good morning, ma’am.” They chorused. “Morning sir.”The difference between Maxim and my father was that Maxim treated his men like family and they didn’t have to be so formal with him while my father acted like they were his workers even if they were the ones that fought all his battles for him while he hid like a little bitch.Realizing I was starting to sound bitter, I took another deep breath. “Morning.” I returned their greetings when Maxim didn’t bother to.One
Brielle Clarke ~•~Looking at the man that birthed me, I was supposed to feel hate. I was supposed to despise him, but the only thing I could feel was fear.My mind immediately traveled to the times when I was younger and wasn’t allowed to enter his office. Disregarding that rule always ended up in me having a sore body from being whipped.I gritted my teeth. While my father was harsh on all of us, I feel he hated me more. For some reason, he liked seeing me in pain. He reveled in my fear. He fed on it.From the small smirk on his face, I could tell he knew I was still scared. I shook my head. I was no longer under him. I had no reason to be scared of him. He wouldn’t hurt me. He couldn’t hurt me. I wouldn’t give him that power.I relaxed my stiff body, reminding myself that Maxim was still out there and he had killed men for touching me. It was sick to admit but my father wasn’t any different.I cut down the shyness and there was a new air of confidence around me as I looked him in
Maxim Vasiliev ~•~Brielle’s stepmother was one annoying fucker. I was torn between putting a bullet in her head or taping her mouth fucking shut.Since I distracted her from Brielle, all she had been doing was talking shit about Brielle and painting her daughters in a good light. It was as though she wanted me to leave Brielle and hook up with one of her daughters, maybe both because they were sick like that. The only thing keeping me sane was that Axel was there to tame his mother.She was talking about the time Aubrey won a beauty pageant when I heard sudden footsteps coming into the dining area. We had settled down to have tea there. I turned at once, standing up when I saw that it was Brielle. She looked angry. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you okay?”“Let’s go.”Sha placed her hand in mine and started dragging me away without giving me an explanation but before we could step out, someone blocked our path. My face automatically twisted in a scowl at the sight of him. “Edward.”“Maxi
Maxim Vasiliev~•~FLASHBACK (TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO)I sat at the edge of the pool, my feet dipped into the water. My nanny always told me not to go near the water when I was alone but she wasn’t around so I could do as I liked.She hadn’t been back in a few days, which was odd, but Father refused to tell me where she went and if she would be back. I was bored. Usually, my nanny would be around to keep me busy, but then again, if she was around, I would probably be having my afternoon sleep after my lesson.Unlike other kids, my lesson consisted of learning about various weapons and how deadly they were. Today, I learned about the VSS Vintorez. VSS stood for Vintovka Snayperskaya Spetsialnaya, which was Russian for ‘special sniper rifle’.It was a rifle that was created in 1981 and it was quite long with a barrel length of 200mm. I wasn’t allowed to hold it just yet. My Father said I would learn how to use it when I was older. My thoughts were interrupted when I saw a mop of blonde h
Maxim Vasiliev~•~PRESENT DAY“You’re lying,” I told Brielle. I refused to believe that my father had been lying to me all my life and kept up with it religiously. It had to be a lie. Did my father ever care about me at all?Two pairs of eyes were rooted on me, watching my reaction.“You have got to be lying,” I repeated, knowing fully well that it was possible my father lied. After all, he did the same concerning my relationship with Landon. He fed us lies since we were little, causing us to resent each other until Landon’s last breath. Was it just a game to him? What was he trying to achieve?“I’m not lying, Maxim.” Brielle stood up, approaching me carefully.My fists clenched in anger. I felt like a damn fool. It agitated me. “All these while,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “I needed someone to blame and I blamed your father, not knowing the culprit was right in front of me.”“You can’t be mad at yourself.” She spoke softly, already knowing what was going on in my head. “You coul
Brielle Clarke ~•~My sisters coming to my house was becoming a thing now. It was weird the first few times, but apparently, they had a lot of free time on their hands and my house seemed interesting.The day that broke the ice was the day we all got drunk together and crashed in one of the spare rooms, giggling and reminiscing on the few good times we had in our childhood.Today, we were trying out the pool together. Maxim had finally warmed up to them. He had been distracted these few weeks and I had a feeling he was scheming. He said he was going to make his father pay and everyone knew Maxim did not make empty threats. It wasn’t in his nature.I didn’t know what he was up to and he didn’t tell me. I gave him space to do what he wanted but I let him know that I was there for him if he ever needed me.“You look stunning in that piece, Bri.” Avery complimented me, mimicking the whistle of a sex-starved man.I was putting on a black one-piece. It was plain but backless. It was simple
Brielle Maxim~•~“Why don’t we throw a party?” All eyes, except Maxim’s turned to Mikhail. Why was he talking about a party when Maxim hadn’t settled his score with his father yet? Everyone would finally be able to relax when we knew the man was behind bars, paying for his crimes.“Why? The alcohol you are consuming right now is not enough for you?” Andrei asked sarcastically. We were at a bar, drinking together and I was the only woman among them. I wanted to stay at home and let them have a boys’ night out but Maxim refused and demanded I follow them.It was just me, Maxim, Andrei, and Mikhail. I wanted to bring Marina with me so I wouldn’t be the only female but she happened to be busy. Sometimes, it sucked that I didn’t have any friends, but most times, I was grateful for the tight-knit circle I had. I didn’t have to worry about betrayal and someone giving out my information to the enemy.Being with Maxim meant I inherited all his enemies and I could never be too careful. I had