KATERINAShe missed.Whitney missed the shot by one tiny inch and just as she aimed to shoot the second time, a stick slammed into her head from the back.The gun dropped from her hand and fell with a clatter to the ground. I saw the moment that the blood started to drip down from the side of her head and her eyes drooped almost shut. Whitney fell to the ground in a heap and I looked in front of me to see Vincent finally making it to where I was crouched in a sitting position. I placed my both hands either sides of his face, crying hard. Everything that was happening just did not make sense to me. It was true that I wanted to hurt him in the beginning, but now I just could not stand seeing him like this. My heart broke in pieces just looking at him while he seemed so helpless, so pale, like he could just pass out anytime soon.The room still spun with smoke, thick and suffocating, the scent of burnt wood and fabric searing my lungs. My mind barely registered what had just happened—on
KATERINAA MONTH LATERThe energy in the room was electric. Owen’s business launch had pulled in a crowd and the air buzzed with excitement and the hum of conversation filled the grand hall. New York City sprawled in glittering lights beyond the tall windows, adding to the glamour of the night. All these did not still sit well with me. The mafia men starting up businesses just to cover up their tracks which consisted of money laundering, drug trafficking, murder and so much more. However, Vincent had recently explained his reason for joining the mafia after swearing off it all his life. There was really no way out, so I had to learn to deal with all these… at least, for him, and the sacrifice he made to keep me safe.Standing near the bar, I sipped my champagne, scanning the crowd until my gaze landed on Owen’s girlfriend, Mae.At first, I did not fully recognize her because I had only seen her in pictures, but then I looked more closer, I realized it was truly her. She was all curls
VINCENT"I feel like I cannot leave this bed even if I tried to." Katerina groaned and I smirked, turning back to face her."Same. I think you would not be able to walk throughout today. After what that pussy had to go through last night." I muttered, and she was quick to chuck a pillow in my direction, and I chuckled, letting it hit me as I turned my face to the side."You're such an animal in bed…" She whined, trying to sit up, her cheeks pink with a blush. I stopped to stare, my cock hardening again as I watched her. So fucking gorgeous, I always wondered how I was lucky enough to bag her again…Those brown eyes peered up at me through her thick lashes, and I could jog help walking over to her to plant a kiss on her lips. She let me, placing a hand on my naked chest while the other hand held the duvet tightly over her tits.I laughed, pulling away from her lips as I looked down, "Why are you hiding my girls from me?""Because you get hard faster than I snap my fingers and this tim
KATERINA There was some commotion outside the front door. I had just heard it as I got out of the bathroom, trying to prepare to go shopping at the mall for a few essentials since I did not have work today. I ended up just throwing on Vincent’s T-shirt and a pair of shorts before heading downstairs to see what the noise was about. The noises grew louder as I approached the door and I pulled it open at once on reaching it. When my eyes met with a little girl's with her dark curls falling softly around her face, clutching a worn stuffed bunny, I almost thought she’d stopped at the wrong house. But then I noticed her eyes—a striking, familiar gray. The same piercing color that belonged to Vincent, with a touch of softness that reminded me of Whitney. Next to her stood a woman, exhausted, holding the little girl’s hand firmly, as if afraid she might lose her any moment. Our butler was asking questions, his gaze shifting between the woman and the little girl with polite suspicion.
VINCENT Katerina pulled the door open for me, mumbling to the butler, "Never mind. I got this." And then she smile widely at me after opening the door, wrapping her arms around my body in a tight hug. Her smile was nervous as fuck, as if she had something to tell me, and I knew that she did. A child was in here, at the living room. I had peeked through the surveillance, because my girl sounded nervous as fuck and I had to know what was making her like that. It was either that or me storming out of the meeting I was in. There was a nanny with the little girl too. She was claiming that the child was mine, and Whitney was her mother. But how the fuck did that even happen? Katerina pulled away from me, her face twisting in an offended frown, "You don't want to hug me back?" She started to step aside, but then my hand gripped her waist and I pulled her to me with force so her body collided with mine. Katerina gasped, then burst into a fit of giggles as I planted kisses al
KATERINA"Oh God, Ava!" I cried out as the little girl bolted away from the living room as we all had reacted too slowly because of course, no one had expected that from her.Vincent was the first to run after her, and also the first to recover from the shock. He was behind her in no time, and I was next, followed by the nanny.Luckily, the butler was quick enough to stop her. Ava was crying and kicking in his arms, demanding to be set free, but he was not having it."You aren't going out of here without adult supervision, woman!" He yelled, but she was not having it."Let me go! My mommy will hurt me, she says he's the bad guy, I cannot be around him, please…" She continued to cry. My heart broke in pieces for her. What kind of a mother was Whitney for crying out loud? "Your mother hurt you, and you still think your daddy is the bad man?" Vincent blurted out and I pinned him with a look, but he did not spare me a glance, his eyes were still transfixed in his daughter who refused to
VINCENT I slammed my car door shut before I went over to the other side to open up for Katerina. "Thank you," she muttered, looking as eager to see Whitney as I was. She looked even more eager, but then again that was probably because the woman literally wore her emotions like a sleeve. We walked briskly inside the prison walls without really saying anything else to each other; we had talked enough on our way here. It was only when we were getting to her cell, that Katerina turned to face me, telling me, "I am going to let you talk to her. You are the one who is mostly affected by this, I would let you question her and whatnot without any interruptions but I also want to say stuff to her too, just so you know." She informed me, and I nodded, not wanting to say anything in response at first, except that nod, but after a quick glance at her face, I could see the desperation in her eyes for me to be okay and just like that, I just couldn’t keep to myself any longer. I threw m
KATERINAWhitney refused to tell us anything more after that. We stood there, threatening her with all manner of things, but she never budged. She just sat there, smiling crookedly and laughing occasionally.I finally convinced Vincent to leave there and we both went home, hoping to figure out what exactly Whitney meant with everything she said about Ava ourselves.This morning, I woke up in his arms and peered up to see that he was awake already, focused on his phone. He had wrinkled lines in his forehead and dark circles around his eyes, and I could not help but feel a twinge of worry for him.The man had been working so hard these days and somehow, I knew that it had something to do with what Whitney had said about his child.Ava was acting… well, she was still detached from her father but she was every bit the bubbly child around me. Her nanny lived with us now, and continued to take care of her, in better living conditions… it was what she wanted, and she had been very grateful.
EPILOGUE KATERINAForever and a long ass day; that was how long I wanted to be with Vincent.It was finally happening today, our wedding, and I was the happiest bride.Ava stepped into the suite where I was getting my makeup done, all dressed and looking every bit of the princess she was, and I could not help but fight back tears.Within the past few months since she got here, she had grown so much. She was so beautiful, looked happier now and more healthy. I loved this child so much…She had a single rose and a box in hand as she walked towards me and I shook my head, my smile refusing to leave my lips,"Vincent, right?" I questioned.She nodded with a wide smile, "Daddy asked me to give this to you, mommy."Yeah, she called out me ‘mommy’ not too long ago, and has not looked back ever since.With a grin on my face, I took the gifts off her hand and then tore the box open to reveal a blank cheque which read;THANK YOU FOR MARRYING ME… AGAIN.And I would do it over and over again, I
VINCENTI could not believe what I was hearing. That fucking nanny had almost killed my wife-to-be, and her death was made that easy? I could not let my driver take the wheels on this one, I took hold of the steering myself, heading straight to the hospital I had been directed to.Katerina was not picking up any of my calls and I hated it. I wanted to know how she was doing, how my daughter was doing too. I wanted to make sure they had not ingested that fucking poison in any manner. If by any chance that poison had gone down any of my girls' throat, next believe I would be killing that bloody woman all over again.The drive to the hospital was long as hell, but I finally got there and practically jumped out of the front seat, heading straight inside the building.The moment I walked into the hospital room and saw Katerina sitting there, alive and well, I felt like I could breathe again. There she was, her face pale and tired, yet still the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eye
KATERINAThe house was quieter than usual that night, and I was starting to get that uneasy feeling again.I sat in the living room, reading a book while waiting for Ava to finish kissing her nanny goodnight so we could go to bed together.Vincent was out for the night handling some business, and I was left alone with Ava and the domestic staff. That's when I heard it—hushed voices from down the hallway. I couldn't make out everything, but the tone caught my attention. It was sharp, scolding. The words became clearer as I stood and crept toward the kitchen. "How could you mess this up, Ava? I told you to make sure she ate the eggs, not the chicken!" Her nanny hissed. "I—I thought she ate everything. I saw her do. I didn't know." Ava's small voice quivered, her words barely audible through the door. I could not then laugh at her little grammatical blunder at that moment, as I froze where I stood, my stomach twisting into knots. The eggs? What was she talking about? "Your mommy
KATERINA "Can I speak to mommy on the phone?" Ava asked quietly, looking up at me with desperate eyes. This was not the first time she had asked it, and it broke my heart for her that I could not give in to her request. "Sweetheart, I told you many times… mommy is out of reach. You cannot speak to her yet, but you will, I will take you to see her one of these days. I promise." I did not care if Whitney wanted her to see her like that or not, they'd have to meet, I decided. "Alright, K. Thank you." She muttered. The nickname always filled my stomach with butterflies. Fun fact; she had come up with it herself. In fact, she had requested to call me that. Though I secretly hoped she would eventually call me mommy, I decided to make do with this. We sat there while she colored on a new drawing hook I had bought for a while, until the smell of roasted chicken wafted through the room, and I looked back, noticing the nanny walking towards us. I almost moaned in relief. Finally. "So
KATERINAWhitney refused to tell us anything more after that. We stood there, threatening her with all manner of things, but she never budged. She just sat there, smiling crookedly and laughing occasionally.I finally convinced Vincent to leave there and we both went home, hoping to figure out what exactly Whitney meant with everything she said about Ava ourselves.This morning, I woke up in his arms and peered up to see that he was awake already, focused on his phone. He had wrinkled lines in his forehead and dark circles around his eyes, and I could not help but feel a twinge of worry for him.The man had been working so hard these days and somehow, I knew that it had something to do with what Whitney had said about his child.Ava was acting… well, she was still detached from her father but she was every bit the bubbly child around me. Her nanny lived with us now, and continued to take care of her, in better living conditions… it was what she wanted, and she had been very grateful.
VINCENT I slammed my car door shut before I went over to the other side to open up for Katerina. "Thank you," she muttered, looking as eager to see Whitney as I was. She looked even more eager, but then again that was probably because the woman literally wore her emotions like a sleeve. We walked briskly inside the prison walls without really saying anything else to each other; we had talked enough on our way here. It was only when we were getting to her cell, that Katerina turned to face me, telling me, "I am going to let you talk to her. You are the one who is mostly affected by this, I would let you question her and whatnot without any interruptions but I also want to say stuff to her too, just so you know." She informed me, and I nodded, not wanting to say anything in response at first, except that nod, but after a quick glance at her face, I could see the desperation in her eyes for me to be okay and just like that, I just couldn’t keep to myself any longer. I threw m
KATERINA"Oh God, Ava!" I cried out as the little girl bolted away from the living room as we all had reacted too slowly because of course, no one had expected that from her.Vincent was the first to run after her, and also the first to recover from the shock. He was behind her in no time, and I was next, followed by the nanny.Luckily, the butler was quick enough to stop her. Ava was crying and kicking in his arms, demanding to be set free, but he was not having it."You aren't going out of here without adult supervision, woman!" He yelled, but she was not having it."Let me go! My mommy will hurt me, she says he's the bad guy, I cannot be around him, please…" She continued to cry. My heart broke in pieces for her. What kind of a mother was Whitney for crying out loud? "Your mother hurt you, and you still think your daddy is the bad man?" Vincent blurted out and I pinned him with a look, but he did not spare me a glance, his eyes were still transfixed in his daughter who refused to
VINCENT Katerina pulled the door open for me, mumbling to the butler, "Never mind. I got this." And then she smile widely at me after opening the door, wrapping her arms around my body in a tight hug. Her smile was nervous as fuck, as if she had something to tell me, and I knew that she did. A child was in here, at the living room. I had peeked through the surveillance, because my girl sounded nervous as fuck and I had to know what was making her like that. It was either that or me storming out of the meeting I was in. There was a nanny with the little girl too. She was claiming that the child was mine, and Whitney was her mother. But how the fuck did that even happen? Katerina pulled away from me, her face twisting in an offended frown, "You don't want to hug me back?" She started to step aside, but then my hand gripped her waist and I pulled her to me with force so her body collided with mine. Katerina gasped, then burst into a fit of giggles as I planted kisses al
KATERINA There was some commotion outside the front door. I had just heard it as I got out of the bathroom, trying to prepare to go shopping at the mall for a few essentials since I did not have work today. I ended up just throwing on Vincent’s T-shirt and a pair of shorts before heading downstairs to see what the noise was about. The noises grew louder as I approached the door and I pulled it open at once on reaching it. When my eyes met with a little girl's with her dark curls falling softly around her face, clutching a worn stuffed bunny, I almost thought she’d stopped at the wrong house. But then I noticed her eyes—a striking, familiar gray. The same piercing color that belonged to Vincent, with a touch of softness that reminded me of Whitney. Next to her stood a woman, exhausted, holding the little girl’s hand firmly, as if afraid she might lose her any moment. Our butler was asking questions, his gaze shifting between the woman and the little girl with polite suspicion.