KATERINA"Are you sure you are okay? I mean, you are working harder than usual lately." Whitney asked me as she sat on the loveseat in my room while I worked away on my laptop, sitting in a crisscrossed position on my bed.My brows creased as I looked over at her, shrugging my hands in the air. "I just have more work than usual lately. Stop making it look like such a big deal, Whit." I told her, rolling my eyes.She laughed. "Like I always say, I wish I could work like you. Shit bores me to death. What to you mean I have to sit behind a laptop all day long struggling to focus on little letters when I could be out there going from one trip to another, getting myself all the best things. If I really must work, I could just open an establishment that does not exactly need my presence there. I could simply leave it to be handled by other people and I just come once in a while to check stuff out.""I.e, your cleaning agency and your salons which you rarely check up on. What kind of busin
KATERINA"The pleasure is all mine, to be honest." I nodded, already tired from all the praises, so I just went straight to it."Yeah, so um… the girl you were just with. She's your girlfriend right?" I asked him, trying to sound as casual as I could.He looked at me quizzically, then smiled. "Why? Interested in me already?"That sounded ten times more disgusting than it should have.I tried to keep my facial expression in check as I answered with a small laugh, "Well, not really. Just loved the whole bond between you two and I thought—""And you thought what? You thought the best thing to do was trail after my friend and quiz him to death?" I spun around immediately, facing the direction of the voice. Reina was standing in front of me, her attire as mismatched as ever, with her head tilted to the side in some sort of challenge.I scoffed, "I hope this isn't you trying to scare me off because it looks a lot awkward, to put it nicely.""Well, thankfully, I do not need you to put anyt
VINCENT"You injured four men that answer to me. Who do you think you are, and where do you think you are in? You think the cops would keep shouting on us to keep it down forever? Of course they would get tired and do you know what happens then? You become all ours…" The bulkiest man in the cell who called himself the boss spoke in what he probably felt was an intimidating tone, but I just sat there on the dirty floor, my back against the wall as I looked up at him with a monotone expression on my face.They had spent a week and a few days trying to bend me to their will. I had a few slap marks here and there on my face and body, and even bite marks as well. I was given those slap and bite marks every time I said no to doing what they wanted. It did not sit well with them, most especially with their boss.Slap for slap, God forbid the bite for bite… The men were too fucking dirty, I did not want to think about what I could contact if I dared to sink my teeth into any of them's flesh.
VINCENTThe bullying reduced drastically in the next few days. Well, for me though. The other guy was still being treated like trash from time to time. I could not really care less.I was currently on a call with James, hiding at a corner of the cell, as calls were prohibited until it was officially call time. It was a stupid new rule that I simply wondered why they had started with me."We are working on it. We thought we were close to finding out who the culprit was a few days ago, like I told you when I had said we got a lead, but that lead was just a dead end. I promise you though, we are trying our absolute best to ensure that we do everything in our power to get you out." He promised. I ran a hand through my hair. "James, I would say yes, I believe you, but we are running out of time. I heard that the court hearing would be in a week's time. These people want nothing than to throw me in jail as soon as they can. If that court hearing holds, I would definitely be given a sentenc
KATERINAMaybe he was lonely in there. I heard that sometimes rich people like him were kept in separate cells from from other people. He kept texting me from time to time, telling me random things. What he ate, about the boss there, how he wanted to kill everyone, how he wants to start with me but for some reason, he doesn't want to do it, at the same time.Sometimes, he would tell me how beautiful I was, how stupid he was for still texting me despite knowing that I was the cause of his predicament. How the hell was he so sure of that?It might be a wonder why he was still texting me despite the fact that I had already blocked him. Well, my fingers might have skipped and unblocked him again right after blocking first. What? I was so lonely these days, and somehow I just knew that he would try to talk to me.I looked over to the side of my room to see the packages I had been sent over the last few days, most of which were as a result of Vincent clearing my expensive carts.I mean, t
VINCENTI knew it was her. Everything in me screamed that she was the one, but I needed more than my intuition to prove what I already knew.She had dropped lilies for Grace too. How had she known Grace's favorite flowers if it was not her? She had never been good at lying to me. I was not surprised when she had embarrassingly started to stutter while we talked. Everything started to make sense. Well, almost everything. My plans had changed. I had started to accept how I felt about her more now that I knew who she was and why she was doing what she was doing.Well, I did not know why she was actuating it, but I had a clue. She had been hurt, and maybe she felt I was the one who had hurt her, because I had only walked in on her when she was getting up on her feet and blowing Grace's grave a kiss. Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked like she had been crying for a while.James and I were currently in my office as I told him about my suspicions. He looked confused. "You mean, you
THIRD PERSON POVThe restaurant was alive with chatter and the soft clinking of silverware against porcelain plates. Waiters glided between tables, balancing trays of delicately arranged dishes, while the warm, ambient lighting cast a golden glow over everything. At a corner table, near the window, Whitney sat with Vincent, her hand resting lightly on his arm as she laughed at something he had said. Her laughter was bright, her eyes sparkling with an affection that, to anyone else, might have seemed genuine. But Katerina knew better. She watched them from across the table, her smile fixed but her eyes sharp, taking in every detail. The way Whitney tilted her head, the way she leaned in just a bit too close to Vincent, her hand lingering on his arm a moment too long. What was she doing? More precisely, what was he doing? Da’ana told her that he hated Whitney, so what was this?Vincent smiled back at Whitney, his expression warm and easy, but there was a flicker of something in his eye
KATERINAI stood by the door, holding my phone in my hand as I swiped through the notifications. It was empty, and while I hadn’t expected them to text, I had at least hoped they would disappoint me a little.I pushed off the feeling that was digging a hole in the pit of my belly, and I released a deep breath as I shoved the phone in my pocket, ignoring the way it seemed to burn a hole there.Simon’s silence hurt more, and I tried to push away the look on his face when I saw him the last time. Vincent, I could handle and I was used to it a little, considering our past, but Simon had always loved me like a brother.Right from the start.I shook off the feeling and moved into the room, just as my phone buzzed. I knew it wasn’t going to be either of the boys, and Kevin hadn’t still texted since our last conversation, so I brought out the phone.Surprise flooded through me when I saw the name at the top of the notification bar. It was Whitney.She hadn’t exactly texted since the last time
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.
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
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
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
KATERINASmoke filled the room, thick and suffocating, the heat growing unbearable. My throat burned with every breath, and my chest felt like it was about to collapse from the pressure. I could hear Vincent struggling, his body tense beside me as he worked to cut through the ropes around his wrists. The flames crept closer, inching toward us, consuming everything in their path."I'll get it. I'll get it, firecracker. We will get out of here." He swore while he kept struggling to loosen himself.I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks, but it wasn’t the smoke that made me choke this time. I thought about how close we’d been to ending all of this madness, to finally being free. But now, trapped and helpless, every second felt like an eternity ticking down to an end I wasn’t ready to face. Panic clawed at me, making my heart race wildly as I pulled against the ropes that bound my wrists, desperation filling every fiber of my being.Finally, with one last, fierce yank, Vincent broke free