After a deal gone wrong that leads to half of his soldiers being killed, a mafia boss is forced to knock on the doorstep of his enemies. What was supposed to be a measure to secure his empire turns out to be a wedding proposal to ensure peace between both criminal organizations. Soon, he realizes he's tied to mute woman who hates his guts. Although mute, Ariana Rossi is not one to back down from a challenge. She hates the big Russian, but she's determined to marry him to protect her family from his cruelty. Feelings were never supposed to be developed, but as months pass and emotions begin to blur, she finds her loyalty being torn between her family and a husband she swore to hate; one who had fast become her safe haven in their cruel world. With internal and external forces trying to tear them apart, she can only hope she has her husband by her side at the end of it all.
View MoreARIANAA WEEK HAD GONE by since the incident in my bedroom, and things between Aleksei and I had been cordial since then.We weren't exactly friends, but we ate breakfast and dinner together every time with Mikhail present, of course. I wasn't confident enough to be alone in a room with Aleksei yet. My nerves wouldn't let me, and the last thing he needed to see was me puking my guts out because my nerves had gotten the better part of me. They could be that bad.Oh, and back to eating together, he always pulled my chair back for me if he arrived before me which was every time.Things were almost too peaceful that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.Cynical? Yes, but I was never one to believe in fairytales in the first place.A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned in my vanity stool just as the knob turned before the door opened and Aleksei walked in clad in a tailored tux that stretched over his broad shoulders and molded against eve
ARIANA I STRETCHED MY LIMBS OUT as the first peek of sunlight streamed into my room, lighting up the space. I felt significantly better than I did last night. After another creative block at work, my mood had taken a downward spiral. There was nothing I hated more than failing my clients. Nothing felt right anymore. Tears of frustration clung to my lids as I walked into the house, and that was where I'd bumped into Mikhail, who was on his way out of the house. "Whose jaw am I breaking?" He'd asked in the most casual tone like we were talking about tea and brunch while he slipped his brass knuckles on. The psycho carried that around with him along with the knives and guns strapped to his body. What could I say? My brother-in-law bordered on psychopathic. Five days had passed since the call with Aleksei, and it was safe to say Mikhail and I were slowly developing a bond against my better judgment. It was surprising,
ALEKSEI SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I could feel it in the air the moment I stepped foot in the foyer. The house was oddly quiet, and while this was a big house, it was an unusual occurrence. There was always noise coming from somewhere. Mikhail wreaking havoc somewhere in the house. The staff shuffling around. Morgaine's soap operas playing in the kitchen while she cooked because she couldn't afford to miss an episode. I heard none of those things. I knew the house hadn't been evaded because the guards at the main gate were still intact. That was the only comforting thought in my head as I closed the door, trapping the warm air inside the house. That was when I heard it. Laughter. I'd heard it only a handful of times, but I'd recognize it anywhere. Ariana. Who was she laughing with? My question was answered less than a second later when my brother spoke. "This shit is ass." More laughter came from Ariana, the sound wrapping around my chest and squeezing painfully tight for r
ARIANA The ride back to the house lasted less than an hour, and I constantly caught the driver sending judging stares my way through the rearview window. I made a mental note to ask Mikhail about it. When the car rolled to a stop in front of the steps that led to the gigantic front door, I was more than happy to get out of the confined space. I didn't think I could have lasted another minute inside the suffocating car. I stepped into the foyer, and the first sight I was greeted with was Mikhail going at it with one of the maids. I recognized her easily because she was the one who'd served me breakfast and returned my smile on my first day here. She was on her knees in front of him while he thrust into her mouth, his head thrown back in pleasure, both of them oblivious to their surroundings or the fact that I'd walked in on them. Just as quickly as I walked in, I bolted out the front door, sinking down on the steps to wait them out. Apparently, privacy was foreign knowled
ARIANA AFTER EVERYONE LEFT FOR their respective homes, I stayed behind, bent over my designs, tweaking some things here and there until I finally gave up. Drea tried to get me to open the presents Aleksei got me, but I refused. His plan to make us seem like a loving couple worked. Even Drea swooned with the rest of the women at his 'romantic gesture', and she knew why we got married. When I finally caved in and opened the presents, Drea's mouth dropped open. Just as predicted, there were a bunch of expensive things inside the bag. Her jaw hit the floor. "Is his brother taken?" I burst into laughter. "Not that I know of." "Well, hook me up!" We both doubled over this time around, laughing until our ribs hurt. Drea wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eyes. "I'm just kidding. The men in your world scare me." That was one of the smartest things she'd ever said. Even I was scared of what the m
ALEKSEI DINNER WITH MY FATHER WAS a form of pure torture I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. It started with cutlery clinking against fine China before Igor Tarasov decided he'd unnerved his guest enough with just silence. While some might think it's impossible, it worked wonders. Growing up, I had gotten a front-row seat to watch grown men piss themselves or drive themselves insane during those long stretches of silence. He always said human nature made those men desperately want to fill the silence with small talk to make things less uncomfortable. Of course, their efforts went unanswered by Igor, and it only unnerved them all the more. He'd once told me the best way to win a battle was by unnerving your opposition first. Once you break their minds, you'll have already won half of the war. Like him or not, my father was a smart man. I'd grown up beside him, so I knew all his tips and tricks in the book. They never worked on me, and I could tell he hated that I knew him so we
ARIANA I skidded to a halt when I saw a group of my workers gathered just around the corner, watching Aleksei, who stood in the reception area with his hands behind his back, staring down at Cheryl, who looked up at him with lovesick eyes as she spoke. What the hell was going on? Apparently, I was the only one who didn't know my new husband was popular amongst my staff. I cleared my throat to get their attention, and they all turned to face me with wide eyes, embarrassed that they'd been caught. "Sorry, ma'am," they chorused before quickly dispersing from the scene. Aleksei looked at me over Cheryl's shoulder the moment I stepped into the reception area. His lips curved up in a charming smile. As I watched him, I wondered how many people had fallen for that carefully laid mask he put on. "There you are," he said, walking around Cheryl to stand in front of me. "Did I interrupt any important work?" He asked, placing a large h
ARIANA SHOWING UP TO WORK WITH A wedding band around my finger raised a lot of questions among my staff, especially because the last time they saw me, I bade them goodbye before heading for Papà's funeral. The girls and I were like friends instead of coworkers. We all clicked, and it wasn't like a normal boss-employee relationship. That wasn't to say they didn't respect my boundaries or weren't efficient with their work. It was quite the opposite, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. "Someone tell me I'm hallucinating," Drea, my closest friend of the bunch, said as she flung my door open, barging into my workspace. Only she would get a pass for intruding. My workspace was sacred, but she was also my best friend since my college days. In the end, bestie privileges, as she liked to call it, won. "There's been some buzz floating around. You're freaking married?" Her eyes zeroed in on my engagement ring and weddi
ALEKSEI CHAOS UNFURLED AROUND ME as breakfast preparations were made, but all I could fixate on was the simple text Igor had sent me last night. Home. Now! That was all the text said, but I could feel the fury behind it all the way from Russia. I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face. I must have really pissed my old man off because he didn't do texts. He claimed it was too 'basic' and 'beneath him', whatever the fuck that meant. He preferred his email chains. I clicked the exit button on my phone, closing the text he sent me. I clicked on Ariana's text next, against my better judgment. This was my fifteenth time checking the text since she sent it last night. Yes, I was counting. It was an unhealthy fixation. One I was powerless to. I promised myself I'd delete the text chain and forget all about it, but I eventually found myself scrolling through our chain of texts. Oddly enough, I always wished people around me would st
ARIANA ROSSI RELATIVES LIKED TO SHOW off no matter the given event. It didn't matter that it was a funeral. Or that said dead man was their cousin five times removed. I'd seen about five women donning expensive Cartier bracelets and diamond necklaces that cost more than a year's rent in New York, while they wailed loudly over a man they knew next to nothing about. Especially one who deserved his death. Of course, not a single tear slipped down their eyes. Whimpers, loud wails, sniffles, and sobs they could do while holding a crumpled Kleenex to their eyes, but they wouldn't be caught dead ruining their flawless make-up. Papà wasn't a good man, and that was a truth I'd carried with me for years. Perhaps that was why I couldn't manage a single tear at his funeral. Or maybe it was just because I found crying... unnecessary. The deed had already been done. The smartest thing to do was to move on. I cringed when another loud wail filled the air, this one accompanied by snorts in bet...
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