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21: Our baby
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Camilla woke up with a start. She always slept with the lights off, so where was this sudden brightness coming from? Dragging her blanket up to cover herself, the rest of the sleep cleared when the material refused to move. Still trying to understand what was happening, a yelp escaped her lips as the blanket was yanked off her entire body.
Doris had heated her room, but without the blanket, the cold pricked her skin. Eyes scanning the room for the culprit, she grabbed a pillow. She was certain she locked the door before falling asleep. Only her bedside lamp was on, so she couldn’t see whoever was playing this prank on her.
“Up.”
She could recognise that voice even in her dream. It was the voice of her nightmare. Alek. He stepped out of the shadows with a gun, and the pillow tumbled to the bed.
What did she do this time? She had stayed away from everyone in the house, eating only what Doris brought to her room? Had he found ou
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The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 22: Open the door
One. Two. Three.Maksim was finishing up his push ups for the day when someone knocked on the door. Sweat beaded on the rug, turning the particular spot darker. He ignored the quick succession of knocks, hoping whoever was at the door would leave him alone. If it was important, they could discuss after eating.Breakfast would be ready in a few minutes. Camilla’s dress would arrive before then. Grooms were not allowed to see the brides before the wedding, but they had broken enough rules already. He doubted Camilla cared for rules, and he had to fix that. She would have to at least care for his rules.For now, he had achieved one thing. His bride-to-be knew better than to lie to him. But why did she think he was Vanya?What Vanya told him was beginning to make sense. He and Vanya had arrived at Nightfall Hills at the same time but for different purposes. He was there for Mila, and Vanya was to meet a lady. His half-brother had retur
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 23: Welcome (I)
It was dark inside the closet, and there was barely any space with the clothes dangling from their hangers. Camilla was tired of banging on the door from inside. Her voice was hoarse from screaming for help. First, he assaulted her with a gun, and now this? But didn’t she deserve it for hurting Doris? All the elderly woman tried to do was make her stay here more comfortable.Alek had paled when he found Doris. She had never seen him express that level of emotion. He cared about Doris, and she felt the same way about him. The accident had taught her one thing. If anything happened to Doris, Alek would make her life hell. Shifting into another sitting position, she whimpered. Her body ached from spending the night on a floor. This was not the ideal spot after a horrendous night. She wasn’t sure how long had passed until she banged the doors again. Her throat was parched. She was hungry. Doris never let her starve.“Alek?” she screamed. “Vanya?” Tears streamed down Camilla’s cheeks. She
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 24: Welcome (II)
Now naked, Camilla watched Doris fill the tub with water for her. They didn’t speak. She expected the woman to leave, but she reclined against the counter and hummed. Her not-so-silent presence didn’t make Camilla uncomfortable. The housekeeper was the only person in this place she liked.“I no talk to him again until he say sorry.”Camilla smiled. “He won’t. Don’t worry.”“He will,” Doris replied.Maybe Doris knew Alek more than she did, but the housekeeper hadn’t witnessed him assault her or lock her inside the closet.“Are you okay?” Camilla whispered. “I’m sorry I pushed you. It was an accident.”“I feel good. Like brand new.”Camilla laughed, and Doris came closer with a towel for her to dry her body.“I’m your side,” the older lady whispered.“You ar
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 25: Happy married life
Maksim was ready to leave for the church when Doris barged into his room. He rolled his eyes as she paused at the doorframe and placed both hands on her waist. She had to remember she wasn’t his mother, and he wasn’t the naïve kid of many years ago.Struggling with his tie, Maksim ignored the housekeeper. Doris scoffed and crossed the distance to help him with the tie. Vanya confined her to bedrest, but the stubborn woman was off the bed the moment he told her he would assign Inna to his wife-to-be.“What you do to her?” she started, knotting his tie. He tried to grab it from her, but she scowled. “Why she hide under the bed?”“How am I supposed to know?”“That pretty woman,” Doris continued. Maksim’s lips twitched. Yes, Camilla was pretty, but her beauty meant nothing if she never listened to him. “She do nothing to you.”Maksim snatched his
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 26: Push him out
Camilla processed the information between this Kira girl and her husband with a frigid smile hidden by her glass. She had never loved being an actress as much as she did now. It came in too handy, particularly for moments like this one. Her cool exterior, while internally brimming with anger, was award worthy. Why did he bring the girl here? What happened to the ‘happy facade?What did Kira mean by Papa invited her? The father of the groom hadn’t introduced himself to her, but she had spotted him at the church with a nasty scowl that made her shiver from the memory. If she forgot anything about that man, she wouldn’t forget the jagged scar on his temple. Scars seemed to be something common here.A server came to their table, and Kira snatched a glass of champagne from his tray. There were so many things she hated about this reception, and Kira’s presence was one more item on that list. Two, her gown was not appropriate for a dance. It wasn&rsquo
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 27: Come
Maksim made sure Ivan was fine before leaving his room. If anything Vanya said was true, then Ivan was lucky he wouldn’t lose his knee. He stalked back to Papa’s office, a sense of purpose in each step. They came after him on his wedding day. How dare he? Papa must know something.All night, the image of his wife’s distraught face had haunted him. He shouldn’t care, but he had wondered if she would cry for him or care if something bad happened to him. They didn’t spend the night together, but that would have to be rectified soon. Probably tonight. But first, they had to eat breakfast together with the entire family. She already missed so many meals with the family. She couldn’t skip breakfast today.Right now, his focus was on the truth. He sent some men to retrieve Vasilly’s body last night. None of them had reported back to him. He arrived at his father’s office and opened the door without knocking. Like him
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 28: Darling?
Camilla’s face shut down, and Maksim wished he had kept his mouth shut. The softness morphed into something else. She stomped on his foot and ran up the stairs without looking back to know if he followed her. Her room was locked when he entered the house. He decided against bothering her and continued to his room to clean up.A few minutes to breakfast, he stepped out of his room. Camilla was exiting her room when he turned the corner. She wasn’t alone. Doris was with her. His housekeeper clicked her tongue and took his wife’s hand. Both women walked away without a single backward glance at him. Keeping his annoyance in check, he waited until they were gone before taking the same route.Everyone that should be at the table was there. Vanya. Papa. Camilla. She was at Papa’s right, and he suspected his father had something to do with that. When he arrived at the table, he asked her to stand.“Why?” Papa asked. “Tryin
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 29: Fire (I)
Camilla woke up with a jerk. Cold water dripped down her face, her hair, and her chest. All the room lights were on, but… she was certain she turned them off before going to sleep. She shivered as she got off the bed. Noticing the culprit in the room, she grabbed the object nearest to her to hit him.“Drop that shit now,” Alek commanded.“Are you insane?” Camilla retorted.Standing a few feet away from her was the bastard called her husband. In his hand was an empty bucket. She rushed for him, but he caught her by the wrist, pushing until she was flat on her back on the bed. She kicked the air, hoping to kick him in the groin, but he was careful to avoid her legs.Alek pinned her hands above her head and straddled her waist. “Stop moving, Cam.”“How about you stop existing?” she spat out. “What are you doing in my room?”“It’s time fo
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The Mafia’s Temporary Bride Epilogue (II)
Camilla froze. Her heart raced shamelessly, and emotions she thought herself no longer capable of feeling flooded her. This was their first meeting since he dropped her at KJ’s house. She should pry his hand off her, scold him, or leave. But she did none of those things. It had been months.God, she missed her husband so much. So fucking much it was hard to fully express the loss without breaking down in tears.“Alek.”“Cam.”Camilla’s hand dropped over Alek’s, and she knew the feeling was mutual. He missed her too. If not, he wouldn’t be here with flowers. Or here at all. Her tea was getting cold, but she didn’t care. The shop was empty, so she didn’t have to hide or pretend. She wanted her husband here.Operations didn’t start until 5. So she liked to have an hour of silent reading before the hustle. But she didn’t mind sharing her solitude with Alek. He was the only one worthy of shar
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 122: Epilogue (I)
The alarm on Maksim’s phone went off at exactly 3:45 pm. He shot to his feet and grabbed the bouquet of sunflowers on his desk. Outside the store, people went about their daily activities. But it was only a matter of time until his wife showed up.His wife.Maksim had never thought of Camilla as anything but that, though they had been separated for months. She hadn’t changed her mind about their ending. Not as if he had asked her. He lacked the courage to do that, so he had resorted to stalking her.That was how he knew her routine. That she would walk past this store and head to the coffee shop ahead of it in ten minutes. The man in charge of the shop would be late, but Camilla would wait. And when he finally arrived, he would apologise for coming late. It was the same routine over and over again with her. But with each day, she had grown less skittish and read more books.He couldn’t say if she still read romance, but she read a lot more now.
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 121: Our cliff (II)
“Safe. Sonia and the rest of the girls and women we found have been taken care of.” Maksim knew the man wanted something more, so he waited. Antony didn’t disappoint him by saying, “Some of our guys aren’t so happy Oleg had to die the way he did. So here’s what we will do—” “No deal,” Maksim interrupted. Antony chuckled, a hand going over his belly. “You haven’t heard me out.” He said nothing, and the other man added, “I’m guessing you don’t want to see this Sonia. I’m as curious as you probably are. Is that her real name? Why do you look so much like her? Why did Oleg keep her in such a place after she birthed the heir to his throne?” “What do you want?” “Nothing. For now,” Antony added. “But soon, we might need your help. If you agree, I’ll let you know where Sonia is.” Maksim dropped the file on the bench. It was still open, so he gazed longingly at the picture. He had lost Camilla and Doris, could he lose his mother? How was he certain it was her? His he
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 120: Our cliff (I)
The living room was quiet. Maksim and Christian sat on the floor. A few times, he glanced at the phone in his hand, expecting it to light up with his wife’s name. Things had progressed from bad to worse since the day she overheard his conversation with Vanya. Before that day she was only giving short replies, but now? She said nothing. A few people around him had suggested a change of location to help her mood, so now they were camped in Christian’s other apartment. It was located Nightfall Hills. But Camilla hadn’t reacted to the move, not even Doris’ appearance. He brought the housekeeper to cheer her up. Their relationship had improved. He wasn’t sure if those two spoke. But whenever he was around them, both women were always quiet. “What do you keep looking at?” Christian asked, snatching his phone from him. Maksim shrugged. His head fell back to the couch he was propped against. He wished for so many things he would never have. “She’s leaving me.” “How
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 119: Their home
Camilla was still asleep when Maksim left the room. There was a smile on his lips as he stepped out. He had to arrange pillows in a long line so she wouldn’t know he was gone. Christian called as he got into his car. At first, they had agreed for his wife to move to Nightfall Hills. A change of location, as was suggested by everyone and also get her closer to her family. With his enemies dead, she wouldn’t have to worry about her safety. But he wanted her to go home when she felt better, close to the version of herself he took months ago.The call lasted seconds. They would visit his friend but might end up not staying. He would have to ask her first. As he got closer to his destination, he pulled out his phone to call Ivan. Camilla was slowly getting better, and he needed to check on her. He had never left the house without informing her first, but he hadn’t wanted to wake her up this morning. She looked cute. He also had Ivan at home for emergencies.A
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 118: Babe
Alek was taking too long to get out of the bathroom. Camilla patted her foot on the floor. She had the option of knocking, but he would demand her voice. Talking still felt strange. While in captivity, she had gotten used to the silence. Her voice didn’t save her when those men had her on the floor. She had begged them to let her go, but…But what?A mental block paused her thoughts. The memories after that were too fuzzy. A blank wall she couldn’t get past. Something bad had happened. That was for sure, even if she didn’t know what it was now. The only person’s touch she could tolerate was Alek’s. Even Doris’ doleful eyes couldn’t get her to allow more body contact. Her body was revolting against something her brain and mind was stopping her from remembering.The baby was gone. Their baby. Alek hadn’t blamed her. He didn’t even mention it. That was supposed to be the surprise. The final addition to their ha
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 117: Progress
They could get another baby. If not this year, then next. The most important thing was Maksim had his wife back. Even if she had becoming unbearably quiet. Camilla was awake now. He could tell from how she pulled the cover over her shoulders.Maksim had tugged it down at night to hug her while she whimpered in her sleep. There was no conclusion on the rape. The tests for STIs had also come up negative. Dr Igor mentioned the absence of semen, but according to him, that could also be because of how long ago the assault happened. For now, they couldn’t conclude on if she had or hadn’t been molested. Only Camilla could answer that question for him.The blood was from losing their baby. A baby he couldn’t protect. Maksim stood by the bedside table, his hands fisted at his sides as he stared at the woman on the bed. She looked like his wife, but she wasn’t. She was someone else. A broken version. Her back was turned to him, and in his hand, he held a roma
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 116: For true evil
Couldn’t the car possibly go faster? Left to Maksim, he would have swam across the river, but that would have been a stupid move. How would he carry Camilla after finding her? Now he was in a car with Ivan behind the wheels. His driver had arrived while he was talking to the men.After today’s display at the house, he was sure no one would question his authority for a long time. Before their fear of him fully dissipated to be replaced by respect, he would fish out every single one that had partaken in Camilla’s disappearance and eliminate them from this earth. If that was the only thing he would do as a Grand Sinner, he was completely fine with that.Maksim had never thought of himself as good, even the time with Camilla hadn’t changed that view he had of himself. But the incident of this morning had revealed he had the capacity for more. For true evil.The car slowed as they reached a lonely path. The road was rocky. Trees lined each side of t
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 115: Baby (II)
If Maksim wasn’t going to listen to Doris at all, the use of his full name had grabbed his attention. She had never called him that. That being said, she stormed out of his sight. Baby? Camilla was pregnant? She wasn’t one to keep secrets from him. Not ones as huge as this. Think, Mak. Think.Wait. She promised to give him a surprise when they reunited. Was that it? No. No!Rage penetrated Maksim’s frame. On his feet, he went to their room. All plans to wait for Dmitri’s reveal dissipated into thin air as the housekeeper’s words danced in his head.Baby.Their baby.He lied to her.He promised to protect her, and he didn’t.In their room, Maksim grabbed two guns and attached silencers to them. For every of Papa’s man he met on the way to his office, he put a bullet in the centre of their forehead. Bodies fell around him. He had the element of surprise and silence for the attack. By the time he arrived at Pa
