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61: I like you (II)
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2024-10-29 19:42:56A gasp shot out of Camilla’s lips.
It was loud enough for Papa to hear. He turned to her, her phone in his hand. Forcing a smile to her face, she bridged the gap and stretched her hand for the phone. It had no password. She hadn’t thought she needed one because no one ever touched it. Not Doris. Not Alek.“My phone please?” Papa stared at Camilla for longer than she thought necessary. His eyes darted back to the phone, and he dropped it on her palm. “Spasibo,” she whispered and hurried towards their room. Away from Papa’s eyes, she stopped to check her phone. There was a missed call from Alek and two messages. He was home. In his office now. She exhaled in relief, her heart pumping too fast as she started towards his office. Knocking once, Camilla opened the door without an invitation. The encounter with Papa had disoriented her, and she needed a familiar face to calm her. Alek look
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Camilla’s head jerked up, and her heart thundered. “What-what did you say?”Alek tipped her jaw forward, his lips so close. “It’s time to read, Cam. Let’s do it.”“What if I don’t want to?” she asked.“We will do something else.”But Camilla didn’t want to do anything else. She wanted to hear those three words from her husband. Someone like Alek wasn’t capable of liking others or admitting it so easily. The fact he had done that made her want to hear it again. She pouted, but his expression didn’t waver. It meant one thing: she wouldn’t be hearing it again today. In that case… Camilla tried to stand, but Alek yanked her down to his lap.Behind him was a shelf. There were awards and a few books on it, but one caught her attention. The one they had been reading.“Fine,” she murmured. “Let’s read.&rdqu
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 63: The Sinners Men (I)
Two fucked up things had happened within a short span. One, Camilla called Maksim babe. Two, he told her he liked her. It was a slipup. He could bet that was the same case with his wife but would never ask to confirm. Their relationship had changed since he uttered those three words. Sex only made it better. So, so, so, much better because they weren’t only fucking for the sake of getting her pregnant, but because they loved it. But he couldn’t be distracted.What did Papa want from his wife?The incident Camilla relayed to him played in his head. What did it matter if Camilla loved him or not? Since when did love matter to The Sinners Men? He scratched his head, trying and failing to figure out the link between Papa’s question and the proposal his father made to him. Papa still dangled the position in front of him. But he wasn’t ready to marry Kira, neither did he intend to inform Camilla that she was in the way of him getting the d
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 64: The Sinners Men (II)
A book covered Camilla’s face. She pushed it off, and her eyes lit up. Grabbing her straw hat, she rushed to him, tugged it over his head and hugged him tight. His chest concaved, and he staggered. When he didn’t hug his wife back, she pulled away.“What are you doing here?” he asked.Hurt flicked across Camilla’s face, but she hid it well and kissed him. “I missed you.”“Didn’t you have to go for rehearsals?”“Not today,” she replied. No one spoke for the next few minutes. Maksim tugged on his collar because it suddenly felt too tight. She removed the hat and wore it over her head, her cheeks flaming red and her eyes hidden. “Am I in trouble? Are you mad? Doris said you might be if I came here.”“Then why didn’t you listen to her?”“She didn’t really say why it wasn’t okay to come. And I wanted to get out of the house. I n
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride PART II: Tell me
Maksim watched his wife dress up. He was all done with his clothes, minus his tie. Camilla was quiet. She had been since he ignored her question yesterday. She wasn’t ignoring him. Oh, she replied to all his questions, which was beginning to bug him.Were they okay, or was this some unknown ploy to guilt him into talking to her?The truth was, he didn’t have an answer to that question. He also didn’t know why he uttered those three words. How could he tell her he didn’t know what it meant to like someone? She wouldn’t believe him, but that was the truth? It was also too risky for men like him to have feelings.“Do you need help with your tie?” Camilla asked. Her voice broke him out of his reverie. He stared at the loose tie hanging from his neck and nodded. She crossed the gap, lowering herself to the bed so she could fix it. “Is everything okay with you?”“Yes,” Maksim said. But he c
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 66: I’ll miss you
Camilla blinked. Maksim held her gaze, watching to be sure he didn’t miss any sign. He must have missed something. No one was ever this nice without ulterior objectives. Kidnap might not be the right word to use, but he uprooted her out of her seemingly happy life and forced her into a marriage with him. Yet here she was, being the sweetest thing he had ever encountered.“Nothing,” his wife finally said. Shaking her head, she tried unsuccessfully to smile. Her finger jutted out as if to poke him, but she stopped and fisted her hand. “I just… People can be nice, you know? They can be nice while expecting nothing in return.”“No. No one is ever that nice, Cam. They might not collect immediately, but they will.”“Well, I don’t want anything from you,” she stated. Then what was all this? This was not a date. “I just… this is not how I envisioned my married life to be. But we
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 67: Shopping
Alek was gone. Camilla was missing him, maybe more than she had missed any of her siblings since she came here. Training had happened normally at dawn, followed by a quick breakfast with both of them.Loneliness hit her hard, but going to the hammock without Alek felt wrong. So now she was in their room, skimming through the notes she had taken during her Russian classes with Doris. It was always random because of the housekeeper’s schedule.A sigh escaped her. She tossed the book to the bed and tugged her dress down her shoulder to reveal skin. Pictures were one of her favourite pastimes, and she had taken none since she got here. Settling on the seat before the mirror, she placed her phone against it and leaned in for a pose.Camilla’s cell beeped, and she chortled. Her husband had texted her. She dragged the notification bar to view the message.Alek: Just arrived. How are you?She didn’t reply instantly. Biti
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 68: Camilla's Library (I)
Camilla followed behind Doris to another section of the house. The building was too big for one family. Even with the maids and guards living with them, the size still overwhelmed her. Alek had warned her off certain areas of the house. Papa’s quarters. The guards section. Training arena.She had listened to him, but Doris seemed to be taking her to one of those prohibited areas. They passed the dining room and a few more doors before Doris opened one of them. She took a step inside and staggered. Men in suits were inside. Of the three men attaching the rolling ladder to the empty bookshelves, she only recognised Yaro.“Ta-da,” Doris stated.A weight dropped on Camilla’s chest. She took a cautious step inside and paused. The room was massive, and every inch of the wall was covered with white shelves. Books stood beside one section in a heap.Where did all those books come from?The lights lining the e
The Mafia’s Temporary Bride 69: Camilla’s Library (II)
“Because you too have something to lose,” Doris said, her smile too big. Camilla had no doubts the woman loved Alek. But she was uncomfortable discussing poisons, death, and sex with her. “You really like the boy.”Camilla blushed. “I don’t think so.”“Don’t worry. He likes you too.”“Not true.”She asked him then, and he never replied.Doris spread her hand around the room with a sneer. “You think he build this for fancy? Mr Mak build it because he like you too.”Leaning back against the couch, she folded her arms on her chest. “He’s just being nice.”“You call him Alek, Madam Camilla,” the housekeeper reminded her. Because the man requested it. “Only you call him Alek.”“That’s what he told me to call him,” Camilla grumbled. “It’s nothin
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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
