Days had passed since the river date. They hadn’t had any new ones, and Maksim was afraid to ask his wife to another. He loved to think their relationship hadn’t changed much after it. Camilla was still treating him as good as she always did. Her patience with him was frightening. On some days, like today, he wondered if it was patience or something more. Something sinister.
As he fixed his tie before leaving for a meeting at the club, he pored through their older conversations in his mind. Even in his imagination, Camilla was still an angel. An angry angel, but still one. Something dropped on his lap. Her scent announced her presence first before he looked up.
“What’s on your mind?” Camilla asked. He caught his worried reflection in the mirror before she blocked the view. Standing between his legs, she nudged his hand from the tie and knotted it. “Talk to me, Alek.”
“Our last date,” he replied.&n
The softness of Camilla’s voice convinced Maksim she wouldn’t hold this against him if he kept the answer to himself. But he wanted to share this information with her. She deserved to know what world she was in. That urge gnawed at his skin.“The don,” Maksim finally replied.“A don?” she said, her nose wrinkling. The word had been used in some of her books, but she had read it without a thought. Her novels might be wrong about a few things, but they were right about the title of dons or mob bosses. “What’s a don?”Maksim laughed. “You curious thing.” He kissed her, straightening up to deepen the kiss. “A don is the head of a mafia family. In this case, Papa is the head of the sinners men. The Kalashnikov’s family. For us, we refer to our dons as the grand sinners. The Sinner Men is the Russian faction of the mafia in Sin City. Some call it the bratva. Just as the Japanese call t
Camilla was lying to her husband. She had to tell Alek what Papa wanted from her. If he let her go, oh well. Maybe it would hurt, but she wouldn’t have to carry a child she might never see again. She would do so today. That thought kept her sane as she cleaned up. She had delayed doing that since their other visits to the hammock.Alek was opening up to her. Opening up might not be the word he would use to describe the actions of the past few days, but she had to reciprocate the gesture. How could he trust her if she was lying to him?What if he wanted to know why she never told him? The answer was simple. For the same reason she called him babe. Which was?A bang from outside paused that thought. Camilla went to the door and cracked it open. Ivan was outside, with shopping bags in each of his hands. She stepped back to let him in. They couldn’t be for her. Alek would rather die than let another man shop for her. In the past, Doris
Three words. Maksim fucked up. He knew that the moment Camilla spun the laptop for him to see those pictures. How did they get here? While receiving that phone call, he had fantasised about bending her over his desk. He might have asked Ivan to get him some shirts so she could touch him however and whenever she liked, but it looked better on her. She could have them all. If he wanted her to still look at him with a heartfelt smile, he had to fix this.“You’re wasting my time, Alek,” she said.“No explanation would be good enough for why I did it,” he began. Her fists clenched at her sides. And she exhaled. “I’m sorry.”At the time, his reasons had made sense. It was one way to kill two birds. One, end their ongoing silent treatment. Two, confirm that she was to be trusted. If she came to him with the problem, both issues would have been solved. But that only happened when they were on better t
Camilla was asleep or pretending to be when Maksim came back to the room last night. Yesterday, the same thing happened.Today, he left before she woke up to prevent any awkwardness. On his return now, she was on the bed, the cover pulled to her chin. The blue bedsheet was her choice. They had gotten used to alternating between bright colours for her and dull colours for him. Was she asleep already?Maksim glanced at the thick envelope in his hands. The frames had come today. He knew Camilla would love them, but he was scared to show them to her, so she wouldn’t misinterpret the gesture. Kicking off his shoes, he sank into the bed and touched her. Her head lolled to the side.“Hey,” he said.“Hi.”That was all. No kisses, no excited smiles to see him. They were talking. He would ask a question and she would answer, but it wasn’t the same. He missed the bubbly, talkative wife who wanted to know all of him. Every single, unnec
There were pictures of Calvin standing alone. One of him and Hana staring at each other in total adoration. Even KJ wasn’t exempted. Faye too. The only people missing in the frames Alek gave Camilla were her parents. How could he do stuff like this and claim not to like her?Camilla couldn’t understand it. She had stopped trying to. These days, she stared at the frames she had lined on the window of her library. Visiting the hammock when he wasn’t ready to bare himself to her felt wrong. So, she stayed away. She didn’t know if he went there anymore. She didn’t ask him deep questions. Didn’t want to fall for him only to get her heart broken. She was guarding her heart, though it was too late. Talking to him made her feel so alive.“Why can’t you admit to liking me?” she asked no one in particular. “I like you too.”Throwing her legs over the arm of the couch, she tucked a pillow behind her he
Deep breaths. Inhale and exhale.Camilla May McKenna could do it.She could handle the simple task of taking pictures of a cheating lover and prove to her best friend that Vanya, her boyfriend, was a scum. KJ, her youngest brother, always told her evidence was key. He was the same one who told her men hated shopping and never went on that adventure without a woman unless sex was involved. So, the second Vanya walked into the boutique, she had rushed to the bathroom to call her best friend Faye. If Vanya was at the boutique, then he was with someone else. Faye was in class. All she had to do was get evidence, so Faye would leave the cheat.Retrieving a tube of pink lipstick from her purse, she reapplied it and fluffed her hair. From the mirror, her hair was flat on the sides from her consistent touching. Wasting no more time in the bathroom, she smacked her lips and walked out. Vanya hadn’t met her. He wouldn’t recognise her, so there was no need for her to use a disguise. Cold air r
Footsteps pounded behind Camilla. How the heck was he so fast? He sounded close, but she didn’t look back to confirm her suspicions. A sudden pressure on her hair made her screech to a stop. Pain spread through her scalp, and she bit into her lip to stop herself from screaming. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth. She placed both hands on her head to ease the pain.The pressure finally reduced, but the pain lingered. Vanya stopped in front of her, the ends of her long ponytail wrapped around his fist. Her breath rushed out in ragged pants. Tears pricked the back of her eyes.Camilla took one step back, but the tug on her hair reminded her she wouldn’t get far. She had always prided herself on her long hair, but now she wished it wasn’t lengthy.“Let. Go,” she whispered, her voice shaky.“The phone.”“No.”Vanya reached for her handbag, his hand tight around the strap. She tried to yank it from his grip, but it was nearly impossible. His grip was steel. They struggled, mostly he
Faye was already at the venue they agreed to meet when Camilla arrived in her new flat sandals. Alvin was waiting in the car for her to show up. This meeting wouldn’t last long if she had her way. It was early in the evening, and the ceiling was lighted by green and blue lanterns. Her feet ached, but not as much as it did earlier. Murmurs from the other diners in the closed garden had her rethinking her manner of approach.Her best friend wasn’t alone. Faye was at a round table of three, but one seat was empty. The other person was backing Camilla. She could bet it was Vanya. The idiot didn’t bother changing his black suit. She stormed to them, ignoring waiters and other people as she approached the table.Faye smiled as she stopped. “Hey—”Camilla interrupted by dropping her bag on the table. Vanya frowned. He was going to pretend he didn’t ransack this same bag hours ago? Alright then. She unclipped her earrings, almost stabbing him in the eyes with them.“Cam,” Faye began, but Cami