NovelEnglishChapter 12
Alena
Neither of us said a word on the way back to the estate, Matteo was quiet and when | occasionally glanced at his
direction, he was gripping the steering wheel hard as he looked straight ahead on the road. His jaw was clenched
which meant he was still upset. He was probably holding himself back from bursting out in anger and | didn't
want to take my chances.
| was closer to the door, somehow afraid if he was going to say anything if | stood nearer to him.
So, when we got to the estate, he stepped inside without looking at me.
As soon as we entered the house, | began to throw my things on the ground-causing an instant mess which
caught his
attention
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who am | to you?"
"What?"
"You've been ignoringever since we got back from Sicily. And suddenly, you showed up tonight pretending
you care about me. You said whatever happened that night can never happen again, and you set up boundaries,
but you decided it was okay to finger me?!" | was furious because | had enough of this-if he was serious about
setting boundaries, he wasn't supposed to touch me. He was supposed to stay away.
Not ignoringfor a whole week after pleasuring me.
My feelings were all over the place.
"So, I'm asking you who am | to you? Because helpGod, I'm not your goddamn wife. I'm not your girlfriend.
I'm not your lover. I'm nobody to you." | continued to ask, closing the distance between us.
"I'm asking for you to respect this relationship."
"| am respecting this relationship. You're not respecting my feelings,"
Matteo didn't say a word as he took a few steps back. He was trying to avoid this conversation. He was trying to
walk away and back to his shell-he wasn't going to giveany answers.
"I don't have anything to say to you, Alena."
He turned around, leavingto face his back as he walked up the stairs.
"Right. Go back to your office. Drown yourself in work. | don't give a damn!"
At first, | expected him to turn back around and givethe answers | needed but he disappeared. He didn't
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇteven walk back down to comfort me. It was clear where | stand and all | needed was a slap back to reality.
So, a week of ignoring each other turned to two weeks. Two weeks ended up turning to one month. A month
turned to another month and before | realized, we haven't spoken to each other for three months. Every
morning, he was already gone and every night, he wasn't even at the estate.
If I had early shifts in the morning, his car wasn't in the garage, and neither was he. If | had late night shifts, he
was either sleeping in his room or not even home.
Maybe, it was my fault for starting the conversation, but | didn't regret anything.
20:38 Wed, Oct 9
Chapter 12
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After the whole incident at the bar, Zach and Lily didn't waste tto askabout Matteo on the next day.
They were
surprised when | told them we eloped. Zach apologized for kissingbecause he was caught in the moment
and well, Lily
she was blaming herself for being too drunk to remember the details, but she caught a glimpse of Matteo.
She said | was lucky to marry a handsguy.
Well, if only they knew about my reality. If only they knew | wasn't happy.
| couldn't complain either because this was the life 1 had chosen. My family were leavingbehind-Papa did
calla few times, but | had ignored him. Alexei, on the other hand, did a good job in keeping his distance. So,
here | was standing in front of my home. Meeting Papa and Mama..
"Alena?" Mama opened the door, her eyes wide before pullingin for a hug.
My eyes were beginning to wet with tears as | inhaled her scent. | missed her so much and | couldn't stay away
for long-I needed to see her. She was there forthrough everything, and | wasn't going to leave her behind.
"Mama. | missed you."
"I missed
you so much more, sweetheart. Cinside,
Her warm hand pulledin as she closed the door behind her. She wasn't lettinggo as we walked into the
kitchen. The smell of her cooking was bringing back childhood memories. | saw a few plates of freshly cooked
food on the table. "You cjust in tfor lunch, sweetheart."
"Mama...
She shook her head, "It's okay. Let's eat first then we'll talk."
My favorite was her pelmeni and she made delicious ones.
"It's been a while since | had Russian dishes, Mama."
"I'm glad you like them."
We talked about a few things like work and herself. Mama felt pretty lonely lately because Papa and Alexei were
busy with business-I didn't bother to ask why Papa was involving himself in the Bratva. So, Mama was busying
herself with shopping and afternoon teas with her friends. At least she was enjoying herself.
| was glad she was happy. Even though she felt lonely.
"How are you, sweetheart? You look thin." She touched the back of my hand, smiling sadly.
It was hard to lie to Mama, but | had to. The pretending and lying was harder in front of her instead of anyone
else.
"Believe me, it's intentional. I've been trying to lose a few pounds."
"Don't go too drastic on yourself. You need to eat, too."
eat, Mama. Just been busy with work."
She shook her head, "Work, work, and work. You'll get sick if you work too often."
Naughed, "Mama everyone goes to work."
"Not like you. You work too hard,"
20:38 Wed, Oct 9
Chapter 12
"I know. I'll try to slow down if that makes you less worried, okay?"
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"Good." She smiled, sighing as she continued to look at me. It was the look on her face, and | knew she wasn't
going to avoid the subject any longer. Besides, she saw the ring on my finger, and it was obvious she knew about
"You do. You look happy but I'm just asking. As your mother, I'm very concerned about your well-being."
"Mama, just ask me. You want to know about my husband, don't you?"
She smiled, "I don't mean to pry. | know you were upset with Papa. | just want to know if you made the right
choice, sweetheart. He's quite famous the Italian boy,"
"I love him. Mama. If that's what you're asking." The lie escaped smoothly from my mouth, wanting to ensure her
that she didn't have to worry. Even though it wasn't the truth and even though it was hard to lie to her. | had to.
"Your Papa thinks otherwise."
"Well, he doesn't know me. He's just upset | didn't marry Viktor
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"Did you marry Matteo to get back to your father?"
Yes. But | wasn't going to tell her that. | wasn't going to tell her anything about our contract-I could trust her
when it cto keeping secrets, but she was going to worry too much.
"No, Mama. | knew him along the way, and we fell in love." | replied with a smile, trying to convince her. "He
doesn't wantto marry someone else. We decided we could still get to know each other after we got married.
If Viktor wasn't in the picture, we weren't going to marry that quickly
"I understand.. you could've just told your father, honey,"
"No, Mama. He doesn't listen. He won't listen." | sighed, "Do you remember when | wanted to go into medical
school? He did everything to preventfrom going."
"As long as you're happy, Alena there's nothing that can hold you back. | want you to be happy with whoever you
choose | want what's best for you-I'm sorry if | didn't call you or text you, I just felt bad for what happened that
night. | was supposed to defend you, but I didn't, and I held that burden for so long. It's such a relief to see you
here today,"
"I would never hate you, Mama. | know you're always in a tough spot,"
"I've raised a sweetheart, haven't I?" She tried to hide away the tears from falling down her face. "Please, bring
Matteo over soon. | really want to meet my son-in-law,"
Her request was almost impossible. Bringing Matteo over to this house was probably going to cause a war-not
between the mafias but between Papa, Alexel, and Matteo. It was like bringing an enemy into their home, but |
knew | couldn't hold it back any longer. Sooner or later, they were bound to meet. They might not kill each other
because of their peace treaty but they weren't going to be nice, either.
As we talked about different topics, | managed to show Mama photos from Sicily. They cin my email, the
other day when | wasn't working. They were beautiful-too bad they weren't real. | didn't bother to tell Matteo
about them, but | was sure he got them in his email. Mama was crying and smiling when she looked at our
pictures.
Honestly, the photographer did a very good job. The pictures looked real, and we were like a happy couple.
Pictures of us kissing, holding hands and being close.
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20:38 Wed, Oct
Chapter 12
It was a dream ctrue for any real couples.
Mama started to believe the story even more after she looked at the pictures. And | was relieved because she
was beginning to like him, even though she was only hearing stories from me. | was painful to lic.
When it was late. | decided to leave.
Luckily for me, Papa and Alexei weren't hyet.
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