Lyov was wrong. No matter how powerful of a King he was, this was not in his control. If only I had told him this, if only I hadn’t let us drown in such a beautiful reverie.
I saw our last kiss. Our last touch. Our last hug. The last time our bodies had entwined in the most intimate way. I heard his last words.
Through blurry eyes, I saw Alfredo’s fingers move. My eyes closed. But my lips smiled.
You have a beautiful smile, Maria. I want to see it on you every day.
I will always smile for you, Master. Promise. Forever. Until my last breath.
The trigger was pulled. A loud bang. My chest heaved. My last heartbeat belonged to Lyov.
I thought we would live happily ever after. But there was no happy ending in this life. I found this out the hard way, as the blood flowed, red as roses…
I love you. I love you so much. Do you hear me, Lyov? I love you, Master. My Lyov. Please don’t forget that. Please keep fighting. Please protect our son. Don’t let him go. Love him the way he deserves. Please be strong, my love. Please. Please. Please. For your Angel.
A breath. And then breathless. Silence. Darkness. Cold.
Our fairy tale was now just a distant memory. So very far away and out of reach.
“Till death do us part.”
Chapter 24
Lyov
Beat. Thump. Beat. Thump.
Something was wrong.
Beat. Thump. Beat. Thump.
I could feel my heart beating in my ears and the pulse racing in my neck.
Beat. Thump. Beat. Thump.
There was something heavy sitting on my lungs. My heart pounded and clenched, and I didn’t even fucking know why.
Beat. Thump. Beat. Thump.
I didn’t get carsick, but right now, I was about to throw up.
My chest grew tight with a strange feeling, and I rubbed it, hoping to elevate the burning sensation there. I felt on edge, and my stomach churned as if sensing something wrong was going to happen.
“Isaak, I need to go back,” I announced without thinking.
He looked in the rear-view mirror, confused. “What?”
“Go back,” I said through clenched teeth, still rubbing my chest. The pain wouldn’t alleviate. When he wouldn’t do what I said, the frustration built inside of me. Mixed with fear and agitation, it was a weird, fucked-up feeling. Why was I even scared? I didn’t fucking know. I just felt unsettled.
All I knew was that in this moment, right now…I had to be home. Nothing felt right. Being away felt wrong. So, so wrong.
My lungs clenched, and it fucking hurt.
“Fuck! This can wait. Turn the goddamn car around!” I roared. Isaak hit the brake hard, and he turned his head to look at me, sending me a confused, yet somewhat dark, angry look.
“Lyov, we got a call that there was an attack at the club. The place was lit on fire. There are people…”
I stopped his tirade of words with a low growl. His mouth snapped shut when I leveled him with a dark look of my own. “I don’t give a fuck. Let the others take care of it. I need to get back home. Now.”
He was silent for a second, just staring at me. “Is something wrong?”
My fists clenched, and I looked outside at the dark night. Everything felt eerily strange, as if a balance was broken. “I don’t know,” I said, my throat suddenly feeling tight. “But right now, I need to be with my wife and son. I could tell Maria didn’t want me to leave tonight.”
It had felt wrong, leaving her when she so desperately clung to my hand. As if she couldn’t bear the few hours of separation. Fuck, even I couldn’t. A few minutes away from her felt like hours. Hours felt like months. Every time I was away, not in the proximity to touch her or stare at her smile, in those beautiful blue eyes—it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Sometimes, it wasn’t just love. It was so much more.
I was obsessed with my Angel.
Eight years together didn’t lessen what I felt for Maria. No, I just fell deeper into her beautiful trap every day. Every morning I would wake up and see her beautiful face first thing. Hear her voice and then watch her smile sleepily at me, her eyes sparkling with something akin to adoration and so much love.
With a heavy sigh, from the corner of my eye, I saw Isaak nodding. He didn’t say anything else; he just put the car into gear again and drove back to the estate.
The whole drive back was filled with tense silence. I leaned back into my seat and closed my eyes, trying to control my somewhat irregular breathing. I just didn’t understand, and it frustrated me even more.
Finally, the car came to a stop. I didn’t waste any time getting out of the car. Something was wrong. I knew it for sure this time. My guards weren’t present. There were always four of them at the gates.