A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Matteo

'I know she's with you.'

The message said, leaving me anxious and somehow out of words. I had stared at my phone for five minutes because I didn't know if I was supposed to reply or let it be. It was obvious Alexei knew that Alena was with me but the main question was, how?

The laughters and chatters were loudly heard from downstairs which calmed me down a little bit, knowing they weren't coming upstairs to check up on me.

Then again, I didn't want to hide things from Alena anymore-I did it before for her own sake. Was I supposed to hide about this as well? What type of good was going to come out from it?

Another message came in and I looked down at the sender: Alexei.

'Mikhail doesn't know.'

I read, blinking a few times as another message went through.

'Well, not yet.'

I immediately turned to look at the door before shutting it close and heading out to the balcony, occasionally glancing at the door incase Alena stepped in. I didn't want her to overhear my conversation with Alexei, at least until I heard about the things he wanted to say first. Without wasting anymore time, I pressed the screen to call Alexei.

It took him a couple of rings before he picked up the phone.

"Look who decided to call me back," he said from the other line!

"Are you alone?" I asked, ignoring his sarcasm.

The question was simple. I just needed a confirmation from him if Mikhail was in the room with him or he was alone-it was safer if he was all by himself. I couldn't trust Mikhail and I couldn't trust Alexei either but at least, he was keeping Alena's whereabouts a secret for now.

Maybe, he was finally coming to his senses.

However, it was still too early to judge.

Alexei chuckled from the other line, "You're worried?"

I kept quiet, not wanting to play around. I just wanted an answer and if he didn't want to give me any, there was no use for us to talk anymore. I always had my doubts with the Russians but ever since I had fallen in love with one, I tried to be positive sometimes.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"If it's Mikhail you're worried about, he's not here." He added, giving me the answer I waited for.

I sighed, feeling a little bit better.

"Why did you call me?"

"Just to clear the air between us after what happened."

"I can't help it that I don't feel the same way," I replied.

"Do you think I'm being cruel, Matteo?"

My eyes wandered to the door again before looking out from the balcony. Memories of Alena and I from last week replayed in my head, when we were stargazing that night and made love in the morning. It felt as if it was just yesterday.

Good moments seemed to past by rather quickly. One of the reasons why we needed to appreciate everything because we were scared of never experiencing them anymore.

"I don't have an answer to that. Men like us aren't exactly saints."

It was the truth: despite being the hard truth but men like us, we didn't deserve anything good in our lives. If another lifetime ever existed, I would've probably chosen a different life where I wasn't the villain. I wanted a calm and peaceful life instead of having to worry about my loved ones.

However, we weren't all bad. Most of the money we earned were given to charities, probably just one of the ways to cover up our money laundering. Then again, our hands were always going to be dirty from the men we killed despite how many times we had washed them.

"True. We're condemned to hell, aren't we?" He scoffed.

"What do you want, Alexei? Just be frank,"

"Don't you want to ask how I found out about it? I know you're curious."

"You can tell me if you're eager,"

My respond seemed to make him laugh, as if it was a joke.

"Let's just say I owe my sister a favour. Let's just say I'm trying to be even."

"What do you mean by that?"

Alexei kept quiet for a few seconds before he continued to speak, "I was there that night when he hit her. As much as I respect and look up to Mikhail, I don't exactly tolerate abuse especially when it's towards my sister. Don't get me wrong, it never happened before but there isn't a single excuse to make up for what he did."

"In a way, you're making up an excuse for him."

"Shit, then. I'm trying not to."

I scoffed, "I saw the bruise."

"I blame myself for not doing anything after that. I can't hate him, Matteo even if I wanted to." He continued to speak before sighing, as if he was having a hard time to choose the right words-he had his own battles to fight, he was just good at hiding them.

"So, should I thank you?"

"No, I don't need that. Just bring her home tonight."

"How can I trust you that she'll be safe?"

"Alena's my sister. I'll protect her with my life."

"Yet, she got hurt when you were there."

"I take the blame. I really do,"

We both stayed quiet for awhile until we ended the call. I stared at my phone for a few minutes before I heard the door being pushed open and I saw Alena stepping in, looking around the room for me. Once she saw my figure on the balcony, she made her way towards me with a smile plastered on her face

"Hey, you." She said as she grabbed my hand.

"Hey... you," I replied.

"Who called you? You took so long."

I stared at her as she continued to look at me. There was something about her eyes, I was always drawn to her every time we stared at each other-it could be the colour of her eyes or even the way she held her gaze but she was the death of me. Whenever I was anxious, her presence could calm me down.

My heartbeat was steady every time she was near. It was as if my body could finally function properly if I had her beside me and my body could somehow self destruct if she was nowhere near me. It was a weird feeling because I never felt that way but I wasn't complaining.

"Your brother."

"Alexei?" Her eyes widened.

I nodded and a frown appeared in between her brows.

"Why are you so calm about it? Shouldn't we be worried?" She asked, this time her grip on my hands had tightened.

"Because he won't tell Mikhail. He said he owed you one,"

"Owed me one? Owed me what?"

"For not doing anything when he hurt you."

Alena sighed, trying to hide the fading bruise. If it were up to me, I would've slammed my fist onto his face and let him bleed on the ground. He said he was capable of protecting my wife as if I had failed, but he raised his hand on her. What kind of protecting was that? "I don't blame him."

""You should."

"I should blame him?"

I nodded, "He was supposed to protect you."

"Sometimes people explode."

"But they don't hurt the ones they truly love, Alena."

My wife stayed still in her spot as she looked up at me, somehow finding the truth in my statement. I didn't waste any time before grabbing her face, caressing her cheeks. It never occurred to me of ever hurting her, even if she truly tested my patience because she was a woman I had to protect. She was my responsibility.

"Matteo..."

"Yes, baby?"

"I don't want to go."

A

"I don't want you to."

Tears were filling her eyes as she blinked them away, letting them fall down her cheeks. I managed to quickly wipe them away before pulling her close towards me, resting her head on my chest.

It was foolish of me to ever let her leave but I had to. This time, I needed to come up with a different plan and a solution- we couldn't do this forever. We couldn't sheak out for the next few weeks, those were temporary solutions and I wasn't going to settle. "I'll find a way, baby. I promise you." I whispered, rubbing her back.

She kept quiet as she snuggled close, wrapping her arm around my waist.

We spent the next few minutes in each other's arms until we both decided to pull away. Our eyes met once more as soon as we pulled back and I saw the dried tears on her cheeks but I tried my best to make her feel better by kissing her entire face.

I started to kiss on her right cheek before moving to her left cheek. Then, from her cheeks, I went down up to kiss her forehead and her nose. Last but not least, her beautiful lips.

The kiss on her lips was slightly longer than the rest of her face. It was to show her how much I missed her and how much I loved her; hoping it was enough for now. We kissed passionately and I could feel myself growing needy.

A tear had left her eyes as we kissed and I knew of her heartbreak.

We weren't ready to let go. We weren't ready to be separated.

Thad promised my wife and myself to come up with a solution. As tough as it could be, I needed to push through. This time, I wasn't going to bring my men in for a fight with my father-in-law but I was only going to bring myself for a discussion. If he was truly the man he said, he was going to respect that.

As much as I respected Alena.