Alena

"A few times, actually but I don't think we'd get far."

My answer was short and realistic.

It was disappointing to give that kind of answer but I knew what Papa and Alexei were capable of. They weren't going to simply let me run off with Matteo. If he couldn't get ahold of us, he would destroy everything that Matteo had built. The two of us couldn't be selfish when it came to moments like this. We had to think about other families we could destroy if we decided to prioritise our marriage-we could put the lives of Matteo's men at risk and in danger.

Papa had enough of my rebelling. Now, he just wanted control.

"We wouldn't, would we?"

I shook my head, "No. We'd risk a lot of things,"

"Seems like that's the only choice we have left."

"No, we can't just give up. We have to consider other options."

"What kind of options, Alena? The longer we consider, the further I am from you."

Matteo grabbed both of my hands as he held them close to his chest, making me feel his heartbeat. It had been awhile since I counted his heartbeat, one of my favourite things to do whenever we cuddled because it calmed me down every time. I always loved how steady his beats were.

"Matteo... your men, your empire, everything you've built. You can't risk all of that just because of me. Besides, we're talking about Papa, there has got to be another way." I replied, turning to look at Mama who seemed to be out of words. However, Mama took a few steps forward as she slightly smiled.

"It's best if you two enjoy the weekend together. We'll think about how to settle this later. How does that sound?" She suggested, nodding a few times-she knew we were going to get heated up in an argument if we decided to keep discussing.

All I wanted at the moment was to spend time with my husband after being separated. We needed some alone time together because time wasn't on our side, we couldn't simply let it fly.

"Great idea, Mama." I responded, smiling back at her.

"Igor will take me home. And here's your phone, Alena."

I looked down at my phone with a frown, "Where did you get this?"

"I knew the passcode from his lock. I took it when he left," she replied.

My eyes

watered immediately as I went in to wrap my arms around Mama, pulling her in for a hug. Despite the situation we were in, she had always prioritised me first-the risks and the problems never seemed to bother her even though she knew Papa was capable of a lot of things if we got caught.

"Thank you, Mama." I muttered near her ear, snuggling closer.

She chuckled, "Don't worry about it, sweetheart."

M

As soon as I broke the hug, Mama was getting ready to leave with Igor and I was getting ready to follow my husband home. We were going to spend time together this weekend, the best we could until Sunday. Then, Igor was going to come pick me up again. "Call or text me if there's anything, okay? We will come and pick you up on Sunday"

"Okay, Mama. Thank you," I said.

Once Mama and Igor had left the office, I heard them stepped inside the elevator.

It was just Matteo and I.

He took a few steps to stand beside me before grabbing onto my hand, kissing the back of it. Then, we were heading down the elevator until we reach his car, parked in the basement. Igor's car was no longer here which meant they had left before we reached the parking spot.

We entered the car and Matteo drove off.

It was a quiet car ride but he couldn't keep his hand away from me. He held my hand the entire drive home, as if he was afraid if he could lose me again if he let go. I smiled as I continued to watch him, admiring his beauty

During moments like this, I wanted to appreciate our time more. We didn't have all of the time in the world like we had expected we would. Therefore, it was better to cherish and treasure these beautiful moments regardless of how small they may appear. "How much did you miss me?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"What kind of question is that?" He raised an eyebrow.

It was unsual of me to ask random questions but regardless of my character, I was still a regular girl. A girl who wanted nothing more but love and affection from her partner. A girl who craved to be touched and held close. A girl who could spend hours with her partner doing nothing as long as they were together.

"A random one. Is it wrong?"

"No, you just never ask those kind of questions before."

I smiled before laughing, "Sorry."

"I missed you a lot, Alena. I missed you so much and don't be sorry. You can ask anything you want and I'll answer them." He replied, tightening the grip on my hand before pulling it close to his lips, kissing the back of it.

It was a simple gesture but I loved it.

The way he kissed me, the way he made me feel, it was all clear on how much he loved me. I didn't have to ask the random questions for his answers because I could see from his actions. Men were always going to be simple creatures, who may not be good with words but they expressed through their actions.

Once we have reached home, the lights weren't turned on and it was dark.

Matteo parked the car before stepping out. As I was about to open the door, he was quicker and helped me out.

My eyes wandered around the area as we stepped inside, entering home.

I watched as he turned on the lights and I could see our home clearer. Everything was still in place just like how it was when Neft but it also seemed as if nothing had moved. As if the maids came to clean the house and left, as if Matteo never touched anything afterwards. "Did you not come home at all?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

A

He shook his head, "Not really. I only came home to take a shower."

I reached out for his face before caressing the side of it, "You need to take care of yourself, Matteo. You'd get sick if you don't."

"What about you, Alena? Who takes care of you?"

"I do."

"Look at you, baby. You look exhausted," he frowned.

Matteo was right. We both looked miserable as if we hadn't slept for days. I was quick to judge him for not taking good care of himself but I had ignored my own health-ever since I was forced to leave home, I didn't bother to get enough sleep or drink enough water. I only ate when Mama brought up food.

Only because I didn't want to starve myself.

"You're right... we need to take better care of ourselves," I breathed.

"I'll run you a bath. So, you can relax."

Matteo walked up the stairs and I followed behind him until we reached our bedroom. Everything was clean and in place, untouched. I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed as he went in to set up the tub.

I didn't waste any time by taking off my clothes, leaving them on the bed as I made my way towards the bathroom, seeing Matteo feeling the water with his hand. He was probably testing out to see if it was warm enough for my liking and he was too focused, he didn't even notice I was already standing behind him.

When he stood up and turned to walk out, he had stopped in his steps.Content © .

"Surprise?"

"Surprised." He replied, leaning in to kiss my forehead.

I slowly ran my hand down his, feeling his forearm. "Come join me."

"Take a bath with you?"

I nodded, looking up into his eyes.

He couldn't resist even if he wanted to. I reached up to unbutton his shirt before dropping it on the floor and moving along to his pants, letting it drop as well. Within seconds, we were both fully naked without a single cloth covering our bodies.

I felt his hands instantly touching my body as he went in to kiss my lips, letting me feel the butterflies again.

My eyes were closed as he kissed me, passionately.

We were inches apart until he pulled me close, closing the distance between us. Our bodies were smashed together and I could feel his erection growing bigger, causing myself to grow wet. I smiled as we kissed, letting our tongues dance to the rhythm. I moaned when he reached down to squeeze my butt.

Then, he went in to trail kisses down my neck, leaving my mouth wide open.

"I missed you so much," he whispered in my ear.

"Mm..." I breathed, trying to control myself.

To my surprise, he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bathroom counter. There was a big mirror behind me, making it easier for him to see us as we drowned ourselves in lust.

Both of his hands cupped my face, deepening the kiss.

I moaned louder when he bit onto my lower lip.

Our eyes

stared into one another as if we could see our souls.

This time, we weren't rushing into it as we enjoyed every moment. As eager as I was to feel him inside of me, I wanted to cherish the moment longer. He could take his time in the world to please me and I wouldn't even bother to complain. I spread my legs apart, letting him stand in th