Grusha's POV:
“Grusha…”
When I heard that voice, I felt as though time had stopped. If it weren’t for the burning sensation in my scalp, I might have thought this was some kind of dream. I slowly turned my head after being shocked by what I had just heard, to see the worst sight I have ever seen in my life. Tears that were welled up escaped my eyes, slightly clearing my vision.
Brother?
If it weren’t for his voice and the necklace that dangle around his neck, I wouldn’t believe this is my brother because of how much worse his condition was. His hair was a mess and it covered both of his eyes and forehead. His head was hung low, but I could see his face totally covered with blood. He was on his knees, his hands tied behind him, occasionally coughing blood. His shirt was also covered with blood and the top buttons were opened which didn’t prevent me from seeing his blood covered chest. I have never imagined him in such a situation like this, but here he is.
I was not excited or surprised to see my brother who I haven’t seen in three days. But I was shocked to hear him calling me by my name for the first time in my life. I stared at him in disbelief. His eyes slowly met mine as he slowly lifted his head. His eyes looked different. He didn’t look like the monster I used to know for the past years. I noticed a different emotion in his eyes beside hatred, for the first time in my life. Was it,
Guilt?
He was guilty?
Why?
“Gru_”
He was unable to finish his sentence as his body hit the ground with a loud thud and unlike before, the gunshot reverberated through the hallway. No words came out of my mouth as I stared at my brother’s lifeless body in horror. My hands began to shake. I expected me to feel at least sad but no, I felt nothing. But I was definitely in fear for my life. That’s when something hit me. I am at father’s room. Then, father?
That’s when I heard the beeping sound of the heart monitor. I felt my vision becoming blurry again. I wasn’t sure if those were the tears of fear or the tears of sadness. Whatever they were, they rolled off my cheek before disappearing onto the carpet below. I felt my head spinning and the nauseated was getting worse. I clutched my head in one hand.
I sensed someone approaching me and my gaze turned from my brother’s lifeless body to the pair of black, shining shoes in front of me. Then I saw a hand, carrying a gun, moving in my direction as whoever that was in front of me crouched down to my level.
I trembled violently and jerked back, flinching when the muzzle of the gun touched my cheek. I didn’t dare to lift my gaze and I closed my eyes hoping this moment will end. The muzzle of the gun went from my cheek to my chin forcing me to lift my head. I waited and waited for another gunshot to be heard and for my body to hit the ground, but nothing happened. I slowly unlatched my eyelids while breathing heavily.
The moment I opened my eyes, my gaze fell over those dreadful eyes that were already staring at me.
Ocean eyes.
And the next thing I know is my eyelids closing slowly and my body falling onto the ground.
Damien POV:
Aslanov.
Pathetic bastard.
Would still be alive only if they had once listened. But, the avaricious bitch, Rafael wanted to take on everything and the alliance he made with Russians was the last string. For the sake of our grandfather’s friendship, I have given him few warnings before, but that ungrateful bastard didn’t know what he was asking for. Knowing how much I detested betraying people, he ought to have known better than to do so.
A knock was heard and Luca, my right-hand man, walked in while carrying a file in his hand. The frown on his forehead indicated that I am not going to hear what I want to hear.
“Nessun capo. Non abbiamo trovato nessun record su di lei.”
[No boss. We didn’t find any records about her.]
Luca said with his head hung low in defeat. I hummed in response and threw my head back, resting it on the chair’s head.
I was back in my office, after taking care of Aslonovs, since there were still a few things to deal with. Getting rid of Aslonovs was never in my bucket list and hell, nonno [Grandfather] would be furious with me if he found out that I had just killed his best friend and his son with my own hands. But, what to do. Rules are rules. You have no friends when it comes to business. That’s what I was taught and what I will be sticking to.
Rafael knew he fucked up when he chose to mess with me and that’s why he tried to run to the Russians for protection.
I can smell war and it’s not like I didn’t know this would lead to a war. Pavlov must be fuming in rage since attacking Aslanov is akin to an indirect warning for them to stay away from my business. After all, I was so fed up of this ongoing silent war between us and my hands were itching to swipe those Pavlovs off this world. Neither of us was making a move, so, let this be the beginning we have all been waiting for. However, the Pavlov I know is not someone who would do something out of pity, so I need to find out what Rafael had agreed to give them in exchange for his protection.
“Nemmeno il nome completo?”
[Not even the full name?]
I asked Luca, when he continued to stare at me waiting for my next order.
“Nessun capo. Infatti non è mai nata.”
[No boss. In fact, she was never born.]
A hum is all that left my mouth. That’s suspicious. When I first saw that girl I thought she was some sort of whore or something despite her grey eyes that seemed so innocent, feared and intoxicating at the same time. But when Bernadi came to me with a deal, willing to pay any sum of money just to take her back, it only piqued my curiosity. And now, with not being able to find any information about her, I am sure as hell she is not just a whore or something. And I guess I have to find myself.
“Come si chiamava di nuovo?”
[What her name was again?]
I asked Luca, ignoring his bewildered looks.
“Grusha.”
He said while handing me the file, which is probably empty, that he had been carrying until now. Despite my presumptions, I reached out to grab it, but my phone rang stopping me in my tracks.
“Capo, abbiamo un piccolo problema qui.”
[Boss, we have a little problem here.]
One of my men who I kept with the girl said as soon as I answered the phone. A smirk made its way to my lips unknowingly.
Indeed a wild horse.
Grusha's POV:I feel as if I have been beaten.Wait. What happened?I compelled myself to recall the last memories I have. And the last thing I remember are those ocean eyes.I felt my head spinning and my body aches were getting worse. I opened my eyes only to find the blurry vision of what was surrounding me. I had to blink few times to clear my vision and then I took notice of my surrounding. It almost felt familiar but I am conscious enough to know that it is not.I could see that I was in a cell in someone’s basement, and the crimson handprints on the grubby walls were obvious evidence of my conformation, which didn’t scare me at all. There is a door right in front of me, where I assume would be my only way out.My lips felt dry and the corner of my lips was bruised reasoning why I can’t open them. My hair was covering my face, brushing against my bruised lips every time I took a breath. I tried tugging them away, only to notice my hands were restrained. I tried to wiggle out of
Author's POV"Just kill me"Grusha uttered while looking him in the eyes. And those eyes stared back at her grey orbs emotionlessly. She expected him to do something, but all he did was stare at her. But what Grusha didn’t see was the confusion in his eyes. Having people in his cells begging him to kill them is not something new to Damien, but the fact that the existence of the girl in front of him being a mystery is something that triggers his restless mind. He kept staring at her, trying to find something or anything that could be useful but the fear-coated grey orbs revealed nothing but exhaustion; exhaustion of everything.For a brief moment, he thought she could be a spy or something, but after observing her face, he realized she is not someone like that unless she is really good at acting, so he did not completely dismiss his assumption. Even if she if a spy, then why would Bernadi go to such lengths to obtain her? Her mystery was messing with his mind, but he knew for sure that
Damien's POV:‘No wonder why they felt so familiar. Well, then that means that those rumors are true.’ I leaned back taking couple of steps backward while continuing to look at her as she appeared to be zoning out while staring at a blank space.‘Then, it is Grusha Aslanov. The princess of the mob. And the heir of the Aslanov mafia. And now the only heir. Additionally, the daughter of Amalia Bernadi; late mafia queen.’ I had had a few brief encounters with her before she passed away when I was a child, but I had heared enough to be aware that she was the only woman who took over the mafia world. Rumors said that she passed away while giving birth, but no one said anything about the baby. While there were few rumors that the baby was alive and fine, some people claimed that the baby also passed away. And here she is. It turned out to be that those rumors are true. I don’t know what kind of relationship nonno [grandfather] has with the Aslanovs, but I do remember how he treated Amalia l
Grusha's POV:I hissed as foamy water kissed every scar on my body, even the recently injured ankle. After that guy left, I stood up and tried to walk to the bathroom, but ended up hobbling all the way like he said and successfully spraining the same injured ankle. The pain was unbearable and I would have taken a bath in the bathtub but I chose to be hard on myself and chose to take a shower standing. I had to bite my tongue to keep me from screaming in pain. I shifted all my weight to my left leg and put both hands on the wall to ease the pain in ankle. I turned my head to the side and bit down on my arm, groaning as the pain shot through my veins from my ankle to my hips like electricity.After turning off the shower, I limped out of the shower while frantically scrabbling my hands everywhere, desperately trying to find something to hold onto, in order to support me but miserably finding nothing. With my stumbling steps, the scratch over my ankle has reopened and the blood started t
Grusha's POV:As soon as I opened my eyes, I involuntarily bend over the sink and threw up everything that was inside my stomach. I wonder if there were any. After throwing up, I washed my face and lifted my head to catch a glimpse of myself. My cheeks and nose were crimson red and red veins of eyes were highlighted in the white of sclera. A headache was forming in my head and my nose was running. I grabbed the towel back and dried off my face before keeping it on the counter. I took a few hobbling steps back and my eyes unknowingly fell over the scar on my hip. I slightly rotated my leg to get a full view of the scar.Touching the scar, I trace it along to the end of it, at the inner thigh. It does its job. It reminds me of that day. It reminds me of those filthy touches. It reminds me how I was almost raped by that jerk. It reminds me everything. Just like he wanted to. Sighing heavily, I made my way out of the bathroom to bedroom without caring to cover myself. I always had this ha
Damien's POV:I came home right away after the dinner with nonno since I didn’t have anything more to say to him. Entering the house, I hurriedly made my way to Grusha’s room to see how she was doing. The two men I placed at her door bowed their heads when they saw me approaching them. I gave them a curt nod and one of them opened the door to the room while backing away, letting me to enter the room. The room was utterly dark and for a moment, I thought this was some kind of stunt that she has put to attack me in order to escape. But, when I switched on the lights all of my doubts left my mind, observing my feisty kitten sleeping peacefully on the bed.‘It is just a matter of time before I make you mine, princess.’As I was making my way over to the bed I accidently stepped on something. Looking down, my eyes fell on the black shirt that I had given her to wear.‘So, she didn’t wear it huh?’A loud growl of disapproval left my mouth, successfully waking her up. And when she turned her
Gruha's POV:"Or be mine."When he uttered those words, my breath hitched and I blinked my eyes in confusion."B-Be yours?"I asked him again to confirm that I heard it correct."Did I stutter, sweetheart?"He asked, still caressing my lips. His slow touch did no harm to me, yet I found it hard to breathe when he does it. I am sure as hell that I am not going to victor so, apparently, this is the only choice I get. I don't understand what he meant by that. But I know that whatever it is, it is either stay with him or stay with victor for me."W-What do you mean?"I further questioned him to know what exactly he meant by that. I sort of have an idea what possibly his words can mean but decided to ask him directly without presumptions."Marry me."His voice penetrated my ears as a whisper and my body freeze hearing him. Marry him? Who is a total stranger to me? I have never been much of a fan of marriage or relationships but I am aware enough to know that marriage is not just about sign
Author's POV:"She knows how to choose wisely."Damien said while closing the file. A smirk danced over his lips which gave his face a devilish look. After Grusha signed the marriage certificate, Luca came and took the file with him. Damien already knew she had no other option than accepting him but he wanted to make sure that she did.Watching the satisfied face of his boss, Luca sighed in relief because he can only imagine what would have happened if her answer was different. But that relief didn't last long as Damien’s face darkened and now the devil has returned."Let’s go"Damien said while getting up and Luca followed him out of the office, not knowing where they were going. But he was certain that if Damien is going somewhere he is going too.Luca has been working for him for years and he has witnessed everything that happened to him. He witnessed how he became the devil he is now. Luca stayed with his every step. Though Damien never shows it, if there could be anyone that he b