Chapter 2

Vladimir:

I glared at my ringing phone as I stood beside the backdoor of the wedding hall.

“What do you want, Viktor?” I asked the second I answered the phone.

“What? Can’t a man congratulate his twin brother on getting married?” He asked in a mocking tone. I could already imagine him smirking at the fact of him ticking a nerve.

“I don’t know how you found out about this wedding, nor do I care at this very moment…”

“Of course, you don’t” he said casually “but anyway, congratulating you isn’t the only reason I called”

“What is it this time? Do you plan on selling weapons to us? Has your little gang lost it’s clients?”

“Funny, but I don’t associate myself with people I intend to kill, you know, I don’t eat with a person to kill him a while later”

“That is why I am don, and you are nothing but a traitor”

“Is that so? Me shooting a man in the head after a meal makes you the good guy?” He taunted reminding me of a past event that had happened a while before he chose to betray us “your little maiden has been added to the list of things I’ll be taking from you”

“Classy of you to refer her as a thing…”

“Well, she will be mine, therefore, I believe that I can refer her the way I wish”

“Confident, are we?”

“Haven’t I always been?” He asked casually.

“Exactly, that is only ONE of the reasons why you’re never going to get anything on that little list of yours” I said calmly before hanging up before Viktor could even respond “svoloch’” bastard.

“What is it this time?” Luka, my best friend and right hand asked from behind me.

“Nothing, just Viktor being good old Viktor” I said rolling my eyes “remind me again why the bastard is alive again?”

“Because your mom loved him too much and begged you not to kill him?” Luka reminded me of the night I had almost killed my brother when I found out that he had betrayed the family. It was when I first became don, dad had resigned his position, and rather than giving it to Viktor as he had hoped, dad saw that it would be better to give his position to me.

“She was, and still is the ONLY reason that idiot is taking a breath” I sighed. Luka chuckled and squeezed my shoulder before pulling me inside with him, our eyes catching Eliana and her father in the distance.

“Are you sure that she doesn’t have any records on her?” I asked Luka who was also frowning at the sight. I couldn’t blame him, the woman was my wife now, as regulations had it; she wasn’t supposed to be alone with them to begin with.

“Not a single one, despite her dad being who he is, she was almost always secluded from the world he lived in” Luka answered and I nodded. She wiped her eyes as if tears fell from them before nodding at her dad, James Morris, her mom, Anastasia walking toward her before hugging her tightly, her brother Ian following after her. Eliana didn’t seem to walk toward her dad, her eyes fixed to the ground before she walked toward mom who was watching her from a close distance. Dad’s eyes met mine and I nodded in understanding the fact that we were going to be leaving.

“I still want you to search about her, something about her is odd, and I want to know what it is” I said calmly, me marrying the woman didn’t mean that I trusted or that peace had started between the families to begin with. Luka nodded and the two of us walked to the front door to find Eliana, mom, dad, the men standing by the cars waiting to take us to the airport.

Having gone to Rome to have this wedding, it was where most the mafia men and women would have been, and where it was customary for us to wed considering that she lived in England and we lived in the Los Angeles.

I nodded at Eliana to follow me to the car, her and I would be taking our own, each of the family members would be taking his own car, and the private planes would be taking us back to our homes. Her eyes met mine and she nodded following me, this time not even bothering to glace at her family members as she got inside the car. Her head held high as if she owned the world, despite the fear I saw in them just minutes earlier.

“The airport” I told my driver Konstantine. He nodded and drove off before anyone else, the rest would be following close behind anyway, but the faster we got out of here, the better it would be for me.

“What happened between you and your father?” I asked breaking the silence in the car. I knew that my question took Eliana off guard as she seemed to jump at the sound of my voice, judging by the fact that we rarely spoke during the engagement, which technically only lasted for two months, but as my wife, and the daughter of my enemy, I needed to ensure that she wasn’t planning anything behind my back.

“Nothing, he was just telling me to take care of myself, and was giving me my new responsibilities as a wife speech” she said calmly.

“Isn’t your mother the one supposed to give you that conversation? As far as I know, a father would care about YOUR safety and happiness, your mother would be the one to be more open about whatever topics you would be having in such states” I said raising an eyebrow. I wasn’t stupid, I knew that whatever James had told her had nothing to do with what she said, however, I was curious to know whatever lie she was going to make this time.

“Whatever conversation I have with either one of my parents doesn’t concern you, Vladimir” she said glaring at me “therefore, I do suggest that you stick your nose in someone else’s business and leave me to tend to mine”

“I believe you are my wife”

“And I believe that you have made it very clear that I am only your wife on paper during our very first conversation after getting engaged” she said raising an eyebrow.

“Smart answer” said raising a similar eyebrow.

“Aren’t they always?”