LOGINI froze, with the bottle of wine in my hand and Sebastian in front of me, admitting that he was married, and that my cousin had kidnapped and sold his wife.My heart stopped, and I felt like my head was spinning. I looked at the wine bottle in my hand and took a swig straight from the bottle, hoping to make it all go faster, but it didn't. It only made me feel even more dizzy."Melissa and I got married very young," he began. "We were barely 24 when we married. We had a quiet life, for the most part, even though my mother didn't completely approve. Everything was pretty good... until it wasn't."Sebastian's POVI started talking, and once I began, I couldn't stop. Perhaps it was the wine that loosened my tongue, or perhaps it was the weight of the years that oppressed me.When Melissa and I were young, life seemed like paradise. We dreamed of growing old together, of building something that would last. But everything changed the day she met Lucas Clark at a networking event. At first,
A mixture of uncertainty filled my body, and while Sebastian and Ian headed toward Sebastian, I took two steps back, my hands still outstretched protectively toward Olivia.A thousand scenarios were playing out in my mind: how he might suddenly reveal what he knew about me, or that I was somehow involved with the Russian mafia, and all of that would go straight to Lucas and be very difficult to explain.But a fleeting thought crossed my mind: Olivia just spoke, and she just spoke in Russian... which means..."What a problem, I mistook her for someone, that's all," said Damian, with an arrogant attitude."You don't go, you point a gun at someone's face and speak to them in another language if you're not sure," retorted Ian."Where the hell do you speak Russian?" demanded Sebastian.Damian, however, said nothing more, no matter how many questions were asked of him, he simply remained as if it were something unimportant and minimized everything that had happened as a simple "mistake".Th
Ian didn't seem uncomfortable; rather, he wanted to find a way to apologize, but perhaps he didn't quite know how."She's mute due to an accident, but she's not deaf and will probably be able to speak again with enough care," I explained.My phone rang with an unknown number. "I'm going to take this," I thought.I walked away, knowing it was most likely Annatoli, while Ian and Olivia continued talking quietly."Hello?" I answered, but there was a long silence on the other end."Sofia," a voice finally said, sending shivers down my spine. "I received your email. Are you available this Saturday?""Y-yes," I said, my voice trembling with shock."I know what's happening doesn't directly involve us, so there's nothing wrong with seeing each other," Lucas said, his tone radiating distrust."Sure, after all, we're cousins," I replied.I hung up the fastest and most stressful call of my life and remained silent for a moment.I remember when we were kids, Lucas and I used to spend a lot of tim
When I arrived at the apartment, I felt a tension in my shoulders, something I couldn't quite describe at the time, but I tried not to dwell on it.As soon as I opened the door, I saw Olivia standing there. She was dressed casually in a sweater, jeans, and a hat, but her red hair still stood out.I almost felt like we were going to leave."Let me get some water, change, and then we'll go, okay?"She nodded with a smile that showed all her teeth.I got some water from the kitchen and went into the bedroom to change. As I dressed in denim shorts, a sports bra, and a crop top, I paused for a moment. Olivia had been held captive for who knows how long. How did she have almost all her teeth intact?I know there are many things she hasn't told me yet, but even so, she often makes me feel insecure.I sighed and shook off the thought; I knew I couldn't keep getting defensive about everything that was happening around me.We went outside together and I checked my phone. There were no messages
Sebastian's POVI looked at the stack of documents in front of me, full of crap I had to sign and stamp, and out of nowhere, I frowned.I got up and left the main office. There was no one at the desk outside my office, so I walked a little further and arrived at the second desk, the receptionist's."Where's Damian?" I asked.The receptionist saw me and shook her head. Where's my assistant?I returned to my office more frustrated than before. Lately, Damian has been too distracted by his own personal problems to properly address my needs.Now that I'm starting to distrust my own mother and considering the possibility that Sofia might have a long-lost sister, my thoughts are more jumbled than they should be.I need to find a solution to all of this so I can properly avenge Melissa. I need all of this to make sense.But, with this whole web of lies, if I drag Lucas down with me, won't I also drag in other people, like my own mother?What a mess of thoughts.I closed my eyes.In front of
The two men turned to look at me when I said that, and for a moment I thought it would all be negative, but Ian seemed excited."Really?" he asked immediately and took my hands."Sure, we can start tomorrow, right? I feel indebted to you."Ian and I talked for about half an hour, maybe more or maybe less, but we agreed to go tomorrow, and after that Sebastian drove me home almost in complete silence.I swallowed hard when I suddenly remembered the wallet I carry in my backpack, knowing I was starting to distrust the man beside me. I got out of the car, and he quickly said goodbye and left. I stood there for a moment, watching him go, feeling like everything was moving too fast, as if the days were slipping through my fingers.I went up to the apartment, and when I entered, I smelled something slightly burnt. I saw Olivia in the kitchen, giving me pitiful eyes.I smiled and went over to see that she had burned some pasta."How can you burn pasta?" I asked.Olivia gave me even more pupp
While I was talking to Mia, I received an unexpected call from Sebastian. When I saw his name appear on the screen, a question popped into my mind. I answered."I never saved your number, right?" I asked.Sebastian seemed about to reply, but his voice sounded agitated, as if he'd been running from
A few days passed normally, as normally as things could go in my situation. Some suppliers had begun to show their support for my uncle, and their true colors were becoming obvious. My stationery and ink supplier contacted me to say they had to raise prices due to external company measures.Similar
"Carlos... That really doesn't sound like a good name.""You can say that again."I sighed and leaned back in my chair, gazing out the window as the city faded into the night. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, but now that I was a little more relaxed and my mind had cleared, I felt the wei
The woman approached and stood between Sebastian and me. I stood there for a second, unsure how to react or what to do. The woman was shorter than me, but she had an imposing presence that made me doubt everything; she had eyes as dark as night and short black hair perfectly tied up."Ma'am, I..."







