LOGINAraceli.“Sit up, Araceli.” I heard Antonio’s voice next. “We are going to give you back to your husband in exchange for his wealth.”My pulse quickened instantly, my eyes snapping open before I even realized it myself.The bus had seats arranged by the sides, occupied by four men who looked slightly alike to Antonio. I slowly turned my head towards him, staring at him with widened eyes.Then I shook my head slowly.Matvei would never give up everything in exchange for me. I’m not worth it. I’m not worth everything he had built over the years.“Y-You can’t do that to him… Please take me instead.” I managed to say, my voice trembling badly.They all exchanged looks with each other before bursting into laughter again.I swallowed hard, already used to being their source of amusement.“Oh, Araceli…” Antonio dragged out mockingly. “Who said I was giving you back?”I paused, staring at him in confusion, my fingers brushing lightly against the swollen side of my arm.“You said you were givi
Araceli.My heart has been beating unevenly for the past two days. I have been locked inside this room meant for dogs. It’s very dark; I can’t even see a single strand of sunlight from in here. My hands are roughly chained against the wall.The only way I know it’s been two days is because they serve me dry bread and water three times a day. I tried pulling my hands away from the chained wall for the umpteenth time, but it only left more bruises wrapped around my wrists.Heat has been prickling down my skin nonstop, and I wish I could block my nose from smelling anything at all. The room had a horrible odor oozing from every corner, mixed with the stench of animal dung piled by the side. I had thrown up so much that it felt like my intestines were about to spill out of me.Right now, I am tired, drained, and mentally exhausted.My mind keeps replaying the conversation Antonio had with Matvei. They all made me watch it. The guards had slapped me multiple times, my cheeks still carrying
Matvei.“You need to calm down, Matvei. My son.” Violetta’s annoying voice filled my ears. “You worry too much for a commoner; our focus should be on our shipments.”“You are right.” My father complimented his wife, who beamed proudly like the idiot she is.“I need both of you out of here,” I growled.Violetta rolled her eyes while my father gave his head a slow shake. “We have to be here to know why the Bellandi family had the guts to request a Zoom call with us.”“It is a disgrace in the history of the Orlov family for low-class underworld rats such as the Bellandis, who once begged to become our ammunition dealers in secret, to suddenly have the guts to request Don Matvei Orlov on a Zoom call.”I closed my eyes, resting my bandaged head against the headrest.He was right.My pride and ego had been completely wasted. But that wasn’t even what was bothering me at this point.Araceli was with them.She is my wife. Mine.They had the fucking guts to take my wife, chop off her hair, set
Araceli.My head throbbed painfully as I opened my eyes; the lights were too bright, so bright that it felt like my eyes could scream from it. I squinted them tightly, shifting my body slowly against the ground, noticing the cold tiles underneath me.“The slut is awake.” I heard a deep voice say.I forced my eyes open properly, spotting a large screen placed in front of me. Loud laughter followed immediately. My gaze snapped backwards, landing on different men seated across the couches, smoke curling around them as they puffed on cigarettes and cigars. Antonio was seated directly at the center, behind me.I swallowed hard, dragging my body farther away from them instinctively, my stomach twisting painfully at the heavy scent of whatever they were smoking.“Matvei sure has great taste.” One of the men muttered, his appearance rough and filthy enough to make my skin crawl.“Ah… Ah… Ah…” The man seated at the edge of the couch interrupted mockingly. “Don Matvei, you mean.”They all burst
Matvei.I got to the destination and stepped out of the car. Geal followed behind me as we walked into the restaurant where Rostislav was waiting.As always, the place had already been cleared out.My men were stationed outside, surrounding the area like a fucking fortress.Rostislav stood up immediately when he saw me. “Don.” He bowed his head in respect.I gave him a curt nod, not wasting a second.I gave him the details, short and straight, then Geal and I took our seats, watching him as he worked on his laptop.But I couldn’t sit still.My leg kept tapping against the floor nonstop, impatience crawling under my skin, suffocating me.Every second felt like a fucking lifetime.Rostislav suddenly paused.His lips parted slightly, confusion flashing across his face before he slowly turned the laptop toward me.My body went still.An unfamiliar man filled the screen—his hand gripping Araceli, pulling her hard against his body as he guided her into a black limo.Geal leaned closer to th
Matvei.I held the form for the culinary school I had enrolled Araceli into. A part of me kept telling me it wasn’t necessary, that I shouldn’t be bending shit for anyone—but fuck that.She had been so damn persistent with ignoring me, like I didn’t exist, like I was some stranger in my own house. She wasn’t talking to me, wasn’t even looking at me, and that silence…That silence was fucking with my head.It was tearing at something inside me, something I didn’t even know I had, making it impossible to think straight, to function like I normally would.Maybe this would fix it. Maybe it would make her look at me again… talk to me…The door creaked open, and I didn’t need to look to know it was Geal.“We were cut off from the trace we had on the fucker who’s been raiding your warehouses,” he said, dropping into the seat opposite me.I let the paper fall from my hand, shaking my head slowly.Never in my entire fucking life—since I became Don—has anyone managed to stay a step ahead of me.
Araceli.“Hi, Matvei.”The brunette from earlier suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my husband like she owned him.My stomach dropped the moment her arms circled him.Matvei’s jaw tightened instantly.His eyes never left me, but his fingers did.My eyes burned as I watched another
Araceli.I turned slightly and saw Matvei standing outside the door, his tall figure casting a shadow across the seat.I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling too widely and stepped out of the car.The moment my feet touched the ground, he slammed the door shut behind me.He avoided my gaze.His j
Araceli.My heart wanted to argue back, to tell her he had done enough just by offering to take me shopping—nobody had ever done that for me before.But my mind craved more.I could feel it deep inside me, that quiet hunger for more of him. I wanted him to be softer with me, to love me… to apologiz
Araceli.I nodded and stood up, quickly walking out of his office. My chest was hammering so loudly that I couldn’t even hear Sonia’s footsteps behind me.“Araceli,” Sonia called my name.But I was too deep in my head to stop for her.My legs quickened their pace, almost hopping with excitement as







