MasukAraceli.My eyes opened slowly. I groaned as my head ached—it felt like it was pounding violently. I tried to move my body, but I couldn’t. The ground beneath me was too harsh.“What happened?!” I whispered to myself. Everything was still blurry. I couldn’t see properly. The last thing I remembered was drinking shots with Antonio. I gasped as I realized he had kidnapped me.“What happened?!… She fucking just asked what happened?!” I heard a harsh, feminine voice. My head snapped toward the direction, blinking several times before I could see clearly.“Kira.” I gasped. She was tied to a pole, upside down. I heard a slight whimper and turned again—Sonia was tied to another pole, standing straight. Apparently, I was the only one not tied.“Why are we here?! Did he kidnap you guys, too?!” I managed to ask, looking around the small room. There was only one small window, and the walls had dried blood plastered over them. The place smelled like blood.“You must be kidding me,” Kira scoffed,
Matvei.I have stood between gunfire before, I have created fucking circumstances that would give any normal human being death, and I have killed my own brother with my bare hands. But none of these… none of this fucking things has made my chest slam this hard against my ribs, none of this has made me take fucking actions without thinking.Just Araceli has finally been able to drive me fucking crazy.SCAR drove to the cinema, while I kept trying her number; it was ringing, but no pickup. She can’t be fucking ignoring me; either she must be in danger.My veins popped out against my skin, rage boiling deep within me. I noticed my stack of cocaine in the drawer on top of the bed, figuring it out that Araceli… little naive Araceli had the fucking nerves to drug her personal guard and lie to the guards just to get out.I had doubts she would be able to pull it off; she is so fucking bad when it comes to lying, so I contacted one of my men to track down her phone and get me the person she s
Araceli.The drive was quiet, my gaze fixed outside the window as I watched people move around—couples laughing, talking softly to each other. I just sat there, watching them, silently wishing Matvei and I were that kind of couple.The car slowed to a stop.“That’s the bar,” Antonio announced, his gaze settling on a small building ahead. Soft lights glowed at the entrance, faint but noticeable as the sun had already dipped low, leaving the sky dim.“Hey…” Antonio reached for my arm. “It’s okay. It’ll take hours before he can trace us here.”I let out a small sigh. “I just wish I had freedom… not go this far just to step outside.”“You can have freedom—if you make a decision and come with me,” he murmured.I turned to face him, my brows lifting slightly. “Come with you?… Like run away and spend the rest of my life being chased by Matvei?”“No,” he said flatly. “You leave him and come to me. If he knows you chose to leave… he won’t chase you.”My stomach dropped at his words, a frown fo
Araceli.“Aww,” I managed to say as the movie finished. I loved the romance scenes so much that, for a moment, I could picture Matvei as the male lead… and me as the female lead.“So, where next?” Antonio’s voice cut through my thoughts. I turned my head slightly to face him.“What?” I said, glancing down at my phone resting on my thighs. I picked it up, quickly texting Sonia that I was done with the movie and heading home.“Who are you texting?” he asked again, trying to peek at my screen.“My friend,” I replied, slipping my phone back into my bag.He nodded. “We should go to a bar.” His eyes stayed on me, watching… observing.“Why?” I asked, raising my brows at him.“To spend more time.” He deadpanned, then grinned widely, his teeth fully on display.For a split second, I could swear I saw Matvei smiling at me instead—his silver braces flashing. I had to stop myself from smiling like an idiot.“No. I need to go home,” I said, pushing myself up from the chair as people began filing o
Matvei.I’m doomed.I’m fucking doomed.I promised myself I wouldn’t let a woman get close to me. I just needed an arm candy to spite my father—not a woman who takes my fucking attention like this. I act like a damn simp around her, watching myself do things I’m not supposed to do.My body feels warm just from her touch. My eyes can’t stay off her curves every fucking time she’s near. She’s a walking temptation—my mind keeps replaying images of her bare body, the stretch marks on her round ass like waves I can’t stop staring at.If she ever told me to get on my knees just to see her properly… fuck, I would. She’s got me in a chokehold. And this is not how I’m supposed to feel.That’s why I need to give her space—to remind myself where she stands in my life. She’s important, yes. I want her, yes. But I also fucking hate feeling like this.“Don Matvei.”I heard the whisper but didn’t respond. My mind was still stuck on her—those big, dark brown eyes, straight nose, chubby cheeks, and th
Araceli.I squinted my eyes, trying to recognize his face, my brows pulling together in confusion, but immediately my eyes fell on his inked hands—dark tattoos crawling up his fingers and wrist.My breath hitched slightly.I recognized his face.That is the strange man I met at the boutique the last time.“Hi, sweetheart.” He said, his eyes lowering to my chest before returning to my face.I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. For some reason, the glance at my cleavage irritated me. “Are you stalking me now?!” I said, my tone harsher than I expected, maybe because of the irritation building in my chest.“Uhmm. Nope,” His dark inked hands slipped into his pockets. “In fact, you bumped into me.”“Well, I already apologized for that,” I murmured, my fingers brushing over the surface of my silky gown, smoothing out invisible creases.“Apology not accepted.” He said firmly.My eyebrows furrowed together. “Okay, I’ll get you another coffee. If you would excuse me, I have a movie I am tryi
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.“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.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







