•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌"DAD!" "PAUL!" Grace and her mother screamed in unison. My entire body jerked to a stand still. Everything happened so suddenly, screams and gunfire sound resonated all around the place. I was stuck in my seat watching the blood gushing out of Grace's father's head, the blood filled the plate full of food that her father was eating earlier. Gunshots rang out throughout the ceremony, and the guests were panicking, they were screaming and running here and there trying to find cover. Some people crawled under the tables while others were moving inside the building. Nikolai stood up and pulled out a gun from behind, he gestured to Scott. "Scott, take them inside" I don't know when Scott pulled me up and dragged me inside the building. He slammed open the door and yelled at everyone to get inside. He hauled me inside the building with a few of the other guests. I looked around and saw hysterically crying Grace, her mother, Nikolai's father, Grace's uncle, and a f
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I sat before Bianca in a crowded restaurant as she just looked at me with her eyes wide open. She then looked around to see Nikolai's soldiers standing all around us. Her lips pressed into a thin line as if she was disappointed in me or something. I shifted in my seat, clearly uneasy by the way she was looking at me and the way she was reacting like I had committed a crime. "Say something!" I snapped at her. She shrugged her shoulders up. "Um... wow..." I rolled my eyes. "Really? That's all you got to say?" "You're not Evangeline anymore, you're Mrs. Nikolai Costello" she moved her finger around the restaurant, gesturing towards Nikolai's men. "I can clearly see that!" I cringed at the way she uttered that sentence, she said it like I'm not a normal human being anymore. "I'm still Evangeline, Bee" "No, you're not. In our world that makes you my queen. I don't know what our friendship status is anymore. What I can say or cannot say to you" she said, looking pi
•Nikolai•╌═❁═╌I watched as her eyes rolled back in her head and she completely lost consciousness. "No! Evangeline, wake up, it's gonna be alright, fucking stay with me!" Her body went limp as I covered her, and put my weight on my elbow, I didn't want to crush her underneath my weight. I held on to the bullet wound on her forearm. She was losing a lot of blood. Fuck, she already looked so fucking pale. "It's clear, Don Niko, the shooter is down" one of my soldiers informed me. A muscle in my jaw twitched. "Dead?" "Wounded, I know you would want to keep him" he informed. I got off Evangeline and scooped her body in my arms. "Take him to the warehouse, I need to take my wife to the hospital" "Yes, Don Niko" While the shooter was moved to the warehouse, I took Evangeline to the nearest hospital. The hospital was in little Italy half of the doctors there were on my payroll. It meant fewer meaningless questions and more work. It meant no fucking police investigation as well. I pl
•Nikolai•╌═❁═╌*Splash*"Rise and shine, fucktard" Aaron announced splashing a bucket of water onto the shooter's face. Blonde, hair blue eyes, and a British accent. I didn't have to think twice to know who's man he was. Russells had some fucking nerve to mess with me, to mess with my wife. His hands were bound to the ceiling and his feet were tightly bound to the floor in a dingy cell. His face is bruised and he may have a broken bone or two. He whimpered in pain as ice-cold water trickled down his bloodied face and body.I bet he was feeling good when he shot my wife. The shooter looked around before his eyes settle on me. He knew who I was and why I was here. He took in his surroundings when another bucket of ice-cold water was thrown over his face, followed by another and another. "Stop!" he said, his breathing ragged and short. "Please!" he begged while coughing out water that entered his lungs. "Who sent you?" I asked "You know who sent me" he coughed. "Who gave the order
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I have been awake for the past hour, Bianca was here with me, scolding me, telling me that this was the reason she was against the idea of me and Nikolai. I asked her multiple times if she knew who shot me but she evaded the topic like a plague. "I had them call Niko, he will be here soon" "Thank you, I really need to see him. He is not hurt, is he? The last thing I remember is blood. There was just so much of it, I didn't even know who it belonged to me or Nikolai." Bianca shook her head. "Niko is fine" Just as the words left Bianca's mouth, Nikolai entered the bleak hospital room and I breathed out in relief as I saw him. "You're here..." I whispered. Nikolai glanced at Bianca and she awkwardly got up. "I'll leave you guys alone" The second Bianca stepped out of the door, Nikolai came and sat beside the bed on the chair. He held my hand as his thumb stroked the back of my hand gently. "How are you feeling?" "Good..." I smiled at him He leaned over and p
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I was still shaking as I stepped into the bedroom; my arm ached so bad that I couldn't move it as I clutched the towel with one hand. I went straight to the closet and sat on the ottoman, shaking off the shock. I had no idea what had just happened. I couldn't understand why he'd react like that. Why would he ask me about dad out of nowhere? And what was he trying to get out of me? Did something happen between my dad and Nikolai? Was it the reason he got murdered? I gently dried my body and changed into oversized, comfy clothes so they wouldn't hurt my arm. I walked out of the closet and found Nikolai running a hand through his hair. He was dressed up in a clean suit now. He stood right outside the closet door. "You need my help with something?" he asked. I shook my head and looked him straight in the eyes. "What was that, Nikolai?"He walked closer to me, cupping my cheek. "Forget about it, Evangeline." I stepped back. "No, there's something going on in your m
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌We have been staying at Nikolai's Villa in Sicily for almost ten days now. He had barely been home. I spent most of my time by myself or with his relatives. I met with some of the Costellos, the ones that lived in Italy anyway. They were lovely until they started speaking in Italian, considering I didn't understand a single word. I always think that they are bitching about me. Everyone here knew about our disaster of a marriage. Some of the older women even said I must have seduced my way into his bed and committed fornication; that's why he married me. When I told him that we hadn't consummated our marriage yet, and I had not seduced my way into his bed, they called me out on that too. They said I was an evil woman to keep my husband from bedding me. They said I'd go to hell with my long list of sins. It was all so weird. I wouldn't say I liked it at all. This morning, the doctor finally opened the stitches, as my wound had healed quite spectacularly. I could
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌"Evangeline..." God! He was so handsome, so damn handsome. His voice, his eyes, his smile, his everything... All of it is mine. He broke off eye contact to rake his burning gaze all over my body. Both of us were dressed in black. He was wearing a three-piece suit, all in black. He came closer until our bodies were almost touching. The light breeze blew my hair back. He held my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted my head to the side. "You look beautiful." Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I blushed. "Thank you; you look incredibly handsome," I complimented him back; I couldn't help it. I needed to say these words; he needed to know how devilishly beautiful he was. If only there were enough words to describe how good-looking he was. He dipped his head, and even in my heels, I got on my tiptoes to reach his lips. Our lips pressed together; the kiss was short and sweet; he pulled back and smiled. "Don't want to ruin that red lipstick just yet." He took