MasukAnastasia was born as the daughter of a Russian mafia godfather who lived her whole life in wealth and protected by her handsome bodyguard Alexander. All was well until she graduated college and was placed in an arranged marriage with a powerful man, Anton Chernikov in order to increase the wealth and power of the family. However during the courtship period between the arranged couple, Anastasia and Alexander fell into a secret affair between a young mafia daughter and her bodyguard. They kept their forbidden love hidden for long... Until they could not hide it anymore.
Lihat lebih banyak"Jangan menungguku. Aku lembur malam ini."
Suara Albert di ujung telepon terdengar datar, nyaris tanpa emosi. Elyssa, yang memegang ponsel dengan tangan gemetar, menatap meja makan yang sudah tertata rapi. Lilin-lilin kecil di atas meja berkelap-kelip, memancarkan cahaya hangat yang kontras dengan dinginnya jawaban suaminya.
"Lembur lagi, Mas? Apa kamu tau ini hari apa? Ini hari jadi—"
"Kamu bisa melihat sendiri di kalender. Aku gak punya banyak waktu, Elyssa. Aku sibuk!"
Belum sempat Elyssa melanjutkan kalimatnya, panggilan itu sudah terputus. Ponselnya kembali ke layar utama, menunjukkan foto dirinya dan Albert saat mereka menikah tiga tahun lalu, sebuah pengingat pahit tentang janji yang kini terasa kosong.
Malam itu terasa dingin dan mencekam.
Elyssa mematikan lilin satu per satu, seolah memadamkan harapan yang tersisa di hatinya. "Mau sampai kapan kamu giniin aku, Mas? Aku capek," lirihnya.
Air mata perlahan menetes membasahi pipi. Elyssa kembali mengingat masa-masa awal pernikahan mereka. Albert Han, suaminya, selalu bersikap romantis, memberikan perhatian kecil, bahkan untuk hal-hal sepele.
Namun, setelah Albert diangkat menjadi Direktur Keuangan, segalanya berubah. Albert semakin sibuk, jarang memberikannya waktu, dan bersikap dingin.
Awalnya Elyssa memaklumi. Ia berpikir mungkin perubahan sikap suaminya itu pengaruh terlalu lelah bekerja. Tapi genap setahun, Albert masih saja bersikap dingin dan seperti menghindarinya. Hal ini membuat Elyssa makin tersiksa oleh rasa sepi.
“Padahal hari ini anniversary kita, Mas, tapi kamu malah lupa,” gumamnya.
Akhirnya, Elyssa pun menikmati makan malam yang ia siapkan sendirian.
****
Keesokan paginya, Elyssa dan Albert menikmati sarapan bersama di meja makan. Suasana terasa sunyi dan dingin, hanya terdengar suara dentingan sendok dan piring yang beradu.
Elyssa, yang merasa tak nyaman dengan keheningan ini, akhirnya membuka suara. “Mas, kamu semalam pulang jam berapa? Aku nungguin sampai jam sebelas, tapi kamu belum pulang.”
Semalam, Elyssa memang menunggu kepulangan Albert, hingga ia ketiduran di sofa. Saat terbangun, ia masih berada di tempat yang sama, sedangkan Albert sudah terlelap di ranjang.
Hati Elyssa terasa perih. Ia teringat saat dulu, di mana Albert akan menggendongnya ke kamar, memindahkannya dengan hati-hati agar tidak terbangun. Tapi semalam, ia diabaikan, dibiarkan sendirian di sofa yang dingin.
"Harusnya kamu bangunin aku, Mas. Gak enak tau tidur di sofa. Badan aku jadi pegel," keluh Elyssa dengan suara manjanya, berharap Albert akan memperhatikannya.
Namun, Albert tidak merespon. Ia terus mengunyah makanannya, berpura-pura tidak mendengar.
"Mas?" panggil Elyssa lagi, suaranya terdengar ragu.
Albert menyahut, tapi dengan topik yang berbeda. “Nanti sore dandan yang cantik! Pakai baju yang paling bagus!”
Elyssa diam sejenak. Lalu ia spontan mengukir senyum. Ia berpikir kalau Albert akan mengajaknya makan malam, menggantikan hari kemarin untuk merayakan ulang tahun pernikahan mereka.
“Iya, Mas. Aku akan dandan yang cantik,” sahutnya. Senyumnya merekah, dengan mata penuh binar.
****
Sore itu, Elyssa sudah tampil memukau dalam balutan gaun malam. Potongan gaun yang elegan menampilkan lekuk tubuhnya dengan anggun, sementara aroma parfum musk yang memikat menyebar di udara. Ia begitu bahagia. Setelah sekian lama, akhirnya Albert meluangkan waktu untuknya, dan Elyssa tak ingin menyia-nyiakan kesempatan ini.
Tepat pukul lima sore, suara mobil Albert terdengar. Elyssa bahkan sudah menunggu di depan pintu, bersiap menyambut sang suami.
“Akhirnya kamu pulang, Mas.”
Saat itu juga, Elyssa langsung mematung. Albert ternyata tidak sendirian. Seorang pria ikut bersamanya dengan sebuah koper.
Pria itu menatap Elyssa cukup lama dengan senyum di bibirnya. Senyum yang terasa hangat, berbeda dengan senyum Albert yang terkesan kaku.
“Ayo, silakan masuk!” seru Albert.
Elyssa lalu menarik Albert ke sisi lain, meninggalkan tamu yang masih melihat sekeliling rumah mereka.
“Mas, dia siapa?” bisiknya.
“Dia Sean, temanku waktu kuliah. Dia ini lagi nyari tempat tinggal sementara, jadi aku membawanya ke sini,” jelas Albert.
Elyssa mengernyit, heran. “Maksudmu, dia akan menumpang di sini?”
“Iya. Dia baru pindah ke kota ini karena kerjaan. Dan belum dapat tempat tinggal, makanya aku nawarin dia untuk nginap sementara di sini.”
Elyssa terlihat tidak suka. Ia merasa tidak nyaman jika ada orang asing tinggal bersamanya di rumah. “Harusnya kamu ngomong dulu sama aku, Mas.”
"Gak semuanya harus aku ngomongin sama kamu, Elyssa! Pendapatmu itu gak penting!”
Ucapan Albert terasa seperti pukulan, langsung menusuk hati Elyssa. Ia mematung saat melihat suaminya berbalik dan kembali berbincang dengan temannya.
Albert lalu membawa Sean ke kamar tamu. “Buat dirimu nyaman. Anggap saja rumah sendiri.”
“Terima kasih. Aku tidak akan melupakan kebaikanmu ini. Pasti kubalas suatu hari nanti.”
“Haha. Jangan terlalu sungkan begini! Kau itu temanku!”
Elyssa terus berdiri di samping Albert, mencoba terlibat dalam percakapan mereka, tapi usahanya sia-sia.
Saat Albert dan Sean larut dalam obrolan mereka, perhatian Sean justru diam-diam beralih pada Elyssa. Penampilan wanita itu sungguh memukau, membuat Sean tak bisa menahan diri untuk meliriknya. Ia tersenyum, bukan karena cerita Albert, melainkan karena pemandangan yang ada di depannya: seorang istri yang tampak diabaikan, namun begitu mempesona.
“Oh ya, kamu istirahat aja dulu. Nanti kupanggil lagi kalau makan malam udah siap,” ujar Albert menyudahi percakapan.
Albert langsung menyuruh Elyssa segera menyiapkan makan malam.
Elyssa tak bisa menyembunyikan kekecewaannya. Harapannya untuk makan malam romantis dengan Albert hancur berantakan.
"Kenapa kamu nyuruh aku dandan kalau cuman buat nyambut temenmu?” tanya Elyssa dengan nada suara yang menahan kekecewaan. "Aku pikir kamu mau ngajak aku makan di luar, Mas.”
“Biar temanku tau kalau aku punya istri yang cantik! Oh ya, nanti masaknya yang enak! Jangan malu-maluin aku di depan dia!”
Elyssa hanya menghela napas. Lagi-lagi, Albert hanya ingin pamer.
“Iya, Mas. Tapi aku ganti baju dulu.”
Saat hendak berganti pakaian, Albert melarangnya. “Kamu mau masak pakai daster atau piyama lusuhmu itu? Jangan bodoh, Elyssa! Jangan buat aku malu! Istri seorang direktur keuangan harus selalu rapi dan cantik, terutama saat ada tamu!"
“Tapi kalau pakai gaun ini ribet, Mas.”
Elyssa tetap kekeh berganti pakaian dengan blouse yang tertutup dan celana kain panjang.
“Jangan buang waktu! Sebentar lagi jam makan malam!” tegur Albert, mulai kesal.
Elyssa hanya mengangguk pelan. Riasannya bahkan masih sempurna, tapi ia harus bertempur dengan bahan makanan di dapur.
Satu jam kemudian, Elyssa akhirnya selesai memasak. Ia kembali menemui suaminya di kamar untuk memanggilnya makan.
“Panggilkan Sean juga!”
Elyssa mengomel dalam hati. Tapi ia sudah tak berani membantah. Ia pun berjalan menuju kamar tamu dan mengetuk pintu.
Tak lama, pintu terbuka.
Elyssa sontak mematung. Di hadapannya, Sean berdiri hanya dengan handuk yang melilit pinggangnya. Rambutnya basah, dadanya yang atletis terekspos jelas, dan bulir air masih membasahi kulitnya, membuatnya terlihat seksi dan maskulin.
Pemandangan itu membuat Elyssa merasa canggung dan panas. Seketika darahnya berdesir cepat. Bibirnya dengan kaku berkata, “M-maaf. Aku gak tau kamu baru kelar mandi.”
Elyssa makin salah tingkah karena Sean terus menatapnya tanpa berkedip. Tanpa aba-aba pria itu mengulurkan tangannya, mengusap pipi Elyssa dengan ibu jarinya.
"Anyone can have a once upon a time or a happily ever after, but it's the journey between that makes the story worth telling."-Chris Coffer-***It was a quiet and sunny Sunday afternoon, In the vast graveyard lane, Ana was dressed in a soft black gown with two bouquets of red roses in her hand. She slowly walked over to her parent’s graves and gently placed the bouquet on top of the tomb. When Grigory was murdered he was buried right beside his wife whom he loved so much so the two of them could keep each other company even in death. She found it quite touching and to this day, Ana still regretted the fact she could not be there during his burial, which was why every few months she would come and visit their graves and laid a bouquet of fresh roses in their memory while pouring her heart to them, knowing they were probably listening to it.That afternoon was no exception. She knelt down and touched her parent’s tomb
"My love for you is a journey, starting at forever and ending at never."-Anonymous-***Ivan and Mikhail agreed that before they make any decisions they needed to talk with Alexander because as men they prefer to get things out of the way in a straight forward manner without covering anything up. So at night after Ana was asleep, Ivan called him to the room and it was the first time since his arrival there did the three of them was able to gather together in a room.Did not take Alexander long to figure out Ivan wanted to discuss something serious sjuts from his facial expression alone while Mikhail who was the more even tempered out of the two made the perfect balance as a moderator for the conversation. That way there would not be any fights between the men because both were equally as fierce when it came down to their decisions. Although Alexander returned to a mere bodyguard status, the amount of respect he garnered was enou
"Bonds of love never make the wearer weaker, they give him greater strength."-Wonder Woman-***It had been a few days since Ana’s return to the manor with Alexander and they had re-hired him as her personal bodyguard and the relationship between the two of them had been closer than ever before. They were already like a couple even before the crazy incidents which had been going on lately but it became even more noticeable after their return from the countryside house and Ivan, as the head of the family who moved back into the main manor had been watching over her and could not help but feel slightly bothered by it.The relationship between Anastasia and Alexander bothered him so much that his wife saw him awake at night unable to sleep just because he was constantly thinking about his younger sister. He found it slightly disturbing how something that started off as a professional relationship could turn into something per
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."-Norman Cousins-***Maria was sitting in her house drinking tea while reading one of her favorite book by Dostoyevsky while relaxing. It was late in the afternoon and she had finished her work for the day, there was nothing she wanted to do more than to just relax and enjoy herself for a few days before she had to go to Italy for a friend’s son wedding. She did not expect much noise to happen for the day but suddenly one of her maid knocked on her bedroom door and informed her that a man came to look for her.“Does he say where he’s from?” The maid wished she could help more but she shook her head. Maria sighed as she put down her book on the table. Who could possibly come to her house without prior notice? Grabbing her robe from the shelf, she put it on and walked out to the living room where she saw one of
"Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure."-Bob Marley-***Ivan arrived at the house to find Ana being hugged by Alexander who was making an attempt to calm her down. There was a gun on the floor right in front of them and Ana was sobbing uncontrollably. It was her first time shooting someone and she was not sure how she was supposed to feel. She was scared but Alexander comforted her, saying that everything would be just fine. Ivan was speechless as he saw Anton corpse laying cold on the ground.“Alexander, did you just take these men out yourself?” Ivan asked. Alexander did not reply, instead he focused all his attention on Ana. Ivan noticed her sobbing and approached her as well, asking her what was wrong, but she did not reply. Instead, she buried her face on Alexander’s chest.Ivan did not understand the whole picture yet but he gave an order to his men to clean up
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."-Wayne LaPierre-***It was not even dawn yet when Alexander woke Ana up. She was still in a deep sleep when she felt him shaking her body with a noticeable force before actually opening her eyes. She always hated one of those scenarios where she did not wake up naturally but instead had someone to wake her up, forcibly and so early. She was still in a daze but the stern expression on Alexander’s face meant something serious was actually happening and she knew it was not the time to be sleeping. She had asked him what was wrong and Alexander seemed upset to even have to announce the news but they had no time to waste.“Listen carefully Ana, Anton has found out your location and he is planning to come here soon with his men. We can’t just move because he’s already coming close and the chance of death on the road is much higher. So, I
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