ALESSIA'S POV.(chapt.3)

THE END OF A BEGINNING.

I stormed out of the house by suppressing my emotions while my heels struck the marble floors with sharp furious precision. The sound pursued me through the grand hallway while it echoed my spiraling thoughts until I grabbed my car keys and stepped into the biting afternoon air.

My fingers gripped the wheel with intensity while I drove and the outside world transformed into blurred streaks of steel gray. Upon reaching Romanov Industries I halted the car and immediately exited without pausing for breath, my actions precise and controlled—driven by purpose.

Sofia positioned herself at the table's head where she found herself encircled by the executive team members. Her brown eyes flickered with an unreadable signal upon my entrance yet time for pleasantries eluded me.

“Any progress?” I asked. The room trembled before my voice which sliced through the air, my patience having already reached its limit.

An oppressive silence took hold as Sofia drew a deep breath. “I—” she paused deliberately, shifting her eyes toward the group before locking them back onto mine, “—I contacted Nikolai’s firm. ”

The words slammed into me like a wrecking ball.

All movement ceased into suspension.

My heart thudded once before it thudded twice which happened before the full force of her betrayal sank in. “You did what? ”

Sofia winced. “Alessia, the acquisition of financial resources remains an essential requirement. Nikolai’s company possesses both capital and resources to—”

My hands collided with the table surface creating a piercing sound that caused everyone to jerk in response. “You chose to operate secretly without my knowledge? After everything I’ve said about that bastard? ”

Sofia raised her chin with a tense jaw. “The measures I took were necessary to maintain our company's financial stability. My intention was never to remain idle while everything crashes due to your refusal to abandon your personal vendetta. ”

A jagged, empty laugh slipped from my lips. "Do you believe this situation involves personal motives?" I waved my arms in an exaggerated manner throughout the room.

“The fact remains that he stands as the sole listener regardless of potential ulterior motives. ” Sofia replied.

Before my mind could register the words I spun around abruptly, blood pounding in my ears while I stormed out of the room.

As I walked to the main entrance my heels clicked on the floor while rage curled through me like fire. The instant my hands touched  the doors, my breath caught in my throat.

Nikolai Volkov stood before them exuding composed arrogance.

My anger reached new heights when I saw him, transforming my simmering rage into an uncontrollable blaze.

The afternoon light revealed his broad frame which stood as a striking figure while he exuded an effortless confidence. Perfectly styled dark wavy hair framed his face while his emerald-green eyes met mine with an unreadable gleam that infuriated me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? I spat marching toward him.

His lips formed a lazy smirk. “I was invited. Apologies for my tardiness I found myself in court due to a lawsuit against me. ”

An intense and inflexible rage spiraled within my being. “Disregard all information Sofia communicated to you. Your financial contribution remains unnecessary and unwanted. ”

His smirk maintained its constancy without alteration. “What drives your intense anger? ”

My feet moved nearer as I fixed him with an upward glare. “Volkov, your entire existence is a deceptive masquerade. You manipulate deceive and destroy everything in your path. I refuse to allow you to entangle my business with your grasp. ”

A small smile played on his face. “My presence here does not concern you, Alessia. An attempt was made by your assistant to initiate contact. Her request received my follow-up action. ”

“Consider it rejected.” I hissed.

Nikolai examined me extensively before his eyes displayed an unreadable flicker and he released a soft chuckle.

He turned and walked away, his departure matching the ease of his entrance.

I stood there fists clenched at my sides seething.

“I need to go home.” I muttered under my breath.

When I finally reached home that evening a deep weariness gripped my bones yet my anger remained undiminished. Scarcely a moment passed for me to catch my breath when the telephone began its relentless ringing.

My eyes briefly touched the screen's surface. Arturo.

I answered through a sudden intake of breath. “What? ”

He issued the command for my  return home. “Now. ”

His tone created an unnatural disturbance that spread unease through my being.

A strange noise emerged behind me which caused my body to become motionless.

A soft broken whimper.

A sudden constriction seized my throat causing my breath to halt. My mother.

A wave of panic engulfed me while I sprinted to my car, the return journey to the estate becoming a barely noticed blur.

As I forced my way past the grand doors, her presence made asking her whereabouts unnecessary.

There she was.

Arturo's desk chair held my mother while her hands shook and tears marked her cheeks.

She had been brought back.

Arturo sat behind his desk as calm as ever like he hadn’t just torn her from the only freedom she had left.

An intense twisting motion seized my stomach violently. “You bastard. ”

He scarcely directed his gaze toward me.Alessia, your stubbornness drove me to personally intervene and manage the situation. ”

My throat tightened when I turned to my mother and saw her flinch as I crouched beside her. “Mamma” I whispered reaching for her hands. “Are you okay? ”

Her lip trembled but she nodded weakly.

He smiled.

“As I said before—you have a choice. A stack of papers moved across the desk under his sharp gaze. You shall wed Nikolai or Isabella will sign these papers.”

My eyes briefly scanned the documents before me.

An agreement document. Signing her over to Nikolai as a human collateral, an asset.

A delicate sob emerged from my mother's lips beside me which fractured an internal part of my being.

Arturo sent the pen skidding over the desk surface. He instructed her to place her signature upon the document.

The paper remained untouched as my mother's hand hovered above it while her body shook uncontrollably.

Before she managed to touch pen to paper I unexpectedly heard my own voice speaking those words.

“Wait! ”