All Chapters of Blood And Vows : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Liliana My heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest. I stood behind Mikhail, my hand gripping him so tight that my knuckles were white. The whole room felt like a bomb was about to explode.I could feel Mikhail's body tense up whenever his mother was mentioned. What could have happened to her?Aunt Anastasia's face was red with anger. Her perfect makeup was starting to crack around her eyes. She looked like a beautiful monster ready to attack.“You think this is over?” She hissed at Mikhail. Her voice was so cold it made me shiver. “You think you can just end years of tradition because you said some pretty words?”“I think,” Mikhail replied, his voice steady but I could feel his hand shaking in mine, “that it's time for this family to join the modern world.”Several people in the room nodded. Others looked scared. A few men still had their hands near their guns.“The modern world is weak,” Anastasia spat. “The modern world creates soft people who break at th

Liliana The silence that followed was so thick that I could almost touch it. Everyone was staring at me like I had grown a second head. My heart was still racing, but for the first time tonight, I felt like I could breathe properly.Anastasia walked slowly around Alex's chair, her heels clicking on the marble floor. Each step sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room. Alex trembled, sweat formed on his face even in the cold. But something about him made my heart swell.The way he went against his family to protect his daughter. I wished I was her. I wished my father could love and protect me like that.“Very clever, little bird,” Anastasia said finally. “But cleverness isn't always enough in our world.”“It's better than pointless violence,” I replied, surprised by how steady my voice sounded.“Is it?” She stopped right in front of me. “What happens when the Bratva realizes they're being fed false information? What happens when they discover our little double agent?”I met her cold

LilianaThe silence in the penthouse was suffocating. I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Mikhail pace back and forth across the bedroom like a caged wolf. His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists. The white rose and slashed clothes had shaken him more than he wanted to admit. “We're not running,” he said suddenly, stopping in front of the window. I looked up, startled. “What?” “I said we're not running.” He turned to face me, his blue eyes blazing with anger. “I'm tired of letting Aunt Anastasia control my life.”My fingers curled into the sheets beneath me. “Mikhail, she broke into your home. She destroyed my things. She's clearly planning something.” “Exactly.” He sat down beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight. “Which is why I need to face her head-on instead of hiding.” I shook my head. “That sounds like suicide.” He smirked. “Everything I do is dangerous, Liliana.”I swallowed hard. I had never seen The Reaper like this, so unsettled, so human.

LilianaI shut my eyes as Anastasia raised the knife.My heart raced, not from fear but from sadness.My life was deemed to end miserably from the start but I didn't know it would be this worse.I was dying because of my father's sin.When the blade touched my skin, Mikhail's voice echoed across the room.“I dare you!” And the lights suddenly went off. The room became dark that I could barely see.Anastasia's icy blue eyes glistened in the dark. I took the chance and kicked her as hard as I could in the stomach.“Argh!!” She screamed, coughing.I looked up to see Mikhail standing by me. How?!The chains were lying on the bed, glistening under the ray of the moon and Dmitri standing by them. “Mikhail,” I called.“Let's get out of here, Malyshka.” He whispered, grabbing my hands.As we turned, the doors busted open with a force that sent them flying across the room and twelve hefty men rushed in.“Ah,” I whispered.Anastasia was already standing. I could feel the heat of anger burnin

LilianaI pressed my ear to the bedroom door, trying to catch fragments of voices from the hall below. The Russian accent was too fast, too muffled, but I could hear the tension in their tones. The anger.My hands were still shaking.Not from fear of Anastasia, she was no longer a threat, I think. It was from the realization of what I'd become. A catalyst. A reason for war within the most dangerous crime family in Russia.The bruises on my face had darkened to deep purples and yellows. Each one a reminder of how close I'd come to death. How close I still was.I moved away from the door and sank onto the massive bed. The silk sheets felt cold against my skin. Everything in this room screamed luxury and power, but all I felt was trapped.The door opened, and Mikhail entered. His presence filled the room immediately, dark, commanding, and dangerous in a way that made my pulse quicken despite everything."How did it go?" I asked quietly.He loosened his tie, his movements controlled but t