Lahat ng Kabanata ng Blood And Vows : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

LilianaThe moment the door closed behind Mikhail, I felt like I couldn't breathe.Anastasia was humming again. That same soft tune she'd been humming all day. It was starting to make my skin crawl."He's a good man," she said, settling into her chair. "Just like his father was at that age.""Yeah," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper."You love him very much, don't you?" She asked softly.I looked at her, studying her face. Those kind eyes, the gentle smile. She looked like someone's grandmother, not someone who would ever hurt Mikhail and me."More than anything," I said."I can see that. The way you look at him... it reminds me of how I used to look at someone once.""Who?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. It never crossed my mind that someone like Anastasia Volkova, the Jezebel would love a man let alone have kids.She was quiet for a moment, staring out of the window. "Someone I lost a long time ago."My phone buzzed. A text from Vadim that made my heart stop."Everyth

Liliana"Vadim is a friend," I said, trying to keep my voice steady as I slowly turned around to face Anastasia. "He was just checking in on me."Her eyes were different now. Not the warm, grandmotherly look I saw few minutes ago . They were sharp, calculating, and cold as winter steel."A friend who knows enough to ask about my children's records?" She asked, stepping closer. "That's quite an unusual friendship, Liliana."My heart was pounding so hard I was sure she could hear it. "I was just curious. You mentioned them, and I…""You what? Decided to investigate me?" Her voice was bitter. "After everything I've done for you and Mikhail?""I'm sorry," I said, backing against the balcony railing. "I was just…""You were just what, Liliana? Curious? Concerned?" Her voice was getting stronger now, but I could hear the pain underneath. "Do you have any idea what it's like to lose your children? To have them taken from you, and then have to live with that loss every single day?"Tears were

LilianaThe first thing I felt was cold. Bone-deep, penetrating cold that seemed to seep through my clothes and into my very soul. The second thing I felt was pain, a throbbing in my head that made my vision swim when I tried to open my eyes.Then, I realized I was lying on something soft, like leaves, as my fingers brushed against the damp floor. The smell of earth and decomposing vegetation filled my nostrils, and I could hear the distant sound of traffic somewhere beyond the trees.What happened?The memories came back in fragments. The motel room. Anastasia's hurt eyes when she realized I'd investigated her. The sound of glass breaking. Men in masks bursting through the door."Take anything valuable," one of them had said. "Check the woman's purse.""What about them?" another voice had asked."The old one saw our faces. Take care of her. The young one... we'll deal with her in the woods."They weren't Vlad's men. I realized. They were just thieves. Common criminals who had chosen

LilianaThe drive back to the Volkov manor felt like a dream. I kept touching my face, feeling the bandage on my temple, making sure I was really alive. The familiar weight of Mikhail's hand in mine grounded me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong.Viktor had gone to his manor to do a befitting burial for his daughter who was murdered by Lucian. "Are you sure we should go back there?" I asked as we passed through the iron gates. "What if someone's waiting for us?""Dmitri swept the entire property this morning," Mikhail said, his thumb stroking across my knuckles. "It's clean. And with Vlad dead, there's no one left who wants to hurt us."The manor looked exactly the same as when we'd left it more than four weeks ago, going from one motel to another, but everything felt different now. The tall windows that had once seemed elegant now looked like watching eyes. The stone walls that had made me feel safe now seemed like a prison."I can't believe Anastasia i

LilianaI woke up to the sound of voices downstairs. For a moment, panic shot through me as I remembered the events of the past few days, but then I recognized Anastasia's voice mixed with Mikhail's deeper tones. Relief flooded through me as I realized she must have been discharged from the hospital.I stretched carefully, feeling the soreness in my muscles and the tender spot on my temple where the bandage still covered my wound. The clock on the nightstand showed it was past midnight. What was Anastasia doing here so late?I slipped out of bed quietly, not wanting to interrupt their conversation but curious about what they were discussing. As I approached the top of the stairs, I could hear them more clearly."I couldn't stand being there another minute," Anastasia was saying. "Those hospital beds are torture devices, and the nurses kept waking me up every hour. I figured I'd heal better at home.""At home? But you weren't at home. You were out." Mikhail's voice carried a tone I'd r