Lahat ng Kabanata ng HER INSECURITY, MY TEMPTATION--MAFIA : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

Araceli.My eyes opened slowly, a frustrated groan leaving my lips as exhaustion wrapped heavily around my body. My head throbbed painfully, my mouth dry and bitter. Realization crashed into me the moment I noticed the room was pitch dark and I was lying on a rough mat that scratched against my skin.Confusion mixed with fear made my breath hitch. I propped myself up on my elbows, holding onto the cold walls to assist myself up. My knees trembled slightly beneath me. I stretched my hands forward, taking slow, careful steps around the room. Everywhere was dark, suffocatingly dark, and I couldn’t see a single thing.My fingers brushed against damp walls, dust clinging to my skin as I searched desperately for a door… or maybe metal… anything. The silence around me was terrifying, broken only by the sound of my uneven breathing. My fear heightened with the unknown pressing heavily against my chest. Oh God… I really hoped Matvei would come looking for me.After minutes of stumbling around

Matvei.My knees touched the floor, the hard concrete scraping painfully against them, but I could barely feel it. It felt like my whole fucking world was crashing down around me.“FUCKKKKKKKK!.” I growled out, my hands holding my head tightly, fingers digging into my scalp while my eyes stayed fixated on the burnt body before me…The thick smell of smoke and burnt flesh filled the air, choking my lungs.I heard voices beside me, but shit… I just couldn’t decipher whatever the fuck was going on… My brain was too hazy to come into realization, but reality hit me badly.My body started shaking.Shit… I don’t know how, but my body started shaking violently, tears rolling uncontrollably down my face.“They fucking burnt my wife and my baby,” I murmured, harsh breaths coming out of my nostrils, my chest rising unevenly.“Matvei.”I heard my name, but neither my gaze nor my attention could move from the burnt body in front of my eyes.“They burnt my pregnant wife… Shit… They burnt Araceli.”

Matvei“Matvei...”My eyes searched through the darkness.The voice sounded distant and fucking weak. Like it was being swallowed by the wind.“Matvei...”My chest tightened instantly.Araceli.I knew that voice.I would know it even if the whole world went hell silent.“Araceli?” I called out, moving forward.The darkness stretched endlessly around me. There was nothing but shadows and cold air brushing against my skin. Every step I took felt heavier than the last.Then I saw her.My heart stopped.She stood a few feet away from me, her white dress swaying softly. One hand rested protectively on her bump while her beautiful eyes remained fixed on me.Relief slammed into me.Fuck.There she was.There she fucking was.I rushed toward her.“Araceli.”A smile tugged at her lips.The same smile that always made my chest feel lighter.The same smile that made this fucked up world bearable.I reached for her hand.My fingers almost touched hers. Then she started moving away.My smile vanis

Araceli.Darkness was my only friend now. I had been locked inside this room, cut off from the rest of the world, for almost a month. Inside me, my baby bump grew bigger every day. The guards always made sure to feed me. Even though I was miserable, I couldn't stop myself from eating. I had to do it for my baby.I was so tired of waiting. I kept hoping Matvei would realize his own father was behind my disappearance. Every single day, I waited with a heart full of hope, but every night ended in disappointment. I never saw him. Now, I started to believe his father had done something to make Matvei forget about me completely.But is that even possible? Can a man really just forget the mother of his child? Did he ever actually love me, or was it easy for his father to erase me from his mind?My mind flashed back to our very last conversation. We had a huge argument, and he confessed that he only loved me because I asked him to.How is that even possible? Loving someone just because they a

Matvei.A year later.The midday sun was fucking brutal, beating down on this overgrown piece-of-shit clearing. The air smelled like hot dirt and dying weeds. I kicked a sharp stone out of my way, watching it bounce through the dry grass and smack against the bottom of her headstone. Sweat was dripping down my face, prickling my skin like a thousand goddamn needles, but the heat outside didn't mean shit compared to the fire burning in my gut.I looked down at the flowers in my hand. I dropped them onto the dirt right in front of the stone.“I don’t think I ever bought you flowers when you were alive, Araceli,” I muttered, my voice sounding like gravel. A sharp, ugly laugh ripped out of my throat, hollow as hell. “Pathetic of me. I’m so sorry for that, love.”I let my heavy body drop right onto the hard ground, sitting close to the stone. I took another deep, pissed-off breath, trying to stop the shaking in my chest. My fingers balled into a fist, digging hard into my sternum.“A whole