10. Maksen
10
MAKSEN
L ukyan left with the technicians, and as soon as I saw myself alone in the living room, I moved my feet to the kitchen where I knew I’d found Annalise. When I arrived, I only met Olivia’s eyes, full of worry and disappointment.
“Where is she?” I asked briefly and she sighed deeply.
“She left. I think you might find her in the forest. You know she likes to hide in there whenever something bothers her,” she explained and I saw how worried she was for Annalise.
“She found out, hasn’t she?”
Olivia gazed at me and by the flinch that sparkled in her irises, I knew the answer was yes.
Fuck me.
Without saying anything, I fixed my shirt and ran to the back door to find my sad little girl. I wasn’t sure why she was upset, because I refused to think that she was jealous of Katya. She better not be sad because she thinks that I like Katya, because that would make me angry.
The other reason would be that she felt left out because she found out last, which I could understand. And I was going to tell her how sorry I was that I didn’t tell her first.
I knew that this moment would come, but I wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon. Yet, Lukyan had another plan in his devilish mind and planned a vacation for me and Katya to get to know each other before telling everyone that we were getting married in six damn months.
The blood in my veins was already boiling hot enough for me to turn into a real open flame that could burn the whole island down.
I wandered the woods until I reached the lake, but she was nowhere to be found. I scratched my neck as I checked the surroundings and the moment I came closer to the biggest tree in the forest, I saw the strands of her blonde hair flying in the wind’s breeze.
A light smile crept onto my face as I made my way towards her. When I got closer, she stood up from the ground and faced me with an angry expression.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” she blubbered and my stomach curled at the sight of her face drowning in salty tears. “You really shouldn’t have!” she insisted and a sob escaped her mouth.
“Yet here I am,” I replied, stepping closer to her.
She was looking me directly in the eyes, without fearing the eye contact we created. She was emotionally destroyed, almost like a haunted wreck in the middle of a dry ocean.
She wasn’t my Annalise anymore. She was angry, lost in a deep sorrow and angst I didn’t know how to take her out from and I found myself wishing it was jealousy she felt, but not for her best friend. And I hated myself for wishing that.
“I don’t want to listen to you. I really don’t. Everything I do that includes you, destroys me even more. Until I figure out a way to not let anything about you affect me so much, I have to stay away from you,” she explained again with the lower tone of voice and another tear rolled down her cheek.
“I’m affecting you, huh?”
She hesitated to offer me an answer and I noticed how her jaw clenched.
“Tell me, what about us affects you so much.” I stepped closer to her, my breath hitting her face now.
I kept the smirk on my face as I invaded her space, and she stood there frozen for a second as she tried to keep her tears from rolling down her cheeks. She was fighting to keep her words in and not tell me the truth why she was feeling like that.
“Maybe my father is right. Maybe I really shouldn’t talk to you.”
“You couldn’t do that even if you wanted to,” I murmured and stepped even closer to her, now having less than a few inches keeping us apart. “Before saying anything like this, you have to listen to me first, just as I listen to you every time, okay?” I added, and my remark made her look at me with a different interest now.
I knew I hit her vulnerable chords by playing that card. And there she was, ready to hear me out.
I glanced at her, trying to comfort her without touching her in any way, even though I fucking wanted to take her into my arms and never let her go.
“Tell me, then. Tell me why you’re going on a vacation with Katya and why haven’t you told me that you’re using me to get closer to my sister? Tell me for how long have I been a means to an end to you?” she yelled and burst out in a broken cry which made me feel both angry and disappointed at myself for making her feel like this.
“If you think for a second that I’m using you to get closer to your sister, then let me tell you that you’re completely wrong!” I thundered at her and felt my chest rising at a faster pace. “Your father is forcing me to marry your sister and not ever speak to you. If I do the opposite, he might just kill me or who the fuck knows what he would do! So until I figure out how to get out of this situation and enjoy my time with who I want, I have to play by his rules.”
She stopped crying and her big round eyes scrutinized my entire soul. Her mouth opened in shock hearing my words and I saw how her hands started shaking.
Fuck.
She didn’t know about the marriage and I just screwed it up. I trampled on the last piece of the unbroken heart she had left.
“Y-You have to marry Katya?”
It hurt me like hell hearing her question. “Yes. In six months, when she'll be turning eighteen.”
The truth was out now.
The moment she heard my words, she let her gaze fall on the ground, perfect blonde curls, framing her face. I couldn’t stay away from her and no matter what was going to happen, I was going to face it like the hell of a man I was. I needed my Annalise in my arms right now.
I stepped forward and put my hands on each side of her face, forcing her to look up at me. She trembled when I pinned my body over hers and took her into my arms. As soon as I kissed her forehead, she started crying even harder, which made me shudder.
How can I make her whole again?
“I don’t want to marry your sister, Annalise, but if that’s what I have to do to get to see you again, then I’ll do it a million times,” I whispered, letting my gaze fall on her lips.
“Then don’t marry her.”
“It’s that or not seeing you again, because I’ll be dead.”
She sobbed and raised her glance at me, biting her lower lip and for the first time since I had her so close to me, she gazed at my mouth as if she was going to devour me entirely. My muscles tensed under her curious look and that shocked me.
“Then kill me too,” she whispered and I felt her fingers digging into my arms.
I wanted to kiss her.
For the first time in my fucking life, I wanted to do something so bad, and I didn’t dare to do it. I was so used to killing bad people, making them suffer and enjoying having their dirty blood on my hands, but I couldn’t find the courage to feel her lips on mine.
She was playing with my mind and dancing with my soul in a way that no one else had ever done.
I caressed her right cheek with my thumb, content to just touch her lower lip.
“I’ll figure this out, Annalise. Just don’t push me away,” I lowered my voice, placing another kiss on her forehead.
“It hurts. It really does fucking hurt,” she blubbered and it shocked me that she was swearing.
“It won’t hurt soon,” I replied and closed my eyes as I pressed my forehead on hers.
We kept standing like that for a few more moments until she stepped away from me. With slow movements, she wiped off the tears from her face and made sure to fix the t-shirt she was wearing.
I never saw her dressed so carelessly and with her hair not put in the perfect place, but she was even more beautiful now.
She was natural, vulnerable, and mine.
Mine.
She was being herself and I loved every piece of her.
What the fuck did I just say?
I shook my head and licked my lips, then I searched my pocket for the phone I was prepared to give to Annalise.
Lukyan told me this morning about our conversation last night and he threatened me again to not speak with Annalise or I’ll face the consequences.
However, I couldn’t listen to him, so I bought Annalise a Vertu phone on which he would not be able to track or see what she’d be doing on it.
I pulled the phone out and turned it on, then I made sure it was connected to the right phone service to be functional.
“What is that?” she asked me carefully and I felt her curious gaze wandering on me.
“This is going to be your new phone,” I explained and inhaled deeply. “Your father found out about our conversation last night, so I thought you should have a phone no one could track. You can call me, text me, or do whatever you want to do on it and no one will know instead of you,” I added and I saw her face immediately light up.
“Are you serious?” she asked in awe.
“Yes, I am. It’s yours.”
I put the phone in her little hand and I saw the happiness creeping on her face. She was so surprised by it that she almost jumped on her feet. And I was more than happy that I managed to make her feel better after I ruined the first half of her day.
“Thank you so much, Maksen! Oh, God! Now I can finally get a taste of normality!” she chimed, analyzing the phone in her hands.
A sincere smile came on my face at the sight of her smiling again and in that moment I knew that my purpose was to make her happy.
Just as I made sure to let her win at every game we used to play when we were children.
“I have to go now. I’ll text you while I’m on vacation. Please, don’t hesitate to call me or text me whenever you feel the need to, okay?” I murmured and put my hands into my pockets.
“Okay. Don’t have too much fun with Katya.”
Her demand made me giggle before I turned on my heels and walked away from her.
I wasn’t going to have any fun with that little prick because I hated her the most when we were little. She had always wanted to be with me and Annalise, always wanted to play with our toys, and always broke everything she touched.
Now that she was all grown up, she became this brat, hungry for popularity and attention and in constant need of affirmation by doing alcohol, drugs, and parties where she was getting fucked by the most famous celebrities in the city. But that was just a facade to hide the fact that she was in a relationship with a woman — this information was the ace under my sleeve to make her do what I wanted her to do.
But that wasn’t why I hated her so much. The main reason was the way she behaved with Annalise. And I carried hatred for every human that wronged her in any way.
I entered the house and the moment I walked in, I heard Katya and Lukyan’s voices coming from upstairs. I ran my fingers through my hair, and then I made my way to the stairs, walking up them.
Katya’s red hair caught my attention as I got closer to them, and the moment she noticed my presence, she turned around with a large smile on her face.
How come they were sisters, but Katya’s ordinary, colorless smile could never be related to my Anna’s, so bright and adoring. So kind and inviting. So pure.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were here, Maksen! Aren’t you happy that we’ll be leaving today for Seychelles?” she chirped and jumped on her feet.
“I am,” I lied as I felt Lukyan’s gaze forcing me to play my role for his favorite daughter. “You should go and pack your bags,” I added and gave her the fakest smile I had.
“I’ll go do a retouch of my makeup. The bags are done,” she informed me and passed by us on a run.
The moment she got away and the sound of her bedroom door slamming filled the hallway, Lukyan and I looked at each other and I could feel his icy gaze looking straight into my soul.
“This, son,” he growled, poking me in the chest with his finger. “This heart continued beating because of me and it could stop beating at any moment also because of me,” he added, applying more pressure onto my flesh.
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep a still face as I looked at him. I knew he saved me and I had to be grateful for what he did for me, but I realized that it wasn’t something that could stop me from living my life as I wanted. I had to escape this cage he had locked me in.
“Take my words as a joke one more time and you will face the consequences,” he threatened and pointed his finger at me.
The only consequences I would face were the ones that would come after I would’ve actually agreed to stay away from Annalise. Because those consequences would come from my own mind — and that’s a dark, dark place.
“Leave.”
I was content to just look at him, without showing any emotion on my face. I wanted him to think about what my silence meant because the few times I didn’t talk were the ones when I was killing people.
So I just turned on my feet and left him standing there. But as I walked down the hallway, I felt his eyes pinning me from behind and my lips curled into a smirk as my right hand reached to the back of my pants, hitting the sheath of the knife twice with the tip of my fingers.
I knew he saw it.
I wanted him to see his future, because he was going to die by my knife.