Chapter Ten
My breathing is slow as I try to walk past the people who are congratulate me for my marriage.
I see the reality in front of me getting blurry and I feel my muscles so tense that it hurts to make a move.
But I need to get out of here.
And everything because of that kiss. The kiss that felt to...real.
My first kiss with him isn’t supposed to feel like this. My first ever kiss isn’t supposed to feel like it can bring that dead part back.
But how does a first kiss need to feel?
I’ve painted a kiss scene just once, where the people’s faces are blurry and you can see their lips in an intimate duel. A first kiss is creating the weird butterflies effect in your stomach and you feel like he’s the one, when it’s the opposite.
A kiss isn’t supposed to bring you the happiness of a little girl, it’s meant to make you obsessed with the feeling of the other person’s human being. To feel like you can’t live anymore without their lips on you.
To feel their breath on you and realize in that moment that you’re actually alive.
But Keaton isn’t this person for me.
So why did his lips possessed me and made me surrender like a toy to him?
I arrive in front of the bathroom and I enter, not caring if someone is already in there.
I take big breaths of air as if I've been under water until now and I lean against the white marble basin of the bathroom.
I still feel the women's pitying eyes on me and the men's jealous ones on Keaton.
I would have killed them all with a smile on my face.
I look at myself in the mirror and my eyes are full of uncertainty. The same question repeating in my mind.
How am I going to survive when his beast is about to wake mine?
How can I kill my demons forever without becoming one myself?
The door opens suddenly and I see Allan standing there and looking at me like I'm a ghost.
He looks like a God in his blue diamond suit and his dirty blond hair styled perfectly.
"Everyone is looking for you." He says and closes the door.
"I'll be out there in a minute. Where's Venus?" I ask without looking at him.
"She's with Vincent." I curse and I try to get my shit together. My brother is out there.
Allan just stays and looks at me without blinking. I raise my eyebrow at him and say:
"You can go now, Allan." But he doesn't move. "Allan," I warn.
"Be patient with him, Althea. You both need to be
patient with each other." I go closer to him.
"I don't need to be anything with the man who killed my sister." Even if he didn't pulled the trigger.
"You know he didn't kill her." His eyes are soft.
Why are his eyes soft?
"She died under his roof." I say the words slowly.
"That she did, but is it really his fault?" I say nothing as I look at him.
I don't know how she died, expect of what Papa told me.
"Do you know who killed her?" My voice comes out as whisper.
"We're still looking for him." My heart starts beating fast.
"I want in. Let me help you find this fucker." My blood runs for revenge. My fingers are itching to feel his life drain right into them.
"You have to talk with your husband about that." He smirks and exists the bathroom.
Shameless fucker.
I see something on the dryer and I almost laugh at the bottle of vodka that stands there.
I take it quickly and open the bottle, taking three big mouthfuls of poisoned drink.
The cold liquid is leaving a stinging effect along the neck to then caress my stomach.
I sigh and leave the bathroom.
The women sit in a circle around a table full of appetizers and talk louder than the music in the background.
The men also sit in groups smoking, leaving a thick smoke in the room.
A small body clings to my dress and squeezes my legs hard.
My whole body softens at the sight of the miracle that reminds me who I'm fighting for.
Vincent's chuckle is the only thing that makes my heart melt and my guard drop.
Many would say it is my weakness.
But my little brother is my strength.
"Are you running from Venus again?" I ask him with a little smile.
"She's still angry for the bullet wound." He replies in Italian. His suit is absolutely adorable and the little leather shoes are making him a true gentleman.
"You're so cute, let me eat those cheeks." I say in Russian.
"I'm too old for that, Thea." He replies back offended, but his smile is there.
The proud sister in me is running happy in her head.
I raised Vincent to be the man Hanibal will never be. Teaching him more languages is an advantage in the future.
I can't take Vincent with me in America, but I will do anything in my power to move him there.
I'm not letting him alone with Hanibal.
"I don't like your husband." Vincent switches in English.
"I don't like him either." I wink at him.
I take my eyes off Vincent and look around, finding Keaton next to Papa, Makhim, the Bratva Pakhan, and the Empress.
Like he could feel my eyes on him, Keaton moves his head and meets my gaze.
He excuses and comes besides me, wrapping his arm around my middle.
I hiss and look into his green eyes.
"Don't tell me you missed me, husband." I put accent on the last word.
"I didn't miss you, but I could get another taste from these beauties." He touches my lips with his fingers.
Before I can say something, I feel Vincent move quickly and see his little fists smacking Keaton's legs.
"Don't touch my sister like that!" I quickly take Vincent off before he starts upsetting Hanibal for causing a scene.
"Your sister is my wife, ant." I look confused at him. When did they meet?
"Being my sister is more important."
"Are you sure about that?" This time, I smack Keaton's arm.
"Are you seriously fighting with a four-year old?" I ask furiously.
"He started it."
"Keaton," I warn, making him put his eyes on my lips.
"Mhm, I don't stand you, but you saying my name like that makes me do bad things to you." My eyes widen at his words.
"Stop it."
"Tell me you don't like it and I will."
"I don't like it."
"Your lies creates butterflies in my stomach." I open my mouth in shock and he takes the opportunity and glue his lips to mine.
He kisses me hard and I grab his cheeks with one hand and pull him away from me.
His eyes are sparkling and his little smirk is all over his face.
Be still my fucking heart.
A hoarse voice makes us look at the person who
decided to intervene.
The big, tall Russian leader is looking at us with a blank face. His eyes are black and his skin is a beautiful brown. His beard is thick and the gold necklaces are making him look like a king.
Makhim Romanov.
My Papa's nemesis.
"Congratulation." His thick Russian accent is making my skin shiver.
"Thank you." I say with a blank face.
His eyes move to Vincent who is squeezing my legs again.
Makhim lowers on his knees and whispers to Vincent.
"Khochesh' rasserdit' ottsa?" I try to stay calm when his words are out.
An angry Hanibal isn't what Vincent needs.
But before I can protest, Vincent's eyes grow and nods multiple times as he goes with Makhim.
"I got him." I hear Venus's scream as she runs after the two troublemakers.
Under his dark leader aura, Makhim loves kids. His wife died during a shooting, protecting her only son, and he never remarried.
I try to move Keaton's hand off my middle, but I'm suddenly lift in the air by some of Keaton's allies.
They take me in the middle of the ring and put me in a white chair, while Keaton comes near me.
A microphone screech is heard, and then the voice of the blond who is going to put me in the grave is heard loudly in the speakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we love traditions, don't we?" All men whistle. "Then I guess you know what moment is it." And then applause is numbing my ears.
What moment?
I see Keaton taking his jacket off, remaining in a black shirt. He comes in front of me and kneels, rolling up his sleeves.
Angry and swollen veins are possessing his arms and a weird ache is pulsing right in my pussy.
What the fuck is going on?
Keaton starts lifting my dress and I hiss, covering his hands with mine.
"Do you want to die?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow.
"Between your legs? Tempting." And he continues to lift my dress.
My legs are uncovered and a series of whistles are making my skin shiver. I try to block the memory and balance my breathing.
"If you whistle again at my wife's legs, I'll cut your tongues off and feed them to dogs." And everyone stops.
The moment he sees the end of the garter, Keaton slowly leans over my legs, burring his head in my lap.
My breathe is gone. My fingers are trembling.
His hot and wet mouth is making circles around the garter and my vision is getting blurry.
Why is this pleasurable?
His breathing is sending a wave of hot air and his hair is making the ache more painful.
I yelp suddenly when I feel his angry teeth penetrating my skin. I put my right hand on his head and I pull his hair hard.
I can't control my body.
And I hate it.
Keaton starts to take down the garter and when it reaches my ankles, he rips it off with his teeth.
Like an animal.
A beast.
We look into each other's eyes and it's like we have a full conversation with them.
I hate you.
I hate how you make my body feel.
He grins and lights a cigarette right here and now.
My lungs are begging for the smoke and he hands me the cigar.
I look at my father who has an angry face, but my face is turned by the big hand and I meet the green eyes.
"You are my wife. I own you, not your father." And he puts the cigar between my lips.
I inhale a big part of the cigar and I stand up, still not reaching his chin.
I blow the smoke in his face and I whisper: "No one owns me."
"It's a matter of time, little fox."
The night passes very hard.
I am forced to talk with different people about different topics and all I want to do is die.
Having conversations with drunk men? I'd rather kill them.
I see a few drunk men, friends of Papa's, but not those friends, rising from their seats and screaming: "Bed her! Bed her!"
I look at Venus and she looks at me angry.
It's time to leave Italy.
I see Keaton coming to me and give a hand. I took it and rise next to him.
Vincent runs to me and his scared eyes are making mine shut.
I kneel in front of him and take his precious face in my hands.
"Be good for Venus, okay?" I feel my heart squeeze in pain.
Fuck, I can't leave him.
"Promise you're coming for me." I bring his face closer to mine.
"Vincent," I try to say, but he stops me desperately.
"I know you don't like promises, but you can't leave me here." His tears are breaking my so called heart.
"I left you a phone, call me. Don't hesitate, baby." He nods and throws his little hands around my neck.
I burry my head in his neck and I try to swallow the lump in my throat.
"Vincent, come here. Now." I hear Hanibal's voice and I feel Vincent's arms tighten around me.
"Your heart is safe with me. With Venus." I kiss his forehead.
"Come on, V." Venus comes and takes Vincent from my arm.
"Thank you for taking care of him." I whisper.
"Anything for you." She looks at me with her soft blue eyes, and thank God she doesn't hug me because that would've been too much for me to handle.
Behind me, Vivian has tears in her eyes and Keaton's dad looks at me with pity.
I don't need that.
I don't need anything from them.
Keaton takes my hand and I follow him to his car.
A beautiful black Bugatti waits for us at the
entrance of the restaurant.
I didn't even realized the purple decorations in the restaurant.
I enter the car and I stay frozen in the seat.
I just left him alone.
Like Keres did with me.
Like Mamma did with me.
I feel the need to throw something, to kill someone.
To kill Hanibal.
The power I let him have over me is making me sick.
Keaton gets into the driver's seat and looks at me with a serious face.
"Put your seat belt." I don't move. I look in front of me. At nothing. "Althea, put your seat belt on." He orders.
"Just shut up! For once, let me the fuck to think!" His jaw tenses and the hand on the wheel turns into a fist.
He starts the engine and starts driving to the hotel we're staying until tomorrow morning, when our plane leaves Italy.
We are alone.
Alone and married.
And already broken.