Fifteen
Shane
Ilooked at Melanie, her face turned pallid. Her luminous eyes widened in shock, searching my face for any sign that what I’d just said was just a twisted joke. It wasn’t. I killed this piece of shit with cold blood, and I’d do it again. And again. And I’d do it much sooner. Before he managed to ruin my life.
“Did you... kill him?” Melanie’s voice trembled as the words barely escaped her parted lips.
“Yes, and I’d do it again.” My response was void of emotion. “What’s more? I’d kill Anders, too. If he weren’t my brother, I swear he’d be dead by now because of everything he’s done.”
A single tear traced its way down her cheek. “Do you even hear yourself, Shane?” she whispered. “That’s why I feared you could’ve hurt me or Hope. Because you handle everything like this. With violence. You get rid of people who are inconvenient for you.”
My jaw clenched, and I let out a heavy breath, fighting with the rage and pain inside me. “Dammit, Melanie. I’ve never hid from you that I am who I am.” I spoke in a low tone. “I’m in a fucking mafia. What else did you expect from me? This is the harsh reality we live in. If I hadn’t taken out those who posed a threat to me or our family, I’d be the one lying six feet under by now. Being a part of this world, being in my position demands hard choices.”
Melanie shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t, Shane... I…”
She headed toward the door, but I instinctively took a grip on her elbow. I couldn’t let her go. Not again. She turned to face me, and our faces were now inches apart.
“I’m doing this to keep my family safe.” My voice remained low. “And you and my daughter are my family. I would never hurt you. And I would never let anyone else hurt you.”
Melanie’s eyes flickered between mine as if torn between the love she once knew and the dreadful reality of who I was. “You’re a monster, Shane,” she whispered. “An annihilated, ruthless criminal.”
“Am I?” I hissed darkly.
“Yes. Yes, you are.”
“Does it scare you?” My nose was almost touching hers.
“No. Not anymore. But does it bother me? It does.”
I leaned even closer so that our breaths were meshing, lips brushing. “It didn’t bother you in the past,” I murmured darkly, and I could feel Melanie’s chest moving up and down heavily against mine.
The tension, the attraction between us, was palpable. I wanted to kiss her so badly. I craved to have a taste of her lips as if she was the forbidden, I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t. Not anymore. I leaned closer, her rugged breath sweeping across my parted lips. I was so close I could feel her heart racing in her chest. Our lips almost collided. Almost.
“Things have changed.” She pulled away, stepping back as if to keep a safe distance. “I’m not the same Melanie anymore. She’s gone.”
She was right. She was no longer the fragile rose I remember. She blossomed into a captivating midnight rose adorned with mysterious, dark petals, impossible to resist. She had that intoxicating darkness and alluring elegance in her that lured me in even more than before. She’d become a manifestation of my deepest desires. Now, I wanted her even more. I craved her with every fiber in my body.
“Is it because of him? Do you have feelings for my brother?” I couldn’t help these thoughts. They had been haunting me ever since I saw them together. And now she seemed to be slipping through my fingers. The moment I thought I had her back, she would push me away. It seemed as if I couldn’t catch her, no matter how much I chased her. I knew this woman would be the death of me one day. But did I care? No. Call me twisted. Call me possessive. But Melanie was everything I’d ever craved, and that’s why the thought of her with another man was killing me.
“I can’t believe this is what comes to your mind first.” She shook her head. “You’re so possessive.” There it is. “Obsessive,” she added with a scoff.
I took a few steps closer. Her body shivered as I ran my fingers down her arm. “I am possessive only over what’s already mine.”
“I wanted to be yours.” Her eyes darted between mine. “But then I remembered you’re a ruthless gangster with a poisoned heart.”
My brow twitched. “Now you thought of that?”
“Perhaps I was too blinded before to see who you truly are,” she spoke in a hushed tone, her face painting with trouble. “Or perhaps I didn’t want to see it. I chose to ignore all the red flags from the beginning. Intentionally. But now that you killed Callan…”
“So this is what it’s all about. Callan,” I stated harshly. “You still care about that twisted, obsessive bastard who betrayed both of us?”
Melanie moved back as if she was scared of me. “What did you think, Shane? That his death wouldn’t mean anything to me?”
“Melanie, he fucking lied to you. He filled your ears with lies that I wanted to harm you, harm my own daughter, for fuck’s sake.” I hardly composed my anger. “The bullet in his head was the least he deserved for all that he’d done to us, all the damage he caused to us.”
“Can’t you see that we cause damage to each other? We hurt each other; people die… We’ve done enough damage.” Her words came out as a painful whisper. “This… we… it wouldn’t work out, Shane. I told you this the day you kidnapped me from the charity. We were blinded by lust, and lust is toxic.”
“Lust?” I questioned. “You think what we had was merely lust?”
“Think of it, Shane. You tell me you killed a man with cold blood, and you expect me to fall into your arms right after, and when I don’t, you question me, question whether I have feelings for your brother.” The pain in her voice was impossible to ignore. “This isn’t love. It’s merely lust that will fade away as time passes, and when it does, we will have nothing left. We will fall apart.”
She quickly wiped the tear from under her eyes before running her hand through her hair and heading toward the door. And I stood there, tightening my teeth. I knew I should let her go. Perhaps it would be better for both of us. But I couldn’t. Melanie was the only woman I couldn’t let go of. She was still undeniably the Queen of my Heart, etched into the very core of my existence. She was my only desire, my very own destruction.
I sprinted to the elevator, catching the doors just in time to prevent them from closing. Our gazes collided, charged with an electrifying desire I was sure we both felt. Lust. But above all, an unbending love that refused to die, no matter how badly she wanted to kill it.
“Melanie,” I breathed, stepping into the elevator, instinctively pressing her against the cool steel of the wall. The elevator door slid shut with a metallic thud as my lips crashed onto her, hard and demanding, and the world around us ceased to exist. Everything faded away. All I could feel was her intoxicating presence, which I craved like a madman.
Breaking our fiery kiss, I murmured against her swollen lips, “Can’t you see that I’m so fucking jealous of him because I still love you? I desire you because I love you. It’s not just lust. I crave you with every fiber of my being, and that’s what only love can do.” My voice was a low, almost desperate hiss. “Without you, I forget how to breathe. I know you feel it, too, Melanie. Stop fighting your desires. Stop resisting me. Stop running away because you can’t avoid it.”
Crashing my lips onto hers again, I lifted Melanie effortlessly, her legs wrapping around my waist as I pressed her against the steely wall. There was no space left between us, only the heat of our bodies mingling. My fingers danced over the control panel, pressing the emergency stop button. The elevator jolted to a halt. Melanie’s fingers weaved into my hair as my lips blazed a trail down her neck. She couldn’t suppress a sigh of pleasure as I nibbled the sensitive skin just below her collarbone.
“Shane, we’re in an elevator.” Her voice came out breathless. “That’s not decent.”
My body slammed against hers, and she locked her legs around my waist even tighter, taking a grip of my hair to pull me in for a kiss. Teasingly, I nibbled her bottom lip, causing a moan to escape her lips. A moan that I sipped off of her mouth like a thirsty man. My tongue past her parted lips and I kissed her demandingly. Melanie grabbed the handrail to support herself while I roamed one of my hands between her thighs, parting her legs to have better access to her core. I slid my fingertips over the lacy fabric, and her breath quickened. I felt her legs shiver while I pushed the edge of her thong to the side and gently circled my fingertips around her bud.
“I’ve been decent for too long. I got bored of it,” I growled against her lips, shoving my fingers inside her wet center.
Her head fell back, resting against the steely wall, filling the small interior with her increasing moans.
God, I wanted her so badly. Right here. Right now. But I knew it was just a matter of time before the maintenance would come to check on the issue. And I didn’t want this moment to look like this. To be rushed. I wanted to savor every second of it, every inch of her body I longed for three long years. I wanted this moment memorable, not just a hurried tryst in a stalled elevator. She deserved better than that.
“Not here. Not like this,” I growled, coming undone because of her. It took all my willpower to resist my lust for her.
Our gazes locked as I slowly slid my fingers out of her and licked them.
“Oh God.” She sighed, sinking her teeth in her bottom lip.
“We should get out of here,” I growled, clicking the button to resume the elevator.
Melanie nodded, her breath still coming in quick, uneven gasps. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair a mess, only adding to her allure. She couldn’t have looked more attractive.
As the elevator doors pinged open, the maintenance team was already there, staring at us, perplexed.
“Are you okay, Mr. Vergoossen?” one of them asked.
“Never better,” I replied with an unapologetic smirk.
Melanie burst out in laughter, covering her face in embarrassment, and I joined in. Giggling like a pair of teenagers who got caught hooking up in the school’s bathroom, I grabbed Melanie’s hand and led her in a yearning run toward my car. The way to my apartment felt like an unbearable battleground of temptation, every mile filled with fleeting gazes of desire.
The door slammed shut behind us as we finally reached my apartment. Tangled in a heated encounter, kissing each other as if our very existence depended on it. The hunger we had suppressed in the elevator now surfaced, an undeniable lust that neither I nor her could resist. My fingers traced Melanie’s curves with the same desire as three years ago, and her body responded with equal lust to my touch.
I broke our kiss to dance playfully with my tongue around her earlobe before I whispered, “You’re mine.”
Gasping for breath, she murmured back, “I’m yours. All yours.”
I gazed into her eyes, drowning in their intensity, and for a moment, time stood still. I lifted her princess-style and carried her to my bedroom, surrendering to the desire that had lingered between us for far too long.
The afternoon light swept through the curtains, casting aglow on the sheets tangled around our naked bodies. My fingers traced Melanie’s bare skin, memorizing every curve, every contour, or how her body quivered under my touch. The only thing breaking the serene silence was the sound of our heavy breaths. I cast a glance at the beauty lying beside me, her tousled hair, and the peaceful expression on her face. She was absolutely gorgeous. My lips curled in an involuntary smirk at the memory of us making love. The sensation was still vivid in my mind. After three long years of yearning, we finally became one again. Like two halves of a single soul who finally found their way back to each other. What we had was real. Invincible. A love that had endured the test of time, growing stronger with every obstacle we had to face.
“What are you thinking about?” Melanie stirred beside me.
“Us,” I inhaled the scent of her.
She lifted her head, and her eyes met mine. “I want you to be mine, Shane,” she said in a hushed murmur. “Mine only.”
“I am yours, Melanie. From the moment I met you, I was yours. And I’ll always be.”
Her eyes bore onto mine for a moment, before she leaned in to kiss me.
The moment felt surreal. I kept chasing her for three long years. Did I finally manage to catch her?
On Sunday evening, I took Melanie and Hope to Karl and Elena’s for dinner. As soon as we entered the house, Karl’s eyes lit up at the sight of Hope. A rare smile touched his lips, something I’d rarely seen, if ever. Both Elena and Aaliyah seemed to adore Hope from the very first moment, which made me feel content.
“You’ve grown up so much,” Melanie stated as she chatted with Aaliyah.
Instinctively, I assessed my younger half-sister, noting Melanie was right. I hadn’t realized when this little girl had become a teenager. Her pitch-black hair, which she used to wear in braids, was now left loose, reaching her waist. Her girlish face was now enhanced with make-up that made her seem more like a woman, though in my eyes, she was still just a kid—my little sister.
“Yeah, I’m turning sixteen in a month.” Aaliyah smiled at Melanie. I can’t wait for my sweet sixteen. My parents are preparing a party for me. Will you come? With Shane?”
Melanie glanced at me unwittingly, her teeth running over her bottom lip fleetingly as if she wasn’t sure how to respond. “We will see.”
“She will come.” I sent Aaliyah a teasing wink, my lip tweaking into a smile.
I stood with a coffee cup in my hands, leaning against a wall opposite a wooden table and leather chairs surrounding it. Melanie and Aaliyah sat, chatting, casually sipping the green tea they both preferred. Behind them was an open area where Karl and Elena played with Hope on a plush cream carpet put over a dark oak floor. I fought a smile from curling up my lips whenever I glanced at the picture—my family together. Karl playing with his granddaughter. I could see the pride in his eyes. Love, perhaps. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like we were a typical family, that the past rifts and pain between us had never existed, that Melanie and I hadn’t separated. But, of course, this bliss couldn’t last forever. Not in my family.
“She has every trait worth of my heiress. One day, my granddaughter will take my place and become the Mafia Queen the world has never seen before.” Karl’s eyes shone with pride as he looked at Hope.
It didn’t take even a fracture of a second for Melanie to react and say, “Excuse me?” She looked at Karl with anger that terrified even me. Her hand clenched into a fist as if she meant to punch him.
“My daughter will never have anything to do with the… mafia,” she whispered the last word through her gritted teeth.
She ran to take Hope away from Karl as if he were a predator and she was a lioness fearfully protecting her lion cub. “She’s just a child, for God’s sake. And you will never mention that word around my daughter, understood?”
Her eyes stuck onto Karl’s. I couldn’t lie. I enjoyed seeing her fierce side. She’d always had it in her. It was one of the reasons I fell for her. I fell hard.
“She’s my granddaughter, Melanie. She deserves to know her heritage.” Karl remained firm. “What did you expect? Having a child with someone like my son entails some consequences.”
“I didn’t expect anything, Karl,” Melanie hissed, perturbed. “I didn’t plan any of this; it just happened, and it all happened so quickly and unexpectedly, so excuse me that I don’t have everything figured out.”
“But it did already happen,” Karl stated, his head tilting. “Now we’ll have to find a middle ground.”
“Well, well, well.” Anders’ mocking tone broke through the tension, and everyone’s gazes diverted toward him. He clapped his hands mockingly as he walked toward us through the hall, merging the living room area with the entrance. “Seems I wasn’t invited to the family dinner.” He flashed a wry grin.
And there I was, thinking this evening couldn’t get any worse. I exchanged glances with Melanie. No words were needed.
“You know, Shane, I can’t help but sympathize,” Anders said, his gaze pointed. “Now I know how it feels like to see your ex with another man.”
My jaw clenched.
“But to think you’ll always have it at the forefront of your mind that the woman you call yours, the mother of your child, was once your brother’s. Now, that’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m truly sad for you, Shane.”
I bristled slightly, but he kept my composure. “There’s one thing you seem to forget, Anders,” I hissed in a low tone, approaching him with steady steps. “Melanie was never yours to begin with. It was all just in your head.” I leaned to whisper in his ear, “She was always only mine.”
I pulled back, setting my gaze on his. My eyes fleetingly fixed on the vein pulsing in his temples, and then back on his eyes. He stretched his neck as if regaining his composure. The wickedness in him.
“Let’s not pretend things aren’t going to be awkward for us at family gatherings.” A twisted smirk curled up his lips.
“Enough, Anders,” Karl interfered, his voice brooking no argument.
We both turned to face our father, but his intervention seemed to only rattle Anders. His anger seemed to radiate from miles away.
“Goddammit!” Anders hissed. “Could you for once stop protecting your beloved fucking firstborn, the fucking heir!”
My brow raised and I couldn’t help but scoff. From the corner of my eye, I saw Melanie hugging Hope in her arms as if trying to protect her from what was about to unleash. Elena seemed to pick up on that too as she quickly led the female part of the meeting out of the room, which I was thankful for.
“What are you talking about, Anders?” Karl growled.
“Are you blind or what?” Anders continued, not minding anything around him. He’d always been self-centered. He believed the world revolved around him. He paced back and forth, his movements agitated. It seemed as if a torrent of rage unleashed inside him.
“Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always heard ‘Shane this’ or ‘Shane that,’ you should be more like Shane! You always put him above me!” he shouted in a frenzy.
I didn’t want to intervene because I knew it was between them, father and son. I also knew it was an issue Anders had in his head and he had to deal with. Karl had never treated me better. In fact, he had given so much love to Aaliyah and Anders. A different kind of love. Pure, fatherly. The kind of love I had never experienced. He saw me solely as a means to his vendetta. He saw the woman he lost in me. My mother.
“I’ve never been good enough! And you’ve never given me as much attention as you’ve been giving him!” Anders”s eyes blazed with resentment.
“That’s not true, son. I always treated you both the same.” Karl’s brows knitted. “Anders, you know that’s nonsense.”
“Nonsense?” he scoffed. “Then why are you playing a happy family with Melanie now? Knowing that she was my fiancée.”
“We both know it was just a game of yours to get back at Shane,” Karl yelled, which surprised us all. At last, Anders managed to put our father off the balance. “You don’t love Melanie, Anders.”
“The hell I do! I do fucking love her!” Anders shouted so loud he spat, looking at Karl, breathing heavily. His gaze switched to meet mine as he whispered, “I do love her.”
His voice was filled with such heartbreak that I believed he spoke the truth. That his feelings were genuine. That he fell in love with the same woman as I did.
Anders rushed out, and I glanced at Karl. For the first time, he seemed as if he didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll take Melanie and Hope home,” I said. “They’ve had enough for today.”
We were driving back home in silence. Fuck. I did not assume this evening would end up like this. I let out a heavy exhale, glancing at the review mirror. Hope was asleep in her car seat. My gaze shifted to Melanie. She was tense. I couldn’t help myself, and I gently put my hand on her thigh, just as we used to do when we were a couple. She jumped in her seat slightly, clearly surprised by my touch. Our gazes met for a fleeting moment before I focused on the road ahead, my hand still on her slender thigh. After a moment, I felt her hand overlapping mine. Her touch made my lips curl up in a gentle smile. Suddenly, my phone rang.
“It’s my father. I’ll take it,” I breathed as I got out of and put the speaker to my ear.
“Shane…” Karl’s tone was solemn.
“What happened? You sound weird.”
“It’s about Anders…” His voice cracked.
“What now?”
Karl didn’t speak. I could only hear his heavy breath.
“What happened?” I insisted.
“They called me from the hospital. He had a car crash.”