Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Andrei
Morning light leaked through the curtain gaps. Lilith was still asleep, face turned to the side, breathing steady, hair scattered across the pillow. Last night's exhaustion hadn't completely faded from her face yet.
I lay there watching her for a while, then my gaze dropped to the phone on the nightstand. The screen had just lit up, then gone dark again.
I reached for it.
Not that I was trying to catch her doing anything—just curious.
But the preview message on the screen stopped me cold.
Luca.
"Lilith, do you remember our first date? You wore that blue dress, hair pulled back, face red as an apple. I want to go back to that time."
My finger hovered above the screen. Heat surged from my gut straight up to my throat. I scrolled down and found Luca's messages had started days ago—restrained at first, then more frequent, more shameless.
"Baby, let's make up. You said you wanted to marry me right after graduation. I can give you that now."
"Baby, I know you're with someone else just to make me jealous. It worked. I'm sorry. Forgive me."
"Lilith, I dreamed about you last night. We were married. You were lying in bed in your wedding dress, waiting for me. You drove me crazy. You gave me children—one looked like you, one like me."
Goddamn Luca!
Reading these messages, I wanted to kill him right then and there.
He dared to harass Lilith. Even fantasized about her in his dreams. And in all these messages, I saw glimpses of their past sweetness. I could practically picture Lilith's happy expression back then.
Lilith had never replied to him, but it still made my blood boil. And stirred something sour in my chest. Lilith was my fiancée now, but she'd been with Luca for three years. I hadn't forgotten—I just didn't dwell on it.
Now, Luca's presence dug into my consciousness like a thorn, forcing me to face the fact—my own son was trying to steal my woman.
The phone suddenly vibrated.
Incoming call—Luca.
I glanced at Lilith. Still sleeping soundly, no sign of waking.
I smiled. Good boy. Time to show you who you're messing with. I answered, put it on speaker, and set it down beside Lilith.
"Lilith!" Luca's voice came through. "Lilith, you finally answered! I—"
Mid-sentence, I leaned down and kissed Lilith's neck.
"Mmm..."
She wasn't fully awake yet, but her body reacted first. Her breathing quickened, a suppressed moan escaped her throat. Not loud, but right next to the phone—crystal clear.
Silence on the other end for a second.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Luca's voice shot up, losing all control. "Lilith, who the fuck are you with?"
I ignored Luca. I continued downward, hand covering the inside of her thigh, gently parting her legs. We'd fallen asleep right after last night. She wasn't wearing anything. I looked at the plump lips before me and lowered my head to taste.
"Mmm... ah..." Her voice shifted from drowsy murmurs to urgent gasps. Her hips lifted unconsciously, then fell back. Her fingers clutched the sheets.
Lilith instinctively pressed her thighs together, trapping my head. The movement pushed me deeper. She wasn't awake yet, but her body told me what she wanted.
"That's not Lilith! You're trying to piss me off!" Luca's voice exploded on the other end. "Fuck! Lilith, I know you're listening! Say something!"
I buried myself deeper between Lilith's thighs, her inner thighs hot against my ears, muscles trembling from pleasure. I could barely hear Luca's cursing anymore.
My tongue explored her tight channel, slick and smooth.
Even after multiple times, her body remained sensitive.
Just a few licks and her pussy flooded with wetness, the musky-sweet taste overwhelming my senses.
I savored it, intoxicated. My nose grazed her clit.
Her legs twisted restlessly, throat releasing intimate moans.
As my tongue worked, she let out a more uncontrolled sound, the ending rising, trembling.
"Ah, baby, give it to me..."
The most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. Not conscious language—pure bodily instinct. She was calling for me. Before she was fully awake, consciousness floating between dream and reality, her body knew who was touching her.
"Lilith!" Luca's broken voice came through intermittently. "You can't do this to me... three years and you never let me... why... fuck, whoever's touching you, I'll kill him!"
"Stop! Fucking stop!" After cursing, his voice dropped. "Let her go, please don't do this to me..."
Gradually, only his breathing remained. Was he crying? Maybe. The sound like a caged beast throwing itself against iron bars.
My jealous anger faded in that moment. Luca had no right to hear Lilith's bedroom sounds. No man did.
I hit end and focused on pleasuring Lilith.
She still wasn't fully awake, but her voice climbed higher, more urgent.
Her fingers dove into my hair and gripped tight, pressure somewhere between pushing away and pulling closer.
Her legs wrapped around my shoulders, toes curling, her whole body like a drawn bow.
Her pussy released more musky-sweet fluid, making soft wet sounds under my tongue's movement.
Then she came. Her body arched sharply, a broken moan tearing from deep in her throat, trailing long and trembling. Those thighs clamped around my head, her lower abdomen spasming, then she melted, sinking into the mattress.
The room went quiet. Lilith hadn't fully emerged from her climax, chest rising and falling, lashes trembling lightly, lips parted with teeth marks from biting during her moans.
Fine beads of sweat covered her skin, gleaming pale gold in the morning light.
Her body was so honest. A million times more honest than words.
After a moment, her lashes fluttered twice. Her eyes slowly opened.
Those brown eyes were still misty, pupils dilated from lingering pleasure. She blinked, focused on my face, then realized what had just happened—at least part of it. Color rose in her cheeks.
"Baby, you just... you..." Her voice was husky with sleep and desire mixed together, face flushing.
"Feel good?" I asked with a smile.
Lilith's face reddened more. She glared at me, then her brow furrowed slightly. "I think I just... heard Luca's voice?"
"You were dreaming." I brushed the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear. "Dreaming about your ex-boyfriend—not a good habit, little princess."
"I wasn't. Maybe I heard wrong. You jealous?" The corner of her mouth quirked up. Then her expression froze. She saw her phone screen lit up, showing Luca's messages.
"You went through my phone?" She grabbed it, her small nose wrinkling.
"Just glanced at it. I saw Luca's texts. He's still bothering you? Why didn't you tell me, baby? I could handle it for you."
"Don't need to. I can handle it myself." She pressed the screen dark and set it aside like it was contaminated. "He's lost his mind. I know him too well—the more you engage, the worse he gets. Ignore him, and he'll quit on his own."
"But he keeps texting."
"Let him text if he wants." Lilith rolled her eyes. "If you hadn't opened it, I wouldn't even look."
The sour feeling churning inside me settled completely. When she talked about Luca, her tone carried a hint of annoyed disgust.
"Besides, you don't need to be jealous of some crazy person. He's nothing." She snorted softly and scratched my back with her nails. Didn't hurt at all—like a kitten scratching. I raised my hands in mock surrender, laughing and begging for mercy until she stopped.
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead.
Her rejection of Luca was clean and absolute. She'd thrown herself completely into my embrace.
Our wedding was coming soon. Before long, she'd officially become Mrs. Volkov. No one else would have room to interfere.
Lilith lifted her head from my chest and touched her stomach. "I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"
"What do you usually eat?"
"Um... usually by now I've grabbed a sandwich from the convenience store." She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "I think there are two slices of bread in the fridge. Just heat them up."
"Just two slices of bread?"
"That's enough. Plus a glass of milk. Quick and easy. That's what I usually have."
"That won't do. You eat too little. I'll decide on breakfast." I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
It was stuffed with convenience store plastic bags, discounted instant food, and leftovers from who knows how many days ago.
I frowned with concern. She could arrange everything perfectly when caring for Elena, but with herself, she just made do.
"What's wrong?" She probably saw my expression and blinked.
"Lilith, don't eat this stuff anymore... Wait here." I grabbed my phone, walked to the living room, and made a call.
Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Sergei stood at the door with two paper bags full of fresh ingredients.
"What you wanted, boss." Sergei handed over the bags, craning his neck to peek inside. He didn't see anything, but probably knew Lilith was here. His mouth twitched, and he wisely didn't ask questions.
"Good. Get going."
I carried the bags to the kitchen and set everything out on the counter. Lilith threw on a sleep shirt and emerged from the bedroom. The shirt was short, hem barely covering the tops of her thighs. Impossibly sexy.
She leaned against the kitchen doorframe, rubbing her eyes.
"You're going to cook for me? My personal chef."
"That's right. My distinguished guest, please wait a moment."
"Andrei, I really didn't know you could cook."
"It's not hard. If you like it, I can make you breakfast every day." I ruffled her hair. "Go sit at the table and wait."
Lilith didn't move. Just leaned there watching me. I cracked eggs into a bowl, added milk and flour, and stirred it into batter. Dropped butter in the pan—it sizzled and melted, releasing a caramelized sweetness. I poured batter into circles, adjusted to medium-low heat and let them cook slowly.
While the pancakes cooked, I started another pan for bacon.
The fat crackled in the heat, edges quickly curling into crispy waves, salty and sweet mingling.
I stacked the finished pancakes on a plate, arranged the bacon beside them, scattered blueberries and sliced strawberries on top, and drizzled maple syrup over everything.
I set the plate in front of her.
She stared at it, mouth slightly open, then looked up at me. Pure delight in her eyes.
"This looks a million times better than a convenience store sandwich."
"Of course." I handed her a fork.
She speared a piece of pancake and popped it in her mouth, eyes sparkling.
"So good!" She speared another piece, talking through the mouthful.
I sat across from her, watching her eat the breakfast I'd made, letting out satisfied sighs.
When I left her place, it was past ten in the morning.
I drove back to the manor. Dmitri was waiting in the study, all the leads from the past few days spread across the desk. His expression was graver than usual.
"Boss, I went through everything from the shipment again." He pointed to the personnel list. "Only you knew the complete new route. But the people on the transport included Pavel, Sergei, and me."
I looked at the list. His analysis was meticulous.
"There's one more person who had access to the plans..." Dmitri paused. "Luka."
"The day you mapped the route in the study, Luka was drunk and stayed in the living room the whole time," Dmitri said. "He had a chance to see the plans on the desk. Low probability, but we can't rule it out."
I fell silent and didn't immediately object.
Over the years, the rift between Luca and me came from those rumors he'd heard his whole life.
He was convinced I'd killed his mother with my own hands, convinced I was a monster who'd turn on family without reason.
If that kind of suspicion accumulated enough, would he do something irrational? I couldn't say for sure.
But he didn't know the full route. That night, when he was drunk, he could barely stand. To memorize a complex transport route in that state, then sober up and pass it to the Irish... Luca wasn't capable of that unless he'd become a different person entirely.
"Put Luca at the bottom of the list," I said. "Focus on Pavel and Sergei."
"During transport, they both sat in the back." Dmitri tapped his pen on those two names. "Never in your line of sight. Best opportunity to contact outsiders."
I leaned back in my chair, running through the whole thing again in my head.
Pavel had been with me for fifteen years. Quiet, never made a mistake. Same with Sergei. They'd practically watched Luca grow up. If these two were traitors, it meant my judgment over the past decade had been fatally flawed.
But the ambush was too precise. Not a coincidence.
"Don't touch them yet," I said. "No point tipping them off. Once they suspect we're onto them, they'll either run or lash out. Neither helps us."
Dmitri nodded. "So you're planning to..."
I thought for a moment. "Flush out the traitor at my wedding."
Dmitri froze. "Boss, there'll be too many guests that day. Security will be complicated."
"So starting now, we upgrade security." I pushed the list aside. "Every guest, no exceptions—pat-downs before entry. No guns. Including our own people."
Dmitri frowned. "Boss, won't that be too... the Italians and other families are coming. They won't agree."
"They don't follow my rules, they can fuck off.
" I cut him off, no room for negotiation.
"I don't want to take risks at my wedding.
Lilith will be there. I don't want her hurt in the slightest. But if we don't flush out the traitor soon, after I'm married, he'll be the biggest threat to Lilith. I have to do this."
"Understood, boss." Dmitri finally nodded.
"Wedding day security will be arranged by Pavel and Sergei.
Have them each handle different areas—don't give them any chance to coordinate.
" I looked at Dmitri. He was my most trusted man.
Twenty years with me, never a single mistake on anything I'd given him.
"And you, Dmitri—prepare an escape route in the hotel, be ready to extract Lilith at any moment... Help me protect her."
Dmitri nodded to everything. "I'll arrange it now."
Dmitri left the study. I sat alone at the desk, looking at the list that had been circled and marked over and over.
Pavel. Sergei. Luca.
Each one among my closest people. And I was facing betrayal from those closest to me again. The whole thing left me bitterly disappointed.