Page 49
SISI
I t's not much later that I feel Vlad slowly shake me awake. I groggily open my eyes just as he gathers me into his arms, thanking the couple for taking us and wishing them a great trip.
"You can put me down," I tell him, my voice husky from sleep. He looks a bit reluctant to do it, but eventually he lowers me to my feet.
I stretch a little, my limbs aching from all the exertion, and I look around us to try to gauge where we are.
"How much longer until Marcello's house?" I raise my head up to gaze at him.
His eyes are focused on me as a slow smile starts creeping on his face.
"What?" I frown.
"You said Marcello's house. Before, you used to call it home," he replies, a little too proud of himself.
"Did I?" I feign ignorance as I keep on walking. Still, I can't wipe the grin off my face as I realize he is right. It's been quite some time since I've stopped calling it home. And it's all because my home changed from a place to a person.
"I know you're smiling," he calls out from behind me, clearly amused. "And you're going in the wrong direction," he points out after I'm already quite ahead of him.
I turn sharply, my eyes narrowed at him.
"Just admit I'm your home." His eyes twinkle with mischief as he comes by my side, taking my arm and placing it into the crook of his elbow.
"Maybe." My lips twitch, but that's all I'm willing to give him. His ego is already too inflated.
"I knew it," he whistles, tugging me closer and telling me the house is not too far.
"Are you worried about the meeting?" he eventually asks, his tone serious.
I tilt my head toward him, briefly considering the question.
"I don't know," I answer honestly. Because I really don't. Marcello vehemently prohibited me from having anything to do with Vlad, so I know it won't be a pleasant meeting in the least.
I am, though, a little worried about disappointing him.
We might not have known each other long, but I'd learned to respect him and his true care for the family.
He may not be an open book most days, but he's always been fair to me and he's given me an opportunity to live with him when he didn't have to.
I was, after all, technically an adult when I left Sacre Coeur, and definitely not his responsibility.
And so I find myself backed in a corner, since I don't want to lose Marcello's regard, but I will definitely not give Vlad up.
"We can just hope for the best, right?" I ask, forcing a smile.
"Marcello isn't an ogre," Vlad jokes, "for all his ogre-ish tendencies.
But he can be quite unyielding," Vlad mentions, but upon seeing my eyes slightly widening in worry, he amends, "but I'll take care of it, Sisi.
Don't worry about it. In fact, don't worry about anything.
I'll handle it all." He peers down at me, his expression so sincere that I can't help but lean slightly into him, placing all my trust in him.
"Okay," I reply softly.
The couple really did us a favor by dropping us close to the house, so we only have to walk a couple of miles to get to the main gates.
Upon seeing us, the guards immediately open the gates for us, welcoming us inside.
I guess they didn't get the memo that Vlad is persona non grata.
There's a long alleyway that leads from the main entry gates to the house, flower beds on both sides of the stone path.
We're halfway down the alleyway when I feel Vlad tense. I don't even have time to ask what's going on as he shoves me behind him, a loud gunshot permeating the air.
Eyes wide, I look up to see my brother and Lina in the doorway. Marcello has a murderous expression on his face as he's pointing a gun straight at us.
"Really, 'cello?" Vlad drawls, taking a step forward. His arm is still stretched out to keep me behind him.
But some type of warning goes off in my mind, and I swat his arm aside, going to his side. I watch in horror as blood pools from his shoulder, the bullet deeply lodged inside. Vlad doesn't seem to even mind it as his gaze is firmly on my brother.
"Are you crazy?" I twirl around, yelling at Marcello. "And you." I turn my head slightly. "You just got shot!" I exclaim, already panicking. I've never seen Vlad hurt before, and the sight of that blood running down his shirt is enough to make me hyperventilate.
It's one thing when he's in a fight and I know there's no one who can best him. But it's quite another thing in this situation, because I'm sure he's not going to engage my brother in any way.
I've seen it before, at my birthday party.
There's a part of Vlad that considers Marcello his closest friend, and even though my brother may not share that sentiment, it's clear that Vlad's skewed moral code would never allow him to do something to him.
In his own warped way, he cares about Marcello.
Vlad's lips pull up in a twisted smile as he places his hand over the place he'd been shot, feeling for the hole. Fingers drawn together, he sticks them inside the wound, looking for the bullet.
My eyes must be the size of two saucers as I can do nothing but stare at this display of insanity.
His lips twitch as he finds the bullet, more blood dripping from the wound and down his hand. Once he has a good grasp on it, he tugs it out, dropping it to the ground with a thud.
His shirt is a mess, the material shredded around the gun site. But it's the bullet hole that has me worried, so angry looking as it gushes out even more blood.
In all the medical shows I've watched, it's always imperative to not remove the foreign object, as it might lead to hemorrhage.
Vlad knows this too. I know he does. So what does he think he'll succeed with this display?
I act out of pure instinct alone, grabbing the hem of my dress and ripping the end of it. I don't waste any time as I hurry to his side and start wrapping the material around his shoulder and across his wound.
"You're crazy," I mutter, a little put off with him for taking his own safety so lightly.
We survive an almost plane crash just for him to bleed out on me from an unnecessary gunshot? No, Sir. I won't have it.
"I'm your crazy," he murmurs softly, his gaze gentle as he looks down at my efforts to reach his shoulder and properly bandage it.
Belatedly, I hear the sounds of steps behind me, and so I do the only thing I can. I spin around and I place my own body in front of Vlad's.
"Enough!" I tell my brother.
He's maybe a few steps away, his gun still pointed at Vlad. Lina is behind him, her gaze filled with worry as she looks between me and Vlad.
"Sisi, get inside the house," Marcello barks the order, his eyes fixed on Vlad.
"I'm not going anywhere," I reply, firmly placing myself in front of his gun. "And you're not shooting anyone either."
"Sisi, go inside." He grits his teeth, and I wonder if this is his boiling point. Still, knowing Vlad's hardheadedness about my brother, I'm not about to leave him alone so he can offer himself up as a sacrifice.
"No." I take a few steps back until my back hits Vlad's front. "I'm not leaving my husband," I state confidently.
"Husband?" Marcello sputters, and Lina's eyes widen as she looks at me intently, probably trying to ascertain the validity of the claim.
I blink twice as I realize a loophole I hadn't thought of before. Leaning into Vlad, I whisper, "The marriage is real, right?"
"Of course it's real," he replies immediately, almost insulted, "I wouldn't fake marry you."
"Good." I nod. "Just wanted to check since the minister seemed a little off. I thought maybe you hired an actor," I admit thoughtfully.
"He was real," Vlad mutters, "I just used a little intimidation on him, nothing more.
But the certificate is real and filed. Made sure of it myself.
" He preens, and somehow I can't take him seriously with a gaping hole in his shoulder that's now bled all over the strap of material I'd wrapped around it.
"Great," I add drily.
"Sisi!" my brother yells at me and I jerk away from Vlad, a little disoriented. "I don't know what he told you to agree to marry him, but you need to back away. I'll take care of him."
"Should I tell him what you threatened to get me to marry you?" I ask him, almost amused.
He immediately shakes his head, the corner of his lip half-turned.
"I don't think it would help the situation we're in," he jokes.
Marcello groans, and from the corner of my eye I see him swinging the gun around recklessly.
"Can you drop the gun and we'll talk after?" I give my brother a smile, hoping to sweeten him somehow.
Lina's quiet by his side, closely observing Vlad and me.
Marcello is about to reply, but then he narrows his eyes on me—specifically my neck.
"You're fucking dead, Vlad. You…" Marcello shakes his head, so much anger rolling off him, "You fucking marked her!" he yells, pointing to the tattoo on my neck.
Before I can even blink, the gun is up and ready to shoot at Vlad again.
"Stop!" I scream at the top of my lungs, fear and worry gnawing at me. "Just stop," I huff out, my voice raw. "I asked him to give me this tattoo," I explain, yet Marcello doesn't seem in the least amendable.
"He didn't force me to do anything," I continue, slowly advancing toward Marcello. "Please, just stop and listen to us, okay? He's not a danger to me." I'm almost in front of him as I keep my eyes on him.
My hand reaches out to wrap around his, trying to stop him from waving the gun around. "He's my husband and I love him. Just give us a chance to explain everything," I add, and for the first time I note a reaction in Marcello.
"You love him?" he asks, incredulity dripping off his voice.
"Yes," I confirm, finally getting him to lower the gun.
He doesn't speak for a moment as his gaze swings from me to Vlad.
"In my office. You have five minutes," he says before swiftly turning on his heels, grabbing Lina's arm and dragging her into the house.
She's still looking back at me, her features filled with worry. But I'll have time to deal with her later.
After we convince Marcello that our relationship is real.
I hurry to Vlad's side, intent on setting some ground rules before confronting my brother.
"Don't bait him," I start. "I know you will want to. I know you might not be able to help yourself. But please , don't bait him."
"You wound me, hell girl," he groans, "now, where would be the fun in that?"
"You're already wounded, Vlad. Will probably be even more if you don't keep your mouth shut. We need his help, not his rage."
"Fine." He lets out a big breath. "For you, I'll make an exception. But I can only promise to tone it down. You know that sometimes I can't stop myself from blurting things out." He sighs, and one look at him has me pursing my lips to stop from chuckling.
"Yes, I have been the target of your errant tongue," I reply, barely containing my laughter as we head inside the house.
Vlad stops, turning his head slightly, his lips curled up in a devious smirk. "Yes, you have," he says before continuing walking.
I frown, and it takes me a second to get the double entendre.
"You're wicked." I elbow him slightly, a smile on my lips.
But as we enter my brother's study, I immediately relax my features, wanting to seem serious.
Marcello and Lina are behind my brother's desk. His gaze has a hawkish quality to it as he hones in on us, watching as we take two seats in front of them.
In the beginning, no one speaks. The silence is deafening as everyone is engaging in some sort of staring contest.
"So." I clear my throat, wanting to get this over as soon as possible, so I can sew Vlad back up. It's a wonder he's kept his calm as he has, since there's a lot of blood coming out of his wound. "Vlad and I are married," I start, and my brother narrows his eyes at me.
"I gathered that," he adds drily.
"'Cello, 'cello, can't you relax a little?" Vlad asks, and my mouth drops open as I watch him lift up his legs and prop them on Marcello's desk.
I turn sharply toward him, my expression clearly telling him to cut it.
He has a wide smile on his face as he lounges in his chair, lifting his arms and placing them behind his head as if he doesn't have a freaking hole in his shoulder.
Not wanting to give Marcello and Lina the impression that we're on less than stellar terms, I lean back in my chair, moving a little closer to him and muttering under my breath, "Behave."
His lips curve up even more, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. He just can't help himself.
"Sisi, I think it's best if we hear from you," Lina finally speaks, addressing me. "What happened? What about Raf?" The questions pour out of her, and I feel a pang of regret. All this time and I'd never once stopped to think how Raf must have felt in this entire debacle.
Granted, the kidnapping had been out of my control, but even after that, between the quarrels with Vlad and our reconciliation, I hadn't for one minute thought about Raf.
Damn!
"There was nothing going on between Raf and I," I start, taking a deep breath. Lina and Marcello are both focused on me as I talk, so I admit to all the lies I told, hoping they won't be too disappointed in me. "He proposed a marriage of convenience when I found out I was pregnant."
"You knew?" Lina gasps, "You knew you were pregnant?"
I nod slowly, shame creeping up my cheeks.
But then I feel Vlad's hand on top of mine as he gives me a quick squeeze and it's all I need to continue.
"Yes," I admit. "I knew."
"Sisi." Lina shakes her head at me. "You knew you could have come to me at any point. Why would you…" she trails off and I can see the disappointment in her gaze.
"I was scared," I whisper, ready to put all the cards on the table. But Marcello interrupts me, his voice thunderous as he practically shoots daggers at Vlad with his eyes.
"You mean Raf wasn't the father, was he?" my brother asks, and I don't know why I feel so embarrassed admitting this, but as I slowly nod I can feel myself growing hotter, my shame making me sweat.
"Fuck, you took advantage of her, didn't you?" he growls, slapping his palm against the table, the noise making me wince.
Table of Contents
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- Page 49 (Reading here)
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