Page 26 of The Mafia and His Obsession Part 2 (Tainted Hearts 5)

Fuck, even now when I knew the truth, those words still had a way of making my heart ache.

Ayla beamed at me. “When Maddie walked out, she announced that I didn’t want to see anyone and that I wanted to stay in my room. I never knew Maddie was such a good actress, but she cried real tears, and it all seemed convincing to Abram. The estate was in a despairing atmosphere. Everyone was mourning. Only very few people knew the truth. Maddie. Nikolay. Lena. Ivy and Phoenix.”

Holy shit. And here I thought I was the perfect game master.

“But how…” I asked. “How did you keep this up? I mean…”

“It was easy,” Ayla assured me, although I saw the apprehension in my gaze. There was sadness there, a desperation, a hidden need to fly free. “I never left my room since the incident. Everyone was told I was mourning, a shell of a person as I suffered the loss of my unborn baby. The trauma was too much for me to bear. Abram believed it. The real evidence—my baby bump—stayed hidden behind closed doors. Nobody is allowed in my room except those who know the truth.”

“You hate it, don’t you?” I questioned.

Ayla shrugged again and then looked down at her lap. “I hate being trapped in here. Alessio, Maddie, and Lena make it somewhat bearable, but I really want some fresh air. I can’t risk going out of the room in case someone sees. We know our estate is filled with loyal people, but gossip spreads. We can’t…risk it,” she said in a low voice.

I took a tentative step forward. Taking her hands in mine, I gave them a soft squeeze. “I am sorry,” I said once again.

This was Ayla’s worse nightmare. Being trapped in here, in a room, not seeing the sun from the outside or feeling the breeze on her skin. She liked to walk around, wander outside, sit in the garden and play with Maila.

She liked to be…free.

And I trapped her instead.

I felt like the biggest fucking asshole.

But Ayla being the angel she really was, lifted her head up to whisper, “There was no other option, Viktor. I don’t blame you.”

“Yeah. But I want to put another hole in his ass.”

Everything halted, and the air in the room changed, becoming more chilled.

I closed my eyes when the other voice joined us. Well, fuck me.

Alessio Ivanshov was here.

And my poor fucking ass was on the line. Once again.

Chapter 9

I loved my ass, really. And I would never forgive Alessio for putting a hole in it. Right now, he was threatening to prettily decorate my ass with another hole, and that was all kinds of fuck no.

“Can you stop with the ass shooting, for fuck’s sake?” I growled, turning around to face the intruder.

He was standing in the middle of the room now, his arms crossed over his wide chest. Alessio had ditched the suit jacket, with the sleeves of his black dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. He looked fucking intimidating, standing there glowering at me. Anyone would piss their pants.

I was just damn irritated.

Alessio’s lips were pressed into a thin line, and his head cocked to the side the slightest bit. I knew he was staring at Ayla from behind my back. Her exasperated sigh could be heard, and she walked from around me.

“Alessio. Play nice,” she admonished. Her hands were now on her full hips, and she tapped her left foot impatiently.

“I am playing nice. If I wasn’t, Viktor would have known,” he shot back before sending a glare my way.

“Oh. Piss off, fucker.” He raised an eyebrow when I snapped, although he didn’t look one bit surprised.

He was the Boss. The King. Nobody spoke to him rudely or with disrespect. People cowered at his feet. They wouldn’t even dare look into his face, into the eyes of death.

But I was a whole different fucking story.

And I also enjoyed pissing Alessio Ivanshov off. Favorite pastime.

“Angel, Viktor and I have a lot to discuss…” he started, but Ayla was already gesturing for us to walk away.

Moving closer to her, I took her face in my hands, and then I placed a kiss on her forehead. “Soon, baby girl. Just bear with it for a few more weeks.”

Ayla stared at me intensely for a second, as if she were reading me—really seeing the depth of my soul—before she nodded and gave me a sad smile.

I followed Alessio out of the room, and we walked side by side downstairs. We were both silent. There were many things to say, many things to discuss, yet we both dwelled in silence. Waiting.

I wasn’t exactly sure what we were waiting for, though.

Maybe Alessio and I had been fighting side by side for so long, on the same team, that we didn’t have to speak to say what was on our minds.