Victor

Elena's nervousness grew with each passing second. I knew it would get here, times are different, but there were moments when I realize that there are things that time cannot help. "Elena" I stopped her, took her bag, handed it to Marcus and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her towards me. Her eyes darted like those of a hunted animal, her face flushed, as if part of her hair had left an imprint on her cheeks. "Do we have to?" she asked softly, staring at our feet.

I sighed and lifted her chin. "I wish I could spare you that part of my life, my love" I stroked her jaw line, her pupils were huge with fear and I understand. It's not easy when you're new to this, walking into a room full of people who feed on causing pain and death. But Elena is not just anyone, there are few bosses in Los Angeles who are above me, crueler, maybe, scarier, probably, that's the only thing I've ever been thankful to my father for, that I didn't had to start from the bottom like him, just to strengthen my position.

"Then we shouldn't?" her eyes, her voice, her drooping shoulders, I could feel her whole being begging me for it. "Do you remember what I told you, Elena?" I asked and she nodded slowly, her gaze darting down the corridor to where at the end of it was what terrified her. "Most of those men out there are more afraid of me than they are of facing a flying bullet, Elena, they're like sharks waiting for me to show weakness so they can attack me, and right now, the only one for me is you,my love" she looked back at me and tried to smile.

"What if...if I do something...if I say something I shouldn't? If...if I cause trouble and..." she started wringing her hands and I pulled her into a hug. "Elena, you are my wife, there is nothing you can do or say that will turn out to be wrong" her arms wrapped around my waist and she looked up at me. My beautiful minion, my amazing little woman, it's amazing that she's even trying to make an effort, just agreeing to be here today fills me with real pride and makes me fall even more in love with her even when my universe is filled only with her.

"Let me explain to you again how this works. There is a hierarchy, Elena, there are very few bosses above me, even fewer above them, but in Los Angeles, there are none. In New York, yes, in Washington there are the most, in Chicago, the chain is so long that I can't list them all, and no one knows who is really at the top" here I fell silent, there are things that Elena is better off not knowing. "There are people in there who have to bow to me, Elena, just because I was born a Craven, now they'll have to bow to you because you're a Craven by marriage. If you tell them to kneel and lick your shoes, they will, because otherwise they will answer to me. If you tell them that the sun is green, the moon is a cheese factory, and the stars are chirping, they will accept it with a smile, even if they don't believe it, because they are afraid of me." my eyes darted between hers, I know what she's thinking about, the case of the boat in Koh Samui, the moment I scared her and almost lost her.

"I know you don't want to see me like this, Elena, I know it scares you, but I'll say it again. I.WON'T.EVER.HURT.YOU. Right? You know that, right, my love?" I raised my eyebrows and Elena took a deep breath. "I know, I'm just...I'm not afraid of you, Victor, not anymore, but I am afraid of them" she slightly tilted her head in the direction of the hall and I smiled, kissing her forehead. "They're just a pack of dogs, my love, power and money dictate their actions, and I have both. Stay by my side, and if I walk away, Marcus will be your shadow, you won't be alone for a second, will you?" I tilted my head slightly and Elena again forced herself to smile and nod.

"Hold my hand, my love, keep your head up and don't let them scare you. Remember, the only reason those men and women try to do that is because they hate who we are and where we are, but if you don't let them under your skin, none of them will dare to make a wrong move. Remember, I am the beast?" Elena nodded with a smile. "Well, they are the villagers, my beautiful Belle, so, believe in your beast and enjoy the evening and the power, my love" I stroked her back and her shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Goliath" Elena giggled and I lifted her chin and arched an eyebrow. "Goliath?" I repeated, Elena blushed. "When...when I bumped into you outside my dad's office, somehow in my mind I started calling you 'Goliath', which is like a beast but more...sexier" she babbled hastily and I chuckled too. "So I'm a sexy Goliath, huh?" Elena snorted and I pecked her lips. "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore" she poked me in the ribs and let out a huff.

"Are you ready?" once more, Elena looked down the hall, but straightened her back and nodded. "Just don't kill anyone in front of me, okay?" I smiled and nodded. "You won't even see a spot of blood on my clothes, my love, I promise" I swore and she took a deep breath, released herself from my embrace and I put her hand in my elbow. Marcus took a step towards us and handed her the bag back. "Thank you,Marcus" she smiled at him and he nodded. "You'll be fine Mrs. Craven, the boss and I will keep you safe" he assured her and Elena looked up at me. "Let's do it" she said a little more confidently, but I could hear the trepidation in her voice and yet, I was proud of how bravely she held her head up, trying to keep her smile.

"Congratulations,Victor" I shook Cameron Strike's hand. "Ms. Craven, please accept our sincere wishes for a happy married life, this is a small wedding gift and as a token of our respect" Sonya Strike stepped up to Elena and handed her a glass lidded box containing a ruby necklace and earrings. "Thank you, it really wasn't necessary" Elena smiled and accepted Sonia's hug. "You're doing great, my love" I whispered as the Strikes walked away. "There are so many people, I didn't even remember the names of most of them" complained Elena quietly and I smiled.

"I know, but it's not necessary, with most of them you will either never see each other again, or they will remind you of their names if you happen to meet" Elena glanced at me. I know she doesn't like the man I am here, the little smiles I give her are just for her and never meant for the rest of the room. "Victor? What a pleasure, I thought we lost you" I looked up, just from the icy tongues under my skin, I knew who it was. Elena's fingers around my elbow tightened, as if she too had smelled Damien Bennett's sinister stench.

"Elena, this is Damien Bennett" Damien's little pig eyes turned to Elena and everything in me screamed to smash his fucking face. "Oh,Elena Mascot?" Damien sang out and it only made me cringe even more. "Craven, Bennet, Elena Craven!" I gritted my teeth and he blinked at me with raised eyebrows. I don't know a bigger snake than Damien, his every word, look or action just brings trouble. His ambitions could not be hidden behind the walls of a bomb shelter. Often his name is associated with an attempted assassination or someone's murder, all just to rise in the hierarchy.

"Yeah, yeah, my mistake" he smirked and pursed his lips, his head falling to his shoulder. "I'm a bit confused though" his eyes fell to Elena again and she awkwardly slunk closer to me and Marcus stood closer behind her shoulder. "From what I hear, you're going through a divorce?" Damien lifted the glass of whiskey and swirled it in his hands, watching the amber liquid swirl around the sides of the crystal. "What,the fuc,are you talking about?" I snarled and pressed Elena's hand to my elbow to show her that the anger in my voice wasn't directed at her.

"You see Victor, I know from reliable sources that her father, that, excuse me, your father-in-law, is going around offering to have someone take his daughter away from you, in exchange for her hand, of course" he looked at me sardonically from under his eyebrows and I looked down at Elena. She looked horrified, looked at me guiltily, and was as pale as a canvas. Damn Damien! "So that's how it's spoken?" I asked coldly, turning my attention back to Damien, who was enjoying my wife's facade crumbling. My hands were itching to strangle him, but Damien is on the same page as me, that would start a war I don't want.

"Looking at you now, I realize they're just rumours," he sighed and smiled like the snake that he is. "I'm sure none of what I'm hearing is true, am I?" he asked in Elena's direction. I could literally feel the floor shaking from her trembling. "Which father offers his daughter as a reward for killing one of the most powerful men in town, promising his daughter's virginity?" here his gaze mockingly turned to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Elena press her palm to her mouth. "I...excuse me, I have to..." before I could stop her, Elena stormed off in the direction of the toilets and I cursed mentally, sending Marcus after her before turning back to bastard Damien.

"You know, Bennett" I took a step towards him, our chests almost touching, or at least he probably wanted it that way. At the moment I was taking satanic pleasure in being at least half a head taller than him, because the fucking piece of shit had to bend his head back to look me in the eye. "I'm not going to tell you how the moment I proposed to Elena, I followed her father's every move and Mascot can't even burp without me finding out. I'm not going to bother explaining to you how I know exactly who he is asked for help to get rid of me, nor will I consider the fact that you agreed" I sighed and shook my head, it was extremely stupid of Damien Bennett to look at me so blatantly.

I didn't care what Mascot was doing, nor what he was saying, it didn't matter who he was asking for help. Elena refuses to divorce me, so his only chance is for me to be killed. However, Mascot and Bennett clearly underestimate me. I understand why Elena's father thinks he is protected, I am married to his daughter and I would never hurt her by killing him, but there are other ways. But Bennett should know better.

"Until now, I thought you were smart, or you wouldn't have made it this far. Unfortunately, facing a man born to be a monster, that, Bennet, is the dumbest thing you could think of" run you bastard ,I smile, but you are one bullet away from death. "Because, Bennett, the only reason you're still breathing is my promise to my wife that she won't see a blood stain on my clothes tonight" only I know how much it costs to tame my anger, my jealousy. But right now my wife is probably crying her eyes out in the toilet and I don't have time to commit pure murder.

"But that's just tonight, Bennett, when the sun comes up again, pray you never come face to face with my wife again, pray your foot never crosses her personal space again, and I'll personally turn your lungs in premium tobacco, if they take a breath of the same air as her," with a lingering look, I circled Damien, bumping hard into his shoulder. My anger melted with every step as I walked to the restrooms, but my jealousy was the one that couldn't calm down.

Marcus was standing in front of the bathroom door, holding back two women who were trying to convince him to let them in. "Get out of here!" I roared for him and Marcus leapt away to let me into the toilets. "Elena?" I closed the door and looked around. "Come on, my love, we don't want to break any doors, do we?" I asked softly and started towards the booths, opening the first four doors one after the other. When I reached the last one, Elena's soft sobs made my heart sink and the painful sensation only increased my jealousy.

Elena is so gentle, so delicate. Her heart is as big as the sky, and her feelings are as precious as rare diamonds. Bennett will never be able to make her happy, no one can. Only me, because Elena is mine, my wife, my wife, my soulmate, the reason I wake up in the morning, enjoy every breath of air, the reason my heart beats and my imagination paints a future that I want to turn into reality for her.

The painful jealousy in my chest was tearing me apart, making my insides tangle in a sailor's knot. "Open the door,my love" I knocked lightly and the sobs on the other end died making me grit my teeth. Don't tell me Elena thinks I'm mad at her? "Elena, please, open the door" I put my palm on the wooden surface and took a breath. "Are you angry?" she sounded hoarse and I closed my eyes. "Not to you, my love" I answered and barely refrained from pressing the damn door with my shoulder, the thought that Elena was on the other side, covered in tears, was killing me.

A few seconds passed in which the silence grew heavier, and I was torn between the need to reach her, to touch her, to have her, and the knowledge that she needed time. I rested my chin on my chest, closed my eyes and began to count, time, that's all we both need, a few minutes, for me to tame my jealousy and for her to catch her breath and realize, to remember that I would never have caused her any pain and opened the door.

First I heard the sound of her heels and looked up. "There she is, my beautiful wife" I stretched out my arms as soon as her face appeared from behind the open door and Elena literally fell on my chest. "I'm sorry Victor, I didn't know!" she cried and I gritted my teeth. "Come here, Elena" I pulled her out of the cubicle, towards the mirrors above the sinks and turned her to face them, looking straight into the eyes of her reflection.

"Victor..." I slid my hands over hers, over her shoulders and closed my fingers around her throat. "Do you know who I am, Elena?" she nodded slightly, her pupils became huge, the smudged makeup only made her eyes even more enticing, her ass pressed temptingly against my groin and my cock responded to the arousing sensation. "Who am I, Elena?" I asked against her temple, freeing one of my hands, I slid it down her cleavage. The heat between her breasts burned my fingers, I could feel her pulse, the furious racing of her heart.

"Victor...Craven" she closed her eyes, her breathing quickening with the movement of my fingers as I penetrated under the lace of her bra. "Who.Am.I.To.You.Elena?" I repeated my question more specifically and roughly lifted her chin, forcing her to open her eyes. "My husband" she gasped and I smirked victoriously. "Exactly my love, your husband" I lightly pressed my lips to her hair, breathed in her scent, rubbed my cock on her ass, reached in and gently squeezed one of her nipples between my fingers until I felt the bud click against the lace.

"I know you are not to blame for your father's actions, Elena" her eyes became huge, dark, her cheeks reddened, her lips parted slightly. "As I know you're only mine, Elena" I pressed closer to her back, squeezed her nipple harder, until Elena took a sharp breath and her eyes rolled back. Her back arched and her ass pressed harder against my crotch. "Do you understand,my love?" I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent again, that jasmine freshness that only Elena possessed, as if her very being was emitting waves of jasmine aphrodisiac to seduce me.

"I own everything Elena, every part of you" I don't know what was affecting me more at the moment, her body, her ass soaking into my crotch, rubbing against my cock like Elena is a driven female, begging to be inseminated, the jealousy that someone like Bennett could touch her, kiss her, have her if I wasn't careful, or all at once, but my balls were on the verge of bursting. "Those juicy breasts" I cupped her breast in a fistful, lifting it up until it popped above her cleavage and her pinky bud winked at me in the mirror.

"These lips" I turned her head, pushed her forward and sunk my lips into hers until I felt our teeth slam into each other and my tongue sank into her throat and her moan rolled and rumbled against my palate. "This body" my hand slid down her breast, along her ribs and stomach, I lightly squeezed the side of her waist and moved back to her ass. "This ass" I slapped her as far as I could, so stuck to her with no room for her to catch her breath and for me not to feel the movement of her back.

I continued down until my fingers sank under her dress. I sharply lifted the end of the garment, grabbed the elastic of her thong and pulled hard. Elena whimpered and I chuckled. "That pussy, Elena, it's mine too!" I stroked the slit between her folds. "So hot and wet baby and so ready for me?" I asked snarling. Elena whimpered, nodding. "Do you want it, Elena, do you want me?" her eyes met mine, emerald green, swimming in lust and guilt, so beautiful, so desired. "I...yes, yes, Victor, I want you!" praise was on the tip of my tongue, but Elena deserved more, much more, she deserved everything.

I pulled back, unzipped my pants and reached down to remove my boxers. My cock jumped hard and ready to give it all. "Mine, Elena, only mine!" I spread her legs slightly with my foot and used her throat to bring her forward, crouching down so I could insert my cock in one smooth forward motion. Elena tightened, her walls squeezed me and the next thrust was a real delight, as if she was milking me with a silk glove. "My Elena, don't forget it, you are only mine!" I pressed her stomach to the counter, squeezed her throat, holding her chin up, grabbed her hip and began pumping her tight pussy at almost punishing speed.

"Victor!" her whimpering grunts, her moans, played with my mind as her body took over mine as if she was my home and I was coming home after a long absence. "Everything is mine, Elena!" my thrusts were getting stronger and rougher. Elena played with my mind, controlled my world, squeezed everything out of me and I couldn't stop her. She didn't need to tell me she wanted it, her slick was dripping down my cock and seeping into my pants and it was like I was being rewarded for saving the world.

"Victor, please!" her hips shook, my cock throbbed, as if she was fighting for a breath of life. "Your womb is mine, Elena!" I slammed into her hard, like my dick had torn through an invisible barrier, and if I didn't know she wasn't a virgin anymore, I'd swear I just took her virginity for the second time. Elena screamed, her hands resting on the mirror and the scraping sound of her nails running through my veins. I grunted and came as deep as I could, pumping in several short thrusts as Elena convulsed around me.

We stayed like that, pressed forward over the counter, connected, while my cock seemed to be trying to squeeze every last drop of sperm from my balls into her womb, refusing to surrender to the possibility that his seed wouldn't germinate. I stood holding her to me, my forehead between her shoulders, thinking only of how to kill Bennett and how to deal with her father without hurting him. "Victor?" I slowly raised my head and looked at her in the mirror. Lust was still in her eyes, her flushed face was so beautiful despite the smudged make-up, messy hair and the fact that I had just fucked my wife like a whore for anyone who could walk by the toilets to hear us.

"I know, Elena, you might be mad at me, but I've been following your father since we got back, and I know that Damien Bennett isn't the only one who's been asking for...help" Elena arched her back sharply and turned around, placing a palm on my chest . "You knew?" she asked breathlessly and I nodded. "After the welcome your father gave us, I wanted to find out who the man he was talking about was, so I started following him" I half-heartedly admitted, because it was true, but only part of it.

"Why...why didn't you say anything?" I sighed, buttoned up my pants and straightened her dress, it was too late for her thongs. "Your father thinks I'm not good enough for you, my love, and he's right" Elena opened her mouth to say something, but I pulled her by the waist, raised her on her toes and kissed her. "I know Elena, but your father messes with people who have far less morals than I do, I'm just trying to do what I promised you, to protect our family" probably our growing family, but I kept that to myself. Elena is already stressed enough to think about a possible baby growing in her belly.

"I know, Victor, I'm not angry with you and I don't blame you," she hugged me by the neck. "The truth is, I've thought about asking you the same thing several times" I raised my eyebrows and was rewarded with a sweet kiss. God, how I love this woman! "Thank you for trying to protect my father, Victor" this time I was the kiss stealer if there is such an expression between husband and wife. "Clean up and let's go, I'm not done with you,Elena" I grunted and my cock only got harder as the blush on her face blossomed even more.

Elena

"Elena, I'm so sorry" Ophelia wrapped an arm around my shoulder. My fingers were shaking, I felt like I had swallowed a thorny ball that was tearing me apart from the inside. "I'm sure we can post a rebuttal or something..." Christina started but I shook my head. My mind can't handle it: "After the hasty wedding of billionaire Victor Craven and casino heiress Elena Mascot, relatives of the newlyweds claim that her husband regularly mentally and physically abused his young wife. After several attempts to contact either of them ,no response received. Elena Craven's father, Nicholas Mascott, claims he has not seen his daughter since her wedding day."

Where have I gone wrong? What have I done to deserve this? Wasn't it my father who insisted on this marriage? Wasn't it for his own good? Can't he see that I'm happy with Victor? That I'm in love with my husband? Why all these lies? Hasn't he had enough of going around town announcing my virginity as a reward for killing Victor, and now he's trying to ruin his public reputation as well? Wasn't mine enough?

"Elena, wait...." Oscar tried to grab me, but my guard blocked his way. "We're leaving!" I ordered the two guards and for the first time I walked away from my only true friends without looking back. Disgust, insult, humiliation, anger and terrible shame flowed through my veins. I felt like I was suffocating walking with the newspaper in one hand and my purse in the other. "To Mascot's house" I gave the order as soon as I sat in the back seat of my car.

My father crossed all limits. Never, not once have I questioned his orders, never contested his decisions, never allowed myself to be disrespectful or disobeyed. Was that the reason I didn't see my father's true face? Is that why he couldn't accept that I was already a married woman? Is control over me all he wants? What does he think he's going to achieve with these public and behind-the-scenes attacks on Victor?

My phone started ringing, but I ignored it. I tried to fight the bitter realization that even if somewhere in his heart my father hides love for me, his greed, his thirst to control, to impose himself is much stronger. And the more thoughts raced through my head, the more I realized, or at least began to think, that everything I ever received from him seemed to be a reward for my obedience.

But that ends today, now! My father needs to realize that I am no longer a card in his deck, he needs to understand that I am no longer the woman who swallowed her own voice for the sake of the common good. It's funny that even when I'm thinking this, I can't help but think that he's going to blame Victor for that as well. I don't understand his obsession to separate me from him, I don't understand his attempts to prove to me that Victor doesn't deserve me. What about him? Does he deserve me?

"Ma'am?" a security guard opened the door for me and I stepped out, looking up at the building I once considered my home. Nothing, all I felt right now was disgust. This house was never my home. Jail, cell, probably, but home? My phone started ringing again and I closed the door, leaving my bag in the back seat. Right now I need to vent my anger, to put an end to my father's insane attempts to destroy my marriage. I know that Ophelia, Christina and Oscar are worried about me, I could always count on them, but I have to do this alone.

As if under a veil of bitter emotions, I went to the front door. My whole life seemed to be projected before me. My mother's death, the funeral, I can't remember before my mother passed away my father's presence in my life. Why? He always worked from home, locked in his big office, sitting behind his long desk strewn with papers, why can't I remember my birthdays, when he stood next to me and greeted the guests, and my mother's hand was always on my shoulder me or on my head?

Why don't I remember after that my father coming to my room in the evening, hugging me while I fell asleep, crying for my mother? Why don't I remember breakfast conversations? Why don't I remember the gifts he gave me? Why don't I remember the school plays he attended? Why don't I remember the holidays? Why don't I remember the praises, the moments when I feel proud of myself because my father is proud of me?

Because none of that had happened. "I'm busy" was his regular excuse, varied with "Big business requires big sacrifices, Elena" or "Next time, Elena, I had an urgent meeting" or "I'm sorry I couldn't come for Christmas, Elena, but I'll take you next one, okay?" and more and more. Stupid me, as I walked towards my former house, I realize that for some reason, I've repressed all of this until the moment I got home once I graduated. Maybe because, when I came home, my father was standing on the threshold, with open arms and the smile I had always dreamed of?

He had hugged me, given me my first car and kept praising me all week that I graduated with honors? Or because from that day he did not miss a single morning to breakfast with me, offering me again and again new teachers, in cooking, sewing, drawing, recitation, furnished a library for me, but now that I think of it, every book was educational, every preparing me to be a wife or a mother, and none artistic, none that I can say I chose or was at least slightly to my taste. Or maybe I forgot, because since I came home, my birthdays were spectacular, my father always stood by me, always looked at me proudly, pointing out my qualities to the guests, but again, now I don't see the happiness, because all the guests were his colleagues, partners or potential partners, with sons who could one day be suitable candidates for my husband.

God, how blind I was, how naive and deluded!

I swung open my father's office door and stopped in the doorway, fixing my gaze on him. Nothing had changed, he was still sitting behind his huge desk piled high with papers, in his battered expensive suit, holding a pen, his nose stuck in his work. Until he saw me and jumped to his feet. His eyes lit up, but only for a moment, maybe until he realized that my visit was far from nice.

"Elena, finally..." I interrupted him, pick up the newspaper, which I was still clutching like a fan in my hand. "Who do you think you are?" I screamed and flew in, throwing the newspaper on his desk. My father looked startled and surprised for a moment, as if he didn't understand why I was angry. He picked up the newspaper, opened it and read before his eyes darted from the letters to me. "What do you expect me to do, Elena?" he asked and put the newspaper down, looking at me like it was my fault.

"You're not answering my emails, my texts, my calls, the guards at the gate of Craven's home told me he banned me? What should I think?" he sat back in his chair, tossed the newspaper into the bin and picked up his pen again. "And you decided to fill the news with lies?" I hissed, propping myself up on my palms on his desk, leaning into him. "And what else have I got left?" his gaze returned to the documents and this seemed to unlock a door in me, behind which I had stored all my frustration and anger.

"Look at me when I talk to you! You taught me that, remember?" I screamed and swept the papers in front of him with my hand. "What do you think you're doing?!" my father jumped to his feet and his arm swung. I cowered and squeezed my eyes shut, but no blow followed. "Are you alright,ma'am?" the two security guards who were always with me when I go out stood on either side of me and one held my father's hand inches away from my face.

"How dare you touch me?" my father's voice was so venomous that I shuddered. His look, his posture, everything was unfamiliar, cold and as if superior. "Tell him to let me go, Elena!" this was not a request, but an order. "How does he allow himself to...?" I asked shakily and my father's eyes moved from the man to me. "What are you allowing yourself, Dad?" I asked, trying to stop the burning in my eyes. I will not cry, not for the person in front of me. This is not the father I know, not the man I saw every day.

This man is not my father, never was. A father doesn't drop his daughter off at a boarding school just a week after losing her mother. A father does not miss birthdays and holidays because of work. A father does not keep his daughter on a leash and does not try to destroy his child's happiness. "What else can I do when you refuse to talk to me, Elena?" he tried to pull his hand away and the movement made me flinch and step back.

"To talk with you?" I asked dumbfounded and he grunted, again trying to break free. My guards must have noticed that I felt threatened, because they stood closer in front of me. "What are we talking about, Dad? How come just two weeks after I got married to save your business, you asked for a divorce? Or how you go around town talking to anyone who would have the guts to stand up to  Victor and kill him, offering my virginity as a reward? Or about the lies in the newspapers and the internet? What do you want to talk about first?" I started to scream but all I got was tugs and grunts.

"This man doesn't deserve you, Elena!" my father shouted and I laughed, shaking my head. If I ever had any respect for my father, it slowly drained away into the drain of my resentment and frustration. "Isn't he the one who doesn't let you talk to me? Isn't he the one who keeps you locked in his house? Isn't he the one who turns you against me?" I put my hand on the shoulder of the guard who was holding my father's hand and told him to let him go.

"You don't know what you're talking about, dad" I sighed, feeling drained and tired. I never imagined that I could be so disappointed in a person whom I love so much. "You don't know Victor, you don't know how kind, gentle and thoughtful he is. You don't realize how happy I am with him, you only think about yourself" my father snorted and rolled his eyes, rubbing his wrist. "Happy? You're talking about a murderer, Elena. You're brainwashed!" he growled and I raised my eyebrows.

"A killer?" I took another step back and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "Yes, Victor is a murderer, and you're trying to play a game whose rules you don't know. You have no idea how much Victor does for you. While you go from door to door looking for someone to kill him, only his relationship with you keeps you alive. While you try to destroy his reputation, this man sits at home showering your daughter with love, doing nothing to respond to your attacks" I opened my eyes and smiled as my father looked like a balloon too full of hot air ,ready to burst at any moment.

"I love my husband, Dad. He is the kindest, gentlest, most warm-hearted man I know. You may not approve of his work, perhaps you are too greedy and conceited to not see that he is all I want, or you just refuse to give me a choice at least once, but it doesn't matter. This" I pointed to where the trash was behind his desk and sighed. "Do whatever you want, but if Victor decides he's had enough of your bullshit, I won't stop him" before I could even finish, an arm wrapped around me and my back rested against a broad, massive chest.

"Are you okay,my love?" chills ran under my skin as Victor's deep, heavy voice touched my ear. I looked up and nodded, smiling sadly. "What are you doing here?" I asked quietly and he stroked my cheek. "Christina called Simon, she was worried, and he called me, I tracked your location" he explained and I snuggled into his chest, sliding my hand over his. "See, Dad? That's the man you're trying to kill" Victor's chest heaved with a low growl behind me.

"I'm not doing anything like that, all I want is for my daughter to open her eyes" my father snorted sulkily and Victor pulled me to the sides and behind him. "I don't mind you hating me, I don't mind you hiring assassins, sending them after me and telling lies about me" Victor placed a hand on my hip and looked back, smiling at me softly before turning his attention back to my father. "But this is my wife, the woman I love. If I see tears in her eyes again because of something you've done, if I just see her staring aimlessly out the window one more time, her face downcast with sadness, it won't matter who you hire, no one, I repeat, no one, will save you from me!" my heart was pounding like crazy and all i could hear was 'the woman i love'.

Victor loves me? He grabbed my arm and without letting me say anything else, not that I had anything to say, he pulled me out. My legs obeyed on their own, following him obediently outside and to my car. "You're crying" he stopped next to my car and turned to me, cupping my face. "I've changed my mind, I'm going to kill him right now!" he growled and I grabbed his arm to stop him from going back into the house.

"No, I'm not crying...because of him" Victor looked at me in disbelief and I smiled. "You love Me?" I asked, and I've never felt so whole as I do right now. "Oh my love, it's impossible not to love you" he pulled me into his arms and lifted my chin. "You are amazing, Elena, beautiful, not only on the outside, but you have a heart that angels would envy. I've been crazy about you since the moment I saw those amazing emerald eyes, the moment your hair caught fire in the sun. You are everything ,which I have been thinking and living since the first moment, my love.I am sorry I didn't tell you until now, but I didn't know if you felt the same and I didn't want to pressure you into responding to my feelings.You don't know what I felt when I walked in there and I heard you say you love me,Elena" at this point my tears were like rivers of happiness and nothing but his kiss could stop my sobs.