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Chapter 12

Tatiana

"You're engaged," she stated dumbfoundedly after a few moments.

Zeke ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, let me explain—"

"Don't." She cut him off, scrambling away from him as fast as she could, wrapping a sheet around her nakedness.

"Tatiana—"

"I understand perfectly." She cut him off once again in a detached voice. "You are engaged to a woman, to be married, bound together until death," she recited, her impassive expression hiding the storm of sadness, hurt, but most of all the white-hot, utter rage brewing within her. Divorce wasn't an option when you were in the mafia world. Marriage was a big deal to them, a symbol of a binding alliance. They took the 'Till death do us part.' in the vows seriously.

But mafia politics and marriage semantics took the least amount of attention in her mind. He cheated. And he made her the other woman.

Bile rose in the back of her throat as he tried to explain himself. "I only recently found out that it was a confirmed arrangement." Now, he ran both his hands through his hair, distressed. "Mon ange, it's not what you think—"

"You know, you should really check to see if you're currently engaged before leading some girl on, stringing her along with no consideration of her feelings, and fucking her." Her voice whipped like lightning, making him flinch slightly. It was the least he could do to actually appear shameful for what he'd done, though it alleviated nothing on her end. Her skin crawled at the thought of what they'd just done, at the thought of what leaked between her legs until now.

After a few moments of calming herself down, she smoothed her face into impassiveness. "I'm leaving," she said, shoving the sheet off her and quickly getting dressed. She hissed in pain when she accidentally nudged the bandage against her skin.

"What is it?" Zeke's voice questioned immediately, grabbing her to inspect what happened. She knocked his hand away. "Don't touch me," she said so viciously that he stepped back as if she burned him.

Tatiana quickly tied the ends of her wrap dress and ran her fingers through her hair. He didn't look at her—just as she didn't look at him—staring at the wall behind her as she passed him and left, slamming the door behind her.

He didn't try to stop her.

***

Zeke

He slid down the side of the bed, leaning against it, bone-weary at what just happened. He heard two people conversing—Tatiana and his brother, Francesco—through the door to his bedroom before the other's footsteps receded into the hallway. A few moments later, someone knocked on his door and Francesco walked in. He looked to where Zeke was sitting, shrugging and coming to sit next to him on the floor but not before tossing him a sheet to cover himself.

"So, what happened?" he asked casually, leaning back against the frame.

Zeke sighed. "We fucked, I told her I was engaged, then she stormed out."

Francesco stared at him for a few moments. "You told a girl that you just screwed that you were engaged to another woman," he deadpanned before busting out laughing. "You're not the smartest tool in the shed, little Zeke," he said, ruffling his hair slightly. Zeke only rolled his eyes at him, shrugging off his hand.

It wasn't the smartest thing he's ever done—he was better than that—but having her then, knowing that feeling that he could never be with her snapped something within him that he just... he wanted to be with her at least once. Once before he could never again.

But once wasn't enough, not after the mindblowing sex, the connection he felt towards her in those moments when they were one.

"So it's official then?" Francesco asked after a while when the seriousness of the situation sunk in. "Your uncle agreed to your marrying the Verratti girl?"

"Neither father nor uncle has told me yet. I just overheard them conversing on the phone," Zeke said, bone-tired.

"Tough love, mladshiy bratishka." Francesco let out a low whistle. "I heard Verratti's daughter has a loose screw in her head."

Zeke rolled his eyes. "That's not my problem, and you know it."

Francesco remained silent for a few moments, pursing his lips. "So what are you going to do about the princess?" he finally asked. "Verratti wont take too kindly you backing out of the deal if you wish to pursue her. A war might break out with the American's as it is. Angering a fellow Russian Don is not in our best interest, Zeke."

Zeke groaned, massaging his suddenly pounding head.

He looked away from his brother, staring at the door as if he could see through it and see the woman who's just walked out. "I'll think of something," he promised into the wind.

***

Tatiana

"What an asshole," Sada said after Tatiana told her cousin everything. She was a petite woman that only reached up to her shoulders, with straight blonde hair down her back and bright blue eyes. She was twenty, only two years younger than her but they related to each other so well that they might as well have been sisters.

It was two days after she had stormed out of Zeke's bedroom and out of the estate. They were currently in a cozy little coffee shop called Indigo that Sada had recently discovered in one of the less crowded streets in New York. It was a quaint place with artfully aged brick walls, armchairs, soft cushions and a coffee bar that served freshly brewed coffee.

Here, she had told Sada everything from the shooting, the park, the kiss, up until the part where Zeke told her he was engaged. She didn't tell her about the clearing though. It had felt far too personal and she had decided she wanted to keep those moments to herself.

No matter how tainted his memory of her was now.

Sada Belluchi was her closest friend. Of course, Carmen was her best friend but there were some things that she just couldn't tell her because she wasn't a part of the family. That, and the fact she was currently in Hawaii with her family for an impromptu vacation her father had planned. She did have her sister, Lucia, and they were on good terms but there had always been a wedge between them as sisters. They were always being compared to each other since they were so close in age. The fact that they had different mothers didn't help the situation at all.

Which is why, in most things, Tatiana turned to Sada, the person she was closest to who didn't dish out judgements on her, even if she was only her half-cousin.

"I just don't understand why it'd be like he was pursuing me one moment, and saying that he was engaged to some other woman the next," she told her, sighing slightly. All of this was giving her a headache, she thought as she rubbed her temple. Boy trouble on top of worrying about a bunch of hitmen out to get her, she did not need extra drama.

As they continued conversing over coffee, the bell to the coffee shop's entrance chimed announcing the arrival of new customers.

Tatiana looked up to find Ivanov Vasiliev and Rose Romano, the only woman she liked during the weekly housewives brunch, walking in and talking in hushed tones. She raised her eyebrows, curiosity bubbling in her blood. Surely this is not a romantic rendezvous, she thought to herself as she watched them sit down at one of the tables. She did not think that Ivanov was the type to have relationships with married women but she barely knew him so she couldn't just assume and make any conclusion. Rose, on the other hand, was happily married to her husband who was a few years older than her. She was dedicated to her husband and as far as she knew, wasn't the type to sleep around. It didn't seem like her style.

"Tiana?" Sada asked, bringing her attention back to hers. "Something wrong?" She'd been so consumed on speculating about the nature of Ivanov and Rose's arrival that she had momentarily forgotten that she wasn't alone.

Tatiana blinked, bringing herself back to earth. "Sorry," she said. "I was lost in my thoughts for a second." She glanced back to where the two sat and Sada followed her eyes to where they were.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Ivanov Vasiliev was here? Why didn't you say anything? Let's go talk to him!" she said, standing up.

"Wait!" Tatiana grabbed her arm, stopping her. "You know him?" she asked, confused. As far as she knew the two had never met before.

Sada rolled her eyes at her. "Uh, yeah. He always comes by the shop, claiming that he needed a new tie but really he was just there to flirt with Sam. He's practically my big brother, which he might as well be since Sam is dying to marry him." Samantha was Sada's older sister. Their mother ran a high end clothing store that specialized in formal attire which of course, included gowns, suits, and ties.

"Come on! Let's say hi to him." She urged, pulling on her arm and dragging her over to where the two sat, still conversing quietly.

"I can have them fly to Cannes and from there make their way to..." She heard Rose saying as they approached before Sada's exclamation interrupted her.

"Ivanov!" Sada called to them as they closed in. The pair looked up at the same time.

"Sada!" he greeted, pleasantly surprised but when he saw Tatiana, his expression changed ever so slightly. His face still wore an expression of shock when he saw her, but something was different. She couldn't quite place what it was.

Before she could think further into it, Sada practically launched herself at him, giving him a bear hug. "It's been so long! You've hardly visited the shop in the past few weeks," she said when he set her back down. Next to her, Rose smiled at her in greeting.

"Long time no see Tatiana," she said good-naturedly, not at all mad that Tatiana had left her to the virtual gallows of spending time with their weekly brunch friends. "It's been hard to tolerate the brunches without you."

She smiled at her. "How are the misuses?" she asked, referring to the housewives.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Emily's been gushing about her new Prada bag and how she and Harold are trying to get pregnant," she said, referring to Harold Sanders, one of the American mafia bosses. "It's been especially hard to tolerate her lately. In fact, I think she's already pregnant. Lord knows all the kinks Harold is into."

She burst out laughing at her last remark before her hearing focused back on Sada and Ivanov.

"I've been pretty busy these last few weeks. Work and stuff, you know?" He ruffled her hair before she swatted his hand away. "Why? Sam missing me already?" he asked teasingly before turning his gaze to meet Tatiana's.

"Princess, good to see you again," he greeted and Tatiana looked sharply to her right where Rose was, sipping on her coffee while observing their surroundings. Oddly enough, she didn't react when Ivanov addressed her as Princess. Either she didn't hear him, or thought nothing of it.

"What brings you both to this fine establishment?" Ivanov asked, grabbing her attention and gesturing grandly to the space. "Found my secret hiding spot, did you?"

Sada rolled her eyes. "Excuse you, you're hiding spot? Please," she said. "Besides, I only found this place a few days ago although, I have to admit, it's a really cool place."

"Of course it is, it's all thanks to my good looks brightening up the place," Ivanov bragged, leaning forward slightly. "Isn't that right Frankie?" he called to the man tending to the coffee bar who only rolled his eyes at them.

As they continued talking, her phone suddenly rang. She took it out of her handbag to find an unknown number calling. She excused herself, walked a few paces away before she answered the call.

"Hello?" She spoke into her phone.

"It's Zeke."

She went rigid for a moment, before relaxing and speaking. "Why are you calling me? And how did you get this number?"

"Got it from your brother. We were fast friends," Zeke said nonchalantly. "Not important. We need to talk."

Tatiana was only beginning to protest before Zeke interrupted her. "Strictly business, nothing to do with our... personal matters."

She sighed, her headache from her drama with Zeke coming back in full force before she suppressed it. "Where?" She finally spoke after a few moments.

"You know Hazel's Place?" he asked, referring to an upscale restaurant downtown.

She nodded in assent before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Yes."

"Meet me there in thirty," he said.

"See you there." Then she hanged up. She turned back to the three who were now conversing with one another.

She walked back to them. "Sada, I have to go. I'm meeting Zeke at Hazel's and I need to leave now if I don't want to get caught in traffic."

"Oh really?" Sada asked, sad that she's leaving. They haven't gotten a chance to really bond the last few weeks and today was the first time they got to spend some quality time together. "Well, if you really need to go. I'm sure they can keep me company," she said, gesturing to Ivanov and Rose.

She smiled at her gratefully. She was so lucky to have such an understanding cousin. She squeezed her arm slightly, giving her a small smile before turning and leaving the coffee shop.

As she walked out, however, she couldn't help but feel eyes boring into her back. She shook the feeling off before she hailed her driver, Jared who was parked a few meters away. When he stopped in front of her, she got in, closing the door behind her.

"Where to, Ms. Tiana?" Jared asked, looking back at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Hazel's Place, please."

Translations

Russian:

mladshiy bratishka - younger brother

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