A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

Matteo was gone for a few days. The estate was quiet the whole time he was gone but it didn't bother me much because I was mostly at the hospital. My days at the hospital were packed, too. I didn't have much time to think about him. It made me wonder sometimes, what was he thinking most of the time?

He was a mysterious one. He couldn't be easily figured, and he made it clear whenever he wanted space. When he said we should set boundaries between us, I knew he wasn't playing around. What we did previously was going to be a trouble in future.

We barely knew each other; it was best to keep our relationship neutral.

The two of us were having a business transaction even though it didn't seem like one. To have affairs or to even we were risking our plan. The three-year plan. in love.

Well, not exactly three years because he wanted a lifetime. He held close to his religion, and he wasn't going to break any rules. At least, there was one good thing in his life that he held dearly-despite killing or torturing people, he still had a heart.

It felt weird. returning home.

I never thought the estate could be my new home, but I ended up calling it 'home' every single time. The exact same estate that I ended up returning to.

The days went on as they should, and he never did call or text.

Maybe, it was his own way of setting boundaries. I did wonder about when I was going to fly to Sicily, but I didn't bother to ask him or Angelo. I knew he was doing business there in Sicily and I never wanted to pry. Besides, the longer it took to fly to Sicily, the longer I could hold off the wedding.

I was not going to back away from getting hitched or more precisely, eloped.

I just needed time to clear my mind.

Alexei never returned my calls or texts either. He was keeping his distance. I wanted to talk to him about that night, at least I could hold him off from telling Papa. I assumed Papa didn't know about the engagement yet because if he did, he was probably already barging in the front door.

Papa didn't call or text, too. Neither did Mama.

They were all keeping their distance, and, in a way, I appreciated that. I needed the peace and calm from the arrange marriage with Viktor. It was becoming a burden, but Matteo was keeping that burden away from me. I didn't have to worry about saying "I do to Viktor. Matteo was going to be my husband. He was going to protect me from Viktor, at least and Papa. He was going to be responsible or at least show everyone he was responsible.

For the next three years, I could see myself with Matteo in a fake marriage. I couldn't exactly expect what was going to happen in another three years after that. I was hoping we were at least friends.

We needed to develop a friendship for both of our sanity.

I mean, nobody was going to remain strangers for that long. We could drown in work and ignore our marriage but at the

9.76%1

end of the day, we were going to head to the same home. We were going to bump into each other every morning before we leave work. We couldn't avoid each other for as long as we wanted.

It was going to be difficult.

I had no problem with Matteo.

I was fine if he wanted to become friends but for the time being, he wanted to set boundaries. Maybe, we just needed to set boundaries to avoid any sexual encounters from happening again, but we didn't have to ignore each other.

That was the plan. I just needed to know if he was going to follow the plan, too.

"We're flying to Sicily tonight." Angelo said, surprising me.

I turned around to find him standing in the doorway.

come inis in?"

"When did you c

"Just now."

I didn't hear his footsteps, nor did I hear him coming in. Matteo did a good job in hiring him as a bodyguard to protect me. He was really good at being a ghost-I knew he was going to be around the estate especially now that Matteo was not around, but I didn't expect him to barge in when I was deep in thoughts.

"Okay, I'll pack later."

"We're leaving at six."

As soon as we got into our flight to Sicily, we didn't bother to make a conversation. Matteo arranged for a private flight for our comfort and privacy-it wasn't a surprise, either. Papa had more than one private jet and it was always available whenever we wanted to fly around. So, Matteo was rich like, really rich and it was obvious he had more than one private jet.

It was a long flight to Sicily, and I was growing restless.

I couldn't stop thinking about my life. It was going to change, and I had to make that change in order to keep my peace. Papa was probably going to disown.me, but it was a risk I had to take. Mama knew I was always stubborn. She was going to support me in anything even if Papa didn't agree to it. "When did he tell you about us flying to Sicily?" I asked, after staving quiet for the past six hours.

Angelo was minding his own business, scrolling on his phone, and reading the news while I was listening to music and watching a couple of movies. I couldn't fall asleep if I wanted to because I was anxious about what was waiting for me in Sicily-about who was waiting for me. Well, if he was waiting for me.

"He called earlier this morning saying we had to fly to Sicily tonight," he replied as he kept looking out the window, seeing utterly nothing but the night sky. "Did you have any problem with it?

"No, I called in for an emergency leave. It should be fine."

"What about tomorrow?"

told the hospital I was going to my hometown and as soon as I got back, I was going to go to work."

He nodded at my response, and it was just like that, we chose to keep quiet again.

wed,

When we landed in Sicily, it was already morning. The six-hour time difference were taking a toll on me, but I tried to stop thinking about it because I didn't want the jet lag. My body was aching and all I could think of was heading to the hotel and sleep in for a few hours. Angelo and I were walking down the airport and straight to the exil.

I saw Matteo leaning against a black SUV. He was wearing a black buttoned-down shirt and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, as usual and he was mouth-watering. His dark brown hair was messy from the wind, but it made him look more attractive. Maybe, it was the sunglasses or maybe because I hadn't saw him for days. He was wearing an all-black, too.

As soon as he saw us, he started to make his way towards us, and I couldn't keep my eyes off him. I couldn't exactly see hist eyes behind those Ray-Ban sunglasses, but I assumed he was looking directly at me, too.

I immediately looked down at his hands, especially his knuckles when I had the chance. It surprised me when I didn't see any cuts or bruises. He wasn't here for his mafia business, or he didn't beat up anyone. I couldn't tell.

The moment he took his sunglasses off, I was staring into a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

The same eyes that got me hypnotized when we first met.

There was a frown on his face from the sun.

I needed to know the secret he was hiding from me-how could he look attractive every day? How could he get more attractive every time I saw him? It wasn't possible. He could be in a ten-hour flight and remain attractive while I was sure, as of now, I wasn't looking too appealing

I was sure I had dark circles and eyebags. And of course, my hair was messy but not in a sexy way. It was more like in a "I just got off an eight-hour flight. I need to sleep,' kind of messy.

What surprised me more was when Matteo leaned in and met my lips.

Literally, he was kissing my lips. It took me a few seconds, but I managed to kiss him back and tried to enjoy it-he was not a bad kisser. Not at all. He was a great kisser, but he caught me off guard and I was scared if I couldn't kiss him just as good. He cupped my face and within seconds, our tongues were somehow fighting. We were kissing as if we were the only person in this airport.

I knew Angelo was standing a few feet away from us and people were probably staring but Matteo didn't seem to mind. He kissed me as if he missed me, as if he couldn't live another day without me and it was starting to play tricks with my mind. Was he doing this for show? Did Angelo not know about our arrangement?

I didn't think he knew he did tell me that it was only his lawyer that knew.

There were butterflies forming in my stomach when he leaned in deeper into the kiss. It was like he couldn't get enough of me. It felt more than an act, but I knew better. He was doing a great job at the whole pretending, and it almost fooled me, 100.

I started to feel warm, and I didn't have the chance to stop myself from letting out a moan when he bit my lower lip.

Oh, damn it.

Matteo broke the kiss, but he didn't take a few steps back. He was still cupping my face and staring into my eyes. His lips were red and swollen from the kiss-I was sure mine was too.

"I missed you, baby." He said, smiling seductively. "How was your flight?"

"Oh it was fine. I almost stuttered but I managed to cover it up and place my hands on his chest, "I missed you, too. The long flight was torture without you."

9K 76%

"Mm, is that so? You must be glad you're in my arms, now."

"Of course." I glanced around us, seeing Angelo standing near the car-he wasn't looking in our direction, he was looking around in case we were in any danger. Besides, the airport was loud from the crowd, and it was almost impossible for him to hear our conversation.

However, he was probably already fooled from our kiss.

"You look a bit tired... did you get any rest?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Let's head to the hotel, then. You need to sleep, he grabbed my hand before gesturing for me to enter the SUV.

As soon as we got inside, Angelo sat on the passenger seat before saying to the driver that we should go. As for Matteo, he didn't let go of my hand, so I assumed our act wasn't done yet. We still had to pretend in front of his men.

He didn't trust them. Not fully. He wasn't going to risk our secret being exposed.

The car ride was quiet. Matteo didn't say a word as he looked out the window but the grip of his hand on mine remained the same-occasionally brushing his thumb against the back of my hand but I pretended not to notice.

When we got to the hotel, he stepped out to open the door for me.

Then, he continued to hold my hand.

We walked inside the hotel lobby, and we were greeted by the staffs. They were smiling at us as we passed them, but Matteo didn't bother to slow down. We kept walking to the elevator and as soon as we got inside, he let go of my hand.

Just like that when we were alone, he dropped the act immediately.

ta

I felt something in me, but I wasn't going to call it a disappointment. I knew what we were getting ourselves into and I shouldn't feel bad about myself.

"Are we going to married today?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Tomorrow morning. At the beach," he replied without looking at me. "You should rest today. You had a long flight and I'm sure you're tired"

"Oh shit, I forgot something. I didn't bring any white dress with me,"

He shook his head, "It's fine. We can look for one."

"Matteo.. I have something to ask you."ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Before I could proceed, the elevator doors opened, and he stepped out. I had to quickly follow him into our hotel room. We were in the villa suite and the view was breath-taking. My eyes widened at the Temple of Concordia from the large terrace, and I had completely forgotten my question.

We were at a five-star hotel.

The suite was spacious. The large terrace. The indoor jacuzzi.

I was smiling at the view until Matteo broke me from my thoughts.

You were saying, Alena?"

"I just needed to know, Matteo.

475

Our eyes met. Even though we weren't standing close to each other, it felt as if he was still holding onto me. My lips were still swollen from our kiss, and I was holding back everything in me from running to him and getting a taste of those luscious lips again. ""About what?"

"If you want to change your mind."

He smirked, looking away. "I didn't have to fly you all the way to Sicily if I wanted to change my mind. We made an agreement, and we signed the contract. All we have to do now is get married."

"I don't want to force you into doing something you don't want

"Nobody forced me into anything, Alena." He took a few steps towards me, "You need to understand that. And when you do understand, you need to remember who I am. You may have forgotten who you're dealing with. You may have forgotten the kind of authority I have."

It was my fault. I did forget who he was-the ruthless mafia boss. I needed to constantly remind myself that he was capable of killing me if he wanted to, but he didn't. He wasn't a regular businessman. He was dealing with money-laundering and if he was going to be charged as a criminal, it was possible for him to face a death sentence.

"You won't gain much benefit from this."

"I won't but I'm looking forward to seeing the look on Mikhail's face when he finds out about us. I have to be honest with you, I never liked the Russians and by marrying you, it will show just how easy I got the Bratva princess in my arms. You'll get your freedom and I'll get my respect

"I'm glad we will both get what we want, don't we?"

"I'm glad, too." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "We just have to play the husband-and-wife act beautifully. Are you going to be ready for that?"

"I thought we were already acting"

"Mm, only you, Alena

When we heard a knock coming from the front door, Matteo left the room to let Angelo in. He was carrying my luggage and a couple of other bags before he placed them on the sofa.

"Thank you, Angelo. I completely forgot about my stuff.

"It's fine."

I nodded, smiling sincerely as he walked towards the terrace.

Matteo made his way towards me before running his hands on my back, resting on my hip. If he moved lower, he was going to get a grip of my bottom, but he remained still. Our bodies were close that I could feel his warm breath on the top of my head. He was being close and playing our act because Angelo was in the room, so he wanted to show our affection.

He placed a couple of kisses on my temple, "Do you want to take a warm bath after this?"

A warm bath sounds really nice," I muttered.

Would you like me to join you for that bath?

His voice was deep and husky that it made me feel something. I was holding onto the bit of sanity I had left to control myself. I couldn't let him sense I was losing my mind, so I nodded, my hand reaching out to touch his necklace.

I noticed the necklace before, but I never paid much attention until now.

It was almost like a crest, maybe it belonged to his family.

"He's outside. He couldn't hear us," I whispered.

"We're practicing."

"For what?"

"For when we have to pretend. So, it'll look natural."

""Right we're going to do a lot of that after this."

Matteo caressed the side of my face as he lifted my chin, gesturing for me to look at him. Due to our height differences, I had to look up to meet his eyes and whenever we kissed, he had to lean down so I didn't have to stand on my tiptoes as

much

I was almost lost in his eyes.

It was starting to get confusing, but I didn't want to look away, I was too attracted.

How could I resist him?

"Boss," Angelo called out, causing Matteo to look at the figure behind me and drop his hand from my face. Then, he started to speak in Italian-causing Matteo to sigh.

"I have to leave for a while. You should get some rest," Matteo said, kissing my forehead before following Angelo out.

I was left alone, and I was glad. It was what I needed to clear my head.

As I looked down at my hands, I noticed they were cold, and I was nervous. Matteo was starting to make me feel things I never felt before.

And my wedding was tomorrow,