Pure Perfection

Chapter 49- explanations

JULIANA'S POV

Our first day at the hotel went by quickly and Estella had quickly warmed up to the idea when I mentioned the around-the-world buffet downstairs.

It was now the second day and I was just about to take Estella downstairs to the swimming pool where I would teach her to swim but I couldn't seem to find one of my small bags anywhere.

The hotel phone in our room began to ring and I quickly picked it up.

"Hi, Miss Hernandez, there's a man here claiming you left you bag in his car. He's asking for your room number, would you like me to give it to him?" I recognised the voice as the receptionist.

That must be Louis. I must've forgotten my bag with him.

"Yeh, let him up." I replied.

I ended the call and waited for the knock that indicated that Louis was here with my bag.

A couple minutes later, I heard two knocks on the door. I got up to open the door for him.

"Hi, Louis" I smiled as I saw him standing outside.

"Hi, Juliana. I was just dropping this off." He said and held up the bag in his hands.

"Thank you" I said as I reached for the bag.

He quickly pulled the bag away, just before I was about to take it.

"Can I have my bag?" I frowned.

"How about you let me take you out in return for bringing to all the way here" he smirked and I instantly felt uncomfortable.

"Just give me my bag back" I said more assertively this time.

"All you have to do is go to dinner with me. I'll even pay."

I flinched when I felt his hand move to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. He smiled sinisterly at my reaction.

"How about you give the lady her bag back." A deep voice said from behind him and my heart began to beat faster.

"Tyberias?" I asked when I saw him come into my view.

"L-Listen dude, why don't you go back to what you were doing before and mind your own business." Louis said, clearly intimidated my Tyberias' massive frame.

Louis, only being about 5"9 was tiny compared to Tyberias' 6"4.

"I'm not going to tell you again, give her the bag and leave." Tyberias said, taking a step closer, making Louis take a step back and bump into the wall behind him.

"Take it, bitch" he said to me and chucked the bag and my stomach, making it fall on the floor and the contents spilling.

"I told you to give it to her, not chuck it. Now get on the floor, pick every thing up, and hand her the bag gently."

Louis gulped and slowly bent down and shoved everything back in my bag, before handing it to me.

"Now apologise for calling her a bitch"

"I'm... sorry for calling you a bitch" Louis said.

"Now get lost" Tyberias said. Louis didn't have to be told twice, he sprinted down the hallway away from us. I heard him mumble 'no good pussy is worth getting my ass beat'.

"What- What are you doing here" I asked turning to Tyberias, still shocked by his presence.

"I missed you baby" he said, ignoring my question and wrapping his arms around me.

As much as I tried to resist, I couldn't help wrapping my arms around his torso and sighing in relief. I missed this so much.

A minute passed of him squeezing my tightly and stroking my hair. He pulled back and was about to place his lips on mine but I hesitantly pulled away.

"Your married. We can't"

He sighed before speaking. "I'm not married" he stated and showed my his ring finger to see it was ring-less.

"Why- How. What about Adrian?" I stuttered.

Flashback (3rd person) - Day of the wedding

Tyberias woke up to find his bed empty and the shower turned on. He quickly realised that Juliana was in the shower.

He was about to go in there and join her, but a text message halted his actions.

Mila- I need to tell you something important, meet me at Rickey's Café.

He left Juliana a note and headed out to meet Mila, curious as to what she wanted to talk to him about.

He arrived at the café and saw Mila sitting at a booth. He went to sit opposite her.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I over heard my father talking yesterday, he's having Adrian moved to a warehouse near King's road. He's only got 5 men guarding him.... do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"So if I get Adrian before the wedding, we won't need to get married?"

"Precisely" Mila confirmed.

Tyberias reaches for his phone and made the necessary arrangement. He was having 20 armed men search for the warehouse, attack it and get Adrian.

Tyberias and Mila went over their plan arrangements and decided that they would still need to attend the ceremony as if they were still getting married because if Aleksei was to notice them missing at their own wedding, he wouldn't hesitate to get Adrian killed. The wedding would be a distraction so his men would have enough time to save Adrian.

A car would be waiting outside for Mila so she could escape the scene quickly. A fake ID had already been made for her so she and her boyfriend, James would be able to run away together.

Tyberias sent Juliana a text so she could meet up with himself and Mila and explain the plan to her.

It was now 30 minutes before the wedding and They were waiting for Juliana at the back of the venue.

"I don't know if I can do this, Tyberias" Mila said, overthinking everything. If her father were to find out she had been planning against him, he wouldn't hesitate to lock her in the basement and beat her unconscious like he previously had in the past.

"We have too. It might not even end as badly as you think." Tyberias said. Best case scenario, Mila and her boyfriend would be safely away, Adrian would be saved, Aleksei would be dead by the end of the night and him and Juliana would be together in peace.

"Okay" she sighed.

Tyberias was left slightly shocked as Mila leaned in to hug him. He hesitantly rubbed her back, to comfort her. She had opened up to him a bout her abused past so Tyberias wanted to do anything her could to reassure her that she wouldn't be harmed.

Tyberias pushed her away as he heard someone clear their throat.

"Am I interrupting something?" Juliana asked.

"Of course not. It's nice to see you again Juliana." Mila smiled, not thinking she had done anything wrong by her innocent gesture.

"If you don't mind. Can I talk to Tyberias for a second?" Juliana asked impatiently.

"Of course." Mila said and left.

Tyberias gulped, knowing Juliana was going to have a bone to pick with him.

"What the hell Tyberias? Is this why you called me here? So you could show me how easy it would be to move on from me?"

"It's not what it looks like" Tyberias defended.

"What was it then? Because it looked like you were getting cosy with Mila. But I shouldn't be angry, you are getting married to the girl, after all." Juliana sighed. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

"Don't be angry at me, I can explain"

"I'm not mad at you. I'm happy for you. Mila seems like a nice girl. Maybe in the future she'll learn to love you like I do." She smiled sadly. This was the one thing she feared, Tyberias actually catching feelings for her. But she couldn't blame him, she was tall and skinny and from a respected family. Everything she wasn't.

"Tyberias. It's time." Said Tyberias' father as he walked towards them

"Juliana? I didn't know you were here."

"Hey Mr Romano, I- uh I'll be going now. Bye Tyberias, I love you. Just remember that." She whispered to him and stood in her tiptoes to lightly peck his cheek. She then walked away

"Just stay until after the wedding so I can explain" Tyberias pleaded but she continued walking away. Tybwrias reached for the nearest thing he could and smashed the flower pot next to him on the floor.

This was not going to plan.

The ceremony had begun but Tyberias wasn't paying attention. All he could focus on was trying to find Juliana. He knew that she had misunderstood the whole situation.

"Do you Tyberias Romano take Mila Ivanov to be your lawfully wedded wife to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"

When Tyberias heard this line, he nervously swallowed. He still hadn't heard any news from his men on Adrian's situation. He wasn't going to risk his brother's safety so he prepared himself to say the one line he was dreading.

"I-uh" Tyberias stuttered, unsure if he could go through with it.

He saw someone at the back stand up, catching his attention. His eyes widened as he saw Juliana with watery eyes

"Mr Romano?" The annoying priest egged on.

"I-I do" Tyberias muttered. His heart broke as he saw Juliana give him a sad smile before walking out.

He looked at the front row to see Aleksei grinning widely at the thought of his daughter marrying one of the most powerful mafia leaders.

Do you Mila Ivanov take Tyberias Romano to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?" The priest said, turning to Mila.

Tyberias felt his phone buzz in his left pocket, closet to the priest so if he were to check it, no one in the audience would know.

He turned his back to the guests and slowly pulled it out. The priest was focussing on Mila so he didn't even realise.

The message was from one of him men.

We've got Adrian. We eliminated Aleksei's men but we lost one of our's.

Tyberias sighed in relief- not at the fact that one of his men had died, but that his brother was safe. He made a mental note to deliver $1 million to the man's family and show his condolences.

He looked down to Mila and discreetly nodded his head- an action they had thought of to tell her that the plan was successful.

Mila sighed in relief.

"Miss Ivanov?" The priest asked.

"I do not" Mila confirmed.

The guests all gasped and Aleksei stood up in shock.

"What's the meaning of this?" He yelled at his daughter.

Mila didn't answer, only took a deep breath, picked up her dress and sprinted down the walkway.

"Come back here, now!" Aleksei yelled. He couldn't make too much of a scene in front of his guests.

Mila didn't listen, only shot through the door and jumped into the awaiting car for her.

"Drive" she yelled excitedly at the driver. She was finally free from her father's cultes and she couldn't be any happier.

She showed the driver the way to James' (her boyfriend's) house and the two embarked on their own journey together.

Tyberias was now left to deal with Aleksei's wrath.

"Come with me, boy, now!" Aleksei said to Tyberias as he led him to the back where they could talk privately.

"This shït is so entertaining" Leona muttered in her seat.

"Listen Tyberias, I don't know what got into my daughter. Just give me a couple hours, I'll find her and the wedding will continue."

"Don't bother. The wedding is off"

"What do you mean the wedding is off? Do I need to remind you that I have your brother? I won't hesitate to kill him"

"Then do it" Tyberias said and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"W-What?" Aleksei stuttered, shocked that he would give up his brother so quickly.

"Do it. Kill him." Tyberias repeated.

Aleksei grabbed his phone from his pocket and rang his second-in-command's number.

Aleksei waited for Tyberias to stop him but was surprised when he didn't, he only yawned.

"Igor, I want the boy dead now!"

A couple seconds passed and Aleksei's eyes widened with rage.

"What do you mean we've been infiltrated?"

Aleksei could hear the response as the phone was knocked out of his hand and he was pushed to the wall by Tyberias.

"You know, you almost lost me the love of my life, and I'm not dealing with it too well." Tyberias began and reached for the pocket knife tucked in his pocket.

He pressed the knife against his throat and pushed it so it lightly cut his skin.

"Please, son. Don't do this." Aleksei pleaded.

Tyberias couldn't help himself anymore and quickly slit his throat. He had previously planned to torture him but seeing him so helpless wanted to make him kill him even more.

Aleksei dropped to the ground, desperately clutcheing his throat.

Tyberias got his phone out and snapped a couple pictures. He would look at them whenever he was feeling down, this would be bound to cheer him up.

Tyberias made sure Aleksei was dead before cleaning himself up. He returned back to the guests and announced that the wedding was over.

He rushed home, eager to explain everything to Juliana.

He had looked all over the house for her and concluded that she was probably in their room sleeping as per usual.

"Juliana, guess what-" Tyberias exclaimed excitedly but stopped as he saw the room empty.

He noticed Juliana's promise ring on his nightstand and all happiness he previously felt disappeared. He sat on the floor and clutched it to his heart as warm tears flew down his face.

He had just lost the one good thing in his life.

End of Flashback

After Tyberias had finished telling me what happened, I was left in a state of shock.

"Your... not married?" Was all I could say and he nodded.

"And Adrian is safe?" I asked and he nodded again.

"And... Aleksei is dead?" A grin overtook my face when he nodded again.

"It's over, baby" he said and I leapt in his arms. He caught me easily and I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist.

"I'm sorry for leaving without letting you explain" I muttered into his neck and I felt him shake his head.

"Just promise me you'll never leave me again."

"I promise, Tyberias. You're stuck with me forever" I smiled and I crashed my lips on his, the familiar butterflies erupted in my stomach once again.

"That was definitely long overdue" Tyberias groaned and his hands travelled down to squeeze my ass.

"That reminds me" he said and pulled away.

He reached for his pocket and pulled out a ring.

I recognised this as the promise ring I left on his nightstand.

"I'm sorry I took it off. I wasn't thinking" I said and reached for it to put it back on my finger.

He pulled the ring away from my hand. "You're not getting it back" he said.

"But I said I was sorry" I wined but he put a finger in my lips, shushing me.

"Your not getting it back because I got you another one to replace it" he continued. He backed away from me and reached in his other pocket to reveal a small box. I gasped when I saw him slowly get down on one knee.

"Juliana, I used to think love was just a word but you came along and gave it a meaning for me. And for that I will be eternally grateful because now you've made me see the world in a different light. I'm not longer the cynical asshole I was before, but simply an infatuated man who will do whatever it takes to

make the woman I love happy. You've made me a better man, Juliana, because, for you, I wanted to change. I've even began to say please and thank you, for Christ's sake." He chuckled.

"Now let me continue being a better man with the only girl in the world I can imagine doing it with and let me call her my wif-"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. YES!" I cut him off excitedly and pounced on him, causing him to lose his balance and fall on the floor with me on top of him.

"Christ, woman. I spent ages on that speech and your impatient ass couldn't even let me finish it." Tyberias teased and wrapped his arms around me.

"Shut up and put the ring on." I grinned and held my hand out, waiting for him to slip the ring on.

He rolled his eyes and put the heavy ring in my finger. I screeched excitedly when I caught a proper glimpse of it.

"I love it"

"And I love you"

"My wish came true" I said, remembering the wish I made when I let go of the glowing lantern.

"So did mine"

"Why are you screaming, Jay. I can't sleep." Estella mumbled from the bed as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Why don't you come over and see" I said. We got up off the floor and after a couple seconds I heard her tiny footsteps turn around the corner and approach us.

"Ty-bear?!" She screamed when she saw him carrying me.

Tyberias slowly put me down and spread his arms out wide open for Estella to launch herself into his chest and he picked her up, spinner her around.

"I missed you, pumpkin." He smirked and rubbed her back.

"I missed you too. It was so boring playing Just Dance without you." She complained, making him laugh.

"You won't have to play on your own ever again"

"Really? So we're not going to leave you again?"

"Never. In fact we've got something to tell you" he smiled.

"What is it? Tell me. Tell me." She said urgently.

"We're getting married!" I said and showed her the massive diamond ring on my finger.

My smile dropped when I saw Estella frown.

"But.... I wanted to marry Ty-bear." She mumbled and her eyes began to water.

Tyberias tried to hide his smile and he glanced up at me to see my reaction.

"We can share him" I tried to reason with her and crossed my eyes.

"Fine. But you love me more, right Ty-bear?"

"Whatever you say"

I moved towards them and Tyberias engulfed me in his chest with his other arm. He leaned down to peck my lips.

"You're loving this aren't you? Two girls on your arms" I said and raised an eyebrow.

"What can I say, the Hernandez women can't seem to get enough of me."

——