A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Matteo

"Let's talk outside," Mikhail said before gesturing for me to follow him.

I trailed behind him down the hallway until we reached the balcony near his office, where it was secluded and quiet. Angelo and Luca were down the hallway, watching us from afar but I had assured them to stay calm as long as everything was going according to plan. Alexei was in the room with Alena, keeping her company until the doctor came.

The night sky was clear with stars and I immediately thought of my wife, about her obsession with stars. She enjoyed a night out to count the stars until she fell asleep and it was one of the things I loved about her, she enjoyed the simplest things.

Most women were hard to impress. They were impressed with money and fancy items. Alena was the perfect type of woman who had proved me otherwise because of her simplicity. I had never met a woman who enjoyed looking up at the stars as much as she did. "Do you smoke?"

The question had caught me off guard. Not because I didn't smoke but because I hadn't smoked in awhile, only during certain occasion. Most of the men I knew were heavy smokers, some were social smokers and the rest never liked to smoke. Sometimes, the smell of smoke could cause me a headache.

"Sometimes." I replied, looking at Mikhail.

He took his pack out before handing

one to me and I took one cigarette.

I had borrowed his lighter to light up the cigarette, placing it in between my lips afterwards before I inhaled the nicotine. It had been months since I last had a cigarette and I almost forgot the taste of it-I wasn't a big fan of smoking, especially ever since I met my wife. I assumed this was one of his ways to bond or to avoid the awkwardness.

"Do you think I'm a bad father, Matteo?" He asked, catching me off guard for the second time.

"Why do you ask that question?"

Mikhail exhaled the smoke before he continued to speak, "Alena's not happy. Not with me."

I kept quiet, waiting for him to continue speaking. Instead of trying to be honest about it, I decided it was best to keep quiet.

I didn't expect him to speak about personal things with me, especially since he pointed a gun at me.

you

"I know didn't come here to talk business. So, let's talk about whatever it is you came to discuss. Man to man. Father-in-law to son-in-law." He added, surprising me but I had kept my cool, not wanting to assume we were a one big happy family.

Mikhail probably felt guilty when he saw Alena's condition. He wasn't stupid and he knew he was the cause of her stress. Maybe, this was one of his way to redemption, he tried to make things right by hearing me out. I just didn't know if it could turn out good or bad. "I want to bring Alena home with me. I'm still her husband,"

you think you can "You failed to protect her twice. What makes you think you'll be able to protect her again? What makes gain my trust after what happened to her?" The questions were straight to the point. Even though I didn't have an answer to his questions but I knew my responsibility.

I had blamed myself for what happened to Alena. I knew I should've been more protective over her but at the same time, I

didn't want to take away her freedom. She deserved her free will and her own space, I may had overlooked the risks.

5

"If I have to be truly honest with you, Mikhail, I hadn't stopped blaming myself for what happened. I never wanted her to get hurt. I only want what's best for her and I know after what happened, it's not easy for you to trust me. We're talking about your daughter's life." He nodded, "You brought your dangerous world into her life, Matteo. You have enemies a lot of enemies and when they want to come after you, she becomes the main target."

I glanced down at my cigare?

love."

before inhaling, "We live in the same dangerous world, Mikhail. We both have the woman we

"So, she's not happy now and it's my fault."

My eyes were looking at Mikhail, trying to get a closer look at him. He was older, way older but he was also wiser-he had been in the mafia for decades and he had more experience when it came to deal with enemies. The Russians and the Italians weren't exactly friends to begin with, we just decided on better terms.

After Alena and I had eloped, it didn't exactly bring happy tears to her father.

"I don't think you're a bad father. I might even do the same if I have a daughter," my respond may have caught his attention because he immediately turned to look at me.

"It doesn't matter because right now, I'm the villain in Alena's eyes. She sees me as the bad guy who wants to take her away from her beloved husband. She doesn't see me trying hard to protect her or prioritise her safety. All she wants is her freedom," he replied. "Because she's not a child anymore, Mikhail. She's a grown adult

"She doesn't understand the risks."

"You can't keep her locked up."

He sighed, "Whenever you and I are reachable by our enemies, we aren't the first ones to be their target. It's the woman we love. It's the family we have. I thought you know better than that, Matteo. You should know the risks,"

I looked away before I inhaled the cigarette again, "What else am I supposed to do? It wasn't my choice."

"The sacrifices we have to make for the sake of our loved ones, Matteo. You need to always keep that in your mind. We've made it this far because our families have sacrified a lot. We can't just throw it all away," he said.

"I won't be in the mafia for long..."

Mikhail frowned as he turned to look at me, "Why? You're still young."

"I can't risk losing Alena again and she can't risk losing me. This whole mafia thing was fine before I met her but for us to live a normal life, it's something I have to give up. Luca would be just fine to take over my place." The reply was straight forward.

I had thought about it in awhile. It wasn't just a day or two decision because the mafia had been my whole life. In order for Alena and I to have a normal life, where we were able to feel safe, I had to let go of my spot in the mafia. I had to choose a different path. Once I was out of the mafia, I never wanted back in.

"Have you talked about it with Alena?"

"We've included it in our conversation before Marco. I just haven't brought it up yet,"

He nodded, "When do you plan on stepping down?"

"Once I find out the person that kidnapped Alena. Once I make sure he was dead."

My eyes wer

staring out as I said those words. It had been awhile since I had killed anybody but I knew the urge to kill kept increasing every time I thought of the man who hurt my wife. He had made her suffer, he had starved her, he had tortured her and after everything he did, he didn't deserve to breathe any longer.

It was better for him to be six feet under.

However, only after he had received an endless amount of torture.

Luca could help me with that. He was the master of physical pain, he knew the spots to hurt, he knew the ways to hurt. If I compared myself to Luca, he a lunatic when it came to torturing someone. He never showed any sympathy and it was as if he was a different pe

"We've been looking for him, too."All content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

"He's like a ghost."

"He's smart but I know we'll find him,"

Mikhail and I stood quietly as we finished our cigarettes. His gaze was empty, somehow lost and confused but I knew he had a lot to say. It was our first time having a conversation alone without anyone else interfering-I could see a glimpse of his heart.

He prioritised Alena. He prioritised his family.

For a man like Mikhail, they thought they were doing their best for their family. All he wanted was for them to be safe and he had pushed aside their feelings, whether they were happy or not. After Alena was found hurt, it had made him thought differently. Instead of prioritising his daughter's happiness, he decided to prioritise his daughter's safety.

Any man, any father, never wanted to see their daughter like that.

I knew I wasn't able to if I was in his shoes.

Even after losing Marco, I almost lost

my

mind.

I couldn't imagine if I lost my son or my daughter to a monster.

The two of us turned around as we heard a knock on the sliding door, seeing Luca standing there. "The doctor's here and he's checking up on Alena,"

"I'll be there," I replied and he nodded before he walked away.

As I was about to step back inside, Mikhail had stopped

"Do you really love my daughter, Ma

I turned to look at him, "More than my life."

"One last chance."

"Mikhail-"

1. me.

He cut me off, "One last chance to prove that you love my daughter more than anything else. More than anyone else. One last chance to prove that you can protect her. I don't want to see her hurt anymore, Matteo and I swear, I'll be the one to kill you if it happens." The words were a promise. A sealed deal.