Chapter 53

AVALINE

“We’ve attended so many funerals already, Czar,” I replied pointedly. “It’s inevitable.”

“Do you not trust me?”

I sighed heavily. “But I can’t rely on you, Czar. I also need to fight.”

“And you’re already doing so much better than when you began your training,” he continued.

Czar was always out in the following days. Soldiers from De Greco and Monteval appeared here and there. And I knew I should talk to my father.

The only thing that stopped me from contacting him was my vow to Czar and the fact that my calls are being monitored. I don’t care if I get called a traitor. I need to stop my father.

I quietly locked the door to our room. My palms were sweaty as I waited for my father to accept the call.

“Ava.”

I let out a breath of relief. So my father did not cut me out completely after all.

“Papa, whatever agreement you have with the Montevals, revoke it,” I got straight to the point.

“W-we can’t, Avaline.” He was slightly shocked at my directness.

“I just want this war to stop, papa. We’re not enemies with the Levesques, are we? Why are you teaming up with the Montevals?”

Dead air.

“Just propose peace between La Archante and De Greco, papa. The Montevals are terrorizing the De Greco. They are the enemy. My husband will help you.”

“It was your husband who didn’t want to help us, Ava.”

My mouth fell open. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again. I did this twice.

Taking pity, papa filled in the gaps. “The Montevals have already been threatening us even before our alliance with them. Monteval will use you against Czar.”

“How?” my voice was rising.

“Pascal wants the De Greco territory, Ava. So he’d have more people to take down La Archante. And you are his key to taking over De Greco. That’s why I approached Czar for an alliance. But he immediately turned it down.”

I blinked. “In order for the alliance to be sealed, he has to marry me, and he turned you down. Why did he marry me now if he turned down the alliance?”

“He did not know that my proposed alliance included marrying you because he didn’t let me finish speaking. He only got insulted that I thought his territory needed allies.”

My papa chuckled on the other line.

“I’ve been watching you during your time in Saint Petersburg back then.” He was referring to when I was in tenth grade. “He may not tell you, but he’s possessive of you. I assumed he wouldn’t react well to hearing you’ll marry another man.”

I doubt that. He’s not in love with me.

“So I gambled. I accepted the alliance with the Montevals, hoping that Czar would intervene once he finds out about the marriage. And he did.”

My breath hitched. My papa expected Czar to kidnap me. He knew from the very beginning!

“S-so…” I trailed nervously.

“I knew about your plans to escape, including the stolen funds. And I made sure that the driver who was supposed to pick you up would not come in time.”

My eyes blurred, tears wetting the corners.

“You’re the only family I have, Ava. My only memory of your mother. As long as I know that you’re with Czar, I didn’t care what happens to De Greco anymore. I didn’t care that the Montevals were threatening us. I vowed never to order my men to attack La Archante. But I didn’t anticipate that my soldiers wouldn’t follow me and would operate on their own. I can’t do anything, Ava. I’m powerless now.”

I sank onto our bed. My head felt light yet heavy at the same time. I had pieced together a lot of puzzles but felt overwhelmed by all the revelations.

It was truly odd for my father not to retaliate against Czar. Not to give back as much as what was given to him. He could have done worse, even.

He set me up to be with Czar. And he never really intended for me to marry Harrison.

Massaging my temples, I desperately hoped all this information would be pushed to the back of my mind, flowing one by one through my thoughts. I felt like I’d faint any second. How could one conversation drain so much energy from me when I was just sitting?

"Why the fuck weren't you answering the door?"

I jumped in surprise at Czar's presence, which I hadn’t noticed. He held the key and glared at me furiously. A few lines appeared on his face and his nostrils flared, indicating how pissed he was at me. Now that I had his full attention, I noticed how he was restraining himself. Judging by the tension in his muscles, he looked ready to go berserk.

My brow furrowed. "W-what?" I didn’t understand anything.

"Why didn’t you answer the door, Avaline?" he repeated more firmly.

"Why are you so angry? The door was just locked and I didn’t hear anyone knock."

"My brothers have been knocking for minutes, Avaline. Minutes! And you expect me to remain calm when you're unresponsive?" It seemed like I only fueled his anger more.

I looked up at the camera feed he had in our room and pointed at it.

"If you wanted so badly to know what was happening, why didn’t you check the camera feed on your phone? You have it, right?"

He turned to look at it as well. He ran a hand over his face, seemingly forgetting that there were cameras in this room.

He uttered curses, turned away from me, and continued being annoyed with both me and himself. After a few seconds, he faced me again.

"Come here," he pointed between his feet.

"No!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Is this how you hand over your life? You forget who owns you now."

Thinking back, what I said was damn cheesy.

Sighing, I obeyed without much choice. What an infuriating man. I kept defiance in my eyes despite his perfect face alone crushing my resolve.

I acted bored in front of him while inside, everything in me approved of being near him. My system was thirsty for a taste of his scent, the thrill of being close to this ruthless man, and his attentive eyes.

But of course, my husband did not buy my nonchalance. He always saw through me. His mouth twitched.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. Too close; I could smell his minty mouthwash from that morning. He combed his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and sighed at the feel of his fingers on my scalp.

When I opened my eyes, they burned with need—like a wild beast relishing finally seeing its prey.

"You never looked at me like that before," I said before I could stop myself; it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Like what, cariño?"

Like he wanted me. Like he desired to possess me in all ways, put me in a cage, and never let me out to be seen by another's eyes.

"Did you want to look at me like this back then?" He held my nape and applied pressure on my throat with his thumb as if snapping me out of it. "I may be a monster, but I don't prey on children."

"I was not a child!" I rushed to defend myself but then felt my cheeks heat in shame at the reminder that... I was.

He arched a brow at me.

"You were seventeen and I was eighteen."

Torturing people is fine with him, but initiating affection with me at such a young age is out of line? I don’t understand this man. His principles sometimes contradict each other too much.

"You wanted me that early then," he declared arrogantly. "You're twenty-seven now—my wife and mine for the taking. Lingering about the past is trivial at this point."

I could tell he wanted to end the subject, so we'd stop talking and just take whatever he wanted from me. He stared at my lips like a dessert he couldn't feast on unless he finished the main course.

I closed my mouth and waited. However, instead of doing just that, he embraced me. My head tucked under his chin and our bodies clashed against each other.

"Don't lock the doors again, wife. I mean it."

"Fine," I gave a noncommittal reply. I really had no plans to do that again. I had already called my dad.

"I can't protect you if your doors are locked. What if I can't immediately get to you when you need me?" He scolded me more.

"I will be fine. Maybe I'm looking for opportunities to put my training to good use?"

"Avaline," he snarled. I chuckled because I expected this.

While I snuggled in his arms, a thought came to me. We were doing well as a couple. We made things work even though it's not a marriage out of love. If Czar had said yes to my father, not only would our married life be fine, but De Greco and La Archante also would have had a better chance at defeating the Mancinis.

We could've prevented all of this suffering.

"Czar, why did you reject the alliance with the De Greco?" I asked calmly. I would listen first before deciding whether to get angry or understand his reason.