Chapter 106 Camilla’s Pov.
Maybe I'm stupid for betraying my father for a man like Àlvaro, but here I am, still falling for him like a complete idiot.
But I know one thing for sure. Nothing was going to stop me from taking Vincenzo Castillo's life for everything he has done to me. He will beg for mercy. He will regret everything he's ever done to me.
I spent all my time this one week locked up in this mansion with at least ten guards following me around everywhere. Good thing Rosalia was with me or I was most likely going to lose my mind.
That's exactly why I was relieved to learn that we were going to attend a masquerade ball hosted by the Veklov family. Apparently, they've been doing it every year for decades and I as Afanas Veklov's future wife had to attend too.
As for Afanas, he took his job as my future husband seriously. He has been such a pain in my ass this past week. He was always around, making sure I had whatever I needed.
The more time I spent around him, the more I can see that he's nothing like his pathetic brother. Afanas Veklov seemed like a good man and that's the reason I'm skeptical of how long he'll survive in this crime world.
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Afanas Veklov walked around the ballroom with his head held high, greeting all the masked strangers while arm was wrapped gently around my waist, keeping me close.
I put on a fake smile on my face as soon as we entered the room, looking at these expressionless faces hidden behind masks. They actually don't need these masks. People like them hide behind masks all their fucking lives anyway.
Rosalia enjoyed the attention more than I did. She walked closely to my right with her head held high with a big smile on her face, loving the fact that she had a lot of eyes on her.
Her red hair was tied in a neat bun and half of her face was hidden behind a red and white mask ending just above her lips. Her choice of dress was also red, no surprise. She looked stunning in it.
Of course, my choice of a dress was no surprise either. The moment I knew we were attending a masquerade ball hosted by the veklov family, I knew I was going in a black dress.
Black. Deadly. Elegant. Just like me.
I was the only woman wearing a black dress to the masquerade ball. It was something almost foreign and that's exactly why I did it.
It was worth it just to be able to see my father's angry face or how these people gathered here were looking at me as if I was insane.
It was a good thing the black pearl mask hid half my face, otherwise, these people would know how much I despised them.
Leonardo was watching my every move as if he was afraid that if he took his eyes off me, I'd be stolen away.
I was hardly listening to my father and Afanas’ boring conversations with these people in front of us. My body was here but my mind is somewhere else.
While I was looking around the large room, I was happy to see that at least Rosalia was having fun dancing and laughing with an unknown blond man with a white mask over his face.
Afanas was laughing at something the man in front of him said, then his gaze landed on me and most likely saw how withdrawn I looked because his laugh disappeared.
His hand found my waist again, pulling me closer to him before turning to my father and the other people. “Excuse us, I would like to spend some time alone with my fiancée.” He said politely, his hand caressing my waist.
My father and Dmitri Veklov looked pleased to hear that. They probably think that spending time with Afanas will make me like him more or even fall in love with him. If only they knew how ruined I am for every man after Àlvaro, they would probably cry out in agony.
Afanas led me through the crowd of people, continuing to greet them, his hand never leaving my waist as he continued to carried it lightly.
As soon as we reached the small garden in their backyard, which was surrounded by beautiful trees, he dismissed the guards there and turned to look at me. We were now completely alone knows this private place.
“What's been bothering you all night?” He asked in a gentle voice, sitting on the nearby bench and I did the same. He turned to look at me, giving me his full attention.
Afanas Veklov is a good man. A man that any woman would be proud to have. He's a gentleman and nothing compared to the kind of men in this world we lived in. But still, looking into his eyes, I felt nothing. I know he would do anything to make me happy. He would give me the fucking moon and stars if I so much as ask him to but somehow, that was still not enough for me.
He can give me the fucking world but I'll still search for a pair of dark eyes and dark deadly smile. That's how ruined I am, because of Àlvaro Castillo.
“It's been such a heavy week.” I lied and was glad to see that he didn't catch it but just nodded in agreement with me.
If only he knew the real reason.
His hand found its way to mine in my lap, taking it gently and I was surprised at the contact. There was nobody here to see us so we didn't have to pretend. Why was he touching me?
“You know there's nothing to worry about here.” He spoke again, stroking my hand with his thumb. “You're safe with me.”
That's the problem. I don't want safe. I want chaos, darkness, madness. I want something that Afanas Veklov was incapable of giving me.
I just faked a smile, nodding.
Silence settled between us, making the air thicker than it needed to be. His face was tense, avoiding my gaze as if lost in his own thoughts. After what seemed like ages, his ice blue eyes locked into mine and his eyes softened.
“I want our marriage to work. I'll try to make it work but you have to meet me halfway if we really want this to happen.” His words came out unexpectedly, taking me by surprise.
He shouldn't be so nice to me. He shouldn't look at me like he really wants me. His gaze casually landed on my lips as if he wanted to kiss me. Shit.
“It's not like we have a choice, is it?” I replied with a small laugh, looking down at our hands. It was weird for him to touch me.
“I'm not Àlvaro.” He spoke gently. “I'm sorry for everything you want through in the hands of the Castillos. I'll do everything in my power to make sure that you're happy with me.”
If only he could.
I smiled, keeping the words to myself. Its better to stay silent so I just nodded.
His gaze drifted down to my lips again and this time, he didn't hesitate. His free hand grabbed my cheek, caressing it gently before he got close enough for his lips to touch mine.
We both closed our eyes and he breathed into the kiss as our hands entwined. I just let him do it, wanting desperately to feel something, anything.
His lips were gentle, kind and warm against mine, moving with promises that he was ready to fulfill but my mind was picturing that same dark eyes, taking my soul with each kiss, stopping me from feeling anything for Afanas Veklov's lips on mine.
But I collapsed into his arms. I let him kiss me until we were both out of breath. Until we both needed to pull back for air. I let him take what he wanted from me with this kiss. I was promised to him, sooner or later, he would take everything anyway.
When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine, breathing heavily. His gaze was soft and warm on me while caressing my cheeks lightly.
He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, holding my hand with his. “Let's go back inside. They'll be searching for us soon for our first dance.”
“I'll be back in a minute. I need to be alone with my thoughts out here for a while.” I smiled and he nodded, placing one last kiss on my lips, caressing my cheeks one last time before disappearing into the darkness towards the far entrance to the mansion.
My head had been a mess enough, now even more so after that kiss.
I deserved someone to look at me like Afanas Veklov does, to touch me like km someone special. But my body wanted something way different.
It was searching for rough hands that corrupted my body, rough lips that burned my skin and a dirty mouth that drove me insane.
I locked those thoughts away. I was going to give Afanas Veklov a chance. I had to move on. I needed to move on.
I stood up from the bench, straightened my hair and dress, took a deep breath and prepared to hold back inside to fake a smile for the rest of the night.
But before I even had the chance to take a step, I felt something cold and hard pressed against my head and a hand wrapped around my mouth, instantly stopping me from screaming out loud for help.
There was a fucking gun pressed to my head!
Seconds later, his scent hits me, making me wince even more and my whole body shivered. I know this particular perfume to the point of pain. I know those hands wrapped around my mouth because my body wasn't afraid of them. My whole body burned from that single touch.
I could feel the smile of the man behind me as he moved closer to my ear, pressing the gun harder to my head.
“Miss me, chica?”