Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty-one
Nikolai's POV
"Matteo...." I call out to him immediately I arrived at the place where he said we should meet. He slipped into my car with a file, he looked at me, really looked, probably because I was smoking badly inside my car. I puffed the cigarette in my hand grabbed the files and looked at them, then I glared at Matteo this wasn't anything close to what I had asked him, or maybe he thinks these files were more important than what I'd asked him to look into but I would rather get the information I am desperate to have than have this.
"What is this?"
"It's the report of the operation..."
"Matteo, I thought it was something important, why bring these useless files to me?"
"Boss, the Salvatores..."
"Enough about this fucking shit, tell me Something useful and did you find out the waiter who gave Elena..."
"Oh mine, so you thought this is all about Elena, that's the reason you hurried here, leaving your girl sexually starving."
I glared at Matteo, the man doesn't seem to know when to keep quiet these days, his mouth has been running as fast as his car engine. I was beginning to think the bastard was allergic to silence.
He leaned towards the driver's seat beside me, arms crossed, that familiar teasing glint in his brown eyes. “You know, for someone who insists he doesn’t care, that he is not jealous of her being with his brother, you sure looked ready to kill for that girl this moment, even if that person you are to throw a dagger at, is your brother.”
I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temples. “Matteo.”
“What?” he said, feigning innocence. “I’m just saying, from what I heard from Gianna and..."
"Matteo..." I growl, "Are you now talking about me with Gianna?" He shakes his head.
"You know I don't get involved with any of your flings, that's if I could call Gianna that, because she had been in your bed for the longest time..."
"She is not my girlfriend," I interrupted him
"I know that, but I know enough to know when a woman is catching feelings for you and you are not catching it. And you are not good at fugazi."
"That is her damn business, you see this dribble I am not catching it and she should know I don't have a heart to give to her."
"You do Nikolai, you fucking do, it's just that heart is already occupied with someone's eyes and you should not rub it in her face." My brows furrowed as I gritted my teeth. "You are playing a dangerous game, this game is not like the game of thrones. There are no winners, no clean deaths, you lost, and you stayed alive long enough to feel the pain forever. And that's the game of love, the one you want to verge into for Elena."
"I don't have a heart and I don't love anyone."
"I don't think so, you are falling, but I don't think it's bad, but with the wrong person, it's all dangerous. One more second delay last night, and you would’ve kissed her.”
I gave him a look that could’ve burned a hole through steel. “Drop it.” I was defensive, I can't afford to let him know that I had kissed Elena before, not just a peck, but I had French kissed her.
He chuckled under his breath. “I would, but I’m worried about you, man. You think Rafael won’t find out? He is your brother, not an idiot. He’ll know.”
I didn’t answer. Because deep down, I knew he was right. Rafael always knew. He had that way of sniffing out weakness, using it until it bled dry. He must have felt something strange, which is the reason he wanted to be with his girl; he wanted to keep her away from me.
Matteo’s grin faded when I didn’t respond. “Nikolai, I mean it. If he catches you even looking at her like that, he will make sure you regret it. He may be out there parading that blonde girlfriend of his, but that doesn’t mean he won’t burn the whole damn world if you touch what’s his.”
I clenched my jaw. “She’s not his. She is just another deal.”
He arched a brow. “Then why are you acting like she is yours?”
I looked away, my fists curling against the steering wheel, “I’m not.”
“Right,” Matteo muttered with a dry laugh. “And I’m a priest.”
The silence stretched between us, heavy and thick. I tried focusing on the smoke curling from the end of my cigarette, anything to avoid his gaze.
“She is innocent, Matteo,” I said finally, my voice low. “She doesn’t belong in our world.”
He snorted. “None of us do, but here we are.”
I didn’t reply. The truth was, I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore. Every time I told myself to stay away, she had looked at me with those soft eyes, eyes that didn’t see a killer, a criminal, a weapon. Just a man.
It was maddening.
Matteo pushed upright and sighed. “Anyway, before I pretend you didn’t ask me to dig, here’s what I found.”
I turned to him, forcing my mind back to business. “About Rafael?”
He nodded. “About why he suddenly agreed to marry Elena, even when they had been friends for ages.”
My eyes narrowed. “I thought it was Don Valkor’s idea. Strengthen the bond between families and since they are both childhood friends, he was also in love with her.”
Matteo gave a humorless smile. “Sure. But the deal came with a little incentive.”
“What kind of incentive?”
He reached into his jacket and handed me a folder. “Financial records. Property rights. Contracts. Everything points to one thing: if Rafael marries Elena, he inherits control of all Valkor family assets in and outside Italy. Every resort, every shipping route, every offshore account, even his syndicate, all of his assets.”
I froze. “All of it?”
Matteo nodded. “All of it.”
The world tilted slightly. I thought I’d heard wrong. What was Valkor thinking, giving his assets to a man, not his daughter, just for him to marry her?
“So that is why he agreed,” I said slowly, my voice rough. “Not loyalty. Not an alliance. Not love. Just power.”
“Come on, Nikolai” Matteo’s tone was soft now. “You know your brother. He doesn’t do anything unless there is a crown waiting at the end of it.”
My jaw tightened. “And what happens to her?”
“Elena?” Matteo shrugged. “She becomes his trophy wife. The perfect picture for the world to see. That is all she is ever to your brother. C'mon, you know Rafael loves the blonde-haired woman. She is just as naughty as Rafael.”
I swallowed hard, anger simmering in my chest.
He studied me carefully. “And that is what scares me, Nikolai. Because the way you look at her, it’s not business. You can lie to me, to yourself, to everyone else but your eyes already betrayed you. Right from the moment you pick her up from the airport.”
I looked away, lighting another cigarette to keep my hands busy.
“She is off limits,” I muttered. “End of story.”
“Yeah,” Matteo said quietly. “But hearts don’t follow rules, do they?”
I didn’t answer. I just stared into the distance, through the window of my car and the smoke curling upward, lost in the December wind.
Because Matteo was right. Rafael might not love her. But if he ever found out that I did. It wouldn’t be my heart he had broken. It would be hers.
I shake my head, I am not in love with her. I was still lost in my thoughts when Matteo's phone rang. He smirked, running his hand on his nape. I looked at him. "Boss I had to go, something urgent just came up." With the way he was smiling, I was aware that he was up to something naughty. I wave at him to get out of my car when I zoom off. Instead of going to my place, I found myself driving to my parents' mansion. I pulled over at the parking lot and pushed the door of the mansion. The house was too quiet when I walked in.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet, the kind that sat heavy in your chest, the kind that told you someone was alone when they shouldn’t be. I loosened my jacket, tossing it aside as my eyes scanned the living room.
My eyes bulged when I saw Elena sitting on the couch, coldly.
She is here!