Chapter 24 Chapter twenty-four
Elena's POV
"Me having a girlfriend wouldn't be an issue Right?" I just stared at him not knowing what to answer. "You know, if not having a girlfriend would put you at ease then I could just stay single all my life."
"Stop that." I smack his shoulders and he giggles. I watch him, the expression on his face when he is not acting like a cold, ruthless man, and the sound of his laughter is something to watch.
The movie was still rolling when Nikolai leaned closer and spoke quietly, as if the darkness might overhear him.
“It’s late. We should go home.”
I turned to look at him, surprised not because of the words, but because of the tone. It wasn’t commanding. It wasn’t sharp. It was careful.
Home!
If it were to be my dad's place, I would have called it home, but this place is nowhere close to that, and I didn't want to go to Alessandro's mansion because I didn't want to remember Rafael, I didn't want those bad memories in my head.
If I go back there, my brain would refuse to rest, I wouldn't stop thinking of how Rafael had picked Arabella over me, and I didn't want to recall how he yelled at me to go back to the helicopter alone if I couldn't share.
Share...
A bitter pain crept into my heart.
Which girl would love to share her man with another? Yet, Rafael wanted me to share him with Arabella.
How I managed to sit on that helicopter alone without Rafael by my side was something I couldn't tell. I have sat there wondering how I ended up being a female who would just sit at the side and wait for anything that could be pushed to her.
I felt like the mistress while Arabella was the wife. I hated that I was here.
I didn't say a word to Nikolai, I just grabbed my things and walked out of the Cinema beside him.
Outside the cinema, the night wrapped around us like silk. December air, cool and alive, carrying the scent of espresso, rain-soaked stone, and something electric. The street wasn’t quiet. It never was. Scooters hummed past, voices floated from open doorways, and laughter echoed somewhere down an alley.
I tucked my hands into my coat sleeves and smiled faintly.
“I heard Italy doesn’t really go to bed,” I said. “Not completely.”
Nikolai glanced at me. “You heard wrong.”
“I don’t think so.” I looked around, letting the city prove my point. “It’s still busy. Alive.”
He exhaled through his nose. “Alive doesn’t mean safe. And you know, it's the festive season, so everyone is in holiday mood but that doesn't mean people don't sleep in this city”
I didn't reply to that, “I’m leaving tomorrow,” I said softly.
That stopped him.
He turned fully toward me now, brows knitting. “Why are you telling me that? And why are you leaving so soon? I don't think your dad would be available during the holidays.”
I hesitated, then shrugged, I wanted to ask him how he knows about my dad schedule but then I remembered I haven't seen his dad around for days now, which means he might probably be with father, “Because I don’t want to spend my last night inside four walls, I didn't want to sit by the fire, and wait for Rafael to crawl out of the moon and meet me just where he wanted me to be, I don't want to be a trophy wife”
Something flickered across his face. “Rafael doesn’t want you there?”
I nodded, his brows furrowed. “He made that clear. Not with words but with actions.”
Silence stretched between us.
“I’d rather go home, with no one around,” I continued, “than stay where I’m not wanted. And I don’t want to go home just to sit there and keep… suffering over Rafael. I don't want to keep hoping, wishing that Rafael will choose me over Arabella even if it was just for once."
The words tasted bitter as I said them. I was tired of swallowing feelings like poison and pretending they didn’t burn.
Nikolai studied me, jaw tight. “You think wandering around the city at this hour is better?”
“I think doing something is better than feeling nothing. Maybe I should have taken...”
He scoffed shaking his head. “There’s nowhere open that you’d like. At best, a café.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That sounds boring.”
His mouth twitched. “Exactly. And I don't want you libeling me boring for the second time.”
I let out a soft chuckle before my lips parted, “What about casinos?”
He stopped walking.
I took another step, then realized he wasn’t beside me anymore. I turned back, confused. He was standing still, staring at me, as I had just suggested jumping into the sea in winter.
“Casinos?” he repeated slowly.
“I heard they’re fun,” I said lightly. “Music. Lights. Excitement. And from Matteo's words, that is your second house.”
“No.” That was immediate.
I blinked. “No?”
“No.” His voice was firm, final. Leaving no room for argument but I am not buying it.
I frowned. “Why not?” He looked away. That’s when I saw it.
Not irritation. Not annoyance.
Fear.
Real fear, it was brief, controlled, but unmistakable. His eyes darkened, his shoulders stiffened, like something old and dangerous had just reached up from the past and brushed against him. My heart skipped.
I’d never seen him afraid.
“What are you scared of?” I asked quietly.
His head snapped back to me. “I’m not scared.”
“You are,” I said gently. “Just now you were.”
His jaw clenched. “You don’t belong in a place like that.”
“Why?” I asked
"It's not safe." He said flatly.
"But you go there almost every day, and you are beside me, what could happen to me when you are by my side?" He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I’ve never been to one. Just once.”
“Elena!" He called in frustration
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I repeated. “Please.”
He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing once, then stopping. “You have no idea what you’re asking.”
“Then show me,” I said.
He looked at me like he wanted to argue more, like he wanted to say no again and mean it. Yet my eyes didn't leave his, they were pleading. Instead, he sighed long and heavy.
“Fine,” he muttered. “But we don’t stay long.”
A thrill shot through me. “Really?”
“Don’t smile,” he warned. “This isn’t a date.”
“I didn’t say it was.” I grabbed his hand, intertwined my fingers with his, and he looked at my hand. Then he sighed hard. "C'mon let's go."
"We are..."
I interrupt him, "Let's walk." He didn't say anything even though my hand was on his.
We walked in silence after that, the city shifting as we moved deeper into it. The streets narrowed, then widened again. The glow of lights grew brighter, richer gold and red reflecting off polished windows and wet stone.
The casino stood like a palace carved from temptation.
Music pulsed faintly through its doors. Laughter spilled out in waves. The air felt different here thicker, charged.
Nikolai slowed beside me. “Stay close.”
“I always do.”
That earned me a sharp look, but he didn’t deny it. As we approached the entrance, something changed. The guards straightened. Heads turned. Conversations faltered for just a fraction of a second.
I felt it before I understood it.
Power.
The doors opened, and we stepped inside.
The sound hit me first, chips clinking, cards shuffling, music humming beneath it all. Light exploded everywhere, dazzling and warm.
And then
The whispers.
Not loud. Not obvious.
But they were there.
I saw women glance at Nikolai, their eyes widening with recognition. Men leaned closer to one another, murmuring. A ripple moved through the room like a held breath.
All eyes were on us.
Not me.
Him.
And suddenly, I knew it. This place knew Nikolai far better than I ever had. As we step into the room, a man sitting in the middle of the room raises his face, and his lips curve into a malicious grin
As Matteo said, this place is his second home. I felt it the moment a voice cut through the hum of cards and clinking glasses.
"Draco"