The Next Day
ROSALINE
I sprinted out of the house with a speed I had no idea I had. Although I had been bothered all through the night and even this morning, I still could not hide my excitement when I heard a car driving in.
It had to be Russo. He was back already and as I ran out of the main door, I realised that in the presence of Russo, most of my worries vanished but perhaps only temporarily.
My worries about a woman being in his life still set a hard lump in my throat and that woman at the charity too... Well, what chances were they that she could be Russo's woman?
Russo had called her a distant relative but I knew nothing about her. What if they had a secret wedding already and she was my Aunt? What if that was the way we were related? What if they were just a bit separated at the moment?
But as Russo stepped out of the car, all my thoughts swept back, behind me where I could no longer reach them.
"Russo" I smiled as he slammed the car door shut.
He spread his arms lightly and I gave in to the urge to hug him. I ran into his arms and hugged him.
He wrapped his arms around me too and gave my back small gentle pats.
"Let's go inside." He picked me up from the floor and I wrapped my legs around him, resting my head on his shoulder as he walked the both of us back into the house.
I loved his warmth and I snuggled closer to him everytime I could. He felt so warm and so good and I wanted to have our skin grazing each other for longer.
I wished he had been here last night and had cuddled me all night long. How warm that would have felt?
Fuck! Why was my thoughts straying so much?
"Let me down now" I whispered to Russo as we got to the living room but had didn't.
Instead, he sat on the sofa and made me sit on his laps.
I pulled my face away from his shoulders and gave in to the urge to touch his face with my both hands. I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a small smile.
"Fuck, is it evident that I am kind of tired?" He groaned.
"I guess so"
"Flying to and fro in less than 24 hours kind of stressed me out" he reached his hand to the back of my head and patted my hait gently.
"Now, don't be so stingy with your lips. Give me a kiss, Sunshine. I know to take what's mine but sometimes I'd rather you just give it to me"
I felt my cheeks heat up a bit and not wanting him to see the blush on my cheeks, I quickly pressed my lips to his and kissed him.
"Hmm" Russo sighed into the kiss, his hand slipping away from my hair to my face and cupping my face.
He tilted my head as he took control of the kiss, kissing and sucking my lips for a while before breaking the kiss.
He pulled away from the kiss with a small groan and threw his head back. If I knew this reaction and expression on his face, it was almost the same with the expression he had on the other day in the kitchen.
"I will make breakfast, Sunshine"
"Oh, I already did" I grinned and got off his laps.
"You did?" He narrowed his gaze at me, a smirk now tugging at the left corner of his lips.
"Yes, it's a light breakfast and you are just right on time for it." I said to him proudly and he looked around, letting his eyes roam the place.
"What are you looking for?" I questioned.
"The fire"
"What fire?"
"If you cooked, the house has to be on fire from what I recall" he said and my face flushed red.
"Russo" I grumbled his name as we both burst into laughter.
"Honestly..." I pulled myself together as he rose up to his feet.
"I have gotten better and I am honestly not joking. I made croissants, pancakes and hot chocolate for breakfast"
"Been a while since I had croissants. Can't wait" he bent and kissed my cheek.
"I bet it tastes great"
"You haven't even tasted it" I grumbled.
"Anything that comes from you simply has to be perfect" he replied and headed towards the dining room.
I followed him, feeling my heart thump. I had made croissants a lot and I was pretty good at it but now I was nervous about what Russo would think it tasted like.
I made a mental visit to every step I had taken while making it and every ingredient I had used. I hadn't forgotten anything, right? Right!
"I just finished setting the table for myself when you arrived. You have mine and I will be back with yours to eat"
"Let's go get it together" he turned back to me.
"No, no, no. No worries, I can do that on my own" I assured him.
"Instead, how about you have a taste and tell me what you think?" I asked and he slightly shrugged his shoulders before picking it.
I watched eagerly as he took it to his lips and...
"It actually tastes good." I swear I saw his eyes sparkle.
"Who taught you to make them?" He questioned.
"Uhm..." I played with my fingers a bit and the sparkle vanished from his eyes.
"Who?" He asked again.
"It is who you think. Rick taught me but I made this and now you should sit and enjoy. Enjoy the pancakes too" I rushed my words and hurried to the kitchen, not looking back to see whatever expression Russo had on his face.
I was almost in the kitchen when my phone buzzed with a message. I slipped the phone out of my back pocket with a deep frown on my face.
If this was another message from that anonymous person, I swear I was going to tell Russo about this. I had gotten another text last night and had ignored it and blocked that contact.
Glancing at my phone, it was another unknown contact and I immediately knew it was that anonymous person.
I groaned and was about to start storming off to Russo when I had the urge to at least check out the message before I showed it to Russo.
I opened the message and it was a video this time.
"Fine, let's see what this is about" I groaned and clicked the video.
It was a quite old video and seeing my dad in it affirmed that instantly.
I felt my heart hurt at the sight of my dad but I swallowed the hurt and listened to the video.
"Russo" my dad called in the video and Russo walked up to my dad. The stance the both of them took made it clear that they were not in good terms.
"I swear to you, I am going to ruin you" Russo swore and my brows arched.
What was going on? What fight could they have had to that point?
"I will ruin every single person in this goddamned family! And that company? I will take it and I will lord over it myself! Alone! I swear, I will kill you..... And I will kill every single one you love! Your darling wife? I will get rid of her! Your old crusty father? I will kill him too and oh, your damn little innocent girl? I will fucking kill her too! I swear!"
The video ended and I felt my body instantly heating up. My head ached and throbbed with a sudden ache.
"No..." I shook my head.
"Those were just words of fury... That... That wasn't... He didn't mean it" I whispered to myself as another message dropped.
'The video is from three days before the crash'
My heart squeezed in pain and I clutched my chest. No... No way, the crash was an accident... It was an accident. It had to be an accident! But I knew better now... Russo had wanted us dead, he had wanted everyone in this family dead. Russo wasn't that man I thought he was.