A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

Neither of us said a word on the way back to the estate, Matteo was quiet and when I occasionally glanced at his direction, he was gripping the steering wheel hard as he looked straight ahead on the road. His jaw was clenched which meant he was still upset. He was probably holding himself back from bursting out in anger and I didn't want to take my chances.

I was closer to the door, somehow afraid if he was going to say anything if I stood nearer to him.

So, when we got to the estate, he stepped inside without looking at me.

As soon as we entered the house, I began to throw my things on the ground-causing an instant mess which caught his

attention

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who am I to you?"

""What?"

"You've been ignoring me ever since we got back from Sicily. And suddenly, you showed up tonight pretending you care about me. You said whatever happened that night can never happen again, and you set up boundaries, but you decided it was okay to finger me?!" I was furious because I had enough of this-if he was serious about setting boundaries, he wasn't supposed to touch me. He was supposed to stay away.

Not ignoring me for a whole week after pleasuring me.

My feelings were all over the place.

"So, I'm asking you who am I to you? Because help me God, I'm not your goddamn wife. I'm not your girlfriend. I'm not your lover. I'm nobody to you." I continued to ask, closing the distance between us.

"I'm asking for you to respect this relationship."

"I am respecting this relationship. You're not respecting my feelings,"

Matteo didn't say a word as he took a few steps back. He was trying to avoid this conversation. He was trying to walk away and back to his shell-he wasn't going to give me any answers.

"I don't have anything to say to you, Alena."

He turned around, leaving me to face his back as he walked up the stairs.

"Right. Go back to your office. Drown yourself in work. I don't give a damn!"

At first, I expected him to turn back around and give me the answers I needed but he disappeared. He didn't even walk back down to comfort me. It was clear where I stand and all I needed was a slap back to reality.

So, a week of ignoring each other turned to two weeks. Two weeks ended up turning to one month. A month turned to another month and before I realized, we haven't spoken to each other for three months. Every morning, he was already gone and every night, he wasn't even at the estate.

If I had early shifts in the morning, his car wasn't in the garage, and neither was he. If I had late night shifts, he was either sleeping in his room or not even home.

Maybe, it was my fault for starting the conversation, but I didn't regret anything.

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After the whole incident at the bar, Zach and Lily didn't waste time to ask me about Matteo on the next day. They were

surprised when I told them we eloped. Zach apologized for kissing me because he was caught in the moment and well, Lily

she was blaming herself for being too drunk to remember the details, but she caught a glimpse of Matteo.

She said I was lucky to marry a handsome guy.

Well, if only they knew about my reality. If only they knew I wasn't happy.

I couldn't complain either because this was the life 1 had chosen. My family were leaving me behind-Papa did call me a few times, but I had ignored him. Alexei, on the other hand, did a good job in keeping his distance. So, here I was standing in front of my home. Meeting Papa and Mama..

"Alena?" Mama opened the door, her eyes wide before pulling me in for a hug.

My eyes were beginning to wet with tears as I inhaled her scent. I missed her so much and I couldn't stay away for long-I needed to see her. She was there for me through everything, and I wasn't going to leave her behind. "Mama. I missed you."

"I missed

you so much more, sweetheart. Come inside,

Her warm hand pulled me in as she closed the door behind her. She wasn't letting me go as we walked into the kitchen. The smell of her cooking was bringing back childhood memories. I saw a few plates of freshly cooked food on the table. "You came just in time for lunch, sweetheart."

"Mama...

She shook her head, "It's okay. Let's eat first then we'll talk."

My favorite was her pelmeni and she made delicious ones.

"It's been a while since I had Russian dishes, Mama."

"I'm glad you like them."

We talked about a few things like work and herself. Mama felt pretty lonely lately because Papa and Alexei were busy with business-I didn't bother to ask why Papa was involving himself in the Bratva. So, Mama was busying herself with shopping and afternoon teas with her friends. At least she was enjoying herself.

I was glad she was happy. Even though she felt lonely.

"How are you, sweetheart? You look thin." She touched the back of my hand, smiling sadly.

It was hard to lie to Mama, but I had to. The pretending and lying was harder in front of her instead of anyone else.

"Believe me, it's intentional. I've been trying to lose a few pounds."

"Don't go too drastic on yourself. You need to eat, too."

eat, Mama. Just been busy with work."

She shook her head, "Work, work, and work. You'll get sick if you work too often."

Naughed, "Mama everyone goes to work."

"Not like you. You work too hard,"

"I know. I'll try to slow down if that makes you less worried, okay?"

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"Good." She smiled, sighing as she continued to look at me. It was the look on her face, and I knew she wasn't going to avoid the subject any longer. Besides, she saw the ring on my finger, and it was obvious she knew about me cloping. "Are you happy, sweetheart?" "Don't I look happy, Mama?"

"You do. You look happy but I'm just asking. As your mother, I'm very concerned about your well-being."

"Mama, just ask me. You want to know about my husband, don't you?"

She smiled, "I don't mean to pry. I know you were upset with Papa. I just want to know if you made the right choice, sweetheart. He's quite famous the Italian boy,"

"I love him. Mama. If that's what you're asking." The lie escaped smoothly from my mouth, wanting to ensure her that she didn't have to worry. Even though it wasn't the truth and even though it was hard to lie to her. I had to.

"Your Papa thinks otherwise."

"Well, he doesn't know me. He's just upset I didn't marry Viktor

"Did you marry Matteo to get back to your father?"

Yes. But I wasn't going to tell her that. I wasn't going to tell her anything about our contract-I could trust her when it came to keeping secrets, but she was going to worry too much.

"No, Mama. I knew him along the way, and we fell in love." I replied with a smile, trying to convince her. "He doesn't want me to marry someone else. We decided we could still get to know each other after we got married. If Viktor wasn't in the picture, we weren't going to marry that quickly

"I understand.. you could've just told your father, honey,"

"No, Mama. He doesn't listen. He won't listen." I sighed, "Do you remember when I wanted to go into medical school? He did everything to prevent me from going."

"As long as you're happy, Alena there's nothing that can hold you back. I want you to be happy with whoever you choose I want what's best for you-I'm sorry if I didn't call you or text you, I just felt bad for what happened that night. I was supposed to defend you, but I didn't, and I held that burden for so long. It's such a relief to see you here today,"

"I would never hate you, Mama. I know you're always in a tough spot,"

"I've raised a sweetheart, haven't I?" She tried to hide away the tears from falling down her face. "Please, bring Matteo over soon. I really want to meet my son-in-law,"

Her request was almost impossible. Bringing Matteo over to this house was probably going to cause a war-not between the mafias but between Papa, Alexel, and Matteo. It was like bringing an enemy into their home, but I knew I couldn't hold it back any longer. Sooner or later, they were bound to meet. They might not kill each other because of their peace treaty but they weren't going to be nice, either.

As we talked about different topics, I managed to show Mama photos from Sicily. They came in my email, the other day when I wasn't working. They were beautiful-too bad they weren't real. I didn't bother to tell Matteo about them, but I was sure he got them in his email. Mama was crying and smiling when she looked at our pictures.

Honestly, the photographer did a very good job. The pictures looked real, and we were like a happy couple. Pictures of us kissing, holding hands and being close.

It was a dream come true for any real couples.

Mama started to believe the story even more after she looked at the pictures. And I was relieved because she was beginning to like him, even though she was only hearing stories from me. I was painful to lic.

When it was late. I decided to leave.

Luckily for me, Papa and Alexei weren't home yet.