Blood Rose

♠︎Five♠︎

I'm at the end of the stairs and face to face with Alexi. Nephew of the leader of the Ivanov family and close friend of Aleksander Ivanov, heir to the Russian empire.

"Shit." I mutter under my breath, and this catches Warren and Alexi's attention. Alexi stares at me with wide eyes and doesn't break eye contact, and neither do I.

"Eris," he says, and his brows furrow. We haven't seen each other in two years. And what a shock this is. We were close, but now he's a relic of what relationship I had with this family. "You should leave. He's going to be here."  He looks panicked at the sight of me and I don't blame him.

"Alexi, long time no see." I give him a small smile, he was good to me. Always there for me when I needed someone to talk to.

"How do you two know each other?" Warren pipes up from besides me. I forgot they don't know the extent of my illegal connections.

"It's a long story" I say still not taking my eyes of Alexi. Well that was until three people that I really didn't want to see walked through the door.

"Welcome, Igor and Katrina. It has been too long since we last had a meeting." Father dearest speaks so loudly from the doorway he just walked through. The other three brothers are standing there facing the Ivanovs.

I look away from my new supposed family, and look at the Ivanovs. I put on a pleasant smile as I look at Igor and Katrina, not Aleksander.

He's staring at me, I can feel it. I can feel the tension rising the longer we stand here and the three most important and influential people exchange pleasantries.

I look back at Alexi, and notice his shift into his business persona. He's a great soldier, always willing to help without second thought. I like that about him, maybe that's why I took a liking to him so quickly.

I hear my siblings and I's names being said, and I turn my head towards father dearest. As he's going over introductions Britney decides to make her grand entrance. She's wearing more of a.... scandalous dress? It doesn't cover much but it covers the areas that are most compromising.

"Good evening sir ans ma'am, Im Britney, " she interrupts with a high pitched tone. Bouncing her way forward in the silky black dress. She offers her hand for both Igor and Katrina to shake, yet both seem hesitant to shake it.

I made the fatal mistake of looking right at Aleksander, making eye contact. You'd think after a person hurts you so bad you wouldn't still feel connected to them. I shouldn't still wish I could go up to him and hug him. I wish I could just slap him right now for everything he's done to me, yet I still miss him so dearly.

I tilt my head as we stare at each other with a mutual hate in our eyes. He looks the same but so so different.

I'm not listening to the words exchanged between the others until he breaks eye contact and starts talking. He puts on his pleasant pretty boy act, to charm them.

At some point Katrina starts to stare at me in bewilderment. She was like a mother figure to me before everything happened. She just raises her brow at me with a smile and nods.

When I left I didn't tell anyone. All my relationships were just cut off on a positive note, well all except one. And that one relationship was death glaring me.

It's still sad he thinks he can intimidate me, especially when I was this close to slitting his throat in his sleep.

"Let us eat, then we can discuss business my friends." Philip talks with so much confidence it would make an ordinary soldier second guess himself. He demands attention, he reeks cruelty even though he has shown me nothing but kindness.

We walk towards the dinning room infront of the Ivanovs. Food was already laid out on the table, plates already  filled with food containing complex flavors. I take note of tonight's silverware, the main utensil being steak knives.

I take my usual seat, right beside Elliot who's been surprisingly quiet throughout the introductions.

I grav my napkin off the table and place it on my lap. I look over to Elliot who looks so out of it and ask him if he's alright to which he just nods in a silent response.

I look over to my father and then at Igor to see him giving me a sad smile. I give him one back and look at the person sitting across from me.

Aleksander. Fucking. Ivanov. He never was able to take a hint, especially not I'm the past.

We all start eating as almost everyone at the table engage in small talk, especially Britney.

Were about halfway through our meal I look away from the conversation I'm engaged in and look at Aleksander. I'm cutting a piece of my steak as I glare back at him.

"Is there an issue Aleksander?" I ask knowing there is an issue.

"Of course not, Eris. Why would there be?" He practically spits my name out of his mouth.

"Well I assumed that much from the constant glares you've been throwing at me all night." I speak with a cool tone, acting so unbothered by his appearance, but internally I just want to be held by him once again.

"My sincerest apologies, I was just admiring your great beauty." His tone is sarcastic and his words are harsh.

"Mhm always so endearing." I smile calmly.

"And you're still a cold bitch as always." His glare intensifies and my smile just grows.

"Aleksander!" Katrina practically yelled at him "Shut your mouth! After everything you are still an ass that never fucking learns!"

My eyes widen and I look af Katrina with a 'damn girl' look.

He argues back before putting and end to it. "Still a mommy's boy I see." I muse to myself.

That comment appears to be the straw that broke the camels back because he grabs his steak knife and hurls it towards me.

Call it fast reflexes, skill, or just dumb luck, I catch the knife by the blade and welcome in the sweet burning sensation it creates as it slices through my skin.

I look at my hand, grasping the knife watching as a small stream of blood falls from my palm down onto the table. I look up at him with a bright smile and slowly let go of the knife letting it clatter to the table.

"Aren't you glad I taught you to throw knives." I wrap the white napkin from my lap around my palm before looking at everyone around us.

I ignore the families pain and just offer my now family a vicious smile before picking my fork up again and throwing it directly in Aleksanders shoulder.

"Fucking bitch" He grunts as he pulls the fork out of his shoulder.

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Rewritten on 1/7/24

I think I like this Eris more than my OG? Anyone else?

With a headache,
Bri🤍