Unrequited Love

Chapter 17 - Luciana

I finally exited the library with a few of my favorite volumes in hand after locking myself in for so long. I had sat there, clutching the book to my chest as my heart continued to beat erratically, a long time after Mikhail had left. It seemed like I was unable to rid myself of him, no matter where I went - like I couldn't get rid of the high that came with Mikhail Petrov. A high that had me feeling light headed and created a buzz in my veins.

I shook my head to rid myself of those sinful thoughts of him and his mouth. Even a light touch against my lips had me feeling weak in my knees. My heart soared as I kept remembering how he had carefully, almost tenderly kissed me. It was quite a stark contrast to the facade he liked to put up - rough and unforgiving. Although, in my mind, I had no doubt that no matter how gentle Mikhail had been a while ago to me, he was a beast in bed. Just the thought of that had my core clenching in anticipation as I wondered how it'd feel to have his skin against mine - soft curves and hard, toned flesh.

This was bad. Really bad. How and when had Mikhail invaded every single one of my thoughts? Sighing, I put the pile of books on a small table in the corridor. Lifting my head, I was met with an oil painting of a young woman. She looked familiar, as if I'd seen her somewhere. And then something clicked in my head. Red hair, blue eyes, pale skin. It was the young girl from the family portrait of the Petrovs. I stared in awe at the woman in the frame as I took in all of her beauty. She seemed like the type of woman who would give up everything selflessly for anyone. She looked like someone with a heart of pure gold - something that I could never have. Mine had been tainted with regret and guilt. Resentment towards myself for leaving my Mama behind. I shouldn't have. But it was too late now. As tears welled up in my eyes, I wondered what had happened to the red haired woman that stared back at me. Was she still alive? Who was she to Mikhail? And why did he never talk about her?

My mind grappled with these questions as I struggled to put the pieces of the puzzle together. For some reason, I was hell bent on figuring out Mikhail's secrets. I wanted to delve deeper into his past and find out what had made him the man he was today. A weird sense of over protectiveness took over me as I fathomed the kind of gruesome things he must have seen growing up in the underworld. As I mulled over these thoughts, I made a decision to find out. Maybe it was curiosity. Or maybe it was sheer boredom. Either ways, I was going to get to him - even to the darkest parts of him. After all, curiosity wasn't a sin, now was it?

I snapped out of my thoughts as I leaned forward to pick up the books again. I paused midway as I heard the dull thud of boots against the carpet. Wiping my sweaty hands on my pants, I peeked out from behind the wall as my heart somersaulted at the sight in front of me. Mikhail walked right past where I was, unaware of his surroundings and deeply engrossed in his thoughts. I had half an urge to walk over and ease the crease in his eyebrows. But I didn't. Instead I waited with bated breath for the slam of the front door which came a minute later. Before I even knew what I was doing, I had followed him outside. I slowly pulled the heavy oak door open as his figure became smaller and smaller, after which he abruptly turned to the right. Not wasting any time, I speed walked a safe distance behind him, hoping that he wouldn't turn and look back.

I thought it a bit absurd for there to be no security inside the Petrov premises. I'm sure that if someone had been watching, I would have been caught by now. I didn't have much time to mull over that as a small house came into view. It looked like one of those plain two storeyed houses that were often portrayed in picturesque countryside movies. The house was surrounded by trees and acres of greenery as it was practically hidden behind it. I assumed that it was some sort of hiding place in case there was any danger - a precaution that would, no doubt, have to be taken in the mafia world.

I realised that all of this was so new to me. I couldn't even imagine living a life like this. A life where I would constantly have to look over my shoulder, paranoid about when and not if I would be killed by one of my enemies. A shudder ran through me at the thought of that. Surprisingly though, so far I had fit in perfectly into my surroundings. Maybe I really was Satan's spawn. Hearing a rough voice behind me, I started panicking as I looked around for a place to hide. I rushed over to a large bush and hit behind it as it covered my frame. Not even a second after that, a man paused on the cobblestone path, with a phone glued to his ear.

"Da ya seychas zdes' dyadya."

The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine - and not the good kind. From what I could see from the gap in the bushes, he had his back turned to me and was wearing a long fur coat that reached the bottom of his feet. His black hair, that had a touch of grey, was gelled to perfection. He exuded an aura of authority and danger, just like Mikhail did. The only difference was that this man sounded way more dangerous. He seemed almost inhuman in a way. Too artificial to be a living, breathing person.

"I told you, didn't I? I'll do it." He gritted out as waves of annoyance rolled off of his body.

Without another response, he cut off the call as he finally turned, giving me a view of his side profile.

A gasp caught in my throat as I took him in. He looked like a man sculpted by the Gods himself. Where Mikhail was rough around the edges, this man was poised and had a cold glint in his eyes. He seemed too...unreal. For some weird reason, I got Ted Bundy vibes from him. Charming from the outside but a psychopath from the inside. I felt so tiny in front of him. Like I was some bug he could easily squish underneath his polished shoes without even a glance. My heart lurched as he walked forward and entered the house. The same house that Mikhail had entered minutes ago.

Did Mikhail know him? Was that man even supposed to be here? Question after question tore through my mind as my gut sank. Something about this wasn't feeling right. I stayed seated behind the bush, with my heart beating wildly in my chest and my gut telling me to run. To run far, far away from here. Deciding that one day my curiosity was going to cost me, I took the safer route as I got up. My head swivelled from side to side. So far, nothing had happened and no one was to be seen around. I guess I really was becoming paranoid. I guess I could blame that on Mikhail, ever since he kidnapped me.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked away from the house, ready to go back in the mansion and pretend that I hadn't just gone out without telling anyone. Right when I thought that I was going to be safe, a blast erupted behind me as I was thrown to the ground. My hands scraped on the ground as smoke clouded the air. Gasping, I started crawling away, back to the mansion when I realised something. Mikhail. Fuck. He was in the house. The house which had been bombed. I had to find him.

A small prayer escaped my lips as I pushed myself to stand up, feeling dizzy from the impact of being so close when the bomb went off. Nevertheless, I walked towards the house right as two men came rushing out. One of them, I recognised as Dimitri as he looked around panicked. Though I didn't recognise the other man.

"Where's Mikhail?" I shouted as my lungs screamed for air.

Dimitri's eyes flashed as looked at me.

"What are you doing here? You aren't even supposed to be here." He said in his thick accent as my vision blurred.

"I don't care. I'm going in. I know he's inside."

He didn't stop me as I practically ran inside the burning house. I might as well be sacrificing my soul to the Devil. I was going to get Mikhail out, no matter what it took.

***

Curiosity killed the cat - almost, in this case though. Also, we're finally getting some action in the story lmao.
I know that I've kinda left this chappie on a cliffhanger, but trust me, the next couple of chapters are gonna make up for it :)

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