Hearts and Bullets: The Woman In The Book Cover

Chapter 1

"Papa, here's the book I need." Olga handed him the book she needed for school that she'd asked him to buy.
"Okay, darling," Maxim checked out the book with his eyes when he got it. "Anything else?"
His daughter had an impish smile on her lips when she looked at him. He knew that smile very well. She wanted something.
"Okay, let's go to the cashier and pay this..."
"Wait!"
Before he was able to finish his sentence, Olga quickly darted to the romance novel section of the book shop and excitedly grabbed a book. She was skipping happily when she ran back to him.
"I also need this book, Papa," she had a huge smile when she handed him a book.
He scrutinized the book in his hand. His forehead crumpled when he read the title. Passionate Encounter. And then there was a picture of a man and a woman in a sultry, intimate pose. A romance novel, he deduced.
His eyes darkened in disapproval. His teenage daughter read this kind of garbage?
"Olga..." he groaned in a chastising voice.
"Please, Papa..." Olga fluttered her eyelashes and begged at him with her irresistible doe eyes.
"But you are still too young to read this kind of garbage-"
Olga's eyes widened. "Papa, this book isn't garbage," she interrupted him. "What are you talking about? You know this is a very good book. The author is very talented. She creates magical love stories and happily ever after," she clasped her hands and sighed dreamily.
"Olga, this is junk, okay?" he said in a stern voice. "Besides you are still very young to read romance novels. You are just fifteen."
"Oh, Papa, don't be such a damper." Olga's face fell as though the world came to an end.
"I really like this book. It's written by my favorite author. And she is excellent when it comes to storytelling and women empowerment..."
"Women empowerment?" he echoed in skepticism.
"Yes, Daddy. Her characters are strong women who can kick anyone's ass, even the hero's, anytime." Olga was grinning with pride, her eyes were twinkling.
"Since when have you been consuming this kind of junk, Olga?" He couldn't believe what he'd found out today. His daughter was reading the wrong kind of literature.
"Well, Papa, since you are always away, you wouldn't know, of course." She made a face.
"You know I work on a ship, Olga. I'm always away because your father is a captain."
"I hope you go home more often, Papa, and that you have more time for me." Her eyes became sorrowful as she heaved a sigh.
"What is this?" He pointed at the tip of her hair, and when she looked at what he was pointing at, his fingers lightly pinched her nose.
"Papa!" Olga was annoyed with what he did. Well, that was how he made a joke with his daughter. Something that she clearly disliked.
"You are always making fun of me whenever I ask you to spend time with me longer," her lips were now pouting.
"Darling, how I wish, too. But you know your father's job. I work on a ship. I have at least a 6-month contract everytime."
"Just buy this book, Papa, and we'll be fine. No more fuss about your work. Aye, aye, captain?"
"Aye!" He didn't know why he said that. His daughter surely got him.
Olga's face brightened and a huge smile broke on her face. "Yes! Thank you, Papa." She gratefully hugged him. "You're the best!"
He raked his fingers in her hair as a response.
"Papa!" Olga groaned as she tried to fix her disheveled hair, combing it with her fingers.
"Okay, let's go to the cashier now to pay." He fixed the two books in his hands. By doing that, he had to flip the romance book over the educational one. But he froze dead in his tracks when his eyes saw the author's biography and her photo.
He swore to the gods his heart stopped beating for a moment. His hands became weak and shaky. His eyes glued to the picture of a lovely face he would never forget. The face that could launch a thousand ships.
Helen... he murmured.
The name still felt home at the tip of his tongue.
A cheeky, playful laughter rang in his ears. Her melodious laughter haunted him every night, even after five long years since that fateful day he met her.
The most interesting woman ever.
With such a pretty face.
Slim body.
And sassy feistiness.
She was one hell of a smart ass in a small frame but had an enormous personality.
She was an enigma he had never ever moved on since that fateful encounter in an island that he'd never expected to leave such a lasting impression on him. Since then, he had never been the same.
"Papa, are you okay?" Olga woke him up from a trance. She snapped her fingers in front of his face.
His eyes darted at his daughter. "You know this woman?" His finger brushed the photo gently, his eyes filled with longing.
"Of course, Papa. She's my favorite romance author. Helaena McCalister." Olga gleefully answered.
"Helaena McCalister?" he repeated.
"Hi... I'm Helen..."
Helen...
Helen...
Helaena...
"Yep." Olga said in confirmation, stopping his trail of thoughts.
"That's her name?" His brows rose in confusion.
"Yes, Papa. But authors use pen names so I'm not sure if that's really her NAME, you know." She made a quote and quote gesture.
Olga looked at him closely when she caught his strange reaction. She was baffled.
"Where did you get this book?" he asked as his eyes raked the bookshop.
"Why, Papa?"
"Let's get another one." He held his daughter's wrist and pulled her with him. "Show me, okay?"
"Okay..." Olga couldn't do anything because he almost dragged her with him.
She brought him to the romance section and there he saw a lot of the same books on display. He couldn't believe his eyes again.
He took a deep breath to pacify his raging heartbeat.
She was... famous?
He looked at the Author's Page intently.
Helaena McCalister. NYT Bestseller.
His eyes popped. WOW.
But maybe this was just some sort of a mere coincidence. That this author named Helaena McCalister only looked like her.
He looked at the photo closely. And as he stared at her deep brown eyes that were surrounded by thick lashes, he felt that familiar pull. That mystical feeling that he was being pulled into their depths as he was enveloped by her feminine grace.
Maxim blinked his eyes. His heart was thudding violently against his chest. Heat slowly crept to every nerve fiber of his being.
His testosterones were waking up, giving him an exhilarating sensation. Suddenly, he felt alive, after several years of hibernation.
Excitement ran down his spine. Oh, how he missed this feeling!
But reality hit him. This couldn't be her. She couldn't be this amazing to be a NYT Bestseller. That girl from a random island down the Pacific was very interesting, alright, and he hadn't met someone like her all his life, but he was in the US right now, in a bookshop in New Jersey, holding a book that was written by someone who looked absolutely like her.
He didn't expect that he would meet a very beautiful woman in a country that he'd sailed off for the first time. That was truly a pleasant surprise.
She was absolutely a beautiful island girl that enthralled him the moment he set his eyes on her.
But she couldn't be this NYT Bestseller named Helaena McCalister. That seemed impossible.
But then again, the resemblance was uncanny. The eyes, the nose, the lips. The whole face in particular looked exactly the same. He couldn't be mistaken.
With a brooding expression, he grabbed another book. He was clasping it tightly as if he was afraid it might disappear any second and he would lose it.
"Papa, are you okay?" Olga tugged at his arm while he was taking full steps towards the cashier.
He glanced at his daughter and pulled a smile. "I'm fine, Olga." But deep inside, he was a mix of emotions. He was certainly overwhelmed by what he'd stumbled upon today.
After five long years... Ah, he'd never thought he would have a glimpse of her image again. And certainly not in this way.
Helen...
Just like Helen of Troy, she was absolutely one very interesting woman.
Now he was on a mission to uncover the mystery shrouding her memory and this romance author named Helaena McCalister.
He quickly paid for the books in the cashier. After that he handed Olga her books, and he kept his. He held on to the book firmly like his life depended on it.
"Are you going to read that book, Papa?" Olga asked in curiosity.
He smiled at his daughter meaningfully. "Of course, Olga. What else would I do with it?
"Really?" Olga looked ecstatic. "For sure you will love the book, Papa. A lot of people like it. It's a bestseller."
"I can see that..." He felt waves of pride washed through him.
This revelation surely had him lost for words but excited to discover more.
Finally, he had stumbled upon something that linked him to Helen. He'd been longing for her for five long years now.
And the sliver of hope that he might find her again totally fired up his senses.

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