A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Alena

Igor surprised me with a text of his details within less than five minutes. There was his name and his office's address because everything else was secured. It wasn't shocking to find the rest of the details unknown-he was the Sicilian mafia boss. He had his data protected. Apparently, he was a well-known businessman. The internet didus job in finding more details about his company. Nothing too specific but it was enough to know about the kind of business he was doing, even though I knew it wasn't completely There was no way he was doing any 'clean' business.

true.

He was feared. He was danger itself.

Even my brother, Alexei, didn't want to cross paths with him. It seemed like the Russians and the Italians had bad blood in the past. Papa never tried to form an alliance with them, and they only signed a peace treaty to avoid war. It made me wonder about the secrets they were hiding. Then again, I was never interested in the mafia.

His company, Fin-Tech were one of the leading technology companies. The company was well-known for their expertise in creating newer and better technologies for the future. It was worth billions and even the CEO, Matteo Lerclerc was worth

more.

I did my research on the internet and found out that he was single. I mean, I assumed he was single because he wasn't seen in any pictures with a woman by his side. He was either alone attending business events but other than that, there were barely any pictures of him. Maybe he wasn't straight.

No, he couldn't be. The way he kissed me proved it enough.

He didn't exactly kiss me because I was the one who kissed him, but he responded back and didn't hold himself back or push me away-that was enough evidence for me to convince myself he was straight. Matteo. Lerclerc.

His name was familiar. Maybe, it was his family's name, but I heard of his name, I just couldn't remember when Papa might've said his name while he was dealing business a few years ago but if Matteo was around my age, he wouldn't be more than forty. So, what was I going to do with Matteo? What was I planning? I needed to meet him first. Personally.

Hence, which was why I found myself standing in front of Fin-Tech the next morning. My shift started at five in the afternoon, so I still had time to go through with my plan, only if everything went according to plan.

Apart from kissing and meeting Matteo's lips for the first time, I had never encountered him before. Yes, I have heard of him-about someone from the Lerclerc family who was brutal and enjoyed killing. He was known for his notoriety, and it was exactly what I wanted to solve my problem.

He was the solution. I knew it

Even I

if I was risking my life. It was already ruined in the first place.

@X 77%

r4

How could I be so sure that be would go through with it? How could I convince myself he wasn't going to kick me out or worse threaten to kill me? What if the moment I stepped into his office, he'd realized who I was, and he'd straight away put a bullet in between my head. I was being delusional to think he was going to help me. I was risking everything, but I couldn't care less, now. I needed this.

The longer I let things went on hold, the faster Papa would gather more plans and he might even decide to kidnap me if I tried to run away. Papa wasn't a good option because he was far too lost to communicate with his daughter. We weren't going to have a decent conversation either. What about Matteo!

He was a stranger. I heard bad things about him, but I was willingly stepping into the lion's cage.

Even Alexei warned me about him. I didn't understand the bad blood between our families, but I was selfish, I needed a way out. If he didn't want to help me, I'd left with no other option.

I took my time in entering the building, letting my high heels clank across the floor. There were quite a crowd, and the lobby was busy with chatters. I was left standing as I held tightly onto my handbag-I would be lying if I said I wasn't

nervous.

I was

s trembling but I was raised to be strong and determined.

As soon as I reached the receptionist, her eyes met mine and her lips curved up into a smile. "Hello, welcome to Fin-Tech. How can I help you?"

Hi. I want to meet with Mr. Lerclerc."

"Do you have an appointment?" She typed away on her laptop without breaking eye contact.

"No, I don't but it's important

"Can I have your name, please?" Orlov."

"Alena "One

second."

The receptionist stood up, walking towards another colleague before saying something. Then, she reached the phone to make a quick call as she kept glancing at my direction. The call took almost two minutes before she decided to hang up and walk back to her seat. "Mr. Lerclerc is expecting you. Denise will help you up, she pointed at a man near the entrance. He had a frown on his face as he walked towards me. пада

Matteo was expecting me. How could that be possible?

I tried to push away any confusion as I followed Denise towards the elevator. He didn't say a word while we were heading towards the top floor. While I was already shifting and biting the insides of my cheeks, he was standing still like a statue. Was he even breathing?

As

soon as we reached the top floor, he gestured for me to follow him.

I kept a few steps away from him until we stop in front of a closed door, and he decided to knock once.

"Come in." Someone said from the other side of the door, which I assumed was Matteo. 77%@

Denise opened the door for me, and I stepped inside. Then, he immediately closed the door, leaving me to stare at the man himself, Matteo Lerclerc. He was facing the glass window as he looked down at the city, with both of his hands in his slacks" pockets. Even from behind, he was a masterpiece. If God had favorites, I was convinced He took time in creating Matteo because there wasn't a single flaw. I stayed still at my spot; my eyes were unable to look away from sim.

Then, that I was it. The moment he turned around to look at me, our eyes met. Those perfect amber eyes could be mistaken for flecks of gold especially with the sunlight seeping through the window and were as deep and expressive, where you could get lost if you stared long enough. Matteo didn't hide his intrigued as he looked down at my body before meeting my eyes once more. He was beautiful that night, but he was even more beautiful today-how could that be possible? The expensive tailored suit was perfectly made for him. He stood there with confidence which I was sure, nobody could easily achieve.

1 almost forgot that the man in front of me was a killer, too.

His dark brown hair was slicked back with a few fallen strands, somehow perfecting it

"Alena Orlov, to what do I owe this pleasure?" He spoke, surprising

me.

He took one hand out of his pocket to press something on his laptop before looking back at me, waiting for my response. Every single word had left my mind and I was speechless. I didn't expect him to be expecting me or knew my name.

It wasn't a surprise to admit he might've had someone did a background check on me.

Alexei did that all the time, I guess it was common for someone in their line of work. were expecting me?" I asked. you came

"And

willingly without knowing you were expected," he replied with a smirk. This man was full-of-himself and that was me being nice. He knew he had an aura of his own and he was putting it to good use. There was no way he was used to rejection.

I was sure nobody has ever rejected him.

"How did you know my

name?"

"I had people check up on

you

"Found everything you wanted?"

"Not exactly. Your brother did well in hiding your personal information."

Of course. Alexei or Papa did a great job in hiding our identities from being searched or hacked because we were important -Mama, Ana, and me. We were the targets of our enemies. Sometimes, I could still sense one of Papa's men following me to keep me safe. They had been doing a great job because I could barely see them sometimes.

"Right... I assume you know who I am." I took a few steps forward, my chin held high as I regained my confidence.

"You're Mikhail Orlov's daughter." He replied, watching my every movement with intensity. "You belong to the Bratva. Yet here you are. in Sicilian territory

!

I frowned, "I don't pay attention to my father's business. As a matter of fact, I know nothing about his business. I was never interested,"

"Is that why you went to medical school?"

"I assume my brother didn't really do a great job at hiding my personal information."

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The sides of his lips curved as he kept looking at me, "Why are you here, Alena?"

Then, everything went back to being serious. Ilis lips had fallen into a straight line, and he was staring deadly into my eyes. This man knew a lot more about me than I knew about him, but I wasn't scared. I wasn't a spy, and I came here willingly for my own benefit. "About the other night at the charity-" cut me of.

He

me off. "You came for a second one?"

"What? No," I shook my head. "I need your help."

Matteo took a few steps towards me, but he stopped, leaving a big space between us. He was intrigued and he wanted me to speak up quickly. Then again, he wasn't even forcing the words cut of my mouth.

1 didn't want to randomly blurt them out.

"Do I look like someone who can help you? You're looking at the wrong place." He replied, looking away.

"You're the only that can help me. Besides, you didn't hear me out yet."

He crossed his arms, "And why should I hear you out?"

Then, tell

me."

"You did expect me to come. You know I want something, and you don't even have to pretend you're not curious." I responded, taking a couple of steps closer towards him which caused him to raise an eyebrow, but he remained calm. He was keeping his composure. It took me a while to realize that we were only inches apart and if I were to make any moves, our lips would meet. We weren't as close as we were during our first encounter, but we were close enough. I could even see the thickness of his eyelashes and how they curled beautifully to define his eyes. "I want yo

you to marry me."

A chuckle left his lips as he leaned back. He thought I wasn't being serious, and he decided to walk back towards his seat, completely ignoring me. "This Bratva princess is crazy," he muttered under his breath but was loud enough for me to hear.

"I don't think it's funny. I want you to marry me,"

I

"What makes you think I'd want to marry you?"

"You have no reason to disagree. In fact, you'd gain benefits of your own

"Oh, enlighten me. What could you possibly offer that I don't already have?"

"More power. The Bratva." I r "I replied.

"I'm not interested in maintaining good relationships with the Bratva,"

I sighed.

"My father wants me to marry someone of his chosen. I don't want to. I want to prove to him that he has no control

your wife." in my life. So, I want you to marry me. Pretend to be in love with me. Show me off to everyone

"You decided to walk into my office to offer me marriage and expected an agreement?" He asked, shaking his head. "Like I said, you're in the wrong place."

I kept my confidence even though I was starting to lose hope. Maybe, he really did mean it when he said he didn't want to

4

Agree Who in the right mind would want to agree? I was already risking everything the moment I stepped inside his office. It knew I was bound to lose it.

agree

"I can offer you money. As much as you want," I added.

"I already have billions."

"We don't even have to stay married for long. All I'm asking for is three years and we can go on our separate ways."

"You're asking for three years of commitment."

"It won't even be real. We just pretend in front of everyone when we go out but behind closed doors, we remain as strangers. I won't bother you in anything you do, and you won't have to bother what goes on in my life. All I'm asking for is three years of marriage." "You have no benefit for me." "You'd have the Russians as your alliance. You'd gain more respect."

"I already have enough"

"You'd have more power."

"I'm already powerful," he scoffed.

"Three years-all I'm asking for is three years of marriage"

"No." He stared into my eyes, "If I were to marry you, I'd never let you go after three years. As much as you scream your heart out for me to divorce you, that's never going to happen."

"What?"

My heart started to beat fast a as he took a few steps closer towards me. Our eyes weren't breaking contact, but I was starting to feel something different. Was I nervous? Was I scared of what was to come?

He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my car which caused me to stay still, afraid to make any movements. I was stuck in place.

"I'm Catholic. I don't believe in divorces," he replied with a smirk. "As funny as that is coming from a sinner like me, I do take His words seriously but only a few not His every word. Do you still want to marry me? You'd be stuck for a lifetime of a loveless marriage." "You... you'd rather stay married than let me go because of your belief?"

"Marriage is a lifelong bond. It would be a grave offense to divorce you."

I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or serious. The way his warm fingers ran across my cheek when he was tucking my hair, the way his breath was hitting my face and his scent was overwhelming my senses, I was beginning to lose my mind. Nothing was going according to plan.

This man was turning the cards towards me. I was asking for three years of marriage-of fake marriage but he was offering -me a lifelong bond.

"I can't stay married to you

"Then, you

can

exit

exit

the way you came

4

He walked back towards his desk, taking a seat and began typing away on his laptop while I stayed frozen at my spot. My

mind was wandering away to the possibilities of finding another solution to my problem. Papa was probably figuring out other plans as we spoke and Italian man in front of me was offering me a lifelong marriage, except love.. This was going to be one hell of a decision to make.

I didn't have another choice. I was left with zero choices to begin with

I expected things to do my way when I came here but I was shocked to see how the tables have turned.

Fine.

Marry me." I stated, firmly.

His brown eyes looked into mine. "You can still change your mind, Alena."

"No, I don't want to. I came here with one purpose, and I won't back away. So, it's settled then. You'll marry me pretending to be the loving and happy couple then we can decide when you'll propose."

"You want me to propose to you when it was initially your idea?" He raised an eyebrow.

"That's how things work, don't they?"

"I don't trust you. Alena"

"You don't have to. You can easily do another background check on me. I'm not my brother or my father's spy"

"I do have a few conditions."

Name them."

-we can start

Matteo stood close to me, our faces were inches apart as he looked down into my eyes. My head was leaning towards him to meet his gaze. He made it very obvious that he was taking his precious time to eye my every feature. My eyes. My nose. Lastly, my lips. His gaze lingered a few seconds longer at my lips.

-"Don't expect happiness from me. Don't expect love. Don't expect commitment. You'll get my last name-you'll never get

my heart."

I leaned forward, this time, we were a breath away.

"You'll never get mine, either."

"It's a done deal then."

There he was, in the flesh. My future husband was promising a lifelong bond without love, happiness, and commitment. I was never ready to be loved or committed to after my past. This was starting as a great beginning.