I stare at his face. “Since when did you start talking so intelligently?” I scoff. “And you’re wrong. Kaz is not a psychopath. He doesn’t charm people for his benefit. He doesn’t think no one is above him. He never lies. He doesn’t manipulate people.”
Zan laughs and steps in front of us. He turns to Kaz. “Tell her how delusional she is.”
My eyes snap to Kaz. “What the fuck!”
Zan laughs again. “You are so sweet, Lyn. Now let me tell you something very earth-shattering.” He looks at Kaz and thenback at me. “Kaz charms people better than Uncle Maksim, though yeah, less than Matleon. That guy is natural. He is the Pakhan of the entire Russian crime syndicate, and he is not humble about his position or the amount of power he holds. He doesn’t lie in front of you because he doesn’t need to. He manipulates people almost daily, otherwise, he would never be able to expand his empire across all of Asia.”
He adds, “So long story short, you can’t hate a cat for meowing. You can’t hate these poor boys for being psychopaths. If they had been raised in a less violent environment, like you and me, they would’ve turned out like us.”
I open my mouth to protest again when noise from outside cuts me off.
Kaz mutters, “They must be here.”
I frown. “Who?”
Zan walks past me with a grin. “Your in-laws.”
“Then why are you so happy about it?” I call after him.
He turns his head and winks at me, grin widening. “I have my own personal guest coming with them.”
I narrow my eyes. “Don’t you dare bully Autumn here.”
He chuckles and sprints outside. I walk with Kaz, with each step, my heartbeat increases.It’s been four months. When Zo was hospitalized, I still didn’t go, just to avoid Matleon. Avi gave me all the reports over video calls.
Today, Zo and Avi won’t be coming. Zo has recovered a lot, but not enough to travel or move his body this much. He’s been discharged from the hospital and is now resting at home, with Avi there to take care of him.
I haven’t seen Matleon in the past four months, but there hasn’t been a single day when he didn’t text me. Good morning. Good night. How was your day? Random updates about his day. I never replied to any of his messages, just like he never used to reply to mine back then.
The garden is filled with people, laughing and chatting. Even among so many faces, it’s effortless to spot him. He towers over everyone, wearing a dark brown suit, standing with my papa and uncles. He talks to them with that harmless, charming smile, deceiving my family into believing he’s a sweet, caring gentleman.
And then he looks at me.
Everyone else fades from my peripheral vision, leaving only him at the center of it all. I take small sips of my coconut water, keeping the straw between my lips to keep both my mouth and my mind busy with something, anything that isn’t him.
He takes me in from head to toe, leaving a trail of discomfort beneath my skin. I become painfully aware of what I’m wearing—silk sleep pajamas, wrinkled from not changing since yesterday evening, topped with Nana’s woven red sweater.
I haven’t even combed my hair after waking up, it’s tied in a messy bun with curly strands falling all over my face and neck. Who had told them to come so early? It’s only 2 p.m., I haven’t even taken a bath, and now I’m standing here looking like a homeless mess in front of a man who is coming closer, not a single crease on his suit, not a single hair out of place, clean-shaven, broad, and tall—like a mountain now towering over me.
He leans down and takes a sip of my coconut water without looking away from me. “If you keep staring at me like this, I’ll start thinking that you’re in love with me.”
I blink rapidly and press the bottle close to my chest. I don’t even realize when the straw slips from my mouth.
Matleon
Finally, the wait is over. She’s here, standing in front of myeyes.My Angel.Sunlight hits her hair, making it look like it could catch fire. Her blue eyes are fixed on me.Does she even realize she’s staring?I don’t think so, her slightly parted lips just let the glass straw drop into her bottle, and she doesn’t even notice.
I walk closer, her gaze never leaving mine. I take the straw that had been in her mouth and sip from it, relishing this indirect kiss. So, she’s been drinking coconut water… that means if I were to kiss her now, she would taste like this. I draw a long sip and then leave it.
“If you keep staring at me like this, I’ll start thinking you’re in love with me,” I smirk.
And just like that, whatever trance she was trapped in breaks. She presses the bottle against her chest as if I’m going to steal it.
“Come on, Angel, you’re better than this. I’m going to steal you whole, what’s this poor little thing you’re protecting from me?” I drawl.
She raises her chin defiantly. “I’ll protect every little thing of mine from you.”
I chuckle at her kitten-like aggression. “We’ll see about that.”
