Page 26 of Always Meant To Be

I don’t need him knowing how difficult it was to be raised with Liliya. The bitch always wanted the attention, and if it came to me for just a second, she ensured it turned negative the next day.

She accused me of trying to cut my own hair, and Mama ended up hitting me with the belt five times.

Growing up, I thought it was normal, until I went to school and saw how the parents were with their children, and how siblings acted—it was an eye-opener, that’s for sure.

Taking my eyes off the contract, I grab my brush, and put my hair in a neat bun, ensuring I don’t tangle the necklace Mamma Russo gave me in the brush. This causes Romeo to take a step back. He doesn’t say anything, he just watches my every move, and I don’t say anything to him.

What is there to say?

He apparently wanted me from the moment he saw me, or that’s what it states in the contract, and I’ve re-read that thingmore times than I can count over the past few days, and yet something doesn’t feel right, or maybe it was the phone call from my precious sister yesterday that has my back up, her words ringing through as always.

“You don’t deserve him, Elena. You need to divorce him so he and I can finally be together like we were supposed to be years ago.”

I blink, gently wrapping a hair tie around the bun.

“He loves me, Elena. Mama and Papa are still punishing me for straying all those years ago, but he’s mine, not yours. Why else would he buy the exact same choker necklace on your wedding day, but in black, hmm?”

I tried to tell her to back off, saying she needed to grow up and leave my husband alone. A part of me believed the contract, still holding onto hope that my marriage wasn’t loveless, but she shot that down instantly.

“If I wasn’t fucking him, then how would I know he has a reverse Prince Albert?” She sighs. “Just do the right thing, Elena, for me and my love. You're just being selfish….”

I guess that’s why I feel like something is off with this contract. I mean, how else would she know about his piercing?

Swallowing hard, I look in the mirror one last time, hating the sadness that shows all over my face. I mutter, “Let’s get this over with,” without making eye contact. I stand, the dark blue dress flowing to the floor.

Romeo takes me in, but I walk past him, not looking his way.

I wonder how he’d like it if I spent the evening with another man, rubbing it in his face like he does with my sister….

Guess it’s not the same, though, because I’m just his pretty property….

Forty minutes later, we’re walking into Luis’, my sister’s favorite restaurant, that costs an arm and a leg, and all eyes come our way, making me feel uncomfortable.

God, I don’t even know why we’re doing this. I mean, who celebrates a month before their actual birthday?

I look down, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Romeo has his arm around my waist protectively, keeping me close, ensuring everyone knows I’m his property. I have tried to knock his arm off a few times, but he gives me a death glare, yet he doesn’t say one word.

Even in the car, he barely glanced at me. Guess his phone was more important.

“Oh my God, Romeo, you’re finally here,” my sister gasps as she rushes our way, her breasts nearly popping out of her tight white corset, her skirt—if you can call it that—showing her butt, before throwing herself into my husband’s arms, knocking me out of the way, causing me to tumble in front of everyone. My cousin, Maxim, just catches me, and I send him a small smile in thanks while gripping his black button-down shirt, but his glare is on Liliya, so instead, I lean on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek, mumbling, “Thank you,dvoyurodnyy brat,” hoping to distract him.

My sister doesn’t want him taking over from my father, knowing he’ll cut her off, and she will use anything against him.

He looks down at me, giving me a loving smile, before squeezing my waist and muttering, “Anything for my favorite cousin,” making me giggle as his dark green eyes look behind me. They darken with anger. “Come, El, you can sit with me.” He says, and I nod, allowing him to mauver me away from the show my sister is trying to put on with my husband.

Guess now everyone can see the affair they’ve been having.

I look their way one last time to see Rome’s hands on her hips, not pushing her body off his, and tears start to build. Quickly looking away, I place myself deeper into my cousin’s warmth, happy he’s here.

He takes me three tables away from the main one in the room where my parents are sitting, and I mutter, “Maxim, when are you going to grow your hair back, the lights keep bouncing off your head,” to distract me from my pain. His wife, Valerie, snorts into her drink, causing it to go everywhere.

I grin, as Maxim squeezes my hip, whispering, “Little she-devil.” My grin goes wider as he pulls my chair out and states, “Sit your ass down,dvoyurodnyy brat,before I feed you to the wolves.”

I smile as I sit, and mutter, “You’d never do that; you love me too much,” as the stunning blonde with light blue eyes leans over and kisses my cheek.

“That he does, El,” Valerie agrees, and I give her a soft look.

She and Maxim were high school sweethearts.

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