A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Alena

I was no longer Ms. Orlov when we returned home. It felt weird hearing Angelo calling me Mrs. Lerclere but I had to get used to it. Matteo didn’t feel as if it made any difference ever since we got back from Sicily–he was back to his usual self, always working and never at the estate.

I got back to my routine, too. Whenever I got to the hospital, I always took off my ring because I wasn’t ready to tell anyone at work I was married. They were going to ask a lot of questions and I didn’t know how I was going to tell them. It was easier to avoid things until they were unavoidable.

Then, when I got to the estate, I put the ring back on. Basically, I wanted everyone to know I was married to Matteo except for the people at work. I wanted them to know I was as single as I was before. Luckily, Matteo never came to the hospital

again.

Maybe, he was drowning in work. I barely ever saw him.

He was busy. Whenever I did catch a glimpse of him, he looked tired and stressed. He was always frowning. Despite being tired, he never really went to bed because every time I woke up in the middle of the night, I saw the lights to his office were on and I heard noises coming from there.

He was working nonstop. And I was working more shifts, too.

I didn’t want to feel lonely at the estate, so it was best to work.

Papa did call me a few times… well, more than a few times. He called me about twenty times when I got back from Sicily. He may have heard the news, but he didn’t show up at the hospital or anywhere else. As for Alexei, he was ignoring me as usual Maybe, just maybe, he was upset but he knew he had no right to control my life.

He was going to show up sooner or later. I wasn’t ready for that, but I needed to go back home with Matteo. Papa was probably mad at me for the drastic decision I made.

So, it was a surprise to find Alexei calling me.

“Hi, Alyosha. I thought you weren’t going to ever return my calls I spoke as I walked down the hallway, needing privacy. He kept quiet for a few seconds, “You made a big mistake, Alena. Do you even understand what you got yourself into?” Alexei sounded angry but he was doing his best to keep it cool. I knew him too well; we grew up together. He knew I was stubborn, and I knew he had a bad temper; we were both flawed creatures, but we always managed to hide it well.

“And here I thought you called because you missed me.”

“You married Matteo Lerclerc? Have you lost your g***n mind?”

Yes, he was clearly angry. I could hear it.

“We were engaged when you saw us at the restaurant. Anyone in the right mind would know the next step after an engagement is marriage. Besides, couldn’t you be happy for your little sister? She kind of need all the support she can get.”

“How can I be happy for you?” He scoffed, “You married the enemy, Alena! The peace treaty between the Italians were very clear. We weren’t supposed to get involved with them. We were supposed to mind our own business and don’t give a f***k about them. Now, you’re married to Matteo?!”

1 cleared my throat, “I never wanted my part in the mafia. As far as I know, I married a very successful businessman. What he does at night doesn’t bother me because he treats me well. He makes me happy. Whatever it is that you have to say doesn’t bother me, too.”

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“Papa will disown you. You hrought this upon yourself.”

“Why can’t you defend me, Alexei? You’re my brother!”

“The Bratva is more important than blood, Alena. You know that

“I thought you would be different. We had each other’s backs when we were younger, Alexei. The Bratva changed you. I don’t even know who you are anymore. Would you rather I marry Viktor and end up unhappy for the rest of my life?”

Alexei didn’t say a word, but I heard his breathing, he was probably trying to calm himself. He knew what Papa had planned for me was wrong. He had the power to stop him because he was the Pakhan, but he decided to look away.

“I don’t have any part in this. I’m doing what’s best for us.”

“What’s best for us or for you? For your Bratva?”

“Alena-

I cut him off as I saw Zach making his way towards me, “Fine, Alexei. I don’t have anything to say to you. We’ll just see how it goes from here. Then, I quickly ended the call before shoving my phone in my pocket.

Zach smiled, waving. “I knew it you were here.”

“Hey, yeah just needed some fresh air.”

“Are you okay? Did I interrupt something?” He was genuinely concern and I appreciated that. Zach was a really good colleague.

“No, no. I’m fine, Zach.”

“Okay – if you’re so sure. Please don’t hesitate to tell me anything.”

I nodded, “Is there something wrong? It looks like you’re the one that has something to tell.”

“Okay, you caught me.” He chuckled before putting both of his hands up, defending himself. “The team wants to head to a bar after work. It’s to celebrate our last few weeks as senior residents. If you’re not doing anything tonight. I wanted you to come. I’ll be fun to wind down. We know just how hard you work,”

I smiled, “I don’t have anything tonight. I’ll be there,”

“Great, that’s great. Do you want to go together, or do you want to meet there?”

“I think I’ll meet you there. Besides, I drove here to work this morning so I couldn’t just leave my car behind.”

He frowned, “Are you sure you’ll be able to drive home after all the drinking? You can just leave your car here at the hospital and take a cab home after tonight.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Then, do you think it’s okay if we head to the bar together?”

“Of course. I’ll wait for you at the lobby after work,”

….

“See you.”

ch nodded, smiling as 1

walked away.

We had a few hours left of our shift and I was ready for it to be over. Not because I wanted to go home but I really needed to drink. I had been going on the same routine for the past week and I needed a release–besides, if I went home, I was going

to be alone.

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Matteo was probably not at home; he was probably working.

He was probably even busy beating someone up or shooting people, for all I cared.

So, a night away at the bar and drinking with colleagues sounded nice. We could talk and spend time instead of going home and dreading of going to work tomorrow. It was a good thing that I wasn’t working early the next day.

When my

shift was over, I changed clothes and took my bag before meeting Zach in the lobby. He was waiting near the entrance and as soon as he saw me, he quickly waved. He was always happy, maybe it was his way of coping.

“Okay, the cab’s here. You got everything?” He asked, pointing at the cab.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The traffic jam was inevitable, and we were used to it. Driving home was way worse than this–at least, by taking the cab, I was able to take a few minutes to relax. The bar wasn’t far from the hospital, but the traffic jam was causing us to arrive a bit

late

When we arrived, all our colleagues were already there. Zach and I were the last ones to arrive.

“Hey! You guys made it,” someone said, waving.

Zach waved back. “Yeah, sorry we’re late. The traffic was really bad,”

“No worries. Come and join us,”

Lily smiled widely as she caught us, pulling me in for a hug. She seemed to be a little bit tipsy, but she wasn’t too drunk. I wondered how many drinks she had.

“Glad you guys could make it. I was losing my mind drinking,” she said, pouting.

“How many did you drink. Lily?”

“A bit. Probably like one or two drinks?”

–“Are you sure? You look like you drank more than two drinks.

“Yeah, I can’t really remember. Was it two or ten?”

“Lily”

She laughed, “I’m just teasing you, princess. I drank five.”

“She gets drunk easily. Doesn’t do well with alcohol,” Zach interrupted as the three of us began to sit near one of the stools. The rest of our colleagues were chilling and talking with drinks in their hands.

I was beginning to relax as I ordered my drink.

Tll have a vodka and watermelon punch.”

“And for you, gentleman? The bartender asked Zach, who was laughing with Lily–she was giggling and running her hands all over me but knowing Lily, she was just trying to let loose.

I’ll have a whiskey,

“Alright. The bartender walked away to prepare our drinks.

A few minutes have passed, and we were laughing off at silly jokes. I’ve drank quite a few but I had no problem with alcohol -yes, I was feeling a little lightheaded, but I could handle a lot of alcohol until I was going to pass out. The Russians were

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