A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Matteo

Despite receiving a deathly glare from Mikhail, Alena and I didn't let go of each other. My hand was wrapped around her waist as she leaned against me, somehow asking for my full protection. I had no intentions of letting her go either.

Everyone else in the room stayed quiet, afraid to make a sound,

I had expected Alexei to stand by his father but this time, he stood still at his spot. His expression was also different this time and I couldn't understand the true meaning behind it. As long as Alena was safe in my arms, I didn't mind what was in their heads. Angelo a and I Luca seemed prepared to defend me if Mikhail decided to involve weapons. However, I didn't feel threatened or scared by him even though we didn't have any weapons with us. We surrendered ourselves fully on the way here because we knew, we didn't mean any harm. "Matteo..." Alena muttered under her breath.

T

I glanced down at my wife, seeing the look on her face.

It surprised me because instead of determination, she looked defeated. I hadn't seen my wife that way and knew the dark circles under her eyes explained it-she was a strong woman but something must've brought her down.

"It's okay. I'm right here with you," the words slipped my mouth.

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My mind went blank and I didn't know what else to say. I continued to look between Mikhail and Alexei, trying to read their expressions. I wasn't bad at reading people's mind through their facial expressions but for once, I was more concerned about my wife's mind. Yet, I had trouble trying to understand her.

"Just in time for dinner." Mikhail stated before he walked away, down the hall.

A

A

couple of his men followed behind him. Within seconds, Alexei gestured for us to come along and we didn't waste any second but to trail behind him.

We walked down the hallway until we reached the dining room. I hadn't been in this mansion before but I heard stories about it being huge, people tend to get lost. As soon as we entered the dining room, the dining table was well set and served with different food but it was only enough for seven people.This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

Seven people which meant us, including Alena's Mama.

Angelo stood by me, as a way of showing he could protect me.

"Have a seat, gentlemen." Mikhail said, as he sat down.

I watched as Mikhail and Alexei sat down, leaving the rest of us to stand. When they were seated, they turned to look at us, waiting for us to take our seats. I pulled out the chair for Alena and helped her before I took a seat of my own, gesturing for Luca and Angelo to do the same.

Then, my mother-in-law walked in with a smile plastered on her face before she took a seat beside Mikhail. She couldn't keep her eyes away from her daughter and based on the look on her face, she was trying to hide her worries with a smile.

It was awkward being in this situation especially for Angelo and Luca.

IL

Yet, they stayed quiet and kept their guards up.

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Mikhail's men walked out of the dining room, leaving us. 9486% 946090

I continued to hold onto Alena's hand, wanting to assure her that she was safe with me. I couldn't read Mikhail's mind and I didn't know what he had planned for us tonight but I hoped we could settle things as adults.

!

Minus the violence. We were trying hard not to involve that.

"My wife made all of this. I hope it's to your liking," Mikhail spoke, breaking the silence.

"Thank you, Mama. It's lovely to taste your cooking again." Alexel said, smiling at his mother as she responded with a nod. I could see sincerity in his eyes when he complimented her mother's cooking and I knew he loved her, more than anything. "Please, Matteo... enjoy your dinner." My mo mother-in-law said. I had let go of Alena's hand and she went to take a few bites of her food. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her but I decided to enjoy my own food as well-Alexei was right, the food was delicious and it reminded me of home, of my own mother's cooking. I hadn't seen her in awhile because I had been busy with my problems. Halfway through dinner, Alena began to speak up which surprised the rest of us.

"What's the meaning behind all of this?" She asked, looking straight at Mikhail.

Mikhail seemed to be unbothered by her sudden outburst as he took a sip of his water, "Your husband called and said he wanted to come and discuss a few things. I thought it would be nice to enjoy dinner first, assuming we're all a family, he replied. "A family? Since when do you consider Matteo your family?"

Alena ft ask my wife to sit down even if I wanted to. It was nice to see her stand up for herself and for me. She seemed like she had enough of the things that happened for the past few weeks but she still had the fire inside of her.

I knew I Knew "You know I

know I never

really hated Matteo."

"You never really liked him either," she responded.

Mikhail leaned against his seat as he sighed, "Sit down and finish your food."

Alena scoffed before she laughed, sarcastically. Her laughter showed frustration and she didn't bother to hide it anymore, "I know you, Papa. You always have a master plan for everything. You want things to go your way because you hate it when you can't be in control. Matteo means well to come here and discuss things with you but I know you won't even consider them." "Alena... sit down," Alexei said, slowly.

"No, I had enough of listening to To both of of you."

Ou

"I never raised you to be like this, Alena. What happened? What happened to my baby girl?" Mikhail said, shaking his head. "You made me this way, Papa. You're selfish and you only care about your power. What happens to Ana when she comes back? Do you plan to marry her off as well? Do you stay awake at night and plan to ruin our lives? Do you She replied, looking at Mikhail before she turned to look at the rest of us. find peace in that?"

Mikhail kept quiet before he replied, "I only care about your safety. Believe it or not, everything I do is for the sake of our family. Everything I sacrifice is for your future. Do you think all of this was built on free will? Your family sacrificed a lot of things to achieve what we have "I never asked for any of this

"You were born into it. You weren't given a choice," he said.

Alexei grabbed Alena's wrist before he tried to pull her down, "Sit down."

0

As I was about to grab Alexei's hand away, Alena was quicker. She had pulled her hand roughly as she took a few steps back, staring at her Mama and at me.

Instead of staying still in my seat, I stood up to close the distance between us. Angelo and Luca followed to stand up after me as they watched us, waiting for our next move. Meanwhile, I only focused on my wife who seemed to be having a panic attack.

Both

of f her hands were shaking as she tried to lean against the wall, her eyes were wet with tears. I immediately made my way towards her before wrapping my arms around her body, trying to calm her down; she went through a lot of stress and she was going to pass "Alena?" My mother-in-law called out, running to us.

out.

"Alena... can you hear me? Can you hear me, baby?" I asked, trying to make sure she stayed awake but her eyes started to close and her body went limp. T

Luckily enough, I was already holding onto her.

Alexei stood up, the look of panic was visible as he watched us. He started to grab for his phone before calling someone and began to speak in Russian. I couldn't be bothered to look at other people behind me and only attended my wife.

"Bring her up to her room!" My mother-in-law said and I immediately went to pick up my wife before going up the stairs, following her.

I

Once I entered Alena's room, I slowly placed her on the bed and began to feel her pulse. Her body was beginning to warm up, sweats forming on her forehead as she laid still. Mama paced the room back and forth while she talked to Alexei, who had called the family doctor.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hand holding tightly onto Alena's.

"The doctor's on the way. He'll be here soon," Alexei said.

I continued to stare at Alena.

As I turned to look at the doorway, I saw Mikhail standing there. He was staring at his daughter with a worried look on his face but he didn't enter the room to check up on her. As for Alexei, he was trying his best to calm his mother because she had already broke down in tears. My hands reached out to my caress my wife's face.

I didn't expect things to turn out this way. I should've stood up and defended my wife but my mind went blank. My whole body froze and only started to function again when I saw her having a panic attack-it had been awhile since her last panic attack but I didn't know that for sure because we were separated

Alena began to have them when we lost Marco.

"Have this happened before?" I asked.

Alexei shook his head, "No. She must've been stressed out."

I followed his gaze, seeing him looking at Mikhail.

"Let's talk outside," Mikhail said before gesturing for me to follow him.

I trailed behind him down the hallway until we reached the balcony near his off