"Do you understand now?"
"No, Papa," we all said in unison.
He sighed putting his head in his hand as he sat at his desk.
"Why does Niko get to take over?" asked Aiya.
"Yeah," I chimed in, "Niko is yucky!"
Aiya and I fell into a fit of giggles as Nikolai stuck his tongue at us.
A soft smile appeared on my fathers lips, "Niko is the oldest, so he will be the heir to my organization. You both will be his most trusted companions and advisors."
"I won't let you down, Papa," Nikolai said excitedly.
"I know you won't," he turned back to us, "You're all five years old now, in a few years, you'll all begin to be groomed by me, your mother, and your grandfather."
"But mama has a baby in her stomach," I whined, "She won't have time!"
"I hope the baby is a boy," Nikolai said, "You girls are dummies!"
"I hope it's a girl, we can teach her how to beat you up!" Aiya beamed.
"I'll kick Niko's butt," I giggled, "I'm so much faster than him."
"No one is beating up Niko," my father sighed, "You must always take care of one another. Nothing is more important than family."
_____
Enzo
I stared outside the plane window, replaying the last conversation I'd had with Aleks in my head over and over again.
It had been four days and ten hours since she was taken. I'm not entirely sure I had slept since then—I'm not entirely sure I could.
I loved her—I loved every inch of her and sitting here now, knowing she's unsafe, my skin feels like it's on fire and my heart had taken permanent residence in the pit of my stomach.
I still couldn't believe that I got mad at her, I couldn't believe how I couldn't understand in the moment. But I do now—of course she can't marry me.
She's going to marry Ismael, and run an organization because it's what is expected of her. It's what she wants but won't say.
We were never going to be together. I'm an orphan, I was adopted into this life and she—she had a crown on her head.
"Are you alright?"
I turned my gaze from the plane window to Adalia, who was sitting next to me with an arm on my shoulder, "You haven't slept."
"I'm fine," I said, "And I can't sleep."
"The beds on this jet are rather uncomfortable aren't they," she said.
"I wouldn't know," I shrugged, "I haven't touched one."
She paused for a moment, looking at me, "You're worried about her."
"I am."
"How long have you been in love with my daughter, Enzo?"
"Almost four years now," I sighed, "Doesn't matter much now, does it?"
"Of course it matters," she started, "You love her. I've been around for only a short while and I already know the lengths you're willing to go to for her."
"She's getting married, Adalia," I said furrowing my eyebrows, "She's getting married to a different man. A man she doesn't even know."
She paused, "That does complicate things, doesn't it?"
I laughed, "I'll say."
"Well, I won't advise you to do anything that will get you killed," she smiled, "But I will remind you that I was arranged to be married as well. Arranged marriages never work out how they should, do they?"
"I suppose they don't," I said.
"Now," she said standing up, "Try to get some rest, we'll be there in a three hours."
She walked back to the back of the plane as I took a deep breath and slumped back into my chair.
I'm coming Printcessa, I'm so close.
______
Brandi
I reached over to the right side of the bed only to find a cold imprint where Nikolai was supposed to be.
I sat up in the bed, putting a hand on the bed sheet. He hadn't been able to sleep for some time now. It was expected. I barely managed to get a few hours.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and allowed myself to put one foot in front of the other as I began to walk to the kitchen—where I knew Nikolai would be.
Once I got there I paused for a moment, not sure what to say.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm just tracking the plane, babe. Go back to sleep."
Nik was sitting in a stool at the edge of the island in our kitchen with his eyes glued to his phone. He had eagerly been checking the damn thing since they had left, and wasted no time to stare at it once I had fallen asleep.
"It's 3 in the morning, Nik. Lorenzo and your mother will be there in a few hours. They'll get her back," I said softly touching his face.
He turned his attention to me, "You're beautiful, you know that?"
"I've been told once or twice," I said smiling at him.
"And humble," he raised an eyebrow, "I like that."
I laughed as he pulled me by my waist, drawing us closer together.
As a comforting silence washed over us, I looked down at his face. The face I loved. With serious crystal blue eyes and a black stubble that I endured whenever it was time for my lips to meet his.
"Nik, I don't know if this is the right time to tell you," I started, "Or even if I should've told you a long time ago—
"What is it?"
"I'm pregnant," I blurted out.
All my nerves and anxiety washed away as I saw his face light up and smile appear across his face.
"Another human being, that looks like you," he kissed my belly, "You spoil me, my love."
"Two human beings," I smiled, "They're twins."
_____
Aleks
I looked around at the bland stones of my cell and sighed one final time. This is getting annoying.
I had been biding my time here, looking for any loopholes to get me out of this shithole and hopefully to a hospital, as the thought of my throbbing wrists entered my mind,
I'd have to take Adama with me when I escaped though, I thought, How efficient can a 60 year old woman's escape truly be.
Truth is, I had no idea what the woman was capable of, but another option still arises. Grandfather and Nikolai have known I have been gone for five days, by now they would have already sent someone in to come get me.
However, I'm not known for relying on others.
There is a guard change every four hours. Always the same group of guards, always at the same time. Like clockwork—I can cause a scene between one of those time increments.
But my wrists—my wrists had been badly injured for too many days now, even with the little treatment I was receiving.
Could I even attempt to escape without putting strenuous force onto my wrists? It was possible—however, highly unlikely.
Staying here however, under the possession of Guillermo, wasn't a much better alternative.
I had to get out of here—by any means.
- - End Of Chapter - -