The Mafia and His Obsession, Part 2 by Lylah James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

 

Viktor

 

She danced under the magical golden sky, magnificent and an unrealistic beauty. It was sensational…breathtaking. She enchanted me.

She was dangerous for my heart and wild for my soul.

I needed to feel her, a sheer desperation that was fed with a passion I had no control over. I wanted her inside me, so deep in the marrow of me. In return, I wanted to own every bit of her…

For a brief moment, I was jealous. Jealous of everyone who had…or were seeing her dance, in this very moment. That beauty only belonged to me.

I wanted to steal her away. Capture her demand for her to only dance for me. The urge to lay my claim on her heart, over and over again, was strong.

But this…this beautiful moment was hers.

Nobody could steal it away. Not even me.

Pride filled my chest. My sweet myshka deserved this. This and so much more.

Today, her dream was becoming true. A dream she had many years ago, a dream that was once stolen from her.

Yet today…she was here. On this stage, dancing for all to see, admire, and be enchanted.

There she was, my Valerie. My dancing swan. Her elegance shone through, each step flowing like a water down the river. She glided across the stage as if she owned it, had it memorized in her tiny head.

She danced like the rest of us breathe air.

She danced…

And I fell more in love.

Once the music ended, Valerie stopped too, right on time. The rest of the dancers came to a stop behind her, and in a synchronized movement, they all bowed to the audience.

The crowd clapped, cheered, and went a little crazy. From my spot, I watched as the Ivanshov women stood from the first row and were clapping and cheering louder than the other people.

My girl deserved this.

All of this…a family. Ballet. Love. Everything she ever dreamed of as a child.

Her happy ending. I gave this to her, I made it happen, I kept my vows.

I found myself smiling as I watched her bring her right hand over her chest, placing it over her beating heart. It bet it was erratic right now, wild, uncaged. Free and flying so high. I was far away from the stage, hidden in the shadows, leaning against the wall, but—I saw it. Her smile.

Beautiful.

I remembered her words before. When I had told her one day, she was going to dance on the stage of The Royal Opera House. Just like she always wanted. One day, the audience would cheer for her and ask for an encore.

Valerie had said that it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t hear them. She would only hear the silence.

I told her…she would feel it in her heart. Valerie had been unconvinced that day.

Today, she took out her hearing aids. She chose to dance without listening to the music. Valerie knew it by heart, in her soul.

And she told me…I don’t want to hear them cheer for me. I want to feel the audience.

So she did.

Her eyes found me, where nobody else could see me. But she saw me…

My eyes widened as I watched her leave the stage. My lungs clenched, my breath stuck in my throat, and my heart…fuck…my heart was a wild mess as Valerie ran to me. The audience was forgotten. The world slipped away.

Just me and her…my beautiful swan and her Prince Charming.

I stepped away from the wall, leaving the shadows behind. Opening my arms for her, she fell into them, laughing. Her lips fused with mine and she kissed me, madly, deeply, crazily.

My thumb brushed gently over her wet cheeks, swiping away her tears. I tasted her, her sweet, sweet taste. She kissed my demons and chased my darkness away. Valerie was intoxicating, my favorite drug.

My heart thumped harder.

The kiss was both slow and frantic. Sweet, yet not so gentle. Her sweet lips caused a fire to spread within my bones. It had awakened a rumbling storm inside me. The kiss felt like our first kiss, except even better. When her lips met mine, every part of me came alive. I was a dead star, now alive and breathing—aligned in a perfect constellation with hers.

“I love you, Viktor.”

Her whisper reached my ears when we pulled away, starving for our next breath.

“Marry me.” The words slipped past my lips before I could stop them. I had no ring; I didn’t plan a proposal.

But Valerie didn’t seem to care.

“Yes.” She smiled so brightly, it outshone all the jewels of this fucking world.

“You are making the fairy tales a little girl dreamed of come true. My Prince Charming,” she muttered. “It was all meant to be. Since the beginning.”

I nodded. “Fate had put us together, myshka.”

I grinned at that, and Valerie smile widened. Her hazel eyes gleamed, and I saw our past, and our future in her gaze.

You see, once upon a time…I met a Princess.

And she told me she was going to marry me.

 

***

 

Many Years Ago…

 

A sweet young girl who believed in fairy-tales…

 

One. Two. Three. Twirl.

One. Two. Three. Spin.

One. Two. Three. And twirl.

I stood on my tippy toes and tried to twirl like Odette did in Barbie Swan Lake. It was my favorite movie. I was watching it again when Papa pulled me away from the TV and brought us here.

He said he had to work and had to bring Mommy and me with him. I didn’t like it. But I was still little, so I couldn’t stay at home alone. Mommy gave me my ballet shoes, though. She told me I could dance while they were busy.

The house was big, very big. Papa and Mommy were inside, talking to some scary men. They were all big and mean. I didn’t like them.

They said I could go outside in the garden to practice my ballet.

One. Two. Three. Twirl.

One. Two. Three. Spin.

One. Two. Three. And twirl.

I almost did a perfect spin, but then I tripped. Ouch. I looked at my feet and saw that the ribbons of my ballet shoes had come undone. I didn’t know how to tie it again.

I tried but couldn’t.

Looking up, I saw Mommy waving at me with a plate in her hand. Lunch! I left my shoes behind and ran to her, barefoot. Mommy smiled and we went inside to eat.

There was a lot of people sitting in the big room. I was the only little kid there. So after eating, I ran back outside to practice. I had to become good, like Odette. And then I was going to dance and find my Prince Charming too.

But…

When I found my spot again, under the tree…I screamed.

Nooooo!

No no no.

My ballet shoes…one of them was missing. And the other, it had been chewed on and ripped in places. I couldn’t wear it anymore. It was dirty. I looked at the dogs running far away. It was them! Bad doggies.

Holding my ballet shoe in my hands, I sat on the grass. I cried. How would I dance now?

“Why are you crying?”

Oh.

I looked up and saw him. He was bigger than me, taller than me. He was older than me but not too old. He leaned against the tree beside me and looked down at me. He was…smiling.

I showed him my ballet shoe. “The dogs ate it.”

“Ouch.”

I nodded. “I can’t dance now,” I cried.

“Who said you can’t dance?”

Silly boy!

I lifted my head and gave him a look. “Because I don’t have my shoes anymore.”

“Where are your parents?” he asked.

I pointed where my papa and mommy were, inside the big house. “There. They are talking. With that man…Vale…umm…I forgot.”

“Valentin?”

“YES. He is scary. Like that evil bad man in Barbie Swan Lake.”

“Barbie Swan Lake?” The boy squatted down beside me. He didn’t sit on the grass but he balanced on his feet so now we were the same level.

“Yup. You know?”

He shook his head. I was shocked and I told him so. I told him about Odette, the Unicorn, the Fairy Queen, and about the Prince too.

He smiled. “What’s your name?”

Mommy said to never tell strangers my name. “I am a Princess. Like Odette.”

“Ah.” And then he was silent.

“What’s yours?”

“Viktor.”

“Viktor,” I said. I liked it. It was a pretty name. It could be the Prince’s name.

“If you get new ballet shoes, will you be able to dance again?”

I nodded once. And then I nodded again and again until my neck hurt. “Yes. Yes. But I don’t have new ones.”

My eyes hurt from crying, and I held my shoe tighter.

He smiled more. “Wait here, will you?”

Viktor got up and left. I sat there, waiting for him to come back.

I waited for a long time.

I think I fell asleep too.

Mommy woke me up, and we went inside. She put me in bed. It wasn’t my room, but Mommy said we will be staying for two days here. And then we would go back to our own house. She said Papa was getting a promotion. I didn’t know what that meant. Soon, I fell asleep. But I was dreaming of new ballet shoes and me dancing. And I saw him…he was watching me dance.

The next day, I went back to my tree. I was playing with Mister Oggy, the cat, when he found me. Viktor had a little box in his hand.

“You found me!” I said. Mister Oggy ran away, but I stayed sitting. The sun was so bright, and I had to cover my eyes to peek up at Viktor.

Like yesterday, he squatted down again and showed me the box. “I brought you a little gift, Your Highness.”

I laughed at him. So silly.

He opened the box. My eyes went wide. Oooohhhh!

“For you.” He winked.

New ballet shoes! So pretty. They were prettier than my old ones. Pink with little flowers.

Viktor helped me put them on and they fit me, just like Cinderella. When I couldn’t tie the ribbons, Viktor did them for me. “There you go. Now, you can dance again.”

He was so sweet.

And when he smiled, he was so handsome. Like all the Princes in the fairy tales.

I liked him.

And…and…he was going to be my Prince. I told him so.

I patted his chest. “One day, we are going to marry.”

He raised his eyebrow and then laughed. “How old are you?” he asked when I stood up. I jumped and twirled. The shoes were so soft. I loved them.

I showed him my hand. “Six!”

He nodded and then looked behind him. I heard someone calling him, a little far away. Viktor stood up and sighed. “Coming,” he called out to the old man.

Viktor looked at me again. He poked my nose gently. “See you around, Your Highness.”

He smiled, waved, and then walked away.

I couldn’t stop smiling. My cheeks were hurting too. I was going to dance…and dance…and dance. Spin and spin. Happy twirl.

All for my Prince Charming.

One day, I was going to marry Viktor. We would live in a Castle and then I’d dance for him. Just like Odette.

And it would be a happily ever after. Like all the fairy tales.

Twirling around, I laughed and clapped my hands.

One. Two. Three. Spin.

One. Two. Three. Twirl.

One. Two. Three. And twirl.

 

***

 

T H E  E N D

For now…