Mafia Men: Nikolai's Inferno - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

.Evangeline.
I kept crying on my pillows until they were soaked from both sides. I was suddenly annoyed by its presence picked it up and tossed it across the room.
I had turned on all the lights. I even slept with the light on for the past two days, that is if sleep came because every time I closed my eyes all I could see was that deafening darkness. The darkness that gnawed at my body and soul. A shudder ran down my spine.
Staying in that room, made me want to pull my hair out, or worse, I wanted to kill myself. I thought I was going crazy. I thought I was going to die. I thought that I will never get out of there.
My bedroom door opened and a maid entered with a tray full of food. She gave me a weak smile because it was the third time in an hour she has come in here with a tray full of food.
"Get out!" I yelled and slid back on my butt, pressing myself into the headboard. 3
She sighed. "You need to eat, Don Niko---"
I cut her off. "No! I don't want to eat! How many times do I have to tell you that? Just get out! And tell Don Niko that I don't need his fake care anymore!"
Behind her entered the person I never wanted to see again. I spent five hours in that room according to Bianca and in those five hours, all I could see was Nikolai's monstrous eyes looking back at me before he shut the door in my face.
He wasn't the man I thought he was. He was ruthless, evil, and an animal. I cried, I apologized again and again until I couldn't breathe but he didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was teaching me a lesson for not respecting him, for not listening to him.
After my parents died and when I came here, I thought I had finally found freedom but what I didn't know, it was still the same. Dad kept me on a tight leash, Nikolai loosened it; made it longer, but what I didn't realize was that I still had a leash around my neck. No matter what happens a leash will always be a leash.
"Evangeline, you aren't eating. You need to eat," still his voice was commanding, indifferent, void of any emotion, free of guilt. I at least expect some words that contained even a tiny amount of guilt but no he didn't give me anything.
I glanced at the maid, completely ignoring his presence in the room. "You can leave!"
"Leave the food..." Nikolai voiced.
The maid set the tray before me on the bed and left the room, leaving me alone with Nikolai. I wanted to run out of this room but couldn't even do that, where will I go?
"I'm not hungry," I said through gritted teeth, refusing to look at him.
"You still haven't learned your lesson?"
Everything returned to me in full force. His punishment, his words, that room, the darkness, the silence, everything... I didn't even realize it when I started to sob until I felt his finger on my cheek, wiping the tear away. I flinched from his touch, pushing his hand away, and dragged myself away from him.
"Eat, I have a gift for you."
I shook my head. "I don't need anything from you."
"Evangeline, don't try to test me again."
I aggressively picked up a piece of whatever was in front of me and shoved it into my mouth. I chewed on it and then swallowed. "I'm done, you can leave now! Stop bothering me! I don't want to see you!" He let out a tired breath like he was annoyed with my response. What did he expect after he put me in a terrifying dark room for hours? 1
He walked out of the room and I let out a breath of relief. I picked up the tray from the bed and put it on the nightstand before drifting under the covers again. Maybe, he will see that I have fallen asleep and leave me alone.
A second later, Nikolai came back into the room. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes and noticed he had something in his hands. He offered it to me, it was a vase or a container or something. I looked up at him and then at the container in his hand.
"What is that?"
"Your parent's ashes..."
My breath lodged in my throat. I blinked a few times, not believing what he had told me. My lips parted but I couldn't form words; tears pooled in my eyes once more. I took the jar from his hand and placed it on my lap.
"Goodbye, my precious little girl..."
My dad's last words resonated all around me. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and my chin trembled. I hugged the urn closer to my chest and cried for a few minutes.
I sniffled and I looked up to see that Nikolai had turned his back on me and was staring out of the bedroom window.
"You had them cremated?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. The memory of my dad cremating my childhood cat flashed in my mind, and I remembered how I always kept her ashes close.
"I did," he replied, his voice cold.
I bit my bottom lip, staring at the urn before hugging it to my chest. "If this is your way of apologizing for what you did to me, then apology not accepted," I said, wiping away my tears.
I could sense him smiling before he turned back to face me, shaking his head with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I'm not trying to make it up to you. You deserved that punishment, every single second of it."
I glared at him, my anger boiling over. "You think I deserved it? After everything? How can you be so heartless?"
He took a step closer, "Heartless? Maybe. But don't pretend you're innocent, Evangeline. You knew what you were doing." 1
I hugged the urn tighter, my knuckles turning white. "This isn't about innocence! It's about humanity, about basic decency. You can't just treat people like this!"
He nodded, "In my world, I treat people however I see fit, and I don't lose any sleep over it."
"I will never forgive you for what you did," I shot back. 1
He stood above me, "Forgiveness was never something I needed from you. Remember that." 1
"Then why are you here?" I snapped.
He eased himself onto the edge of the bed, casting a casual glance my way, "I'm here because you need to understand the way things work. You live under my roof, which means I'm responsible for you- whether you like it or not. Do you even understand how many people hate me and what they could have done to you in just one night?"
"Why the would they come after me?" I asked, my voice tight with frustration. "They're after you, not me."
"You live with me, that makes you a target," he stated coldly, shaking his head as if the very thought was a waste of his time. "I'm doing you a favor by making sure you don't end up as collateral damage. So, maybe instead of throwing a tantrum, you should appreciate that you're still breathing."
I shook my head in disbelief. "So, what now? I should just sit quietly and be grateful."
He gave a dismissive look. "If you want to keep breathing, you'll learn to accept it."
His words ignited a fire in me, my grip on the urn tightening. "Am I ever going back to college?" I asked, my voice trembling with anger.
He exhaled slowly, as if the question bored him. "That depends."
"On what?" I snapped.
"On you," he replied, his tone icy.
"I don't get it," I said, my confusion morphing into frustration.
"You've broken my trust, Evangeline. I sent you to that college believing you'd follow the rules. I told you not to drink, and you did. I warned you about boyfriends, and I find you in bed with one. And don't forget, you lied to Marco, forged a text and didn't pick up my calls or anyone else's. If you had just asked, maybe I'd have let you go to that party."
My face flushed with anger. "For the last time, he's not my boyfriend!"
"Shouting at me could get you another hour in that room," he added making me shut my mouth.
Then you deserve that dark room for the rest of your life for the things that you do.
"I just want to go to college, please..." I said instead of the nasty comeback I had in mind.
He regarded me coolly. "You've lost my trust. You need to earni back before I'll even consider letting you return."
I glared at him, my frustration boiling over. "And how am I supposed to do that?"
"You'll have to figure that out on your own, Angel," he replied, his voice devoid of sympathy.
I looked down at the urn and chewed on my lower lip. "I'm sorry for lying, sneaking out, drinking so much and not answering my phone, and spending the night out with a guy I barely know."
He nodded, "That's a start but you have a long way to go"
"Now your turn!" those words left my mouth smoothly, I wasn't scared of him not even after what he did.
He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"Apologize!"
He mockingly frowned, I could see the amusement on his face. "Why? You deserved it."
"I'm not a child, you don't get to punish me and I actually thought you were different from my dad. He lied to me about the world to keep me away from it and now you're punishing me for the same reasons."
He sat still for a few minutes before he reached out and gripped my chin between his forefinger and thumb and tugged me closer to his face. "Don't ever compare me to your father..."
He gave me a subtle smile, the monster that I saw in his eyes earlier was not there anymore, it was Nikolai, just Nikolai.
"Have you ever been to a restaurant for dinner?" he asked, it was clear he was trying to change the topic.
I shook my head but I could only move my head slightly with his grip on my chin. "No..."
"Get ready then, I'm taking you out," he ordered, but I shook my head once more.
I refused, "Say sorry, and I'll go."
A cold, calculating smirk twisted his lips. "Sorry," he said, his voice dripping with insincerity. The mockery in his tone hit me harder than any real apology could have. 1
I swallowed hard, my gaze locked with his. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke again. "I'll have someone come in to help you get ready." His hand slipped away from my chin as he stood, adjusted his suit and then walked out of the bedroom.
An hour later, I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body. Three women were waiting for me in my room, setting up makeup and everything they needed to get me ready for the night. They made me sit in front of the mirror, one of them dried my hair while the other one started on my makeup. After they were done, they handed me a beautiful red bra and underwear to change into. I headed into the closet and put them on. I twirled around the mirror and squealed, I looked like the heroines you see in movies.
One of the women entered the closet and gave me the dress. It was a plain halter red dress nothing too fancy or revealing; it was cute and it ended just above my knees.
I walked to the mirror and saw myself, I just couldn't recognize myself anymore. I silent gasp left my lips, my dark hair was in loose curls, eyeliner adorned my eyes, and it was the first time I had worn red lipstick.
I looked grown up!
"You look really beautiful," one of the girls complimented.
I gave her a big smile. "Thank you."
A maid knocked on the door, informing me that Nikolai was waiting downstairs. I was still angry, but deep down, I knew he was right. I lived under his roof, and if I wanted to regain his trust and get back to college, I had to play by his rules. Reluctantly, I decided to put my frustrations aside and suck it up.
I got up and made my way out of the room. I descended the stairs only to see Nikolai dressed up in a suit, he was talking on the phone in another language I didn't understand. Italian, he was speaking Italian, my mom used to speak Italian, she had Italian roots. His eyes fell on me, and a look of approval crossed his face.
He ended the call and approached me with deliberate, measured steps. When he reached me, I had to tilt my head to meet his gaze. His hand moved with careful precision, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
His hand trailed down my side, his fingers lingering before settling around my waist. "I'm starting to reconsider taking you out dressed like this," he drawled.
"Why?" I asked
His eyes lingered on me, riddled with something I couldn't quite place. "You look...," he paused, his fingers tracing the curve of my hip, "like you should be kept hidden away."
I shivered at his touch, "I thought you wanted to take me out," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
He let out a breathy laugh, shook his head before nodding toward one of his men. We walked out of the house and several black SUVs were parked out front.
One of the soldier opened the car door for us and I slid into the backseat. Several minutes later, Nikolai settled beside me too.
I was nervous for two reasons; I was going to a restaurant for the first time in my life and I still didn't know if I had forgiven Nikolai for what he did.
The memory of that room was still raw and bone-chilling for me.
His hand settled on my knee, where it stayed for the rest of the car ride. He squeezed it multiple times in between while he used his cell phone in his other hand.
I watched as multiple SUVS drove ahead of us and more were behind us. "Why do so many people follow you wherever you go?"
"Those are my men," he just said.
"So, they go wherever you go?" I questioned.
He nodded, "I'm a famous man, Angel. A lot of people would love to see me dead."
"Infamous," I corrected and he gave me a twisted smirk.
All the SUVs came to a halt. I looked outside through the black-tinted windows and saw his men getting out of the car, guns, black clothes and a dark aura spread out through the street.
The door opened before we stepped outside. Marco offered me his hand with squinted eyes and I gave him a sheepish smile in return. He was still angry about the text thing.
His men stayed outside while Nikolai walked in with me, the restaurant was dead silent and completely empty.
"Why is it empty?" I asked.
"Because I reserved the whole restaurant for the night."
My eyes widened. "Why?"
His lips curled into a slight smile, "For us"
We walked further and came out to a patio. A table was set in the middle, with candles and other beautiful decorations. A waiter was standing in the corner and nodded at us in acknowledgment. 1 Nikolai pulled up a chair for me and I sat down. The waiter poured two glasses of wine and I glanced at Nikolai in alarm. I wasn't allowed to drink.
"It's fine," he said.
The waiter placed the two menus on the table and waited for us to order. I was about to speak when a gunshot rang out in another room and I flinched. The menu fell from my hand.
Nikolai shot up from his seat before walking back inside from where we just came from, his men followed him.
But before stepping out the french doors, he turned to me. "Stay."
I nodded and just sat there too stunned to do anything.