A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter 78

Alena

The dinner was great and by the twe went back to our car, we were full. | couldn't take another bite of the

pizza but luckily enough, Matteo could finish the rest. We had spent the past hour talking and taking our sweet

tbecause we didn't want to think about what

was going to happen.

We dreaded the moment of 'returning'back.

The drive to Matteo's office was quiet and slow. For once in my life, | was grateful for the traffic because at least,

we had a reason to be late. It was nice to spend ta bit longer with my husband even though we were just

stuck in traffic. I enjoyed us holding hands in the car.

Sometimes, he reached out to caress my thigh. Anything to make sure our skins were touching, regardless the

type of physical touch.

Once we had reached his office, we stayed still for a little while.

Neither of us wanted to leave the car because we knew what was going to happen next. Igor and Mama was

probably on their way here to pickup but | had been silently praying for their delay, hoping for an extra time

with Matteo.

My husband grabbed onto my hand before caressing the back of it. As he kissed the back of my hand, our eyes

were pierced into one another-we were out of words to say, we had said enough but it felt as if we had a few

missing pieces. "I don't want to go," the words escaped my mouth.

Matteo's eyes were filled with tears as he caressed the side of my face. It was a simple gesture but | knew both

of our hearts were broken. He was trying hard to hide his own pain in order to attend mine, it was an act of love.

"I don't want you to go," he replied.

Within seconds, we were both crying and it broke us even more. He couldn't keep his hands away from my face

as | leaned into him, resting my face on his chest. It never bothered him if my tears were going to stain his shirt

because all that mattered to him was me. He leaned forward, kissing my forehead.

The kiss was long and meaningful. It was his way of showing how much he loved me, how much he wanted me

here with him. We were two broken souls and we didn't have a choice but to let go of each other temporarily.

"Con... we have to be strong for each other. Don't cry, Alena."

"| can't be strong. | need you with me,"

"I know and | need you with me, too. We'll get through this and when we do, we'll be back together. | promise."

He replied, wrapping his arms around my body.

Matteo's words were promising and it calmeddown a little bit. Even though we were both unsure of what

could happen in the future but we had hopes, we wanted our hopes to be the main reason we were pushing

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through. | knew the next few days were going to be painful because of our separation but we were going to

survive.

I nodded, crying in his arms.

We spent the next few minutes in each other's arms, without saying another word. Matteo helped to calm me

down by rubbing onto my back while | stayed still in his arms. | loved it whenever he treatedthis way, he

didn't have to express it in words because | knew he expressed them perfectly well through his actions.

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Chapter 78

He kissed my head a few times as he keptclose.

"They're here," he said as | pulled away.

0

| could see Igor's car parked in front of us, quite far. However, it was just a walking distance and when | saw

Mama stepped out of the car, | knew it was tforto finally leave.

My heart continued to beat fast as | grabbed tightly onto Matteo's hands before staring deeply into his eyes, "|

love you so much. Please take care of yourself. For my sake?"

"I love you so much more, Alena. | promise."

He leaned in to kiss my lips, softly yet passionately at the stime. Whenever our lips touched, we felt

butterflies in our stomach and | couldn't resist the temptation to deepen the kiss we had wished for more time,

we had wished for a lifeteven but we were left to appreciate what we had.

Tears had slipped down my cheeks through the kiss.

Once we both pulled away, | could see the redness visible in his eyes but he tried to hide them by smiling. | knew

he didn't want to appear sad in front ofand | appreciated how much he putfirst.

He stepped out of the car before walking to my side and opening the door for me.

Our eyes never left each other, even as | stepped out.

We walked hand in hand towards Mama and Igor, wanting to feel each other's skin for the last time. As soon as

we reached them, we knew it was tto let go.

Mama smiled sadly at us before wrapping her arms around my body, pullingin for a hug.

"We have to go now," she said.

| turned to look at Matteo, who was standing still in his spot. His lips were curved up into a small smile as he

nodded, assuring it was fine. | wanted to run towards him and be in his arms again but | knew, | had to leave.

As Mama helpedto step into the car, | couldn't keep my eyes away from him.

Igor drove down the road and Matteo was finally out of sight.

Mama glanced back at my direction for a few times but she didn't say a word. It was probably the look on my

face or the nonstop tears falling down my cheeks, she had thought it was best to leavealone. | needed the

tto process everything.

When we reached Papa's house, we stepped inside in a hurry through the backdoor. We were scared if we got

caught because we had made it this far and luckily enough for us, we made it into my room.

Mama stayed for the night as | cried, trying her best to comfort me,

| couldn't remember how much | cried because before | knew it | had fallen asleep in her arms.

The next morning, | was awaken by the sound of my door being pushed open. My eyes blinked a few times as |

pulled the blanket to cover my face, not wanting anyone to see the puffiness. | had expected Mama to come

inside with breakfast like she always did but instead of Mama, it was Alexei.

| sighed before leaning back on the headboard, looking at him.

Alexei closed the door behind him as he continued to step inside, holding onto a tray of food.

"You can just leave it there," | pointed at the table near the window.

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He did as told, placing the tray there before he turned to look at me. | knew my brother well enough to

understand he was thinking of things to say, as much as he tried to hide his expression. No one else could read

his mind except for me.

"What do you want?" | asked, breaking the silence. "Morning,"

"Morning. You can leave if you're done,"

"| just have a few things to say."

"Like what?"

"About you and Matteo."

"You're just going to hurt my feelings, Alyosha. We can have a long conversation but at the end of the day, you'll

always be a coward and you'll always look up to Papa. That's just how things are in this house," | responded with

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a sigh before turning to look away. "I should've defended you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. | have to stop depending on others."

"I'm your

brother, Alena. You can depend on me,"

"And... what happens after that? | just keep getting hurt."

Alexei stayed still as he clenched his jaw, trying to think of other words to say. We continued to stare at each

other for the next couple of minutes until he went forward to sit at the edge of my bed, still maintaining the

distance between us.

"| called Matteo yesterday. | know you left the house on Friday,"

| kept quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't tell Papa," he added.

"Am | supposed to thank you?"

"Alena... | don't want us to fight. | don't want to lose you. You know how much I love you, right? We can't lose

each other because of this."

"You should've thought about that before you chose your side. | thought you were going to be there for me,

Alexei. You promisedyou were going to protectbut why did you have to help him? Why did you have to

ruin my life?"

He shook his head, "You don't understand. | am trying to protect you."

"From who? From my husband?"

"From the man that is after your husband. As long as you are near him, you'd get yourself into danger as well

and | can't protect you if you're far from me." He replied, staring into my eyes. "Besides, he failed. He failed to

protect you when he had the chance." "He never failed to protect me. You knew | was the one who left!"

"He could've done better,"

| scoffed, "How much do you know about that person? The one who kidnapped me."

"He's a boogeyman. No one knows anything about him, yet."

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Chapter 78

"Why is he after Matteo

"I don't know. He could be one of his enemies."

"You're hurting us, Al