Amy and I are staring at the rectangular box delivered by one of Alexei's men. It as a red ribbon wrapped around it.

"I heard what Alexei said. Nikolai and Alexei are bad news B. Look at what happened to you from the moment those two entered the picture. Your life has turned upside down."

Amy's right, my life has indeed turned upside down, but Nikolai gave me such happiness that I have never felt before. And now that I know that he really loves me, that he only did it because he's just protecting me, I'm willing to give it another try.

"You have seen me miserable without him. This is now my chance to fight for Nikolai."

"And if you work it out with him tonight, what's next B? Can you introduce him to your parents? Do you think General Galves will just allow his only child and daughter to be with the Mafia Boss? And let's say that you miraculously hurdled your father's approval. What's next? Do you believe that you will have a normal life with Nikolai? You know that's not going to happen because Nikolai is not normal. His world is different from us."

I feel like my heart is being crushed. I don't know how to respond to Amy.

"B, I'm your bestfriend I'm just setting out the reality. I don't want to see you all devastated and heartbroken again. Don't get me wrong, I am all for your happiness. Whatever your decision will be, I'll be here for you, just please think about everything first."

If I were in Amy's position I would do and say exactly the same for her. Amy looks at me like she's happy yet worried at the same time.

"I love him."

"So it seems like you have made up your mind. What are we waiting for? Let's open this, my hands have been itching to know what's in this box."

We untied the red ribbon together and removed the box cover. Our eyes widened and our lips parted when we saw one of the most beautiful and sparkly red long gown ever. Amy took it from the box and held it high to have a full view. Oh wow, Alexei's taste is impeccable.

I hear Amy gasped in awe. "Omg B.. this is so...so.. you. That Alexei guy is really impressive."

"Will it fit me?" Amy then inspects the gown and looks at my boobs.

"Well, there's one way to find out."

Amy slowly helped me wear the gown. I have my back on the mirror so only Amy could see my overall look. Surprisingly, it fits me perfectly. Well, Alexei is unbelievably creepy for knowing my exact size.

"So?"

Amy's lips are still parted. Her eyes are glittering like stars in the night sky.

"Omg B! You look stunning! Turn around! Look at yourself in the mirror."

When I slowly turn towards the mirror, my lips also parted in awe. Oh god, this dress is indeed stunning! It's a red and sparkly trumpet cut long gown with laced long sleeves. Its form fitting design puts emphasis on my curves.

"Now sit, let's do your make up." Amy said excitedly, pushing me towards the chair in front of the mirror. She has always been the expert when it comes to make up.

After so many minutes, Amy was done doing her wonders.

"I love you A." I said while she's in the middle of spraying something on my face.

"I love you B, but this isn't for free so your love is good but I need cash." She signals money on her hand.

"Okay, might you want to recall that I am apparently six hundred thousand dollars richer, so yeah I can pay you with Mafia money."

We both giggled to the harsh reality.

"Might you want to recall also that you will be in bed with the Russian Mafia both literally and figuratively the moment you exit the house and get in that black SUV parked outside." Amy retorted. There's this moment of silence between the two of us. Amy's right, the moment I step out of the door, It's never going to be the same for me anymore.

I can sense that Amy regretted saying those words to me. She then quickly changes the topic.

"Despite your decision, I'm one proud momma. You see, you are brave or stupid enough to choose love over everything. Like Romeo and Juliet and Phantom of the Opera, it's a storybook fairy tale kind of love B."

"But those stories ended up in tragedy A."

"True, but you're story is just starting. It's still up to you and Nikolai if you two want to have a happy ending."

That actually makes a lot of sense. Nikolai and I will decide if we want our story to end up in a tragedy or a happily ever after. And I will make sure it's the latter.

"What would I do without you A?"

"I know right?" Amy and I just giggled.

"Done! Your face is such a perfect canvass B. You are my living masterpiece." Amy then slowly turns me to face the mirror.

Wow. My lips parted while looking at my reflection in the mirror. The false eyelashes she placed and the double flick winged eyeliner emphasized my eyes. The dark red lipstick gave my overall look a dramatic finish.

"Wow A, I might actually pay you Mafia money after all."

She then pulls down several strands of my hair pulling my head sideward. "Ouch, I'm just kidding....... Check or cash?" I gave her a wicked smile.

"Cash bitch." She retorted.

Amy did my hair by putting some extensions on to put more volume and define my waves even more. She pinned a silver comb with intricate design on the side of my head brushing up only one side of my hair. She scoured through the huge box and she found two other small boxes. One is for the high heels and when she opened the other one, Amy's eyes instantly widened.

"Yup, it's official B. I now like that ridiculously good looking Alexei guy over the demigod Nikolai." Amy said teasingly. She then turned the box to my direction for me to see what's inside.

It's a diamond studded necklace with a matching diamond and ruby earings. Geez I think this is too much.

Amy places the necklace on me while I clip my earings.

"You're done B, damn you are mesmerizing."

"Don't go lesbo on me."

"Ha!" She places her two fingers on her mouth making a V shape and wiggles her tongue in the middle. I just giggle at Amy's naughtiness.

I look myself in the mirror and took a deep breath. This is it. I am going back to Nikolai's life.

"It's time B."

Amy quickly walks ahead of me. When I reached the living room I saw Dylan and Trevor on the couch while watching tv and drinking beer.

Amy clapped her hands twice to catch the attention of the two. Geez, talking about a dramatic exit.

"Hear ye, hear ye, presenting Queen Mary of Scotland!"

A giggle escaped my mouth at Amy's silliness. It however made me extra conscious because Dylan and Trevor are now staring at me intently. Gosh, this is so embarrassing.

"Don't mind my loyal subject, guys. She's just a little bit out of her mind as of late." I said to the both of them.

"Whow Belle, you look amazing." Said Trevor.

"I know right?" I try to jokingly brush aside my embarrassment. Dylan doesn't say a word and just stares at me intently. I can feel my face slowly heating up.

As I walk past them and approach the door I decided to take a halt. The moment I step out of this door, my life will completely change.

Amy stood beside me and held my hand. "Hey B, you have to decide now."

I stare at the door while squeezing Amy's hand.

"You can still choose to go back to your normal life B."

At this point, I can feel my heart beat a thousand times. Oh god please help me.

♥♥♥♥♥

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. I'm choosing what my heart wants. I'm choosing love. I'm choosing Nikolai.

As I walk out of the house, the cool breeze instantly touched my face. The wind blew through my hair and long gown. I can see Alexei's men waiting for me outside the black SUV. One of them was quickly on his phone the moment he saw me. The other one opened the door at the back passenger seat.

After several minutes, we arrived at an old mansion. We went past the security at the gate easily. I see several black cars parked just outside.

I feel like I'm running out of breath. I suddenly feel so cold. What if something bad happens? What if Alexei gets into trouble with Nikolai because of this? Alexei said I just have to trust him, but why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?

The car then pulled over just in front of the mansion. One of Alexei's men opened the car door for me. I took another deep breath before I step out of the car.

I'm now walking up the marble stairs towards the main door. As Alexei's men and I approach the foyer I see a lot of men in black suits, some are wearing trench coats and fedoras. Some are sitting on the chairs while smoking cigars and some are holding drinks in their hands. They look like they are going to a gun fight rather than a birthday party. They are just standing around, some are talking and some are staring blankly all too seriously.

As we approach the door where most of the men are standing, one of Alexei's men whispered something to one of the huge men guarding the door. They glanced at me and opened the door without hesitation. I took another deep breath before entering.

As I step in what seems to be a balcony overlooking a small ballroom, I can hear soft music. As I slowly near the black iron railing of the balcony, I see several people already enjoying the party, there are many women in long gowns but majority in the room are men. There are chairs and tables for guests scattered around the ballroom. And right below the grand chandelier are elegant sofa's surrounding a rectangular center table where drinks and food are placed. The people sitting in that particular table are what looks like the important people since they are surrounded by men standing and just observing, including Yuri and Boris. Most of the men in the table look familiar from Nikolai's birthday party in the beach.

My eyes then quickly noticed someone all too familiar. Oh god. It's Nikolai, the Nikolai who broke my heart but still protected me without even me knowing. My Nikolai. My first love, my first kiss and my first heartbreak. He looks like a god wearing a tuxedo.

There are two women sitting beside him. I feel like my heart is being crushed into pieces. The women are holding him while whispering on his ears and laughing. Nikolai is actually interacting with them. But his eyes are now dark and devoid of warmth. I cannot see my Nikolai in those eyes. Beside him is Alexei, he's talking to another guy from that table.

Why am I even doing this to myself? I feel like my heart is beating a million times. You are here because you chose Nikolai. You are here because you chose to accept him, all of him, monster and all. You love him and you are fighting for him.

I swallowed my pride and erased all my doubts. I decided to slowly walk down the grand staircase leading to the ballroom. I feel like every step I make, a lump in my throat forms and slowly suffocates me. I can actually feel my hands are shaking. O god please help me. I then took a halt right in the middle of the grand staircase.

I pray that Alexei will finally notice me to save me from whatever hell I am in right now. Alexei please, I am here.

A few seconds later I see Alexei talking on the phone, he then glanced at the grand staircase direction. Uhh finally, he saw me. I also noticed Yuri and Boris glanced at my direction, they looked surprised when they saw me. Yuri then whispered something to Nikolai. I quickly remove my eyes from them and looked for Alexei. I could not stand looking at Nikolai like this.

Alexei is now standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. He is wearing a grey tuxedo and looks so hot and gentlemanly. He has a wicked smile plastered on his face as he awaits for mw. I feel like all eyes are suddenly staring at my direction.

I swear I could hear my heart beat an abnormal pace at this point. What have I put myself into?

As I slowly approach Alexei, he offered me his hand. To my surprise, he planted a kiss on the back of my hand, pulled me close to him and whispered to my ear.

"You look exactly what I imagined you would look like in this dress."

I just smiled at him coyly. "I'm nervous Alexei."

"I got you, don't worry."

"Happy Birthday, I wasn't able to get you something. I'm sorry."

"Your mere presence is too much of a gift already my princess."

Oh Alexei.

"What now?"

"What now is we dance."

He grabbed my hand and brought me to the center of the ballroom. The people who were on the dance floor suddenly walked away. It's now only Alexei and me.

"Relax, I got you."

Alexei guided my hands to his shoulders. He then places his hands on the small of my back.

"You look perfect tonight."

"Uhh thank you?" I said shyly.

Alexei pulls something from his pocket. He took my right hand and wraps a gold bracelet with small diamonds hanging and a red daisy ruby pendant on it. This is so beautiful.

"I have been meaning to give this to you my princess."

"Alexei, but it's your birthday, I should be the one giving you...." Alexei did not even let me finish and planted a long sweet kiss on my lips. Oh god, what is happening? I feel like my whole body heated up. I know that I'm slowly turning crimson.

"Damn my brother was right. Youre lips are amazing."

I smack him on his shoulder in response.

"Alexei, you are really making this hard for me."

"Oh you have no idea how HARD it is now." He retorted.

I smack him again on his shoulder.

"Just trust me on this princess."

"What's your plan Alexei?"

"To finally kiss you."

I swear this man is really something.

"Alexei, I'm not exactly enjoying this little show of yours so a little heads up would be nice."

"Ow, did you just say you did not enjoy the kiss?"

Dammit Alexei...

"I am not enjoying the show but I liked the kiss." Oh god did I just say that to him?

I see that Alexei had a satisfied look on his face. Shit, what is actually happening right now?

"What I mean is..." I tried to justify what I said but the moment I opened my mouth to speak, Alexei landed another kiss on my lips. This time, its more passionate and a little over five seconds. At this point I know that I'm already crimson.

I tried to catch my breath as I remove my lips from his. My lips are still slightly parted while I'm looking at Alexei's eyes.

"You are perfect." Said Alexei while pulling me tighter to him. Instead of getting mad at him, I found myself smiling because my red lipstick has stained on and around his lips.

I removed the stain with my right thumb while Alexei's arms are still wrapped around me. He smiled as I run my thumb on his lips. "The lipstick suits you." I said teasingly.

"Yah?"

"Uhuh."

"Can I have more?"

I landed my palm on his face and pushed it backwards it made Alexei soft chuckle. For a second there, I forgot that we are actually surrounded by a lot of people not to mention the intended person, Nikolai Vyacheslav Volkov, who are now feasting their eyes on us.

"Alexei..."

He sported a wicked smile. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"The grand finale."

Alexei then held my hand and walked towards the grand staircase. I did not have the courage to look at Nikolai's direction. I just could not do it. I can see from the corner of my eye that as we walk past some people, their eyes are glued to Alexei and I.

Alexei helped me as I kind of struggle to walk because of my high heels and my dress. We went straight inside a room a few doors from the ballroom balcony. We stood face to face right next to the bed.

"What are we doing Alexei?"

"Do you trust me princess?" Alexei looks me in the eyes while cupping my face.

"Yes Alexei I trust you."

Alexei removed his tuxedo, leaving his vest and shirt on. He then places his hands around my neck and at my nape, slowly unbuttoning first the top button of the back of my dress.

"Any moment now."

What is this man talking about?

All of a sudden I hear a loud bang on the door. Oh my god! It's Nikolai and he looks outrageously mad.

I look back at Alexei, but he only gives me a smile. This is his plan all along. Oh my god. My hands are already shaking. What's going to happen now?

Alexei lets go of me and went near the windows. I just stood still because I can't seem to move my legs.

I parted my lips in horror when Nikolai quickly paced towards Alexei and punched him on his face. Oh my god.

"No! Nikolai!" I tried to run towards their direction but someone held my hand and stopped me. It's Yuri.

"Madamme, they need to do this." This is the first time that Yuri has actually talked to me. What does he mean that Alexei and Nikolai need this?

"You have to let them do this. There's no other way."

Alexei is now on the floor wiping blood from his mouth. Nikolai made a few steps towards Alexei and grabs him by his collar. Nikolai spoke angrily to Alexei in Russian. I could not understand a single word but Nikolai looks like he could kill Alexei. Nikolai is full of rage and I know that there's no stopping him now.

Yuri is still holding my arm and not letting go of me. My heart jumped from my chest when all of a sudden, Alexei throws a punch to his brother's face it made Nikolai sit on the floor.

"Stop! Please, Nikolai! Alexei!"

I feel like my eyes are being pinched by tiny needles. My tears are now threatening to fall. Boris and Alexei's men are also in the room but they are just standing, their backs facing us.

Nikolai stood up, grabs Alexei and throws him to the wall. He then punched Alexei on his stomach. It's obvious that Alexei was in pain.

Alexei pushes Nikolai to the floor and punched him again in his face but Nikolai was able to quickly recover. Nikolai stood up and about to punch Alexei again on his face. I felt Yuri's grip loosened so I ran away from him and squeezed myself in the middle of the two.

"Nikolai stop! Please! You want me out of your life? Fine! I'm going to leave! You are never gonna hear from me ever again! I am giving up! I now understand and accept that we are over. But you should know that Alexei did all of these for you!"

Nikolai's eyes are still full of rage. Yuri and Boris helped Alexei out of the room. I tried to follow them but Nikolai grabbed my arm and throws me to the bed harshly.

"Tell me to stop, and I will stop." Nikolai said while looking me in the eyes. A gasp escaped my mouth when suddenly, he yanks my gown until it rips apart exposing my thigh. I suddenly felt so bare and vulnerable. I bent my knees and turned to my side.

My eyes widened when all of a sudden I heard the clinking of Nikolai's belt and the unzipping of his pants. He then pulled me close to him and made me face him. He is now on top of me as he spreads my legs and pulled my panties down.

"Baby, tell me to stop." Nikolai said, his voice is hoarse, he seems to be struggling to look me in the eyes directly.

I did not stop Nikolai. I want him and I don't care if I regret this in end. I want him to take me. I just begged him one thing.

"Nikolai, look me in the eyes. I want you to look me in the eyes."