His Wicked Heart

Chapter Twenty-Four

kaulayaw
(n.) a pleasant and intimate companion

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PRESENT

GENEVIEVE

Unlike other days, Ed's bar wasn't crowded with people today. For which, it was pleasant to be here right now.

I sat silently on a chair in the corner, waiting for Val's arrival.

After I reached home last night, I had called her, and she told me that she wanted us to meet here today. So here I was, with patience, waiting for my best friend for the last half-hour.

There's this one thing about her I disliked very much. She is always late. It doesn't matter where she's going; she made it her ritual to be late wherever she goes, as she calls it her excuse to be fashionably late.

I sighed, growing more fervent with each passing second because of the thick turtleneck I wore. All is Aleksandr's fault. That man had left marks even on my neck. Things grew hot last night, and we were close to removing each other's clothes until I restrained us.

It wasn't right. It wasn't right. It wasn't right.

I wouldn't commit the same mistake again after struggling for a year to get over this one thing. Us.

But every time I was reminded of the deed we were about to carry out last night, all my rational thoughts seemed to go against me.

Maybe, maybe I could have just let the wrong win, let the wrong happen again because it's what my heart wanted.

However, we all know whoever listened to their heart like the me from the past had suffered. Had shed the tears no one would care enough to see. Had endured the pain no one would care enough to share.

And I've already sworn to myself in high school that I would never cry for a man.

Aleksandr was a Bratva. Men like him were wicked. They wouldn't stay with one woman for the rest of their life. They can't be that virtuous.

He could be a gentleman for me today. But nobody gave me the guarantee that he wouldn't change tomorrow or the day after.

So, it's better if we forgot our past.

What if you gave it chance?

A chance. Another tone voiced from the depth of my thoughts, but I pushed it aside as soon as it appeared.

"Sorry!" Val's blithesome voice brought me back to reality. "I'm late."

I looked up to see the woman standing there, her bright smile lighting up the room. Despite my frustration and inner turmoil, her presence always managed to bring a sense of joy to my life.

"Thirty-seven minutes," I huffed, trying to hide my annoyance. "You're very late, Valentina."

She chuckled and took a seat across from me. "Don't be a mom. It's just thirty-seven minutes," she said, playfully rolling her eyes. "But hey, better late than never, right?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her infectious energy. Val was the kind of person who could make any situation brighter.

As we sat there, catching up on each other's lives, I couldn't help but feel grateful for her friendship. Despite the complications and temptations that had come my way, Val had always been there for me, offering support and guidance.