Hateful obsession

Chapter 27

                                       Roman
                        "Chaos in Kindergarten."

I was already sitting in the luxurious first class of a plane during a flight from Las Vegas, my fingers rhythmically tapping on the edge of the seat as I stared at my phone. I was trying to read an email, but I was constantly distracted by Dean and Lin bickering behind me, and Mel's perfect sleeping face was even more distracting.

I sighed deeply, running a hand through my hair. Kindergarten? I was really flying back because Melissa's nieces, the kids of rowing Alex, did something. They're in kindergarten, for god's sake! What could possibly go so wrong that I had to fly across the country? Correction: Melissa, but for some reason, all of us were going.

The girls, Melissa's nieces, were probably mischievous, that's true, considering their genes, but this seemed too much. My instincts told me this wasn't a simple matter—missing a nap or refusing to share toys. No, if Melissa was involved, it meant it was more serious. As always.

Trouble usually followed her, and along with her, it followed me. It was ironic—the mafia boss feared by everyone in New York was called in to resolve a crisis at a kindergarten. Correction: I would just sit beside her, ironically observing the ridiculous scene because our queen desired it.

The hours ticked louder in the silence of my brain, and I knew I didn't have much time to figure out how to escape my wife's clutches. Melissa's impatience was legendary. She probably already knew I would agree, assuming I would drop everything and rush to help her. I didn't like that she still had everything under control, especially now that divorce loomed over us.

But whatever the case, at that moment in the room when she said I was still her husband, I simply grabbed my phone and dialed my assistant, saying, "Buy me four tickets to New York. Right now." 
And here we fucking are.

I tried to work, but that bitter thought wouldn't let me go. Why did I agree to this? Melissa and I were practically enemies now, our marriage barely hanging by a thread. She wanted to leave, she ran away, and in a few weeks, we would be divorced because Melissa insisted, yet here I was, rushing to her aid.

I could imagine her sharp tone, the disdain in her eyes if I had refused. It wasn't about the nieces, not entirely. It was about proving a point—that even in the midst of their divorce, I was still under her control. It angered me, but it also intrigued me. Why did I keep falling into this pattern?

I dropped the phone onto my lap, recalling our last encounter. She acted as if if a shard was in my hand, I was the one controlling everything. I let out a grim chuckle. Control? If anyone was in control, it was Melissa. She always had the upper hand.

Yet, I had to admit there was something about her that drew me in, no matter how far apart we grew. Was it a game? A power struggle? I no longer knew. But I understood that agreeing to this trip meant more than just for the nieces. It was again about me—a renewed attempt to understand why I couldn't let her go.

I swallowed and closed my eyes, unable to resist another laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. The mafia boss and the queen of snakes, I thought bitterly. That's who we were. On paper, we were the perfect couple—power, money, influence. But beneath the surface, it was a tangled affair of betrayal and manipulation. Murder and blood.

I imagined the scene in New York. Here I was, the powerful Roman Kirillov, known for being a ruthless boss of the Russian mafia, standing in the middle of a kindergarten. And beside him, Melissa—cold, calculating, with her snake-like beauty. How ridiculous it would look when we played family while the real world, our world, saw us as forces to be reckoned with.