Always Only You (Rewriting)

14| Quattuordecim

"You love her don't you?" Her lips curl up into a smile.

"More than anything in the world."

My cellphone buzzes in my pocket and I take it out to read the message.

I've kept my promise, it's been paid in full. Now keep your promise, I'm waiting and I'm not a very patient man.

I glance at the elevator to see him in a long black coat with a hat that doesn't conceal the smirk on my cousin's face and I resist the urge to wipe it off. "I have some work to do, so I think I'll take my leave now." I say, giving Benjamin, her uncle a firm handshake before turning to her aunt.

"I think Leah would want you to stay." I can't help but notice the sadness in her voice.

I swallow the lump in my throat, "No, uh. Actually I have some urgent work to do. It can't wait. Don't worry, she'll be fine." I sound like I'm trying to convince myself. Her aunt's face falls but she nods understandingly.

"Thank you for everything, and for letting us know."

As I get into the elevator, I feel someone stand next to me. "That took long," he grumbles.

"Shut up." I mutter and keep quiet the rest of the way. I barely hold a conversation with my cousin, my mind occupied with thoughts of Leah.

Is she alright? How did the surgery go? Is she upset that I'm not there?

A dark black sedan picks us up from the airport. "Your father is expecting us for dinner, so you have to take a quick shower and come down soon. You know how much he hates waiting."

I nod. I know him too well.

Derek Lenkov, was one of the richest men in Russia. A big name in the underground world. Be it drugs, ammunition nothing went past my father. Basically everyone and everything had to answer to him.

I have always hated it. Because of his ways, I lost my mother in a sudden mob fight when an enemy jumped the car my mother was travelling in to go shopping. From that day on, my father surrounded me with bodyguards and experts who taught me to fight to defend myself.

My cousin- Alexander, was taken under my father's wings after his parents died.

The death of my mother and his brother made his heart even more cold than it was before.

"Your father has missed you." My cousin's words make me scoff in disbelief. He narrows his eyes, "You think I'm lying?"

"My father isn't the type to miss anything other than his money. We've reached." I state as we slowly reach the large iron gates and the white two storied house which seemed colder than ice just by looking at it.

Our butler, Gerard bows and takes the suitcase from my hand l, ignoring my protests. "It's good to have you back Little master." His eyes twinkle. I forgot the people who kept me company after my mother died.

"How are you? And where is Irina?" I ask, referring to Gerard's wife who looked after me and was like a second mom to me. Though they had no children, they considered me as their son.

His grey eyes twinkle, "She busy with dinner preparations. She wants to make sure it's perfect." Irina is one of the best cooks and her Pelmeni is to die for.

Alexander interrupts us, and Gerard's face shifts from friendly to emotionless. "Uncle expects us to come down for dinner at sharp seven. He's gone out for a meeting so when he returns he needs the food on the table. Did I make myself clear?" he walks off into the house with his phone glued to his ear.

His tone makes me clench my fist, and Gerard is quick to stop me from lashing out at him. "It's alright, that's nothing new."

"My cousin and my father are the same. Nothing has changed."

"On the contrary, things have changed." He whispers before disappearing into the hallway, leaving me alone, wrapped up in my thoughts.

***

After I finish my shower, I sigh as I notice the clothes already laid out on bed for me- a dark black suit. We were expected to walk around properly in front of him. 'A statement of power and wealth' is what he proclaimed it showed. My room was just the way they had left it, devoid of dust which was surprising to me. I expected to find it turned into another wine cellar, like what he did to mother's room when she died. I still hate him for erasing every single memory of hers from this house.

I don the suit, which fits me like a glove and walk down the stairs to the dining table.

"Look who turned up." My father's emotionless face makes me clench my fists underneath the table as I sit down. He looks the same, except for a few new wrinkles around his green eyes.

"I've missed you too." I reply, trying my best to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. Alexander throws me a glare, warning me to shut up as he chews his steak without making the slightest noise.

His eye narrow and his lips crease into a frown as he sets his knife down, "You left without even telling me."

"Is it really necessary to tell you whatever I do? I'm a grown man. I don't need you to control me anymore."

Alexander sighs and folds his napkin back onto the table and proceeds to get up. "You sit down. This concerns you too." No one disobeys Derek Lenkov and lives to see the next day, so he slinks back into his seat.

He stares at me and folds his arms as he leans back in his plush leather chair, "I heard that you found molodaya zhenshchina when you ran away from home. Did I not teach you that love is evil?"

I glare at my cousin angrily. How dare he tell my father about Leah. "You leave her out of this!"

He shrugs, "I have. You have left her for good, have you not?" My heart aches as he utters those words. "Haven't I told you already- love is weakness. Our enemies can control us easily."

"That is only if we can't protect our women."

His jaw tightens and his voice drops an octave, "Are you saying that I abandoned your mother?"

"I-"

He throws his glass to the floor, the red wine splatters on the expensive white carpet, leaving stains that will be difficult to remove. "Dare you talk to me that way!" he growls.

I feel a surge of anger burst through my veins and stand up, "Mother wouldn't have died if you had quit this business years ago! You are the cause for her death, no one else."

The room goes silent and the staff slowly make themselves invisible by slipping out. No one dares to be caught in the cross fire.

"You are my son. I lost your mother, how could I lose you to?" he whispers.

"You lost me the moment you erased my mother's existence from the house."

A/N:

Pelmini- are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough.

Molodaya zhenshchina- young woman

I'm trying to update as much as I can, thank you so much for reading.