“Aaliyah, stop running. This is a dangerous cliff. Why are you running away from me in the first place?” Volkov growled as he ran beside her.
“Stop following me, Mr. Volkov. It has nothing to do with you,” Aaliyah shouted back before increasing her pace.
“I know what this is about. Can you please slow down?” Volkov said.
Seriously. How much does this girl workout to run faster than him? Is she a racer or something?
Volkov thought before unbuttoning his shirt and increasing his pace.
After Dave told him about what happened, he drove his car through all the lanes until he found her walking to the mountain. He stopped the car to talk her into getting in with him, but he hadn’t expected her to sprint away. He has been chasing her for more than 30 minutes now, and to say the whole day’s exhaustion was taking over would be an understatement.
“Aaliyah! Stop, or I will seriously kiss you when I get to you. Don’t blame me for being reckless then,” Volkov growled, and Aaliyah paused for a second, making him smile before she started sprinting again.
Seriously? Why is this girl running like this? Volkov ran to the hill before he lost her.
Where did she go? He looked around as he climbed to the top of the hill.
After ten minutes of searching everywhere, he finally found her sitting at the edge facing the west side of the forest.
Sighing loudly, he went and sat beside her.
“I heard what happened,” Volkov repeated, and Aaliyah smiled forcefully.
“It’s disgusting, no? I didn’t know any of it. Can you imagine what kind of a girl I am who even forgot someone was about to force himself on her? I should’ve complained about it, but I didn’t remember anything. What a disgrace!” Aaliyah scoffed in self-mockery, and Volkov placed his hand over hers comfortingly.
“I don’t know why you are demotivating yourself like this, Aaliyah. You are just hurting yourself by seeing the negative things only. What I see is a girl who fought back and gave that boy a good beating even after she was drunk,” Volkov said, and Aaliyah looked at him.
“You found me that night, no? Was he still there when you arrived? Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Aaliyah asked, a hurt expression crossing her eyes, and Volkov felt his heart ache at the site.
However, his monotonous expression didn’t change.
“It’s true. He was there when I arrived. And I must say you did a good job when I saw his condition. And regarding your report, you couldn’t have proved that he drugged you or forced himself on you. You were not in the surveillance zone, nor was there any witness,” Volkov explained, and Aaliyah pressed her lips.
“Besides, things would’ve turned ugly since you beat him up to that extent where he stayed at the hospital for five days. Apart from all that, I know you don’t want your mother to know about this stuff. Would you have controlled your anger and not almost killed him after knowing it?”
Every word Volkov said made sense to her, and Aaliyah didn’t have anything to counter what he said.
Even after a week, Alex looked nowhere near okay. He was limping terribly, his hand was broken, and his face was smashed with a large wound on his forehead. There was no way anyone could have believed her and her mother would’ve blamed her only.
“You know, apart from that incident, there were too many things that you did that night. Unfortunately, you don’t remember any of it,” Volkov smirked, and Aaliyah squinted her brows, expecting the worst.
“I hope I didn’t beat more people,” Aaliyah smiled sadly, and Volkov shook his head.
“We went to a park where you played on the swings. You rode a bike. I sat behind you. We had come here that day too. We talked and expressed our feelings to each other,” Volkov didn’t mention kissing to avoid making her embarrassed, and Aaliyah smiled fondly.
“Really? I guess being drunk has some benefit too if you are in the right company,” Aaliyah suddenly leaned her head on his shoulders, making him stiff for a second before he relaxed.
Even though Aaliyah made it clear she has no intentions of playing with his emotions and falling for him, Aaliyah was quite responsive to him. First that hug, and now this. Volkov smiled before shuffling closer to her to give her easier access to his shoulder and chest.
Isn’t it funny that out of all the people she knows, Dave found Mr. Volkov to tell all these things, and he ended up following her when she needed someone the most?
Was the universe really trying so hard to increase the turmoil in her heart? She was already having a hard time and things like these keep happening.
From what she can collect, Mr. Volkov in a way saved her that day too. If he hadn’t arrived, what if some other men would’ve come to try the same things as Alex? She was able to tackle him, but would she have been able to do the same with a group?
And what if that boss had arrived there and abducted her again? He would’ve taken her to his mansion on that Island and imprisoned her again in the name of love. The more Aaliyah thought about the possibility of what could’ve happened, the weird she felt.
Shuffling closer to Mr. Volkov, she leaned closer to him, trying to find comfort in his intoxicating smell and warmth.
“Tell me something, Mr. Volkov. Something to take my mind off things. Why don’t you tell me how you saw me for the first time? Your painting of that forest. Did you know I was there? Were you a part of that Vulcan’s gang?” Aaliyah asked, and Volkov froze.
Was he a part of Vulcan’s gang? No. He wasn’t. Rather, he was the leader of that gang, and Vulcan was a part of it.
“Hmm, I am,” Volkov paused before biting his lips.
He didn’t want to lie to Aaliyah like this, but he wasn’t sure if she was ready to see that side of him yet. He wanted to give the world to her, and was falling for her so hard. To say he would be devastated if she left him on the grounds of him being a mafia member would be an understatement.
That’s why he planned to make her fall in love with himself before he tells her everything and drops the Mafia bomb on her.
He knows that she already has an inkling he belongs to some gang, but being a leader is a different thing.
“I was there with the gang. Since I was behind the house, you might’ve not seen me, but I saw you hiding behind the bushes,” Volkov said, and Aaliyah hummed.
“Why didn’t you inform your boss about me? Wasn’t it like a betrayal? And how did you know it was me?” Aaliyah asked again, and Volkov sighed before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer so that her head was on his chest now.
“I didn’t betray my boss. He was angry and would’ve killed you. I didn’t want that to happen because I have seen how regretful he feels after such things.
Besides, I wasn’t sure it was you. I only saw your side profile, and I know it might not be believable, but I have been interested in you since then,” Volkov answered truthfully.
He didn’t mention that he saw her when she looked towards the car and the fear in her eyes awakened a primal nature inside him that wanted to go and take her at the first sight. The only way he controlled himself was by telling himself that he will get her later and there is no way he would disrespect a woman.
He would be damned if she gets scared of him.
“Later I met you at that masquerade party where we interacted. I kind of recognized those eyes but was still unsure. We danced together, and I have fallen for you since then. When you were leaving, your mask fell off slightly, and I recognized your side profile immediately. You have an appearance that’s hard to forget, Aaliyah,” Volkov said, and Aaliyah, who had closed her eyes, feeling comfortable in his arms, hummed distantly.
“You said you loved stalkers, and I was intrigued by you. Everything about you attracted me in a way no one ever has. I have seen plenty of girls and models all my life, but never have I fallen for a girl’s figure like yours. That’s the reason I became a teacher at your school. To stalk you and make sure no other guy gets you and takes you away from me,” Volkov chuckled.
“That’s an interesting story,” Aaliyah said after a long time, and Volkov smiled.
“It indeed is. Everything I said about my emotions and feelings is true. I fell for you the first time, and it has only grown since then. There’s no doubt that I already want to make you mine. I won’t force you into accepting me, but that doesn’t mean you are getting rid of me either,” Volkov said.
Hearing his words, Aaliyah finally looked up from his embrace, and she noticed how close they were sitting. If she raises her head a little or he bends, they would end up kissing. The thought alone made Aaliyah’s heart start to beat faster, and Volkov could notice the slight blush that was creeping up her neck.
“Do you want to stay for longer, or should I drop you home now?” Volkov didn’t want to keep pressuring her emotions and give her enough space to sort out her turmoil. She was hurt after what she came to know, and he didn’t want her to feel like whatever things they shared were all a mistake done in sorrow.
“I want to stay a bit longer. If it’s okay with you,” Aaliyah gripped his shirt, unsure, and Volkov nodded before picking up and placing her on his lap.
“You can hug me better like this. If it makes you feel good, I am okay with it,” Volkov smiled, and in normal times she would’ve felt embarrassed, but today she hummed before hugging him tightly, knowing all too well how her chest was pressing into his, arousing her a little.
“Five minutes will be fine,” Aaliyah mumbled and nuzzled her face in his neck, her mind almost asking her to take a bite of his sweet neck and do exactly what he did to her, but she knew that would escalate things quickly. She was barely holding her control, and she can’t let anything happen that might lead from one thing to another.
“You can stay for eternity,” Volkov mumbled, his hands staying on her shoulders respectfully, and Aaliyah’s heart melted at his words.
He was the only man with this amazing capacity to frustrate her and melt her heart at the same time. What is she going to do with him is beyond question now.
Feeling comfortable in his embrace, her eyes started to droop and sleepiness washed over her.
As she closed her eyes, she felt Mr. Volkov turned his head a little and kissed her temple, making her sigh with contentment, and she placed her lips on his neck before smiling.