Isaak helped Lyov to his feet and held him back when he tried to come at me again. Viktor was holding me back too. Our harsh breathing filled the room, the air around us chilling and tensed.
“You are right. You taught me better than this. I’m not going to make the same mistake,” I snarled, glaring at Lyov.
“Did you hear that, Isaak? He isn’t going to make the same damn mistake.” Lyov laughed without looking away from me. “You are a fool and completely delusional. What you don’t realize is that you already made the same mistake. She is already your weakness. Stop living in denial.”
I could only glare at him. At my expression, he shrugged off Isaak and moved forward. “Come to your senses before it’s too late. Get rid of her. Build that fucking wall around your heart again. Don’t do the same thing I did.”
With a dejected sigh, he shook his head. “I don’t want you to go through the same thing, Alessio,” he whispered. “I’m saving you from years of heartache.”
He took a step away from me and turned around, walking away without a second glance. Isaak followed behind him without any words.
Opening the door, he stopped in the doorway. His next words were a blow to my chest. I closed my eyes and swiveled around, facing away from him.
“Angels don’t belong in our world.”
With that as his final words to me, I heard the door close, and then it was only silence. An unbearable and painful silence. I felt suddenly empty, my heart aching at the thought of Ayla.
“Alessio…” Viktor started, but I quickly cut him off.
“Leave. Just…leave.”
He sighed but left without uttering anything else. I walked around the desk and fell on my chair, staring at the ceiling.
Lyov’s words echoed in my ears. I wanted to say he was wrong, but he wasn’t. I was living in denial. I didn’t want to think of Ayla as my weakness, but she was.
The fear of losing her was instilled inside of me…but I was powerless. Instead of pushing her away, I was holding her closer every day.
Ayla consumed every fiber of my being. Ayla was everything I couldn’t have but everything I needed.
She was my light. I’d let her into my heart where she had showered me with her sweet venom.
I was so lost in her, forgetting that I couldn’t feel what I was feeling. It was all a temporary bliss and happiness, but now reality tasted sour.
Ayla was my Angel, but I couldn’t have her.
***
I didn’t know how long I stayed like this. Hours maybe, but I couldn’t move. Eventually, a knock sounded on my door, and I opened my eyes. “Come in,” I ordered. The door opened to reveal Sasha, one of the maids, holding a tray.
“Mr. Ivanshov, Viktor told me to bring your dinner to your office,” she said.
Dinner? Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was already past seven.
“Place it on the coffee table,” I replied before closing my eyes again. I expected to hear the door close, but when none of that happened, my eyes snapped open.
Sasha was standing in front of my desk. Her eyes roamed over my chest, and she bit down on her lower lip. “Alessio,” she started, her voice turning more sultry and softer. “You look really stressed out. Can I help in any way?”
With a sigh, I closed my eyes again. I used to fuck her. A pastime when I needed the distraction. But since Ayla came into my life, not once did I think of going back to Sasha. Ayla had my absolute attention.
I felt something on my crotch, and my hand quickly snaked around Sasha’s wandering fingers, stopping her movement. “Get the fuck out of here,” I snapped, pushing her hand away.
“I can make you feel good. Like always,” she whispered in my ear.
“No. Leave.”
I heard her frustrated sigh as she moved away. But Lyov’s words echoed in my ears, and my fists clenched in anger as I fought for control.
Come to your senses before it’s too late. Get rid of her. Build that fucking wall around your heart again. Don’t do the same thing I did.
Angels don’t belong in our world.
My eyes snapped open, and I moved my chair back. Standing up, I quickly grabbed Sasha’s hand, and I pulled her toward me.
I placed a hand on her back and pushed her front against the desk, bending her forward so her ass was pushed back. I heard her gasp of surprise, but then she moaned, moving her ass against my cock.
“Fuck me, Alessio.”
I grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back. “Don’t tell me what to do,” I hissed in her ear.
“Hmm, okay. Do whatever you want,” she murmured huskily. Releasing her hair, I moved her dress upward until her red lace thong was visible.