A Lifetime With You by Athrhteera

Chapter Matteo

51

"That would be all, thank you." I ended the press conference and flashes of cameras began to blind me as I walked down, away from the crowd. Angelo was following behind me closely along with my other business associates, ignoring the photographers. Once we had reached my car, all of the sounds were drowned out. I began to do my usual routine, staring out the window or occasionally checking out my phone for any important texts: specifically from Alena. However, there were none. "Going home, Mr, Lerclerc?" My chauffeur asked, glancing up from the rear-view mirror. "Yes, the usual."

He knew what I meant without needing to ask anything further. He knew to take the long way home so that I could have more time for a distraction-being out instead of being alone at home felt better now. I used to be eager to go home but now I dreaded that place. Memories of Alena were all over the place, along with the hopes of what could have been. When

Alena came into my life, I could never be alone anymore. The thought of being alone and having my own personal space was too overwhelming. Sometimes, I had drowned myself in the shower, hoping that I could forget but she was too real, too vivid. I knew the moment I stepped inside my own house, I was bound to suffer.

The bed was starting to smell different, not her usual scent anymore and I hated that. It had only been two weeks but she was starting to disappear which made me anxious.

Angelo hadn't provided me with any good updates and despite my good efforts of meeting Alena's family, they seemed to not know as well. Although, I did suspect Alexei to know about her whereabouts but he didn't have the time to lie.

I remembered back to when I went to his office:

Alexei

safety.

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II were sitting across from each other, without breaking the eye contact. I had came in defenseless and weak into the Bratva's territory. I knew better than to ask for their help but I married their Bratva princess, they wanted nothing more than to prioritise her

He seemed surprised the moment he heard the news, about Alena leaving.

"What

"She

t do you mean she left?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

left. I don't know where she went," I replied. "What did you do to her?"

Of course, the first question was to attack me. I had always been the enemy to the Russians and there was no way for them to consider me a friend if anything happened to her. My relationship with Alena's family had gotten better ever since she got pregnant. They came to visit us frequently and from all the time spent bonding, we had managed to talk about a lot of things other than business. However, I could see it all fall apart the moment I told him, she was gone. So, I explained myself.

I explained what happened that day, when Alena returned home from the hospital. When I had pointed out my concern regarding her whereabouts, only expecting her to comply.

! I I also told Alexei that ever since the tragedy with Sofia, I had gotten more strict in knowing where she went; only for her to let me know. I never wanted to hold her back or stop her from going anywhere. She deserved all of the freedom in the world as long as she told me. Alexei sighed deeply, leaning back on his seat. "Any clue on where she might be?" He asked.

Truth be told, if I had any clue, I wouldn't be here. Being here was the last resort, pushing away all of my ego just to prioritise my wife's safety-she was first in everything. She was always going to be my top priority.

"No, that's why I came here to ask for your help. I really, really, need to know where she is."

"What makes you think I know where she is?"

"I don't know. I'm hitting a dead end."

Alexei was younger than me but the way he was treating me with disrespect, anyone could have mistaken him for being older. If we were in a different situation, I never wanted to deal with him but for now, I was going to let it slide.

I knew about Alena and Alexei's relationship, they were close since they were kids. They had a great bond with each other throughout their phase of growing up so I knew he was going to be worried about his sister, he wasn't going to let that slide away.

"I'll see what I can do, Matteo."

"Please, Alexei." I looked straight into his eyes, if not straight into his soul and hoping he could see straight into mine as well.

That wasn't

t the end of it. I came to his office a few times more after that, hoping there gave me the same answer over and over again-almost making me lose hope. Where was Alena? How was she?

Was she safe?

going to be any updates but he

If Alena started to hate me, if she really wanted her own space and time, I was going to respect that. All I wanted for now was to know her location and that could provided me with some peace even though a little bit.

Att

At first, I thought by being there for her could help her heal but it didn't exactly gave her what she wanted. I thought by leaving her alone, by giving her time, she was going to suffer alone and I didn't understand what she wanted. We were both suffering. We were both trying to heal.

The difference was that I didn't push her away but instead, reached out for her even more.

For once, I wish I could have told her that I had lost my son, too. I wish she could understand how much I wanted to be there for her as much as I wanted her to be there for me; for us to be there for each other, for us to help each other. ! Why couldn't she understand me, too?

Why couldn't she let me in? Like she always did.

Every time I went to see Alexei, his answers were the same. I began to stop expecting anything new from him even though I kept hoping for a miracle.

'I can't find her yet but I'm still looking.

'I have my men out looking for her.

'We'll find her, Matteo.'

Those words were just hopes. I had wanted a more secure answer, yet I was getting none.

"We're here." My chauffeur said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Are you in a hurry? Do you have somewhere to be?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No, boss. Is there something wrong?"

"I just want to stay in the car for awhile."

"Of course, take all the time you need."

My employees knew there was something wrong, they wondered about Alena as well but they never went to cross the line. They knew about boundaries and they respected that. "Do you have children, Caro?"

Caro, my chauffeur when it came to other work related. He drove me around to my regular business deals and he had been with me for years now; he had always been a bit closed off but he was good at his job.

"One, Mr. Lerclerc. A daughter," ""How old is:

"She is she?"

"She just turned four last month," he smiled as he talked about his daughter.

A feeling

I wished I could experience. I had always wondered what it was like for me to have children of my own-if they asked me, I wished I could smile when I talked about them. I knew my little Marco was in a better place now but I had never stopped wishing for things it could be different.

to be different.

If only it could be

So

"Yes,

she must be in kindergarten now?"

boss. She's really clever, too."

"That's great, Caro. That's a beautiful blessing,"

Caro nodded, smiling. It was my first time seeing him smile longer than a couple of seconds, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his daughter, I knew how much he loved her. How much he would risk everything for her.

"I heard about yours, Mr. Lerclerc. I'm truly sorry," he said, a bit unsure.

it, Caro."

"Don't worry about it,

"I wish you and your wife for a new blessing soon,"

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

As I

As I glanced down at my phone, seeing the texts I had been sending to Alena for the past weeks. I knew I just needed to send another one for today even though she wasn't going to read them-just for my own sanity. For my own peace of mind. ! I had stopped calling her when all of my calls went straight to voicemail, knowing it wasn't going to make much of a difference. The texts were pretty useless, too-how could I know her location by sending her all these texts? It was more about to tell her how much I missed her, how much I wanted her here with me.

I typed on the screen: 'Imiss you, baby. More than I do yesterday but less than tomorrow.

"Thank you for tonight, Caro. Go home to your wife and daughter," I said.

"Will do, Mr. Lerclerc."

Then, I stepped out of the car and went straight inside my house, hating every step I took.

3

د

When I was inside, I began sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of beer in my hand. I spent the next hour drinking instead of getting ready for bed, knowing there was no one waiting for me upstairs. To be exact, Alena was not waiting for me upstairs. I wanted her here. I needed her here.

I kept scrolling down on my phone, looking at pictures of her.

Something I had been doing for the past weeks, loving how much my album was filled with photos of her-she was too beautiful to resist. She was the definition of beauty itself.

I stared at my call log for a few seconds before pressing her name, surprising myself when I heard it ring.

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