Destined | 18+

Part 36 - Want To Stay For Dinner?

Track to this chapter is: Возвращайся (Come back) - Angel Vox

Roman's POV

My life and purpose left me when Isla ran away from my car in early September. I was so God damn broken.

Yeah, I cried like a baby. I came back to my hotel room and was about to reach for the bottle but then...I remembered my lunch with Kirill. I had to pull myself together.

I stayed in New York for one more month after that. I worked at Kirill's, and I kept constant vigilance over Isla. I knew who her new friends were, I knew where she lived, when she came home, where she worked. Sometimes I would watch her myself but...very rarely. Every time I saw her, I descended into madness.

In the meantime, I was trying to collect everything I could to prove to her that her father was just like me. I didn't kill him because I'm a bad person and wanted to hurt someone. I killed him because that was the game and he played it.

If it wasn't him, it would have been me. Both him and I knew we lived in a zero sum game world. Winner takes all. Winner takes everything. And there can only be one winner.

Getting all the documents together turned out to be way more challenging than I had anticipated. I couldn't call on Sergei for help and Alexei was a fucking idiot. On top of that, he had left to Russia for an undetermined amount of time.

Unfortunately, my stay in New York raised many questions with Sergei.

"You there for the girl?" He asked me over the phone one day, about two weeks into my absence from LA.

"No. I'm here to discuss something with Kirill."

He obviously didn't buy it. He was a fucking snake, but I couldn't take him out in broad daylight, no reason, no cause. When I called him to make up, all those months ago, he had apologized for what he said to Isla but he didn't deny it. He said it was a joke and she took it too seriously, he was just complementing her on how beautiful she was. Fucking scum bag.

When Isla was looking for her apartment, both her realtors disappeared on her. I threatened them both and she finally called Mia after seeing the flyers that she kept getting at her door, also set up by me.

Mia didn't know that it was me and Kirill who set it up and neither did Isla but I felt that Isla working with Kirill's girl was the safest and best outcome.

Once I collected what I thought was enough information to prove to Isla that her dad was part of my world, I flew to New York for what felt like the hundredth time and had the package delivered.

I had no idea how she was going to react. My intentions were to show her that I never ever wanted to hurt her, I just played by the rules. Moreover, I had given Dave an unprecedented number of chances to back down. Maybe that's why he didn't...he thought he could push back forever.

I didn't expect her to meet with John but I was filled with admiration for her when I found out. She was taking it seriously and she wanted to double check with someone who was there. That's my girl. John was the level headed partner and also a pushover, unlike her dad, and if it was just him at the wheel, none of that shit would've happened.

I waited in my car for her to exit the building and then followed her the entire time she walked back. She looked so deep in thought but then, that motherfucker Sam latched onto her like a leech.

Rage, pure rage overtook every single fucking corner of my body. He was so obviously interested. And then, when he stood beside her so close...well then I couldn't just sit back.

I had no plans to show my face to her today. After three whole fucking months, three agonizing longest months of my entire shitty life, this is not how I imagined I would see and talk to her again.