Rivals In Love

CHAPTER 2

His eyes shot open in a familiar panic as he felt his chest constrict as if pressed on by a weight. Taking in a big breath of air, he let it out with a shudder as he felt the jitters leave his body. He looked around in a frenzy to make sure of his surroundings. He breathed a sigh of relief finding himself in his room. He looked to his left to find his little brother standing there gaping at him.

"Did you need something, Mikael?" He asked softly but his voice sounded too deep and shaky even to his ears. His brother shook his head with a confused look on his face but then quickly nodded.

"Mama wants you to get ready for breakfast," he said softly with a smile, then bolted out of the room. A laugh bubbled out of his throat as he sat up and ran his fingers through the bird's nest he called his hair. Rolling his head around on his shoulders, he felt the satisfying cracks before finally getting out of bed.

He walked towards the shower to freshen up and in no time he was done. Clad in some loose fitting black cargo pants and a white muscle T-shirt, he was set for his morning routine. Breakfast with the family was first thing to do on the agenda and he went down to do just that.

Their father was a heartless man and everybody knew that but he had a soft spot for his mother, wife and two daughters. He had his own rule of life, probably passed down from generation to generation but no male in the Romanoff family knew kindness from their father. He learnt that the hard way but their father still cherished them enough that no one would dare mess with them and live to tell the tale, but the kids didn't need to know that tiny bit of detail. All they knew was their bullies left town for whatever possible reason, and that was enough.

He went down for breakfast and it was all smiles. They joked around and talked about what they wanted to do that day. Sometimes he wondered if their mother was clueless as to what her husband did for a living but seeing how happy she was, even if she knew, it didn't seem to bother her. He craved that kind of love and devotion. One that only grew stronger with time. Aging like fine wine, they say. He smiled softly at his wishful thinking.

"Rainier!" His father's harsh snap drew him out of his deep thoughts and his eyes turned alert. His father tilted his head towards his wife and he turned his eyes to his mother.

"What time will you be home today?" She asked with a warm smile. Rainier loved his mother's smile. It always made him feel like everything would be okay.

"I'll try to be home by seven," he answered with a smile of his own. He knew she enjoyed family meals because that's the hard finding the time she will have everyone at home at the same time. So she uses breakfast and dinner as an excuse to see her children bonding with their father. Because otherwise, they would rarely see him.

"Rainier, will you take your siblings to school? I'll take Irina since it's the way to my office," their father spoke as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. That meant breakfast was over. Irina, the oldest daughter and second child, was an identical copy of their mother. Maybe that's why their father really adored her. But that didn't make their youngest any less special, if anything, she was the most adored by everyone. That might have been the reason their father never felt the need to worry about her.

After everyone cleared the table, kissed their mother goodbye and got out of the house, they went about to start their day. All Rainier had to think about was the beginning of his day to develop a headache, he hoped he wouldn't have to run into that particularly bothersome human that would not let him enjoy his day.

After dropping off Mikael and Katerina at their school and making sure their teacher received them, he went on to drive to the gym to get his morning workout done. He couldn't help but wonder, if he had not stumbled in on that day, would his life have turned out any different? But what major difference would have taken to event? It's not like his life would have been that much different from what it was because he would still be working in the family "business".

At least his grandfather had started a legal business to cover up what they actually did. He couldn't imagine what life would have been like if people saw him on the street and instead of the looks of admiration and longing, they would be filled with fear. He doesn't exactly know what they would be afraid of but he had a vague theory that it just wouldn't be the same if people knew he was actually a member of the Russian Mafia.

Walking out of the gym, freshly showered, he heaved a breath of dread. It was finally time to meet to imbecile that wouldn't leave him enjoy a day of peace. Were it not for the fact that he had a reputation to uphold, he had his doubts he would have tolerated the little shit for that long without snapping his neck. He rolled his head a few times to loosen up his neck lest he wanted to burst a vein out annoyance. He stood at the crossroads looking into the café he would meet his newest form of friendly torture. But what he saw was not what he had signed up for and it sure piqued his interest on the little creature that tormented him, Cassian Luciano.

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