Maksimillian 'Max' Angeloff

I can barely swallow my intense anger while Viktor holds the front door and we cross the apartment threshold.. Sunday shivers intermittently in my arms, her knuckles pale white where she clings to the lapel of my jacket.. It had taken everything in me not to shove my Sig Sauer down Javier's throat to blow his brains out through his asshole..

But my restraint was not a mercy to the man..

It's was for her... Sunday..

As infuriating as it is, I know that she holds loyalty to the man, though whether it is born out of some kind of affection or more if it is more like Stockholm Syndrome, I honestly couldn't guess..

All I know is the thought of causing even an ounce of pain to Sunny is a crippling agony in and of itself, that I couldn't bring myself to do..

I've never seen such a scared creature, so fragile and caught in the snare of shock.. Her bruises have already begun to blacken and her cheeks burn a flushed pink from over-exposure to the frosty bite of the winter night air..

Verity follows closely behind me as I carry Sunday upstairs to her room where the lamplight from the side table glows a dusty orange.. When I set the damaged doll carefully on the edge of the bed, she wobbles wearily, stabilising herself on flattened palms and in an instant Verity moves to her side..

My sister, in an uncharacteristically gentle manner, purs as she pets Sunday's hand in hers.. "C'mon, Sunny, let's get you cleaned up.." Verity speaks with soft encouragement, much to Viktor's and my own surprise.. I have never seen her show even an ounce of affection to anybody really.. Well, anybody besides myself.. Not to our brother or father, to her supposed 'friends', not even to her past boyfriends..
I had always known the tender heart she would hide deep down, still it is an odd sight, and to see it emerge renders me near speechless.. Now, she is soft as silk in her coddling presence, standing vigilant at Sunday's side..

"A little privacy, Maksim?" She snaps up at me expectantly and I shake my head to lose a storm of stirring thoughts before I take an obliging step away to remove myself.. The last thing I want is to be an imposing, unwelcome presence in the wake of everything that Sunday has suffered tonight..

"No.." Sunny gasps, her hand flying out to snatch at my sleeve to twiddle anxiously at golden monogrammed cufflinks.. "Don't go, Max.. Please-"

"Alright-" I take her delicate hand between mine and squeeze it gently before reaching into my pocket for my phone.. "But I'm gonna call the doctor.."

Sunday shakes her head.. "I don't need a doctor-"

"You have to get checked out, Zayka.." I affirm flatly, growing frustrated by this sweet woman and her total lack of self preservation..

Why won't she allow me to take care of her?

"Just give her some time, Max.." Verity advises as she helps Sunday to her feet.. Supported, she manages to stumble her way across the bedroom to the ensuite door.. As the two slip though the bleached oak frame and I am locked on the other side, my head falls into my hands..

"Fuck.." A hot, liquid hatred curdles in my stomach as flashes of the scene outside the Casino plague me.. The blood on Sunday's dress, her hands and legs..

The pain in her sweet and sorrowful aurelian eyes..

I had pegged Navarro to be a cheat and a thief from the minute I laid eyes on him and suspected even worse.. Yet obviously I had underestimated his sick and volatile nature.. A mistake I won't be making again..

He will know the true meaning of pain when I am done with him.. And not until he is on his knees, pleading, begging for death will he realise that I have only just begun to inflict an ounce of the suffering he deserves..

"Viktor!" I bark, and my head of security snaps to attention.. "If anything else happens to Miss Santos while she's under mm-my protection, I'll cut out your ff-fucking eyes.."

Without hesitation, a silent and stoic Viktor nods once to demonstrate that he is clear on his command and entirely aware of exactly how fatal the threat from my mouth is..

.... MEANWHILE...

Sunday 'Sunny' Santos

Max's ensuite bathroom is a stark white and shiny, with golden tapware and classic finishes.. Glossy marble tiles line the ostentatious tub that fills the centre of the room, making a luxurious statement of riches..

Just another waving red flag that wails it's warning to me..

That I don't belong here..

"Owh.." I wince as Verity assists me in peeling away sticky blood soaked couture, unveiling the mass of purple and red bruises, mottled generously across my back and arms.. My muscles ache all over.. It is a deep, unrelenting pain that permeates right through to my bones and the exhaustion of each breath weights heavily on me..

"That rotten, lowlife, scumbag-" She growls to herself, unable to look away from the carnage.. A visceral hatred burns behind her eyes and I can see the fires of rage that runs through her as I glance up to find our reflection in the bathroom mirror.. "Guys like Javier should be lined up and sent to the firing squad.. Actually, even that wouldn't be enough, too quick.. No, he should suffer, slowly, painfully.."

Her pretty painted lips move, but the words are muffled to my ears and time itself seems to expand and extend around me.. Each second trickling by so slowly that I might feel it's passage ravage my wounded body piece by piece.. My head pounds, but the throbbing in my skull is a fraction of the agony that seizes my broken heart..

I will never be the same Sunday again, my atoms reconstructed and my molecules forever altered..

There is no going back now..

"It wouldn't change anything.." I don't disagree with Verity's observation, but somehow the thought of Javier's death brings me no comfort.. It's not like that would undo my suffering or erase the pain of the past.. The damage has already been done..

But I still don't understand why..
Why did Javi do this to me?
Why am I here?

Why?

"Yeah, maybe.." She grumbles, bobbing down to collect the stained material where it gathers at my feet.. "But it sure as shit wouldn't hurt.."

I can read her well enough to sense her frustration, but little else about Max's sister is clear.. She is harshly spoken and stern in manner, but in her actions right now she is gentle and kind.. I genuinely can't tell if she likes me or hates me.. Perhaps it's is both.. But what I can sense is her restrained pity..

A sentiment I am not unfamiliar with..

After all, the way she looks at me is the same way her brother looks at me..

As if I am some fragile, broken bird that should either be nursed back to health, or put out of its misery...

Right now I'm not sure Verity knows which would be kinder.. And to be perfectly honest, neither do I..

"I'm sorry about your dress, Verity, it's ruined.." I watch remorsefully as she tosses the messed up gown into the basin with a discarding flick..

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She squints over her shoulder at me in disbelief.. "Do you really think that matters now?"

I sigh and shrug my stiff shoulders, perching gingerly for a brief pause on the edge of a carved marble settee the graces the nearest corner of the room.. "Nothing matters anymore.."

"Listen Sunday, I've been where you are-" Verity starts, pouring citrus scented salts from an ornate jar into the tub..

"Oh sure.." I scoff doubtfully, unable to form the awful words to describe the twisted violating assault or the sickening flashbacks that frequently force themselves from the depths of my thoughts to the front..

I wish I would just wake up from this nightmare and that none of it was real..
If it weren't for the evidence bruising my body, perhaps I could even convince myself that none of it happened..

But I know it did..

"There are worse men than your ex in this world, Sunday.. Believe me.." Verity twirls to face me before shirking a strap from her petite shoulder.. Tugging down the silky fabric of her dress to reveal her bare chest, she completely takes me by surprise..

Small, gentle mounds and delicate red nipples are kept company by three distinct puckered scars.. Deep pink and shaped like jagged stars, the old wounds appear to be the result of multiple gunshots, frighteningly close to her heart..

I gasp, abhorred by the sight.. "Dios mio-"

"Don't you worry about me-" Watching me with serious scowl, she shimmies her dress back into place as she casually adds, "I got my revenge in the end.. And so will you.." Verity shuffles around the room, fetching a washcloth from the vanity before she checks the progress of the bath and its water levels.. "Max'll make sure of that.."

"I don't want revenge.." I shake my head to dismiss the poisonous seeds of hate that Verity sows.. It would be all too easy to allow myself to grow bitter and dark.. But I don't want to drown in loathing for the rest of my life.. I don't need another anchor dragging me under.. "I never wanted any of this...."

She pauses at the gilded faucet to look back at me, piercing me with her laser vision to pin me in place.. "But he's done something like this before, hasn't he?"

"Once or twice.." I mutter quietly as steam rises in the air along with the scent of lavender.. Sinking down to sit on the side of the bath, my mind wanders back to a time when I thought Javi was a different man, staring off into middle space whilst I wait for the water.. "But he isn't-" Catching myself before I can make an excuse for Javier or defend his shitty behaviour like I had done a million times before, I correct my course.. "I'm not going to let him control me anymore.. It's over.."

"Oh honey, is over alright.." She scoffs dryly.. "He's probably swimming in the Atlantic by now.."

My spine straightens and my skin crawls with dread at the chirp of conviction in her voice.. "What do you mean?"

Verity submerges her hand beneath the flow of the faucet to test the water temperature again.. "Well, Max sent Luka to take Javier to the docks and- I mean- you do realise exactly who my brothers are, don't you Sunday?"

"Yesss, I know.." I breathe out a hiss as I dip a toe in the hot bathwater to test it out impatiently before limping carefully back to the setee.. "But Javier owes way too much money.. And Max promised me that he wouldn't kill him.."

"Ha!" Verity snorts doubtfully.. "Did you get that in writing?"

"No.." My eyes roll in a reflexive sarcastic backflip..

"Did he actually say the words 'I promise'?" She interrogates with intrigued demand..

"Well, maybe not in so many words.." Suddenly unnerved, I frown..

She quirks a brow, watching as I come to terms with the fact that she is totally right.. Max never explicitly promised me anything except my freedom, and for that he had assured me there would be a contract..

My God..

Maybe he is already dead..

There is a decent chance Javi is already burning in hell.. Or at the very least he is at the station, just waiting for his ticket to be punched.. And it's not like he doesn't deserve it..

So why doesn't the idea of it bring me any solace?

"You know, there are some things he just won't tolerate.." Verity hums, offering me her hand to help me up and across the marble expanse..

"Like what kind of things?" Hooking an arm over her shoulders for stability, I wobble along side her..

"Well.." She considers, slipping behind me to unhook my bra before offering the support of a steady arm as I step out of my underwear.. "Preying on the weak, for one.. Ever since I was a kid, Maksim always had a problem with bullies.. He couldn't stand them.. Probably because it's all we knew at home.."

"You mean Sasha?" With Verity's assistance, I lower myself carefully into the bathwater.. "If he's so dangerous, why didn't Max tell me about him?" I sink into the aromatic epsom soak with a sigh..

"No, not Sasha.. I'm talking about Petra, our mother.." She scrunches up her nose in disgust, as if the name itself were acrid on her tongue.. "Boy did she live to torment her children, right up until the day she died.." Verity wipes her hands on a small towel, zoning out a little and staring off into memory as she mumbles.. "The happiest day of my entire fucking life.." She quickly shakes away the reverie with a fake, unphased mask.. "Don't get me wrong, our father is one sadistic sonofabitch, Sunday.. And if you're really going to be a part of this family you need to know that.."

"Do you really think that Max is still going to want me around? Even now that he knows- " My voice trails off..

"My brother doesn't just throw people away, Sunny.. Look at me, I'm living proof.. He never gave up on me, even when I didn't deserve it.. Listen, I haven't exactly always been the best sister, and god knows I made some mistakes when we were younger.. But Max, he never quit trying to make things right for his family."

Family..

It's the one thing I never really had..
And right now, it's the thing I need most..

A home.. A hope for the future.. A way to heal this hole in my chest where a dagger of ice now lingers, embedded to the hilt..

"Max is my chance to have a fresh start.. A better life, away from Javi.. Away from all of it.. I want to be good enough for him, Verity.. I have to be.."

I still don't understand why he chose me, or what Max wants from me, but whatever it is, it can't be worse than the hell Javier has put me through.. If there is even the slightest hope that Max is an honest man, and that I might be reunited with my Abuela, I have to take the risk..

I have to marry him..

I turn my imploring eyes on Verity to find her expression irately sympathetic.. Still a stark contrast to her usual scowl.. "I need you to teach me how to survive in his world, V.. I need you to teach me how to be more like you.."

Verity smiles sadly in her seat beside me as she wrings the washcloth with warm water and presses the warm, soothing compress to my forehead.. "Then the first thing you're going to need to do is figure out how to get a whole lot tougher, fast, Sunny, because none of this is going to be easy.."

"I'm tougher than I look.." I squeeze my eyes shut and pinch my nose before disappearing underwater and allowing the warm water to baptise me, cleansing me of the loyalty that had held me hostage to Javier and setting me free to hope for the possibilities of tomorrow..

There is no going back now..

.....

Author's Note:

Hey besties, if you read this far I'd love for you to hit that star and leave me a little feedback!

Will Sunday be strong enough to survive in Max's world, and what does he really want with her?
Should Javier die fast, or does he deserves to suffer slowly?
What do you think happened to Verity and can she be trusted as an ally?

I can't wait to hear from ya'll!

Love,
Leela x
❤️