Okay....just the last one before I will not be able to post the new chapters.😊

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Melissa "Oh god. He is an asshole."

I was standing at the stove, my hands were moving automatically as I prepared dinner. The rhythmic sound of the knife cutting vegetables gave me a sense of normalcy that I clung to despite the gnawing anxiety that had settled in my chest a few days ago. Roman had been away for a week, and though I tried to distract myself with the routine of daily life, my mind couldn't shake the fact that something was wrong.

It wasn't unusual for Roman to be gone for a few days; his job required it. But a week of silence, without a single message, was something else. Still, it was impossible to forget that his only job at the moment was to find the enemy. Before, he always called or sent a quick message to let me know he was okay. But this time, there was nothing. It wasn't surprising considering our last meeting, but it didn't make me calm down for a second. I glanced at the phone lying on the counter. I'd checked it countless times over the past few days, hoping to see his name on the screen, but he stubbornly remained silent. What a fucking asshole.

I pushed the thought aside and stirred the soup in the pot, concentrating on the simple motions of cooking. The evening was cool again for summer, and the warm smell of onions and garlic filled the kitchen, creating a sharp contrast to the chill that seemed to linger in my heart. The world outside continued to move forward—cars drove by, people walked down the street, oblivious to my silent confusion. But inside, I felt frozen in place, caught in a loop of uncertainty about my fate with Roman.

As I chopped the last of the carrots, I tried to push away the worst-case scenarios that plagued my thoughts. Roman was strong, capable, always one step ahead of danger. He had gotten into tough situations before and come out of them unscathed. But something about the silence was different this time. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but the seed of doubt was planted deep inside me, and it was growing with each passing day.

The kitchen door creaked and I tensed slightly, turning to see Natasha walk in. This woman had a perceptive nature that often surprised me at first. Natasha's eyes immediately found mine, full of quiet concern.

"My girl?" Natasha asked quietly, approaching the counter. "Everything okay?"

I forced a smile, though it didn't reach my eyes. "Of course, Natasha." I snorted, my voice carefully neutral. "Just making dinner. It should be ready soon."

But Natasha wasn't convinced. She leaned against the counter, folding her arms across her chest and studying my face with the same intense gaze she always used when something was wrong.

"That's right. You cook. You only do that when something's wrong, and you've cooked more this week than you've done in your entire life." Natasha narrowed her eyes, her voice gentle but piercing. "It's because of Roman, right?"

I turned back to the stove, stirring the soup again, even though it wasn't necessary. I felt Natasha's eyes on me, and a heavy sigh escaped my lips. I didn't want to worry her, especially since I had no real answers myself. But Natasha wasn't a child anymore, and hiding my worries from her was becoming impossible.

"I just haven't heard from him," I admitted, lowering my voice. "It's been a week and that's weird."

Natasha was silent for a moment, but I felt the weight of her thoughts. Then Natasha carefully reached out and placed her hand on mine.

"Hey, he'll be fine." Natasha said with more confidence than I could muster. "He's always fine. You know your husband."

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the warmth of the woman's hand comfort me. I wanted to believe it, I really did, but the silence felt too heavy this time. Like there was something lurking just beyond my reach, something dark and unspoken.

"He's not my husband anymore." I finally snapped, opening my eyes and smiling weakly at Natasha but pulling away. "It all ended 10 months ago. We don't care about each other's fates anymore. I just feel like he's plotting something behind my back because Lin hasn't been here for this fucking week."

Natasha watched me silently as if considering my words before letting it go for a few seconds and heading towards the dining table. "Let me set the table for dinner." She offered, giving me one last reassuring glance before turning her attention to the plates. "And I don't think you're worried about each other." "Oh really?" I looked at Natasha. "I actually never asked about that." "Your eyes did."

I watched her for a moment as she walked out into the dining room with the plates, grateful that Natasha had relieved me of her presence after dropping her verbal bomb, and yet feeling the weight of uncertainty settle on my shoulders again.

I turned back to the stove, looking at the miserable soup in the pot and trying to get Roman out of my head for a while. The soup was hot, the aroma soothing, but my appetite had long since died down.

The sound of the front door opening and closing caught my attention again. A moment later, Dean—one of the most annoying people I'd had this week but my only company on a lonely yesterday—appeared in the kitchen doorway. His broad frame filled the entrance as he walked in with an easy, cheerful smile.

"Hello, my little killer." Dean greeted casually. "I hope you're not cursing this soup with your eyes because I'm insanely hungry."

"Of course, I'm not." I replied, forcing myself to smile back at him again, looking up at him. I was genuinely smiling because he was a really good conversationalist. "I was just wondering if I wanted to strangle, stab, or just shoot my husband."

Dean chuckled and settled himself more comfortably at the small table, his presence always managing to defuse the situation, even in moments like these. I resisted the urge to grab a knife and threaten him, so I slowly sat down across from him and stared.

"And?" I smiled and rested my chin on both my palms. "What?" He repeated my movements but his whole body language was calm. "Where is he?" "I don't know." He shrugged. I started tapping my nails on the marble, wondering if Dean was telling the truth or bluffing. "Okay." I stood up and heard a sigh of relief. Everything was clear here.

I turned off the stove and took the hot pot by the handles and stood next to him. "Take this and take it to the living room, I'll get a board so you can put it on it." I pretended to be a fool who didn't understand anything. And Dean was so naive that he calmly began to fulfill my request. "Of course."

I took the promised board but also grabbed a small folding knife that I had recently sharpened. I quickly hid it under my top in my bra. The three of us sat down to dinner as we had been doing for a week. Dean sat next to me and Natasha sat across from me.

I was grateful she was there because I had to consider all the possibilities instead of jumping right into the guy. Dean's easygoing nature usually helped me forget my worries, but tonight, something about the way he avoided my gaze made me wonder even more about what they were up to.

As we were eating, Dean chatted about work, local news, and a few recent events. Natasha listened attentively, occasionally asking questions, but I found it hard to focus on their conversation. My thoughts kept returning to Roman, to the silence, to the uneasy feeling in my chest. What could he possibly be planning?

And so. The second adventure was approaching. This time it was supposed to be Kate Hayes. She was my age who loved to have fun in bars and nightclubs, just like rich kids like her do. And again... the one who knows numbers needed money when her father blocked all the bank cards. And so... the realization immediately hit my whole body.

The woman. She's the one we need to get information from and Roman can play the same game I played with Daniel back then. The spoon plopped back into my plate. The last thing I noticed was Natasha stopping her spoon halfway to her mouth when I grabbed Dean's shoulder, leaning on one hand and throwing his plate onto the floor with the other.

To the sound of broken glass, I sat down in my shorts on the spot where the dishes had recently been and looked at the stunned guy. "Natasha." Without turning to her, I took the spoon from the guy's hands and also threw it towards the already broken glass. "Get out right now." "But..." "Get out." I barked and the guy swallowed as he watched his only help actually leave the cafeteria.

"Dean." I brushed invisible specks of dust off his jacket on his right shoulder. "I like you, so I'll ask you again calmly. Where are Roman and Lin now?" "I really don't know." He laughed nervously. "Why don't men learn from other people's mistakes?" I clucked and rolled my eyes. "He told you it's better not to anger me, but I hate it when people lie to me." "But I'm not lying." His eyes darted around the room.

"I'm sorry but you left me no choice." My fingers deftly pulled the knife out of my bra and I easily opened it, watching the blade glisten in the light. "Now what's your answer?" "Calm down." Now his gaze was fixed on the knife in my hand. "I can't tell you...he'll kill me. "Well, you have a choice." I put the blade to his throat. "Either he kills you later or I will do it now."

"I..." A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. "Roman... you know, he decided to go on this mission with Lin, just the two of them."

The words hung in the air like an electric charge as my guess became reality, and I froze, slowly removing the knife and narrowing my eyes when he finally managed to look at me. "Sorry what?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm.

Dean blinked, realizing his mistake too late. He seemed to think it would be better to remain silent and die than to let his words unleash something more than just a war.

"I... I mean, Roman thought that as a man he could now seduce her and force the information out of her." He muttered, trying to back away. "It doesn't change anything, does it?" "The fucking bastard thinks he can do this behind my back and it's okay?" I asked rhetorically, more to myself than to him. "And he probably only thinks he can do this because he did it to me once."

I set the knife down on the table with deliberate caution, my heart pounding in my chest. Roman hadn't said anything about going on a mission with Lin. And now, after a week of silence, I was going to find out like this? I grabbed Dean by the collar and pulled his face close to mine.

"Why didn't he tell me?" My voice was quiet, but there was a note in it that Dean couldn't ignore.

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "He probably didn't want to worry you." He muttered. "You know how it is."

I felt a wave of anger rise up in me, but I held it in. "Dean." I said firmly, looking him in the eye. "Now tell me the truth why? Does it have to do with where they are, right?"

Dean hesitated, clearly torn between his loyalty to Roman and his need to tell me the truth. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly considering what to say.

"They're in Las Vegas." He sighed sadly. "Kate flew there for her friend's bachelorette party and they're planning to meet her at one of the casinos." "Hmm, how funny." I interrupted him with a sharp voice. "So my husband flew off to sin city to seduce some rich chick and didn't even say anything?" I straightened up again, letting him go.

Dean turned away, rubbing the back of his head in frustration. "It's... complicated." "Complicated?" I grinned and slid my leg over and hopped off the table. "Oh no. It's really easy. We're going to Las Vegas."

For a long moment, there was a tense silence in the room. Dean threw his head back and I let it go a little in our eye contact there were many questions but he voiced only one.

"Why if you don't consider him your husband anymore?" He frowned, curiosity in his eyes. "Because as long as he's my husband on paper, he can't do that, okay? No whore has the right to touch him and he has no right to do anything that might seem like cheating to me." I threw my long hair over my shoulder. "Because cheating on a woman, especially one like me, is the biggest crime a man can commit." And he will regret that he kept silent and this Kate? She will regret that she was born at all.