INSATIABLE CRAVINGS
Insatiable Cravings – Episode 125
Subtitle; {Loving You Is A Loosing Game}
TAGS: Age-gap, Mafia, Forbidden Love, Drama, Tragedy and Betrayal.
Settings: United Kingdom, Russia and others.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
~ Genevieve ~
Viktor Valdislav.
That was our guy. Or rather, had been—since he was, you know, déad. Or perhaps that was exactly what he wanted us to believe.
Still, the evidence had piled up, one after another, all presented by Echo herself—the best, and only, hacker I knew.
I’d seen video footage, chat logs, and photographic proof that Viktor was déad. But something about it all felt off. Too clean. Too final. After all the effort he’d put into trying to take down Dominic, could he really have vanished so quietly?
I mean, sure—death doesn’t exactly schedule itself, but even so, I was convinced Viktor would’ve had some sort of contingency in place. A right-hand man. A sibling. Someone to take over if anything happened to him.
It had been six years since his supposed déath. And nothing. No movements, no ripples—unless you counted the ship explosion.
Was he truly gone?
Or was this all just an elaborate ruse to lure us—the Bratva—away from what was really coming?
Someone would have to be utterly unhinged to fake their own deàth and keep up the act for nearly six years, wouldn’t they?
Maybe I was being paranoid. Overthinking things. But as a lawyer who also happened to have a background in psychology, something about all of this didn’t sit right with me.
I’d been turning it over in my head for five straight days, ever since the truth had resurfaced. Dominic, on the other hand, had been acting oddly calm. Going about his usual routine like there wasn’t a storm brewing under the surface.
And maybe there wasn’t. Maybe I was just stuck in my own head, seeing shadows that weren’t even there.
I kept my gaze on him, trying to read past the cool expression on his face as he poured coffee into a mug. Calm. Effortlessly composed. That was all I could see.
“Are you hiding something from me, Dominic?” I asked, my voice quiet but unwavering. He looked up from his coffee immediately, surprise flashing in his amber eyes. “I’m asking because you’ve been behaving weirdly.”
“Behaving weirdly, how?”
“There’s something going on in your head, and you’re not sharing it with me.”
“The only thing going on in my head right now is how you won’t let me make my coffee in peace,” he replied lightly, teasing.
But I didn’t smile. Not even a twitch of one. And he noticed—of course he did. He rounded the kitchen island and came to stand in front of me.
“Baby, nothing’s going on,” he said softly.
“I don’t believe that. Viktor is—”
“Déad.” He cut me off, the playfulness gone in an instant. “And please, don’t mention his name.”
“Not mentioning his name won’t change the fact that he’s up to something.”
“A déad man can’t be up to anything, Genevieve.”
It wasn’t just the name that made me frown—it was the way he said it, like he was scolding a child for being naive.
“You’re right,” I said, pulling back. He blinked, visibly taken aback. “But what about all those calls you’ve been making to Dex lately? What are they about?”
“His name is Dexter. And there’s absolutely nothing going on, Baby.”
“Don’t call me that when you’re lying to me.”
“God, you’re making this harder than it needs to be,” Dominic snapped, his voice rising ever so slightly. “Can we not do this now, right before you’re meant to leave?”
Oh yeah, I’d broken the news that I had to go back to China. Work was calling—lawyering and renovation designing—and to my surprise, he’d taken it rather well.
Unnervingly well.
The only thing he’d shown any concern over was making sure I remained in my bodyguards’ line of sight at all times.
“Too late for that, now that you’ve started it,” I said, scowling. “The only thing I’ve been is worried about you—the man I love—only to get yelled at. Why? Because I care.”
“Baby—”
“Don’t!” I snapped, hurt and anger tangling in my throat. “Just… don’t. I know you, Dominic. Which means I know when you’re lying to me. I swear, if whatever you’re hiding comes back to bite us, I will—”
“You’ll what?”
“This time, I’ll be the one ending it,” I said flatly, holding his gaze. His breath hitched. “If you can’t trust me, then what are we even doing?”
Pàin flickered across his face—undeniable, raw.
“I trust you, Genevieve. How many times do I have to prove that I do?”
“Then you’re not hiding anything?”
Silence.
I scoffed, disbelief hitting me like a slap. “You can’t say you trust someone and then keep secrets from them. That’s not how trust works.”
“You’re leaving in a few days—”
“And? That gives you permission to lie to me?” I snapped again.
“If keeping things from you means protecting you, then yes—so be it.”
“Keeping me in the dark isn’t protection. I need to know what’s going through your head, for God’s sake.”
I needed to know whether I was just being paranoid… or not.
“Nothing, alright? Absolutely nothing is going through my head. It’s a bloódy blank slate. Blade has vanished—untraceable. And Viktor? He’s deàd. And I still can’t figure out who the hell the ‘he’ is that Blade referred to. So no—nothing you don’t already know.”
“And the secret calls with Dex?”
“Dexter,” he corrected, as always. “He and Echo are just keeping me updated. But they’ve found nothing. Every lead they follow ends up a blóody déad end. We’re worried—Dexter, Echo, and I—but we’re handling it.”
His voice dropped a notch, gentler now. “The last thing I want is for you to be worried too.”
Now I felt awful.
“But I don’t like it,” I said quietly. “I need to know what’s going on with you. If I don’t know, how can I be with you through it all?”
“You’re with me,” he said, lifting his hands to cradle my face. His palms were warm, grounding. “Your presence means everything to me.”
“But I’m leaving soon.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll be leaving me. You’re always with me—even when you’re not here physically.” His thumb stroked along my cheek. “Your presence in my life is encompassing. You know that, right?”
“I know.” I bit the inside of my cheek, anxiety tightening in waves around my chest. “It’s just… I’m scared. You keeping secrets is what cost us five years. And now…”
The words caught in my throat. Heavy. Stuck.
“I… I am scared.”
It frightened me, how much I loved Dominic Morozov. And because of that love, I couldn’t bear to lose him again. I might have survived it once, only because I eventually came to understand his reasons.
But this? If it happened again, it would destróy me.
“My love,” his voice was hoarse, low, and impossibly tender. “Get your mind out of there—it won’t happen. Whatever you’re imagining, it won’t happen again. I promise you.”
He sounded certain. Sincere. So I gave a single nod.
“I was stúpid then—and maybe I’m still a bit stupid—but not stúpid enough to lose you again. Not having you in my life would be the déath of me.”
I stared at him—at those beautiful, haunted amber eyes that blazed into mine. They didn’t whisper, they screamed with love, with longing… with obsessioñ.
“I’m sorry for acting up,” I muttered.
“And I’m sorry for being secretive enough for you to even think I was hiding something.” His apology came in the same soft tone. “It won’t happen again. I swear.”
“Okay.”
A small smile spread across his face. He leaned in, kissed my forehead, then looked toward the mug on the counter.
“Well, now my coffee’s cold.”
I grinned. “Sorry.”
He narrowed his eyes in mock irritation. “What do you say I take you on a date as punishment?”
“Oh, then please—punish me.”
“Oh, I will.”
“And I will definitely—most definitely—not enjoy it at all.”
“That’s right.” He paused mid-step, then turned with a smirk. “Wait. Was that you being sly?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
✷✷✷✷
The date that night had gone exceptionally well. Too well, in fact. I was already missing him before I’d even boarded the plane.
It had been about seven, maybe eight hours since then, and now I stood at the arrivals terminal, waiting for Cora to come collect me.
She took her sweet time—it was only ten minutes, but jetlag made it feel like an eternity. When she finally pulled up in her Ferrari, I got in so fast it might’ve looked like my àrse was on firé.
“So what now?” she asked. “Can I call you Mrs Morozov?”
I turned my head and gave her a blank look. “Sorry, what?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. You went to see your prince charming and now you’re glowing.”
“I’ve always glowed.”
“Ah, I nearly forgot how much you love yourself.”
“You say that like it’s a bàd thing.”
“Me? Never.” Cora grinned. “So, tell me—how did your prince charming treat you to make you glow brighter than usual?”
Dominic Morozov was no prince. He was a king. My king. A villaiñ, yes—capable of horrors—but no one, no one, loved like he did.
But I couldn’t exactly tell her that. So instead, I smiled and said, “Let’s just say he was great.”
She gave me a cheeky side-eye. “Does he have a brother?”
“No, but she has a sister.”
She rolled her eyes, and I chuckled softly. Silence fell between us—comforting, familiar—as she drove us down the roads I hadn’t seen in weeks.
I was back in China. The place I’d called home for nearly five years. But suddenly… it didn’t feel quite like home anymore.
TBC📖✍️
