Rachael widened her eyes in shock. "Andrew--" She gasped when he spanked her again.

"Say that again--" He brushed his nose against hers. "I dare you."

"You spanked me." She pouted her lips.

"And you liked it." Before Rachael could say something, he slammed his lips against hers.

As things started escalating, she broke the kiss and placed his hand on his shoulder. "We just finished."

"And it clearly wasn't enough." Andrew planted small kisses all over her face. "If it was up to me, I would keep you in bed all day."

Rachael smiled and ran her finger through his face. "And here I thought our honeymoon period was over."

"Honey, our honeymoon period will never end."

...

[Midnight]

Rachael woke up when she did not feel Andrew's presence beside her. The sudden absence of his warmth made her feel very chilly and uncomfortable.

She groggily opened her eyes and looked around.

"Andrew?" She called him out. When she did not get an answer, she got down from the bed and headed towards the washroom only to find it empty.

She then checked the balcony. When she did not find him there, she grabbed Andrew's coat which was lying on the couch and wrapped it around her before stepping out of the room.

.....

[Study Room]

"What do you have to say?" Daniel glared at his father. "I don't like leaving my wife's side at night."

Owen held his throbbing head and snapped, "This better be fucking important."

Justin was also glaring at the old man who had shown up in the middle of the night and had called them all for an urgent meeting.

The only person who was calm and quiet was Andrew.

Semion had his eyes only on him. He had been looking at Andrew the minute he walked into the room.

"Your wife--"

"Stop right there," Andrew interrupted him. "When you are talking about my wife, I suggest you watch your mouth."

"You know what she did was against the rules," Semion glared at Andrew.

When no one said anything, he continued, "We never help our enemies, Andrew. You know the rules very well."

"She didn't know--"

"But that doesn't change the fact that she broke the rules and--"

"My wife is not obliged to follow any of your damn rules," Andrew snapped at him. "She can do whatever the fuck she wants. Do you understand that?"

Semion took a deep breath to calm himself down. When he heard about Rachael helping Janet Genovesse, he almost lost his cool.

The Volkov's had a much bigger rift with the Genovesse than the Petrov's. The rift had been going on for years with no intention of putting an end to it.

"Helping shows weakness. It shows that we have mercy," Semion stated. "Our enemies will now think that we are weak."

This time Owen scoffed. "Well, if that is the case then our enemies already know we are weak. I mean, we did show you mercy and that's why you are alive right now talking shit."

Ignoring Owen's infuriating comment, Semion continued addressing Andrew. "Rachael is a part of this family now. Whether you like it or not, just like you, she is part Volkov too. And she has to obey the rules."

"The first rule being you never show an ounce of mercy to your enemies," he emphasised.

Andrew sighed and helplessly shook his head. He had nothing to say to the old man. There was no point arguing or reasoning with him.

But what the man said next forced Andrew to drop his cool.

"Look at what she had done to you Andrew," Semion slammed his hand on the desk. "Look at what you have become. Our enemies are seeing you as a weak pathetic fool who will do anything because that woman has pussy whipped you--"

"Enough--" Andrew stormed towards Semion and grabbed his collar before pinning him against the wall.

Semion gasped and grabbed Andrew's hand when he tightened the grip around his collar.

"Don't you dare talk about my wife like that ever again." Andrew further tightened his grip around Semion's neck. "I will hear anything but a word against Rachael. Do you fucking get that?"

"Should we ask Andrew to stop?" Justin whispered to the two men who seemed to be unaffected with what was happening.

"In a minute," Daniel casually shrugged.

Justin then looked at Owen who also did not show any chance of intervening. He helplessly shook his head and sighed.

"If people think that I am weak because of her then let them think whatever the fuck they want," Andrew roared again. "I don't care. If people like you think that targeting her is a wise choice then they cannot be more wrong."

"Try to touch her and I'll make sure you will regret living," he added before letting go of his collar.

Semion coughed vigorously as he unfastened a couple of buttons.

"Go home dad, you are really wasting our time," Daniel said before passing a bottle of water to Andrew.

"If anyone comes looking after us, we will deal with it," Owen remarked. "From what I remember, you are no more a part of this. So I suggest you keep your mouth shut and walk out of here."

Keeping quiet for a while, Semion said, "It's high time you people understand that I am not your biggest enemy anymore. There are people who are after all of us, after our family. One small mistake from anyone of us and our family is doomed."

He then stormed out of the room.

....

When Semion stepped out of the study, he bumped into Rachael. She was standing there with tears threatening to trickle down her cheeks.

He opened his mouth to say something but he decided against it when Andrew stepped out of the room.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" Andrew frowned. He was surprised to see Rachael outside the room.

When she looked at him with teary eyes, he quickly stepped forward and pulled her in his embrace.

"What happened?" He kissed the top of her head. "Why are you crying?"

Semion scoffed and stormed away.

.....