My Little Shoe Shiner.

Chapter Three.

Ace Pov:

There’s only one boy who has unlocked my heart—the boy with the stick, the shoe shiner. I met him when I wandered off to cause trouble with the local kids in our new neighborhood. My parents were busy discussing politics with a group of opportunists—ass-kissers, that’s what they were, trying to curry favor with my father, who owned eighty percent of the city of Moscow. They clung to him like leeches, drawing whatever they could, while my parents indulge their fantasies.

When I was five, I was kidnapped. After the ransom was paid and I was safely returned, my parents hired guards to follow me around like a clueless chick. It was infuriating. I never had the luxury of playing freely with other kids, and when I grew tired of being alone, my parents arranged for a set of new workers who had children. Those kids became my playmates as we grew up together.

But it wasn’t enough. I craved more experiences. Each time my family took me to one of their meetings, I found a way to sneak out and seek my own mischief. That day was no different. I slipped past the watchful eyes of my bodyguards and soon found myself by a fountain, where four kids stood, each holding a net.

At first, I thought they were fishing, but it was a fountain—what fish could possibly be in there? I ignored them until I noticed him crossing the street toward a man I recognized instantly.

Don Lee Ivanov—my father’s greatest enemy and ally. I never understood these people. There was clearly a game of hatred between the two men, yet they couldn’t seem to exist without each other. It would take me a while to learn that in this game, you must keep your friends close but your enemies even closer.

The little boy, who couldn’t have been more than two years younger than me, knelt down to clean the Don’s shoes. He clearly had no idea who the man was; he was just trying to earn his daily bread. But that little boy captured my heart. When he smiled at something the Don said, a pang sliced through my throat, and in that moment, I craved to covet his smile, so he could only smile for me.

Strong emotions for a boy of twelve, but I didn’t mind. I was captivated by him—his hair, a brilliant black, waved and danced in the breeze like the wings of a bird fluttering before taking flight. It was a glorious sight. And then there were his eyes… I had never seen any like them. One was a bright brown, while the other was an intense blue. Even from a distance, I could see how they sparkled and twinkled in the sunlight.

“Give it back!” one of the boys yelled, snapping me out of my reverie. I turned to see the boys who had finished their pointless fishing and were now picking up coins from their nets.

They weren’t fishing for fish; they were stealing coins tossed into the fountain—stealing people’s wishes.

How cruel.

I spotted an officer walking by and flagged him down.

“Hey, officer! These little thieves are stealing coins from the fountain!” The officer blew his whistle, and the boys quickly tossed the coins and their nets back into the fountain before taking off.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Serves them right. On one hand, there was a boy polishing shoes for a living, and on the other, some were stealing coins. What a strange world we lived in.

I saw the boy rise and run down the street. I followed him, noticing the other boys had only been waiting for the officer to leave before they began to chase after me. I didn’t run because they were after me; I could easily handle all four of them. No problem. But behind them were my bodyguards, and I wasn’t ready to return to my parents just yet. So, I ran in the same direction the boy had just gone.

Whatever made him think I needed protection was beyond me. Even if I couldn’t take on the boys, my bodyguards would have handled them easily. But when the boy I had bumped into took my hand and began pulling me away, I had no choice but to follow him obediently.

It was the first time I didn’t fight back or argue; I simply let him lead me down an alleyway, smiling. When he shoved me behind him and pulled out his stick, the smile remained on my face, like a lost puppy who had found a caring stranger offering bread. I stood behind him, watching as he swung the stick at one of the boys, causing the others to flee.

Strong.

I thought. Of course he had to be strong; a boy who fends for himself on the streets must have developed some form of defiance.

Once we were alone, he snapped at the boy who had remained, but I couldn’t make out most of what he said. Suddenly, I remembered I hadn’t thanked him for his help—help I hadn’t technically needed, but I didn’t want to appear rude to the boy with the two-colored eyes. I began to mutter my gratitude just as my bodyguards appeared, and the boy ran off.

Surprisingly, I caught a glimpse of him again as we drove by. He saw me, but I hadn’t caught his name. I knew nothing about him except for his eyes and that he was a shoe shiner.

A week after that incident, I was sent abroad to a boarding school, but no matter how much time passed, the boy who had made such an impression on me lingered like stagnant water in my mind. The older I got, the more he occupied my heart until there was no space left for anyone else. A hopeless romantic for a boy I might never see again.

You know what they say about fate working in mysterious ways?

Well, I came home for my birthday, which my parents decided to celebrate on the night of the charity gala. That night, I begrudgingly dressed up and sat with my parents at the special table for the elite when I saw him again. He was with Don Lee and his daughter. At the time, I didn’t understand the connection, which only annoyed me further. So annoyed that I wanted to rip Nina’s hand off his arm. She leaned into him, and it made me sick.

Without thinking, I rose to my feet, but my father's death glare forced me back into my seat, albeit with a disgruntled expression. The ceremony commenced, and fate once again played its cruel hand, seating the Don mere tables away from us. My gaze instinctively drifted toward the boy with double-colored eyes, and I felt an inexplicable sense of longing.

He had grown, his hair now sporting a hint of brown, styled in a laid-back manner. I preferred the way his hair used to flutter, like the wings of a bird, but his eyes lacked the spark I had seen and never forgotten. Instead, they looked tired, as if he'd rather be anywhere else. I couldn't blame him; I felt the same way.

Not once did he meet my gaze, no matter how desperately I willed him to. At one point, I was convinced he was deliberately avoiding eye contact. It was impossible for him not to feel my gaze devouring him like a sumptuous dessert.

Fuck, I'm such a pervert.

I bit the inside of my tongue, tore my gaze away, and just then, I sensed his eyes on me. My entire being stiffened, and I froze, afraid that if I moved, he'd look away. I remained still, and when I couldn't bear it any longer, I subtly adjusted my glass, tilting it to the right angle. His reflection appeared on the silver rim, and I locked gazes with him through the glass.

And then I did the stupidest thing possible – I smiled. His gaze landed on the glass, and the moment was over. I needed to understand his relationship with the Don, with my father's arch-nemesis. As soon as the party concluded, I confronted one of my guards.

“The Don adopted him on his eleventh birthday.” the Guard replied in a stone-thick voice. “There's a rumor that Don Lee has chosen him as a future husband for his daughter.”

The guard's words ignited a rage within me, boiling over like a tempest. Future husband? Over my dead body. I would get him for myself, even if it meant setting the world on fire.