u/Full_Worldliness_728

Walks in nervously.So , this is kind off a juvenile attempt at writing a JerCes son × LanMia daughter fanfiction. Initially I thought to directly put in on AO3 but I just thought to put the first 2 chapters here and see if you guys like it or not.

Chapter-1

"That fucker can go fuck himself," I tell Leigh, letting out a sharp exhale.

My cousin looks at me, her warm brown eyes sparkling with amusement as she shakes her head, which only annoys me further.

"What? I’m serious, Leigh," I say, offended, narrowing my eyes.

"And overdramatic," Christian adds. He flips another page of his textbook—which he clearly isn’t reading—his gaze sweeping over me with the same boredom that mirrors his dad, Uncle Creighton.

"I’m not being overdramatic."

And I wasn’t. Nope. Not at all.

"I kind of agree with Chris here," Leigh says with a sheepish smile, picking up a bowl of chocolate macarons—her favorite snack.

My eyebrows knit together as I glare at my cousin. "Breaking the sis code now?"

"Come on, Rei. He’s not as bad as you make him out to be," she explains.

"Yeah, because he’s worse," I counter.

"I don’t get what your problem is with him."

"I hate the way he exists," I shrug, earning a snort from Sierra. Until now, she had been busy scrolling on her phone, probably searching for the mascara that went out of stock last time because she missed the window by five minutes and subsequently sobbed for an hour.

"Stop being irrational, Rei," Sierra says, chuckling.

"Irrational? That monotonous asshole made me look like a fucking fool in front of my class." I could still feel the heat rising at the back of my neck, remembering the way my *whole* class and the professor agreed with his points while I stood there, opening and closing my mouth like a fish.

"It was a debate. One side has to win and the other has to lose, Rei. That’s how it works." Leigh’s words are meant to be comforting, I know, but they only manage to irritate me further because my side did not win.

"I lost ,Leigh," I emphasize. I don’t lose. That is for the weak, and I’m not weak.

I hated the way some of my classmates passed me sympathetic smiles while others smirked because I hadn't won.

"How about you try harder next time instead of bitching behind my back?" My fists clench at my sides, gripping my knee-length dress until my nails dig crescents into my palms at the sound of his deep, controlled voice.

Okay Google, how to murder your godmother’s son and get away with it?

My eyes narrow as I take in the unpleasant sight of him standing ten steps away. He's casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad, muscular chest. The sleeves of his crisp black shirt are rolled up just enough to suggest comfort rather than casualty.

He smiles as he nods at Leigh, Chris, and Sierra. It’s that 'golden boy' smile that charms everyone. The same smile he wore while butchering every point I made earlier today—and I want nothing more than to wipe it off his face.

"How about you stop eavesdropping on other people’s conversations?" I counter.

"Other people?" Amusement colors his sharp features. "And here I thought we shared some special connection, Rei."

"In your dreams, Ivan."

"Oh. So now you want me to dream about you?"

"Yes, because that’s the only place where I’ll ever entertain your bullshit."

"Funny—for someone who hates how I exist, you sure spend a lot of time *obsessing* over me."

"Anyone ever tell you that your ego is bigger than your dick?"

"Careful, Rei. We don't want people to know our bedroom details now, do we?" he says in a mockingly cautious tone. My entire face turns hot as I glare at the jerk in front of me.

I would rather remain celibate for life than let this fucker lay a finger on me.

"Ahem," Christian clears his throat awkwardly. "As much as I love a good show, I’d rather not hear about my cousins' bedroom details."

"There are no bedroom details to share!" I object, feeling more offended than ever. My cousin really thinks I’d even consider the idea of bedding Ivan Volkov.

"Yet," Ivan adds. With the way my jaw drops, I’m surprised it’s not touching the floor.

The audacity.

"That was a good one, bro," Sierra says, bursting out laughing.

"I know," Ivan winks in her direction. I wish I could gouge out those cloudy gray eyes.

"You have a death wish, Si?" I ask her, hands resting on my hips, a tight smile stretched over my lips.

"I don't think it's morally good to study law and give death threats," Ivan says, dropping onto the couch beside Leigh and reaching for her macarons.

She immediately jerks the bowl away. “Get your own.”

“You wound me.”

“You ate mine yesterday.”

“And I’ll do it again.”

While they argue over macarons, I grab my bag from the table, still simmering from the debate, his smug expression, and the fact that part of me hates how good he is at getting under my skin.

"And you’re going to teach me about a moral compass now, Mr. Mafia Prince?" I ask, raising my eyebrows in challenge.

"Oh, I can teach you a lot, moya printsessa." Leigh giggles at that; I look at her questioningly, but she only continues to snicker.

"Nicknames and shit, hmm," Sierra’s pink lips curve into a teasing smile, mischief dancing in her ocean-blue eyes that are a shade lighter than my own.

"She likes it. Right, moya printsessa?" Ivan says, resting his arms behind his head and stretching his legs out on the sofa, looking like a giant wall of muscle.

I should leave.

Instead, I step closer until I’m standing directly in front of him. Close enough to notice his eyes aren’t fully gray after all—there’s a hint of blue hidden underneath, stormy and sharp. Close enough that the scent of cedarwood, spice, and expensive cologne hits my nostrils.

Clean. Masculine. Annoyingly addictive.

“You know what your problem is?” I ask.

He leans back against the couch, completely unbothered. “Tell me.”

“No one’s punched you in the face hard enough.”

Sierra bursts into laughter. Ivan just tilts his head, watching me like he’s enjoying this far too much.

“Maybe I’m waiting for the right girl to do it.”

God, I hate this man.

“Fuck you,” I mutter, turning toward the door before I say something legally concerning. My boots click sharply against the marble floor as I walk out.

And then—

“When?” his amused voice calls after me.

The bastard is lucky murder is illegal.

Chapter-2

“Take a break, Rei,” the librarian, Ana, suggests as I massage my temples.

Ana is a kind woman in her late fifties, and we’ve known each other for months now. I visit the library every day because, with the kind of chaotic people I live with, studying at home would be as difficult as finding a pearl in the ocean.

That’s why, ever since I came to the island, I’ve preferred the library. I spend a huge chunk of my day here.

“I’m good, Ana,” I assure her with a small smile.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh on yourself?” she asks, concern softening her voice.

“If I’m not harsh enough, I won’t have the straight As I do now,” I reply.

It’s not really a lie. Unlike my genius parents, I’m not a fast learner. I take time to grasp things. Something an average person can understand in minutes takes me hours, but I refuse to let that define me when I can simply work harder and overcome it.

Do I have to put in more effort than others? Yes.

Do I regret it?

Absolutely not.

“Those As aren’t worth more than your health, Rei,” Ana says gently, gesturing toward the five empty coffee mugs scattered across my desk.

Okay, so maybe she has a point there.

Still, concealer does a decent job hiding my eyebags, and sleep is overrated anyway.

“I’m a perfectly functioning human being, Ana,” I say, flashing her my best smile.

She only sighs, shaking her head. “You’re really stubborn, you know that?”

“Of course.”

“Huh. Your future husband is going to have a hard time handling you.”

I make a face. “There’s not going to be any husband.”

With a grin, Ana winks at me. “Time will tell, sweetheart.”

“It won’t,” I counter immediately.

Chuckling, she walks over and shuts my laptop before closing my textbooks one by one.

“Ana!” I gasp. “I still have work to do.”

“It’s Friday night. You have the whole weekend ahead of you, and you’re already far ahead of your deadline,” she says matter-of-factly.

I narrow my eyes at her. “And how exactly do you know that?”

Ana quickly turns away from my desk. “You told me earlier, remember?”

Did I?

Maybe.

I have a bad habit of information-dumping while talking and then forgetting half the things I say afterward. Mom constantly warns me to be more careful, but Papa always defends me, saying I can say whatever I want and if someone creates a problem, he’ll kill them and feed them to sharks.

A laugh escapes me at the memory.

I pick up my phone and switch it on, only to find over fifty notifications waiting for me.

The first few are from Mom.

Mom:Hey baby, how are you doing? I called you, but your phone was switched off. I’m guessing you’re at the library again? Call me back when you see this.

The next messages are from none other than Roman, my best friend.

Ro:Where the fuck are you?

Is it the library again?

I’m gonna burn that goddamn library someday, Rei.

Wait... wait... wait... did you and my dearest brother get into another debate?

Ohhh. So, as confirmed by my sources—and by sources I mean the boring Leigh Sokolov—you two definitely did get into another debate.

Now I understand why Ivan is glowing like a newlywed bride today.

It’s okay, Rei. You can always kick his ass next time. Though maybe don’t kick it too hard since he’s unfortunately my blood and all... but still, you can.

I shake my head, smiling despite myself.

“Rei?” Ana calls from the other end of the library.

“Coming,” I answer, stuffing my phone into my pocket before gathering my books and sliding my laptop into my bag.

“You’re still here?” she asks as she approaches with a cup of green tea in hand.

“Just packing up.”

“I was starting to think I’d have to call that pretty boy again to drag you out of here.”

My good mood instantly sours.

“That pretty boy is a menace.”

“He seemed polite enough to me.”

“He is the problem.”

“Kids these days,” Ana mutters dramatically before taking another sip of her tea.

After wishing her goodnight, I walk out of the library and immediately regret it.

Across the street, leaning casually against his bike, is the person I currently despise most in the world.

Ivan Volkov.

A dimple appears on one side of his face as he talks to a brunette from our class—though I can’t remember her name. The girl laughs loudly at something he says, tossing her head back.

Then his eyes find mine.

And just like that, the noise around me fades.

We stare at each other from opposite sides of the street.

---

Recently I re-read GoWar and I don't wish to offend anyone who loves this book. I liked some parts of it too but it felt like Chat GPT written version of Deception trilogy and before you guys downvote me , HEAR ME OUT

>!1 Ava. Ngl I wasn't a fan of Ava in other books but I thought that her own book will be able to change that but this girl didn't made one *adult* decision. Like in the beginning she wakes up and discovers that she's married to her *enemy* (which is an exaggeration tbh) and Eli tells her that she fell from the stairs and she just *accepts* it? I get it that Eli has everything under control but Ava doesn't even tries to figure anything out? At one point Landon hints her too but all this girl did was to eat candy floss and then go annoy(seduce) Eli. That's basically it. I get it that she can't avoid the problems that come with her mental illness because that's out of her control but the problems that she could've avoided but didn't were A LOT. !<

>!Example-  "I remember Cecy once telling me there were rumors he abused his ex-girlfriend. She said that so I’d keep my distance from him. Did I listen? No. Mostly because I thought it didn’t apply to me since I never saw him more than a friend of the night."!<

>!Girl. Ig you know the definition abuse and if you know that someone is an abuser that is just basically common sense to stay tf away from them. !<

>!2 The Marriage. I love a forced arrange marriage trope and eat it up usually but atleast give a good reason behind it. The entire book I was curious to find out WHY did Ava marry Eli when she *hates* him but then we get to the flashback and pardon me but WTF? You're telling me that Ava had all the time to argue with her bff and family but she didn't had the time to take Cole aside for a minute and explain him what *actually* happened? A good example of forced marriage from RK's own works is Deception trilogy there as a reader I could understand that Lia has absolutely *no* options instead of marrying Adrian. Here , it was just Ava being dumb. The most shocking part that Cole agrees for the marriage and didn't tried to find out that why is his daughter marrying the guy she claims to *hate* Is this the same *observant* Cole Nash? !<

>!Also , Elsa is her godmother and as shown in other books and this one she adores Ava but Ava couldn't even go to Elsa for help? Her bff has a scary boyfriend who is in a Mafia that kills people like flies and they know how to deal with stuff like this. Ava couldn't even ask Cecily for help? My point is that it was a very *stupid* reason to get blackmailed over. !<

>!3 Ava's reason behind*hating* Eli. Throughout the series we are shown again and again that Ava hates Eli and in GoF Brandon says something like Ava has had the saddest love story and I kept thinking that they had some serious conflict but when I got to know that girlie couldn't take a rejection I just wanted to bang my head in the nearest wall like I get it that shit must've felt serious when she was 17 cause she was naive and had the first heartbreak but this girl has been holding that grudge for years?! And the way she said she had the *darkest* time of her life when Eli rejected her like girl stop with the dramatics already. Are Nepo babies that delusional? !<

>!4 AidenElsa. After reading Creighton's book I thought that AidenElsa are not the best parents but after reading Eli's book I'm convienced that they can take the crown for worst parents. Since the RES books I didn't like that Eli and Aiden had some sort of rivalry for Elsa's attention even Cole said it's weird. Whenever AidenElsa appeared they were just too busy boning eachother. I know you guys are obsessed with eachother WE GET IT but if your love for your spouse is so much that you overlook your own child's discomfort than you shouldn't have been parents in the first place , Period. !<

>! Eli was mourning Ava. He was divorced and overworked. But when he declined Elsa that he doesn't wants to talk to her Aiden gets offended like it's some big disrespect and breaks his door saying how can't do that. Ik Aiden is a lot of people's favourite but he was a biased parent and it was evident. Where were AidenElsa when Eli was overworking himself and taking care of Ava all on his own? If Aiden thinks that his son can handle all of that alone cause he's grown up then leave him alone when he's asking you to. When Eli had to leave a meeting they were having for project Aiden straight up goes 'leave it to grown ups' without asking Eli that why did he left in the first place when Eli had worked so hard for that project and it's Ava who tells the reason to Aiden like sir you can't have a *one minute* conversation with your son? !<

>!5 It is said that Eli's obsession with Ava began when she started to mess with his sex partners but what gave me an ick was that even while being obsessed with Ava he was still sleeping around with other girls. I know they weren't in any sort of relationship but the way Eli's obsession with Ava was shown in other books like him showing up everywhere she goes and making any guys she got involved with disappear it felt too shallow for his character. Maybe we could've got a better look into it if we were shown their uni days but we weren't. Eli was overall likeable but like the rest of MMCs in the series I did disliked him at some points. !<

>! "No woman has ever done this to me. They were all a commodity and faceless holes willing to be used."!<

>!And you were a manwhore who was eager for those holes while being obsessed with another girl 🤡!<

>!I understand that it's dark romance but referring to your previous sexual partners as holes is something that put me off that was the same problem I had with Landon. !<

>!I wouldn't have minded Eli having a sex life if at that time if he wasn't obsessed with Ava but he was. Besides what made Eli fall for Ava? It's a question that most of the RK MMCs have always answered. She starts cockblocking him after he rejects her and he's intrigued and one day he decides to blackmail her for marriage so that he can take better care of her and they get married. In between all this we never get about *why* Eli fell for her. What made him change his mind from not caring about Ava to falling for her? !<

>!It also seemed like the author didn't focus much on Eli as a character cause I genuinely wished to know more about him and his OCD/ED. All of it was sidelined when it had so much potential!<

>!6 The ending. It felt too rushed. 5 months in a ward and Ava is good to go? Just like that? Then they have kids in the epilogue. What about Ava's career? This girl got married at 21 and now she has kids. Not saying that it's a bad thing but it was mentioned that Ava really loved playing cello. She had already missed a lot of years of her career and then they go on to have kids. It could be just a me thing but there should've been more time to show them as a couple or them going out and actually spending time with eachother instead of just directly making them parents that too when the earlier years of their marriage have been so difficult. !<

>!Pheww. Well that was a long rant but I'd still say that I liked how Eli took care of Ava during her episodes and the RES chats were fun as always. Ari and Remi served in this book and I liked how we got a stalker girl instead of stalker boy. The moments between Creighton and Eli were good too and Creighton seemed to be somewhat mature here. Also, Jeremy buying Cecily an entire island as an engagement gift gave me butterflies.!<

Before you guys start downvoting HEAR ME OUT and if you disagree let's have a respectful debate in the comments. I would love to hear more opinions.

As someone who liked the bonding between the four horsemen and Levi. I was looking forward to read about their kids because in RES epilogue they were all mentioned to be the mini version of their parents but their *bonding* or the lack of it was such a let down because:

1 "We've been together since we were in nappies"

But none of these people actually feel like it. Glyndon was suicidal and she was even going to commit suicide yet nobody had an idea. Her brothers , cousins and friends all of them regularly hang out together and none of them noticed it? The same goes with Cecily. She stopped wearing dresses and Makeup and anyone barely noticed. What I hated more was that she was made fun off. Occasionally it's fine that as friends you guys tease eachother but when they repeated it again and again it got annoying.

2 "Elites are dangerously different,"

How? It was only Landon who did anything chaotic then too it wasn't *dangerously different* . He would poke heathens who couldn't care less about him and except for the mansion fire where Cecily gave him the map of mansion none of his actions made sense. How he got to know about Lia's mental state? that explanation made absolutely no sense. Apparently a guard who told Lan everything was in severe debt and Adrian didn't know about it? He doesn't trusts anyone and this guard was sent to protect Jer and Anni. We get to know that Adrian keeps an eye on Ilya even when Jeremy assured him that Ilya isn't a threat. The same Adrian didn't kept an eye on this guard because? All these years he made sure that Jeremy never gets to know about what actually happened in the past but Landon knows? Apart from Landon all other elites were boring too. Eli would occasionally appear to help Landon in his Shenanigans and follow Ava but apart from that we barely see him and we never get to know about his college life even in his book. Creighton too was barely there apart from his own book. So we are told that they are "dangerously different" but never shown.

3 Them using eachother.

Landon has known Cecily and they're childhood friends yet he doesn't thinks twice before sending her to the initiation where anything could've happened with her. If we keep this aside then too Creighton goes from calling her "silver Angel" to using her to kidnap Annika and acted like a total ungreatful bitch even when Anni was concerned about Cecy this dude went on "She doesn't knows what she needs" 🙄 . This girl stood up for him against his bullies and he even had the audacity to say that she was "sneaking out at nights" infront of everyone which clearly made her uncomfortable. In the club scene where the girls were teasing Anni they absolutely meant no harm and yet Creighton had the audacity to talk back to them. I so so wish they would've put him in his place.

4 An overall shallow friendship

Their shallow friendship was clearly shown during Creighton's shooting incident. I get it that Annika has been their friend for a few months while Creigh was their childhood friend and they didn't know the full story and saw Creighton hurt they blamed Annika but what annoyed me was that after getting to know everything none of them except for Cecily apologised to her. Not even Ava who had slapped her earlier and she was Anni's bsf. I so wish Anni would've gave them (specifically Ava a middle finger) when she came back cause they deserve it.

Heathens on the other hand despite coming from a Mafia background always stick together. I loved how they:

1 Learned sign language for Mia (ALL of them)

2 Made Glyndon and Cecily feel included like these girls were much happier once they started hanging out with the heathens group

3 Were ready to die for eachother. Examples - Niko almost dies for Jeremy and comes to search for him when the mansion was on fire. Killian got himself beaten by Nikoali because he saw how Niko was struggling. Niko was ready to throw hands with Kayden when he saw Kay and Gaz in alley.

4 None of them broke the *bro* code. Maya was clearly very interested in Jeremy but he never looked in her direction and though Jeremy wasn't interested in her he always maintained a respectful relationship with her.

5 Well distributed power balance. Among Elites it seemed like it was all about Landon and Ava. whereas in heathens everyone had an important role to play. Killian is the brains behind every mission. Niko handled all the violence. Gaz sticks to his golden boy image (until his own book). Jeremy is their leader. All of them were equally involved in everything.

I have almost read the whole Rinaverse books +vipers books (except for Thorns and Kingdom duet cause they were not my thing) and though I've my fair share of characters I dislike there are some characters who are top tier (in my opinion).

1 Cecily Knight- I can't express how much I love this girl like I related so much with her and wanted to give her lots of hugs. My girl was always there for everyone and tried her best with people but above everything I loved how she never lets Jeremy walk over her and holds him accountable for his actions.

2 Jeremy Volkov- This man 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️. He's hot af and I loved that he had his own insecurities and abandonment issues and he learns to get over them. I adored him as a kid in his parents' books and then that transition of him from Deception to LOG was just 💀. Also him and Cecily together are just 💖. His relationship with his parents was adorable despite of everything that happened in his childhood. he could hit me with a car and I'd say thank you

3 Brandon King - He's such an angel 🥹. I wanted to give him so many hugs. Him Cecy and Jer are probably the characters with most depth in LOG. His character journey felt so real and his book had me sobbing at 2 am. I was screaming like crazy when he said "You belong to me, Nikoali," Niko's lotus flower 🪷

4 Adrian Volkov - I think he's too over hated. His trilogy is Rina's best work and what made that trilogy the best apart from it's plot obviously was Adrian Volkov. He's complex af and you can see it and he always had me anticipating his next move. There aren't much characters in Dark Romance who aren't just possesive and dominant but also Intelligent. What made me love him more though was his relationship with Jeremy. They are absolutely the best father son duo in Rinaverse. Adrian helps Jeremy with his trust issues even when his own trust issues are worse. I loved how him and Jeremy are always a team.

5 Teal Van Doren - This girl was an actual badass and I liked how she was portrayed. She was one of the few RES FMCs who didn't let the MMC or anyone walk over her. I loved every interaction between her and Ronan specifically the "I might die if I don't see you"

"Then die," had me cackling.

These characters are my all time favorites. What are yours?

"Well, Jeremy called you for advice and you said , " Whatever big you're thinking of , go bigger , Jeremy. You better give Cecy a proposal worthy of her' So he bought me an entire island as an engagement gift , whisked me there on our anniversary , and asked me to marry him."

Jeremy buying Cecily an island will never stop giving me butterflies. My girl Cecy deserves the world anyways 🥹. Given how simple she is in nature I can imagine her surprise. And Jeremy being Jeremy again 😂

How I imagine this scene in my head:

(After the proposal on island)

Ces: So , where's my gift?

Jeremy (spreading his arms wide): this is your gift , lisichka

Cecy(hugging him): Aww. Ofcourse you're the best gift of my life

Jeremy (with a confused smile): I am but right now I was talking about the island

Cecy: what??

Jeremy: this island is your gift

Cecy:

Jeremy: Cecily!! (Holding her as she faints with shock)