Defiant. Sweet. Alluring.
A business deal gone wrong brought me to her doorstep.
She's everything I shouldn't want; everything I was against after watching my mother's obsession destroy her.
Still, I can't stop myself from craving her.
I should know...
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I sat perched on the edge of the sofa, my fingers restless as I twirled the wedding ring around my finger—over and over, as if searching for reassurance in its dazzling blood red diamond stone.
My leg bounced incessantly, the heel of my shoe tapping a steady, erratic rhythm on the floor. Every few seconds, my eyes flickered to the empty doorway, and my heart rate spiked up, knowing what was before me.
Should I just bolt and call off the entire thing?
I shook my head before the cancerous thoughts could take root, steeling my resolve. It was now or never. I'd spent the last few months lying to the people I loved, and I was exhausted.
Everyday I lived in fear of how my brothers would react when they found out I'd grown fond of the 'Russian bastard' as they famously called him.
On the other side of the coin was Aleksei. Despite his efforts to dissuade me from spilling everything to my family, I knew a part of him was relieved. He never said it out loud, but occasionally, I could see the detachment in his gaze, almost like he couldn't bring himself to fully trust me.
And I deeply understood his reservations. If he hid me from his family like I did, I'd think he was ashamed of me and had reservations about fully committing to our relationship.
I couldn't expect him to be okay with my reluctance forever.
"Someone's a ball of nervous energy."
My body jerked in response to the sudden comment, my hand flying to my chest reflexively. My eyelids fluttered rapidly as I turned toward the source of the sound. For a split second, my breath hitched, my startled expression lingering for a second longer than I'd have liked before I quickly tried to mask it with a shaky smile.
Ever the perceptive one, Enzo hitched a brow at me. "Are you off your anxiety meds again?"
"I haven't had to take those in ages." I wiped my sweaty palms on my slacks, moving to the other end of the couch to make room for him. "I'm fine. I was just merely startled."
Enzo sank into the spot I just vacated, his pursed lips saying he was unconvinced. "That was more than being 'merely startled.'"
"I'm fine, okay?"
My response came out more clipped than intended, and I immediately cursed myself for it. He wasn't going to let things go easily now.
Or so I thought. Surprisingly, he swayed the conversation in a different direction. "Ma said Niko let you visit."
"Yeah. I took pictures. Wanna see?"
"Uh-huh."
I fetched my phone from my purse, scrolling through my gallery to find the hundreds of pictures I took of the babies.
"There's not a speck of resemblance between them and Giselle." Enzo was in awe as he swiped through the endless pictures. "Niko must be mighty proud of himself. I can't even begin to wrap my head around the fact that she gave that bastard three children at once," he mumbled.
