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“Did you have a good day?” I ask when she finally looks up from the book in her hand.
“Mhhh.” She nods her head and closes the book.
She won’t even look at me, let alone talk.
“Let’s go to dinner, I want to talk to you about something.”
She gets up from the windowsill and lays her book face down as if she is going to come back to read it later, walking over to me, she stops right in front of me.
Her eyes are lowered, cast down at my chest. I know she is doing this because she’s hurt, but two days of this behavior is all she is going to get. I’ve had enough. My guilt is being drowned out by my ever-rising anger, and her dismissiveness is not helping. I want my wife back, hurt feelings, or not.
“Look at me,” I order, but she shakes her head in defiance like a small child refusing to follow directions.
Grabbing her by the chin, I force her head upward, so she has no other option but to face me. She glares at me like she is about to lash out, maybe scratch me again, but as I wait to give her a chance to do so, she doesn’t make a move.
“Enough of your pouting. I don’t like how you’ve been acting lately.”
“Really?” She scoffs and crosses her dainty arms over her chest. “Does me not loving you not go along with your revenge plan? Poor you…” She patronizes, and even though I admire her bravery, I will not stand for it. I don’t let my men or anyone talk to me like that. I will not let my wife do so either.
“Your behavior is unacceptable,” I snap, tightening my grip on her chin. “I’ve already told you things have changed. It’s time for you to remember your place… which is by my side as my wife. Now, let’s have dinner on the terrace, so we can talk some more.”
She nods her head as much as she can while still in my grip, and I release her. Taking her hand, I start our descent down the stairs. She doesn’t hold onto me in return, refusing to wrap her fingers around mine. Her slender hand just lies flaccid in my larger one.
I feel like a volcano that is ready to erupt. She is my wife, and yet, she acts as if she is disgusted by my very presence.
We walk in silence, and I use that time to let what I’m planning to say marinate in my head. I know I’m taking a leap of faith here, but if that’s what it takes to keep her by my side and happy, I’m willing to do it… ready to say the words I haven’t since I was a little boy.
Arriving on the terrace, I pull out a chair, and Elena sits down in it almost immediately. An image of Elena in her wedding dress flashes before my eyes as I look over at the spot where our wedding arch stood only a few days ago. I wish I could go back to that day.
“What is it you want to talk about?” Elena asks, her cold demeanor cracking slightly as I hear a touch of defeat in her voice.
“Elena, you are my wife because I want you to be. I didn’t lie to you, not really. When I saw you at the funeral, I knew the instant I laid eyes on you that I had to have you. Yes, I told myself that it was for revenge, and maybe that was part of it, but it wasn’t the sole reason. And now, revenge has nothing to do with me wanting you. I want you because of you. Because you’re the most important thing to me.”
“If that was true, then you wouldn’t still want to kill my father.”
“And I wouldn’t if he wasn’t actively trying to kill me and take you from me. What do you think would happen to you if I was gone? There are others, far worse than I. He sold you to me. I imagine he would sell you to someone else if I were gone. Someone like Lev.”
Just like that, the mask of anger and defiance Elena had carefully placed over her face slips away. Leaving behind nothing but acidic fear and grief.
“I don’t want you to die,” she admits, and the dread I’ve felt since that phone call finally starts to lessen. “I don’t want anyone to die.”
“You are my wife, and I will protect you at any cost. Even if that means doing something you don’t like. I will never stop making sure you are safe, and as long as your father is out there, you are not safe. He doesn’t care about you. What about when we have children? Do you think he is going to stop trying to come after me?”
