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Nina gave me a dry laugh. She was careful not to jolt Maila. “Ayla, I fucked your husband and you want me to be your bridesmaid. You know that makes no sense, right? We might be friends, but we aren’t that close.”
I steeled my features against her words.
Shrugging, I gave her a smile. “You’re right, but I care for you. Don’t try to act cold with me, Nina. I can see past that fake excuse. You care, and you want to be friends, although you try to hide it. We all need friends, Nina. You mean a lot to me. Like Maddie and Evaline. So you need to accept this and stop fighting it.”
The words were true, and for weeks, I had been desperate to say them.
Nina looked at me silently before taking a deep breath. She smiled, and for the first time, her genuine smile was directed toward me. “I remember a time when you used to hate me.”
I smiled too. “You hated me too,” I replied drily.
Nina shook her head, looking down at Maila on her lap. “Hate is a strong word, Ayla. I didn’t hate you. Maybe the word you’re looking for is jealous.”
My eyes widened at her choice of word. “Jealous? Of me? Why?”
Nina lost her smile and shrugged. “You came and everything changed. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how all of a sudden Alessio went from being this cold person to loving you, while I had been with him for ten years.”
Before I could say anything, she continued in the same monotone voice. “I was fifteen when I met Alessio. Fifteen when he found me in that dark alley, beaten up and bleeding. He saved me. I looked up to him. You know what happened two weeks later? He brought me to the basement, pushed me forward, and handed me a knife. I realized the man strapped to the chair in front of me was the same man who tortured me. I didn’t ask Alessio any questions. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the man in front of me. I was fifteen when I was introduced to this life and realized this was what I needed. What I wanted.”
Her cold stare pierced mine, and I almost shivered. “I took my revenge that night. I killed him in cold blood while Alessio stood behind me. He was proud of me. For killing a man. Alessio is the devil in disguise, Ayla. He is heartless and ruthless. You have absolutely no idea. And I was his equal.”
My heart stuttered, and I looked down. My mind tried to wrap about the story she was telling me. I knew who Alessio was…but Nina, that was a whole other story.
“I still am and always will be,” she continued. I looked up to see a small smirk on her face.
“But only on the field.” Her words were left hanging as she brought her hand up and touched a finger to my chest.
“Because you have his heart. I won’t ever have that. Thing is, I don’t want it either. I don’t feel. I don’t care about anything. I like it this way. Heartless and cold. But then you came along and boom, everyone started feeling. Alessio cared. Maybe I was jealous. I was with him for so long and he never cared, but you…you came and wrapped yourself around him.”
I swallowed hard against the ball of emotion. “He cares. You are part of this family. He cares for everyone, Nina. Including you.”
Nina nodded and gave me another smile. “I know. So no, I didn’t hate you. I just didn’t understand why everything was changing so fast. But now I do. We don’t know the definition of love, Ayla. We were not bred to love and be loved. You changed that.”
“You don’t hold any hard feelings against me?” I asked quietly.
Nina chuckled. “No. You were right. Alessio and I only had sex. That’s it. We don’t have any feelings for each other. Never did.”
I didn’t say anything. My mind was still reeling from everything Nina had told me. Was I jealous that Nina had him before me? Yes, I was, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Alessio chose me.
“I’ll be your bridesmaid.” Nina’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You will?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
She nodded, her gaze going to Maila, who was slowly waking up. Nina handed my daughter to me, and I curled her small body against my chest.
“I don’t really have a choice now, do I? You already decided we were friends,” she muttered.
Small steps. Baby steps. But we were all slowly finally coming together.
Chapter 38
Three weeks later
Alessio dragged me close to him until I was practically lying on top of him. My arms went around his waist as I buried my face into his neck. One leg was thrown over his hips as his hand burned on my thigh with its possessive hold.
