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Ayla opened her mouth to say something else, but she closed it again, looking quite speechless. She huffed again, but I could tell her anger was slowly dissolving. She stared at me for a few silent seconds.
She sighed, an exasperated look on her face, but the softness was back in her eyes. “What are you doing, Alessio?” she said in a quiet voice.
I touched her ankle, carefully pressing into the tender flesh. “Looking at your feet. They are terribly swollen. Get on the bed. I’ll give you a massage.”
“Are you serious right now? We’re talking…”
“I know. Get on the bed, Ayla. I want your feet up and resting, and then we can continue this discussion.”
She threw her arms up in the air, but nonetheless, she got in bed and sat against the headboard. She didn’t argue with me, and that was how I knew her feet must have been aching pretty bad. Sitting opposite her, I dragged her feet into my lap.
In the recent weeks, I had developed a skill at massaging my wife’s swollen feet. They always seemed bloated, and I knew it caused Ayla pain. She wouldn’t vocalize it, but then again, I knew my Ayla.
Pressing my thumb into the sole of her foot, just behind her toes, I watched as Ayla closed her eyes and moaned in relief. At this point of her pregnancy, I wasn’t sure what she enjoyed more…the careful attention I paid to her swollen feet or the times I spent worshipping her pussy.
I flexed her delicate toes before putting more pressure and massaging up toward the inner side of her ankles. She groaned once again before opening her eyes.
Ayla narrowed her gaze at me. “You’re distracting me from the topic. If you think this will give you brownie points, then you are sadly mistaken. I’m still angry.”
“I guess I really am slacking then.” I threw her my best panty-melting smile, but she was not amused.
Great. Knowing that I couldn’t push this conversation back any more, I let out a sigh, preparing myself to reveal the truth.
The truth only I knew.
You see, I played a game of my own.
A ploy that not even Viktor knew.
In fact, Viktor was the pawn in this game of mine.
“From this conversation, I realize that you don’t trust me enough, Angel.”
Ayla tried to pull her feet from my lap, but I held on tight, keeping her where she was. I continued to rub the soles of her feet, her insteps, and the side of her ankles. “Don’t turn this on me. It’s not that I don’t trust you—”
I cut her off. “If you really trusted me, you wouldn’t question me. I have my reasons, Ayla.”
She made a frustrated sound at the back of her throat and pulled her legs hard until I had no choice but to let go. I stayed seated on the edge of the mattress and watched as Ayla went to her knees and slid closer to my side. She touched my arm, smoothing her palm over my biceps and then down until her fingers were entwined in mine.
“Then make me understand, Alessio. Why?” She asked a simple question. She scanned me up and down. Ayla looked beautifully confused. She worked her lips between her teeth, looking slightly nervous.
I squeezed her hand tighter and then let out my deepest secret.
“I sent Viktor to Russia on purpose.”
Ayla nodded, her eyebrows furled together as she tried to understand the meaning of my words. “I know that. He was sent there undercover.”
I huffed back a laugh that bubbled through my chest. Oh, my sweet Angel.
Yes. That was partially the truth. But…
“Yes. But there was another reason. I’d been doing my research before I sent him to Valentin.”
A silence hung between us. Ayla blinked several times, and her lips twisted in frustration. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I did a lot of research, had people undercover at Valentin’s estate. I found out about his wife and how badly he mistreated her.”
Ayla’s head jerked up, and her expression was a mask of shock. “You knew? All this time?”
“Yes,” I answered. “Way before Viktor even went there and found out on his own.”
“But—” She shook her head. I could see the wheels turning, her thoughts all jumbled up now.
“I sent Viktor there…because I realized that Valerie needed saving.”
Ayla’s mouth opened, her lips parted, but no words came out. Her eyebrows curled up, and her eyes narrowed on me in silence.
I could have sent anyone to spy on Valentin. It could have been Nikolay or Phoenix. I trusted these men with my lives. They were loyal to the core, no less than Viktor.
Yes, granted that Viktor was Valentin’s nephew that this was an easier ruse to play, have him act loyal to our enemy. But then again, this game could have been played in many different ways.
