Back? Is that supposed to mean something to me? I laugh, the sound mocking even to my own ears.
I turn back to face him. “Your promises mean nothing. I stopped waiting for you to come back years ago, Andres.” He walked away from me. It was a conscious choice, and his sudden appearance after the fact changes nothing about my feelings toward him. “I am not the same naive girl I was before.” I won’t forget how he abandoned me. How I gave him everything. Years of friendship. All my secrets. Hell, the boy he was back then even had my heart. And what did he do with it? He threw it away.
So, fuck him.
He’s back?
I. Don’t. Care.
“Besides, you’re a little late.” I wave the three carat solitaire on my ring finger in front of his face.
Something dangerous flashes in his eyes before he reigns in his temper. His eyes flick toward Maxim and I can all but hear the thoughts in his head.
He nods to one of his men who hands him back his gun. I hear the distinct click of the hammer being pulled back and watch as he takes aim.
My eyes widen. He won’t shoot Maxim. Not here in a crowded club. He can’t.
I look into Andres’s eyes and see nothing but grim determination staring back at me.
Okay, so he might.
The corners of his mouth quirk as though he’s reading my mind, too.
Dare me,his gaze says.
Okay, so he will shoot Maxim.
Why do I bother lying to myself?
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I consider my options here.
If Andres shoots Maxim, it solves a lot of my problems. But it will create new ones too. Maxim is the light at the end of my tunnel. Six months. I only have to deal with him for six more months before I’m free.
With him out of the equation, I’ll be right back to square one.
Papá will find someone else to sell me off to, and I’ll have to go through this whole merry-go-round all over again. And who knows how long that will take or what repercussions will result from Maxim’s death? What if the Sidorov’s blame me? This could incite a war.
No, thank you. Better to be with the devil you know than the devil you don’t.
Maxim makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat, and I realize I should say something right about now. He is my fiancé after all, even if he is one I only begrudgingly want to keep.
Drawing my gaze, Maxim gives me a pleading look.
Urgh. Fine.
Taking a deep breath, I exhale a long-suffering sigh, drawing Andres’s attention back toward me.
“What do you want?” I ask, removing any hostility from my voice.
“Show me how much you missed me. Maybe then I’ll tell you about the plans I have for you and I.”
I snort. “I can’t show you something that does not exist.”
His eyes narrow. “We’ve never lied to each other.”
Bullshit. Every promise he ever made to me was a lie.
“I understand I’ve hurt you. It was not my intention.”
