Page 266 of Vexatious Queen

She looked at me with a weight that came only from surviving too much.

“Because mercy is the only thing that separates us from the men who raised us. A lesson that has taken me a long time to learn and almost cost me everything.”

She locked eyes with me, and I felt it. The shift. We understood each other.

“Ren believes in others, in love, in a better world which includes compassion. If she didn’t, I don’t think you would be sitting here right now. If you don’t learn how to connect with her on these core personality traits, you will lose her. Maybe not this time, but you will, and then you will be left with nothing but regret and a lot of time to think. That is a combination you never want to suffer. It slowly eats you from the inside out.”

Yuliana turned to walk away.

“Mrs. Mikhailov?” She looked over her shoulder. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

“Call me Yuli,” she said with a smile and left.

The kitchen felt heavier after she was gone.

I stared into my mug, the marshmallows melted into nothing, and I realized something I hadn’t wanted to admit.

Loving Ren wasn’t just about keeping her safe.

It was about becoming the kind of man who deserved the future she envisioned.

And for the first time since Sabastian’s arrest, I wasn’t sure I knew how to be that person.

MARCH 15 – SUNDAY 11:00 PM

Edmundo

There was a soft knock at the office door, and I looked up to see Ana standing there. She smiled, and my heart stopped. I waved her in, watching her, as I listened to Clive talk about the new fashion house that he wanted to bring on board under the Genovese umbrella.

Back-to-back meetings all day had kept me holed up in here. I hadn’t left other than for dinner, which had been…unusual. I was still struggling with the idea that any of this was real, and Lilya seemed to be having the same issue. I caught her staring at her mother more than once, like she might wake up at any moment to find it was all a dream.

Ana stalked the room, her movements slow and deliberate as she came around my desk to stand behind my chair. She was like a guardian angel and a sexy devil at the same time. I sucked in a deep breath as her hands touched my shoulders and slid down my chest.

Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on the call, but Ana made it very difficult. Not that I minded.

“Yes, I agree. We must think about the changing industry and a younger demographic. I browsed the designs. They are certainly edgy, and exactly what we’ve been looking for,” I said, smirking as Ana tugged at my tie, loosening it.

My heart pounded wildly, like it always had from her touch.

“Yes, you have my permission to make an offer. Be sure to hire a team that focuses on social media and influencers. To promote the brand properly, we will need to use the marketing pathways that are trending,” I said, biting my lip as Ana kissed my neck while her hand toyed with the buttons on my shirt.

The first button popped free, then a second, and then her hand slipped inside.

“I want my husband,” she whispered in my ear.

“Listen, Clive…do me a favor, put it all into a proposal for me to look over. I have another call to take and need to go. Yes, that works, thank you.”

Hanging up, I tossed my phone on the desk and grabbed Ana’s arm, drawing her around until she was sitting on my lap. I cupped her cheek.

“You work crazy hours, my love,” Ana said, and a ghost of a smile crossed my face.

“It used to be what kept me going. It will take a bit of time to adjust to having someone waiting for me to finish,” I said. “This feels like a dream. I still can’t believe you’re actually here.”

I kissed her, unable to wait another second. We’d talked, argued, and made love, repeating the cycle all week. The one thing that never wavered was how much we loved each other and how much we wanted this to work.

“Believe it, I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’m going to be here so much that you’re going to get sick of me,” she teased, but I could see the hint of sadness in her eyes.

“What’s wrong? Are you still thinking about Sabastian?”