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“You’re leaving?” she calls after me, voice rising. “Just like that?” She follows me into the hallway. “Is this what our marriage is going to be? You coming and going whenever it suits you?”

I turn, the words leaving my mouth colder than I intend. “I don’t owe you an explanation for my movements.”

The moment I say it, something twists in my chest. I hate the way it sounds. But maybe this is necessary. Maybe if I’m harsh enough, she’ll stop looking at me with softness. We don't have to be too intimate.

She doesn’t back down. “I don’t know what you think a marriage is, but a marriage is a partnership. I don’t care that you’re the Pakhan of the Bratva. You’re still my husband. The least you can give me is the courtesy of telling me where you are, even if it’s just a phone call. Don’t treat me like some mistress you only see when it’s convenient. I’m not a woman you can fuck and then disappear from whenever you feel like it.”

I’m already at the top of the staircase when her words hit. I keep walking.

"I didn't have high expectations for our marriage, but that doesn't mean I can accept a husband who doesn't care about me!"

Then I hear the sharp intake of her breath behind me. I turn just in time to see her miss a step in her haste. I move before I can think, my arms close around her, catching her hard against my chest before she can fall.

“You need to be more careful,” I growl, still holding her tightly against me. “Watch where you’re going.”

She tries to twist out of my arms. “Don’t pretend like you care about me now.”

I don’t let go. Before she can argue further, I scoop her up into my arms.

“Put me down.”

I carry her back into the bedroom and set her on her feet, keeping my hands on her waist so she doesn’t pull away. “You could have fallen down those stairs. You need to be more careful.”

My voice hardens. “And I was told you haven’t been eating. That stops now. You need to eat.”

She lets out an exaggerated laugh. “Oh, now you care about my well-being? How convenient. Maybe if you’d actually been around, I would have been eating.”

The words hit harder than they should.

The tension between us is charged. Everything I’ve been trying to keep locked down for the past two days is cracking open.

I can’t take it anymore. “Fuck it,” I mutter under my breath.

Then I grab her face with both hands and crush my mouth against hers.

Chapter 12

Aurora

When I first walked in and saw that dead, hollow look in Roman’s eyes, for a second I was scared for him, scared that something was seriously wrong.

But the moment he starts talking, cold and distant, like the past two days of complete silence never happened, the worry turns into anger.

He isn’t even sorry. He acts like disappearing on his new wife is completely normal. Then he has the audacity to tell me I need to eat and rest, as if he suddenly cares about my well-being.

And now he’s kissing me. My brain is screaming at me to push him away. I’m still furious. We need to talk about this. We need to address the fact that he vanished without a word.

But my body refuses to listen. The harder I try to pull back, the deeper the kiss seems to go. His mouth is hot, demanding, and something inside me answers it even while I’m still angry.

I finally manage to shove at his chest. He only holds me tighter, one arm locked around my waist, the other gripping the back of my neck so I can’t escape.

I’m fighting him now, twisting against his hold, but he doesn’t let go. He just keeps kissing me, deep, relentless, like he’s trying to silence every argument I still have left.

He groans against my lips. “Why are you fighting this? Isn’t this what you want?”

I pull back just enough to glare at him. Before I can say a word, he cuts me off.

“Don’t even try to deny it. I know you want this.”