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“I pawned it, okay,” she snapped, turning back toward me. “The house was going to be taken, and I needed to catch my mother up on her mortgage. There was no food, nothing. So I had to do what I had to do. It’s no
t like it was that valuable, anyway.”
I looked down at the ground, remembering how I had ordered some cheap, fake ring from an online store, thinking that it wasn’t important in a fake marriage. At the sound of her voice choking back tears, I felt completely guilty. She deserved so much better than what I had given her. At that moment, I vowed to myself that if I could convince her to give this a real try, I would buy her the biggest and most expensive ring I could possibly find. She deserved a thousand rings, and she deserved more than what I had given her to that point.
She dropped the flowers to her side in desperation and turned toward the kitchen. I followed along behind her, trying to remember all the words I had come up with to say. In the plane, they had seemed perfect, but standing in her run down flat, I couldn’t seem to make them work in my head.
I looked around at the blank walls and sparse furniture, realizing everything she had told me, everything I had found so horrible for her, was worse than she had described. She had no reason to be ashamed of what was here. It was the hand she’d been dealt, and fair or not, it had turned her into the strong woman I had come to know and love.
I could hear her mother shuffling around upstairs as we entered the kitchen. I stood in the doorway, staring at her. She looked beautiful, and I could tell she was trying to hide her belly from me. But it wasn’t like I could tell she was pregnant through her sweatshirt and yoga pants. Her hair had fallen halfway out of its bun, and I watched as she closed her eyes and pulled the blonde ringlets back away from her face. I loved this girl more than I could even imagine, but as I stood in her presence, in her life, I didn’t know if there was any chance that she would ever forgive me.
Chapter 19: Adriana
When my eyes first landed on Milos standing at my door, my heart skipped a beat, but at the sound of his possessive voice, I immediately became defensive. What did he expect? He had done everything he possibly could to run me off. And when I had, he acted surprised that I wouldn’t still be wearing his ring.
I was terrified he was standing in my kitchen with the intention of dragging me back to the castle to finish out my year contract in the sham of a marriage I had originally agreed to. Just the thought of going back there when I had fallen in love with him, knowing I would be subjected to his cruelty and heartbreaking behavior, was absolutely terrifying. I couldn’t take another ten months of loving him and then hating him, over and over. Not to mention it would be kind of difficult to hide a baby for that long.
I needed to play it cool like I had no fears, no emotions, and no thoughts about him. I needed to hide the fact that I was pregnant and make sure I didn’t get dragged back to the palace. My heart ached at the thought of watching him drool all over other women in the tabloids. I moved behind the counter to hide any sign of a slightly swollen belly. I wasn’t far enough along, but I felt like you could already tell. He stepped forward and stood in front of me. I watched as his eyes went from mine and down to my belly. Butterflies were shooting through my chest, and my breath was heavy.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he shifted his gaze to his own clutched hands. “I have made a mess of something that could have been beautiful. Now, I am faced with losing you and our unborn child.”
“What?” I said, stepping back. “How did you know?”
“Zlata,” he said, shaking his head. “I was furious that she checked into you, but at the same time, it brought me to my senses.”
“That bitch,” I said with clenched teeth. “She was such a miserable human being.”
“I’m a miserable human being,” he replied. “I can’t get you off my mind.”
“You don’t have to pull this little stunt and make yourself sound all sad,” I said, sighing. “I signed a contract, but I don’t want to be hurt anymore. I can’t just keep letting you play me for a fool. I have someone else to think about now. In reality, Milos, you just need to forget about me and leave. Make up whatever story you need to get yourself out of this mess.”
I looked down at my shaking hands. I couldn’t look at him for another minute without collapsing into his arms for comfort. I needed to be strong. He hadn’t shown any sincerity. I moved to walk away, and he grabbed my arm and spun me toward him. I watched as he fell to his knees, tears tugging at the corner of his eyes. I stepped back in shock, not knowing what to do or say.
“Please Adriana, I can’t live without you,” he said pleadingly. “After you left, I fell apart, even worse than before. I locked myself away in my room and just ran everything through my head over and over again. I realized how much I truly loved you, how badly I had treated you, and how perfect you are for me and my kingdom. I realized that you would be the most amazing queen, the most amazing mother, and the most amazing wife that I could ever imagine. Please marry me, or stay married to me. Let me love you and worship you forever. I’m begging you.”
I stood there, and he grasped my hands, waiting patiently for my response. I didn’t know what to do, and I stood frozen in front of him. Could I truly believe that he had changed? Would I get back to the palace and find that he quickly forgets me all over again? I could tell his words were sincere, but I didn’t know if they were strong enough for him to give up that life he once clung to so tightly. At that moment, I knew I loved him too much to not give it a shot. The worst that could happen was I ended up back here in the same position as before, with the same broken heart. I breathed deeply and grasped his hands in mine.
“I will,” she said. “But there is one condition. We are going to draft a real marriage contract, and if you break the rules, there will be heavy penalties. I will not live a life cast in the shadows and neither will this child.”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “We will do it as soon as we return.”
His reaction was so quick that I knew he meant every word that he was saying. He stood from the floor and pulled me close, embracing me with everything he had in his body. The warmth of his arms covered me, and I relaxed into him, feeling like I was once again at home. He pressed his lips against mine, sweetly at first, but then heavier. I felt his wants, needs, and love pulsing through his veins, and I pulled back and laughed at the passion between us.
“Grab your mother,” he said, adjusting himself. “I’m going to take you two to a hotel.”
“Just make sure Mother’s room doesn’t have a mini bar,” I said, only partly joking.
Milos helped me bring my mother downstairs and get her situated before we left for the hotel. He had called ahead and booked two suites, one right across the hall from the other. To say my mother was slightly confused was an understatement, but I explained the gist of what was going on. She seemed to snap out of her haze very quickly. I ran her a bath in the large tub and ordered a pot of coffee and dinner for her in her room. She didn’t even ask for any alcohol, which made me pretty proud of her.
When I finally got into our suite, the lights were dimmed and Milos was standing in the doorway of the bedroom with a smile plastered on his face. He raced across the room, scooped me into his arms, and pressed his lips strongly against mine. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the passion I could muster. He raised up, leaving me dangling around his neck, and walked toward the bedroom.
He set me down and lifted my sweatshirt over my head. He kissed the side of my neck and my shoulders as he pulled my pants down and lifted me up onto the bed. I kneeled at the edge as I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it from his broad, strong shoulders. He leaned down and kissed my mouth softly as my fingers fiddled with his belt and buttons.
As his pants fell to the ground, his hard cock bulged under his black boxer briefs. At that moment, all the pain drifted away, and I could think of nothing more than feeling him inside of me, filling me to the brim. He reached around and unclasped my bra, letting my breasts spill out, my nipples hard and ready. I scooted back on the soft bed and laid my head back on the pillow. He crawled toward me, stopping and pulling my panties from my body. H
e sat up and stared down at me as if he was scanning every inch of my body with his eyes. He rubbed his hands down between my breasts, across my belly, and hovered right above my wetness.
“God, I missed you,” he whispered before lowering his head and spreading my legs. “I want to taste every part of you.”
