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“You’ve given me the two greatest gifts of my entire life,” he murmurs, touching her tiny head with the tuft of black hair, just like his. “Your love, lass, and my daughter. A dream, in every single way.”
He leans down, kissing me on the forehead, and then Aisling, as she nestles into my chest. “You are my everything, Isabella Flanagan. And you have given me everything in return.Caithidh mi mo bheatha gu lèir gad ghràdh, mo chride.”
I will spend all my life loving you, my heart.
I look up at him, remembering the few words he’d taught me, during long nights in front of the fireplace in our library. “Agus mis thu, mo chride. Mi corazon.”
And I you, my heart.
My heart.
I hope you loved Niall and Isabella’s story every bit as much as I loved writing it! If you’re excited for what comes next, keep reading for an exclusive look at the first book in Max and Sasha’s trilogy,Forbidden Obsession get it here!
25
SASHA
IT’S BEEN A YEAR.
Today?
Well—I don’t know the exact date. It’s not like—burned into my brain. I know some people think it should be, but it isn’t. I just know it was summer. The warehouse where they kept us was climate-controlled, and we had plenty of water—we were valuable, so it’s not like we were mistreated. But it was still hot. All of us were exhausted from the flight over.
And you were afraid?
Of course. We’ve talked about it before.
I just think that today, of all days, it might be good to revaluate your feelings about what happened. We talked a few months ago about you trying to go on a date, to develop a more normal relationship with men. One that isn’t violent. Your employer—
Has turned his life around. He’s a good man. He’s changed. What happened to me wasn’t his fault.
Well, in a way—
It wasn’t.
Alright. Well, about the date. Have you tried—
I don’t have any interest.
Is this because of the man you told me about? The priest?
Former priest.
Well yes, but—he hasn’t shown any romantic interest in you, has he? And you don’t believe he will. So maybe it’s time—
Not today. Not when it’s only just been a year.
My conversation with my therapist turns over and over in my head as I leave the tall building in downtown Manhattan, heading out into the warm summer air. I suck in a lungful of it as I leave, even though it’s heavily perfumed with sweaty bodies and alley trash and roasting hot dogs and other street food, because I always prefer that over the clinical, air-conditioned smell of offices.
I know what my therapist would say aboutthat. She’d say that a multi-hour flight on a cargo plane from Russia to New York, stuffed with other terrified crying women, followed by days kept in a warehouse waiting for my sale to an unknown man, had made me leery of confined spaces. She’d say that my desire to be outside more often than not, despite the fact that I was literally picked up on the street, comes from those days of confinement that led up to the one night that changed my life forever.
Heavy, meaty hands. Unlocking the door, reaching for me. Promising me things. Freedom. I knew he couldn’t give it to me, but it didn’t matter. He was only pretending to bargain with me. He was going to have what he wanted regardless.
Sometimes I think the worst part of it isn’t just that my only experience with a man, myfirst time, was forced, but that it was with someone so completely and utterly stupid. A man who thought, despite the fact that he was nothing, that he could steal from a man like Viktor Andreyev.
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jeans, picking up my pace as I walk down the street towards my favorite coffee shop. Caterina insists that I take the whole day off on the days that I have my therapy appointments—with one of the most well-recommended in New York, of course, maybe even the whole country, all paid for by Viktor. The man who was once my captor, and now my employer.
My therapist likes to talk a lot of shit about Viktor, but she’s more than happy to take his money.
