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“Your wife?”
He nods. I won’t pretend that I don’t feel a spike of jealousy.
“Bellamy’s mother. That picture is from maybe a year before she died.”
“How…?” I frown. I shake my head. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”
My thoughts flicker to the awful stories I was told by my uncle and Pavel that Micheal killed his own wife. I look at this man, and I know there’s no way that’s possible.
His jaw tightens. “How have you heard she died?”
I blush. “I-I haven’t…”
He sighs. “Katrina, it won’t be the first time I’ve heard secondhand about your uncle’s bullshit. He likes to tell a different version, doesn’t he?”
“I’m not sure what…”
“He told you I killed her, didn’t he?”
I suck on my lip. Slowly, I nod. “He did.”
Micheal grunts. He shakes his head. “And what do you think?”
I blush. “I-I can’t imagine anyone doing that.”
“Do you imagine I’m capable of that?”
“No,” I say truthfully, without hesitation.
He smiles sadly. “Drugs killed her. Heroin.” He scowls. “Your uncle’s advisor…” Darkness clouds his eyes. “Back then, Pavel was a low-level dealer for your uncle. He’s the one that kept selling to her.”
My jaw drops. I feel sick. But my heart also breaks for Micheal. I may be jealous of this woman he had a life with before me. But hearing the truth of what happened is awful.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
He nods. “I went to kill Pavel, actually. But your uncle had already promoted him up through the ranks. It would have caused a war back then.”
I nod. I turn to look at the cold looking woman. “Did you love her?”
“Katrina…”
“I’m just asking,” I shrug.
Micheal sighs. “I may have loved the idea of her more than her, if that makes sense to you. Looking back, I don’t know what I thought or felt.” He smiles at me. “I love the daughter she gave me, though.”
I smile. He moves against me and wraps me in his arms.
“Does that settle the bullshit about me being a wife killer?”
I groan. I put my head against his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t believe it, I just…”
“You can ask me anything, about anything, Katrina,” he growls softly. “I’m open to you. You’ve…” he shakes his head. “You’ve stripped the armor from me.”
I look up. He leans down, and I close the distance to his lips with mine. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know what twists of fate happened to bring me into the arms of the mystery man I’ve loved for years. But now that I’m in them, I never want to not be.
I want to tell him that I love him. But then weight of the secret I’m carrying is like poison dripping into the well. I want so badly to tell him about Pavel, and that he might be in danger. But I’m scared of what happens if Pavel finds out. Idoknow what he’s capable of.
For now, I let myself sink into Micheal’s arms. I lose myself in his kiss. For now, that’s all I need.
