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10
SASHA
I don’t mean for it to, but my whole body goes into a state of shock.
I know because breathing becomes a chore that I have to remind myself to do, and even then, it’s chopped off and choked up.
I know because goosebumps erupt on my skin that ignites at the proximity of his warmth. It doesn’t matter that it’s been over two months since I last saw him.
One encounter.
A few words.
His presence.
And it’s like we haven’t spent a day apart.
My stupid dead heart pulses as if it’s attempting to resurrect itself from the ashes.
I’ve dreaded this moment for weeks, the moment where I have to clash with the only man I’ve ever loved. The man I gave my heart to on a silver platter, only for him to crush it in the palm of his hand.
But I never thought I’d be shaking with emotions like I am right now.
Rage.
Betrayal.
Hate.
But more than anything—fucking disappointment clogs my throat.
I think there’s something wrong with me lately, because I have all these strong feelings that don’t allow me the peace of sleep anymore.
And it’s all because of him.
The man who’s casually standing behind me and has the fucking audacity to call me his wife.
His damn wife is Kristina, not me.
I swing around and simultaneously jump back while lifting my rifle and pointing it at him.
I expect him to point his gun back. After all, even if this is an ambush, Maksim already told him that I’m coming for his life.
Someone like Kirill doesn’t think death applies to him. He’s lived his entire life cheating it and manipulating it to his own advantage.
By feeding the Grim Reaper multiple lives, he’s managed to escape his clutches over and over again.
So when I see him just stand there, one nonchalant hand in his pocket and the other hanging at his side, I’m taken aback.
There’s no weapon or the hint that he’ll use one.
Just like his voice invaded my ear just now, his presence does something a lot worse.
Now, it does feel like I haven’t seen him in ages.
In the semi-darkness, his face looks harsher, and his jaw is more angular. A subtle gleam covers his usually emotionless eyes, shining from beneath the glasses, but his mouth is set in a neutral line.
Stubble covers his cheeks, and it adds a layer of mysterious danger to his already terrifying existence. The jacket stretches against his shoulders, but it looks like he lost some weight, and I hate that I notice that.
His gaze measures me from my feet up to my face, not bothering to pause at the weapon I’m pointing at him. I keep my glare even as a smile breaks on his lips.
Kirill isn’t the type who smiles—at least, not genuinely—so to be a witness to this version of him makes bile rise to my throat.
“It’s really you.” His voice drips with what can only be described as…awe. Disbelief, maybe.
No. Relief.
“You thought you got rid of me?” I snap, unable to control the overwhelming rage flooding my veins.
How dare he look okay after he blew my world to smithereens?
How dare he look at me like when I married him after he stood at the altar with someone else?
I didn’t expect him to be an emotional mess like I was every fucking night, but I’d at least hoped he’d be rattled a little.
Brought down a peg or two.
Something.
Anything.
I’m getting absolutely nothing.
“Too bad for you I didn’t die that day you sent people to blow up the cottage.”
His brow furrows. “What the fuck are you talking about? Why would I send someone to kill my wife?”
“So you could have a second wife.”
He laughs, the sound vaguely amused at best. “Sasha…Sasha…your problem is that you always take things too seriously and at face value.” He pulls his hand from his pocket and I tense, thinking it’s a weapon, but he lifts it up so I can see.
Something glints in the air and my lips part when I make out the ring I put on his finger during our sham wedding.
Why does he have it?
No. This is another tactic of his to destabilize me. Drive me more insane than I thought would be possible.
“You are my wife.”
I snort, feeling my expression close off until it’s too tight to even speak, but I force the words out. “If you think I’ll fall for that, then you’ve really overestimated your abilities, Kirill. What a shame. Seems your new position and life have taken away your critical thinking.”
“Something did, all right, but it’s neither my new position nor my new life.” He pauses and glares at me as if he is the wronged one. “It was your fake death. You got me there, but it won’t happen again.”
“Nothing will happen again. As I said, I’m going to kill you today. For everything you’ve done not only to me, but also to my family, I’m taking revenge.”
