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And then I realize it.
You bastard.
Her eyes shine, but no tears fall. Her anger burns them away. No one could feel that much without having been in love. She almost certainly still loves him.
Ever since I was young, falling in love has been the most terrifying thing in the world to me. Because to fall in love means to risk losing it. Love always fills me with an overwhelming sense of dread, but I fall anyway.
But tonight? Guilt and dread and anger mix together in my stomach as I stare at the two of them in their silent standoff.
Because Andrei has made me become the one thing I hate more than anything else in this world, the one thing that hurt me the most, the one thing that I’ve always resolved to never become:
He made me the other woman.
Chapter 34
Andrei
“Stay away from her, Talia,” I warn her.
“Can’t she speak for herself?” Talia laughs, pacing in a tight circle in front of me. “No, look at her. She’s shaking. Not what I expected of my fill-in, Andrushka.”
Talia feels no shame for her deranged actions. Her father had to use a piece of paper to bind me to his mad daughter. This woman can never claim my heart when she doesn’t have one.
“I’m warning you, Talia.” I relax my jaw slightly. “Don’t come near her again. She has nothing to do with what happened between us.”
“She hasnothingto do?” Talia shrieks. “You placed a crown upon her head! The crown that belonged to me! My life has become a never-ending nightmare of humiliation since you broke off our engagement. And for what?” She stops pacing to look Paige up and down. “Is she worth it? How much did this whore cost you, Andrushka?”
“She’s mywife,” I answer calmly, though my fists are tightly clenched. “She is a Barinov now. And you will show her the respect she deserves.”
“Respect?” Talia’s cold eyes are filled with endless hate as she steps toward me. “Just because she can spread her legs doesn’t mean she deserves respect. Can she even handle being a pakhan’s wife?” Talia scoffs. “Look at her. Cowering behind you and ready to run.”
My gaze stays on Talia, but I sense Paige’s fear without looking in her direction. Fear gives off a signal, almost a scent. Like a trigger, it makes me crueler. I want to smash fear into the ground under my heel. I can practically hear Vasily’s ghost whispering in my ear: weakness deserves no sympathy.
But at the same time, I want to pull Paige into my arms and tell her I’ll never be so careless with her life again. I want to feel her soft hair against my chin and her breasts pressing into my chest. I want to stop playing games, even if I still have questions about her father.
No woman has ever made me feel like this.
“You must care about her, don’t you?” Talia asks, breaking the silence.
“I don’t have to answer your prying questions,” I reply as I scan the table for anything Talia might use as a weapon. “We never belonged together, and nothing will convince me otherwise.”
The harshness of Talia’s laughter makes my skin crawl, tightening the back of my neck. Talia has lost it, and it was foolish to think she wouldn’t have gone mad with rage after I rejected her. I should call for the guard, but it will show weakness.
I have to defend Paige alone. I must.
“Does she know about all the fucked-up shit you’re caught up in? Does she know where your money comes from? The things that you’ve done?” Talia glances behind my shoulder and sneers in triumph. “Nothing is sacred to the Barinovs. And they have a price for everything. I wonder what your price is, whore.”
“Paige has nothing to do with the business.”
“Did you lie to her and talk about love?” Talia folds her arms. “No, you wouldn’t have. Because you have no idea what love is. You’d have to have a heart to feel love.”
My hands shake, but I refuse to strike Talia. She wants to goad me into action. She wants to prove to Paige that I’m a heartless monster who doesn’t give a shit about hurting people.
“You set her up with this farce of a wedding, didn’t you?” Talia’s voice lifts. “You didn’t expect her to survive, so you didn’t have to feel guilty when she’s dead!”
Talia throws back her head in triumph when I don’t respond. “You’ll dump her too, like me, when she’s no longer useful. So why wait, Andrushka?”
Talia flings her body toward me. I grab her wrists and lift her hands high above her head. She doesn’t have a weapon, so I let her go. But she doesn’t give up and grabs for me again, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as her lips struggle to meet mine.
