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Just like Andrei, these people will praise me for my brutality toward my family.
Could Andrei ever escape what was fated to happen?
Could I?
Chapter 28
Paige
I don’t wait for the morning or for Emma to saycome in.
I unlock the door and enter her room. The couture dress is balled up and thrown on the floor while Emma lies on her bed in her old clothes that she took from Dad’s house. Her earbuds are in, and she ignores me as I pace alongside her bed. Her eyes stay trained on the laptop screen as if there’s actually something absorbing on streaming. I sit down on the bed near her and close the screen.
“What do you want?” she asks crossly.
I sit up straight. “I want to tell you that I’m sorry for slapping you.”
“Is that it?” Emma asks, sitting up and crossing her legs.
I watch my tone. “Yes, I’m sorry I slapped you, but we couldn’t risk it last night.”
She rolls her eyes and replies, “Of course,Paige Geraldovna.”
I look away and can’t think of what to say.
“They don’t care, do they?” She shakes her head in defeat. “I’m still on the auction block, aren’t I?”
“Emma, it’s not like that.” I look at her earnestly. “You’ll be able to choose.”
“And if I choose none of them?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears. “How do I know that a choice hasn’t already been made for me?”
“Emma, we’ll never be what we were before,” I reply gently. “We will always be associated with these people. Money and guns aren’t going to be what protects us. It’snames.If you were to marry someone like Stefan, you would be able to have a life and be protected.”
“Andrei could’ve waited.” She sighs, wiping the tears away. “But now? Stefan thought Iknewabout this. That’s what really hurts. You made another decision about my life without asking me first. Just like you did with Viktor. When will I get a life of my own?”
We don’t look at one another as we think of everything the other one has done to cause pain. But Emma’s never really hurt me, and I’ve done what I could to protect her, but maybe I can’t protect her anymore. I brush my hand through her dark, thick hair and remember when a Band-Aid was all I needed to make the hurt go away.
Emma gently pushes my hand off. “Paige, you have to decide what you are. Are you my sister or Andrei’s wife?”
The anger wells up inside me as I’m forced to choose again, but it’s not Emma’s fault that she’s found my weak spot. I want to receive what I’ve given on my own terms, but it’s never been that way. Love has always felt conditional. Not only does Andrei have his terms, but I have mine too.
“I’m guilty of wanting more, Emma, but you are too,” I reply without answering her question. “Look around at everything all over this room. You gladly take it, but you don’t seem to grasp that there’s a price attached.”
She furrows her brow, and I feel guilty for making her feel like a hypocrite.
“So much for no more secrets,” she says softly.
“We have to find a way to live with the Bratva.” I soften my tone to deliver the hard blow. “We don’t have a life without them.”
She doesn’t respond and turns away. Our conversation is over.
As I walk away, I can hear Paige Reyes screaming in my head to turn around and apologize for my cruelty.
But I feel Paige Barinov’s fingers wrap around her neck and squeeze until the screaming stops.
Chapter 29
Andrei
