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“Of course, she didn’t. She had no idea what kind of monster you really were.”
“I wasn’t always like this,” he admits.
“So, I’ll ask again, what changed?” I move over to the balcony, opening the doors and taking in the cool evening air.
“I got in too deep. I listened to Maxim and Lev. I thought being bigger was what I needed. And then I lost her, and everything fell apart. And I don’t mean when she died. That was the final nail in the coffin, but I’d lost her months before that, and I couldn’t stand her being so cold and distant. It was like I couldn’t breathe when we were off balance.”
“Well, this is who you are now, so you have to live with it.”
“You don’t believe people can change?” he asks.
“No,” I say firmly.
“So, you’re still a cheating, lying whore?”
I gasp. “No.”
“Would your ex agree, if he was still alive?”
“I fucked up. It was a mistake, and I apologised over and over.”
“And now, if you met someone, married, settled down, you can honestly say it would never happen again?” he asks.
“I’ve learned my lesson.”
“And so have I,” he says, sounding satisfied.
“It’s not the same thing,” I screech. “You steal women and sell them as sex slaves. I cheated. People do that all the time.”
“It doesn’t matter how we got here, Grace. The fact is, we both did shit things that hurt the one person we loved. And it ultimately led to their death. We both have blood on our hands, you just choose to see it differently.”
I disconnect the call. I am nothing like him, and I resent him comparing us.
IVAN
I check myself one last time in the mirror. Alek hands me the bouquet of flowers and bottle of non-alcohol Champagne. “I hope it goes well,” he tells me, and I nod, heading for the door.
So far, I’ve kept my distance from Grace, apart from the night in the bar a week ago. I’ve been patient. Now, I need to show her I’m serious about us.
I take the elevator to the next floor and head to her room, knocking once. She pulls the door open without looking up, and I take a second to appreciate her in a T-shirt that sits just below her bum and her hair tied up into a messy pile on her head.
She’s got her nose buried in a book. “Thanks,” she mutters, and I frown. When I don’t move, she glances up from the book and her mouth falls open. “Ivan,” she whispers.
“We’ve spent too long apart,” I say. “It’s time we talked.”
She frowns before closing the door in my face. I stand for a second, unsure of what to do. This hasn’t happened to me before. “Grace, open the door,” I say firmly.
“How dare you just turn up like this? Who the fuck are you to decide when we should talk?”
“We can’t go on like this, talking over the phone. We’re in the same damn hotel. It’s ridiculous.”
“I agree,” she snaps, “so go home. Leave me alone.”
“That’s not going to happen.” I’m irritated by her stubbornness. Running a hand through my hair, I take a calming breath. “Please, Grace. Let’s just talk.”
“I don’t trust you,” she says. “You might drag me out of here.”
I sigh heavily. “If I was going to do that, don’t you think I would have by now?”
