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“Meant for you,” Gunsyn sneers. “How do you know he wasn’t trying to pass that knife to her?”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, she ran away from him.”
She can’t. She can’t possibly be in it to betray me. To kill me!
Gunsyn watches me with a taunting grin, folding his arms over his chest. “So the bitch can act. Have you questioned her about that man? Or were you too busy playing house with her?”
“Enough!” I yell, unable to stand their satisfaction any longer.
“Very well.” Alexander’s snake-like expression is dripping with contempt. “I’m glad we finally had a chance to talk about this, my pakhan.”
I watch the brigadiers’ faces, searching for any hint of deception. There’s a twisted delight in their eyes, having delivered this terrible news.
“The engagement wasn’t my idea!” I slam my fist on the desk, ignoring the pain. “The three of you suggested it.”
“We suggested an engagement, my pakhan.” Ippolit looks at me with cold, uncaring eyes. “You went ahead and planned a wedding.”
“Because you told me that I had to be convincing!” I snarl.
“We didn’t tell you to be so convincing that you started falling for the bitch,” Gunsyn grunts.
“Love makes people do foolish things, my pakhan,” Ippolit says in his whispery voice. “Don’t let it cloud your judgment. Go to her and question her thoroughly. Don’t be taken by her false innocence. That girl is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And if you do not find the truth from her, one night, you’ll wake up with a knife at your throat.”
I walk toward the door, swing it on its hinges, and rush toward the exit to the warehouse without looking back.
The doors slowly close and I’m trapped with my own thoughts.
Can I trust Eden? And if I do, at what cost? The shadows around me seem to grow darker, more sinister, as I contemplate my next move.
The silence that follows is deafening, and I’m left to wonder if Eden will be the very thing that destroys me in the end.
The weight of my rashness and responsibility sits heavy on my shoulders, but I can’t let it pull me down. I have to protect my family—the one I was born into and the one I lead.
41
EDEN
Something about Nikolai has changed.
There’s something different in the way he looks—no, glares—at me. He seems to go out of his way not to be around, like I’m chasing him out of his own home. Ironic since I’m not allowed to leave. I feel him drifting away from me, and I don’t know why. His reluctance to share what’s happening in his head is frustrating, and it scares me.
Nikolai sits across from me in the living room, and his eyes focus on something outside the window. It’s late afternoon, and he hasn’t been out. He looks good in just a button-down shirt with no tie and gray pants. I stare at him until he looks, and then I quickly look away.
“Hey.” My voice squeaks with doubt. “Is everything okay?”
Nikolai hesitates for a moment before turning to face me. His icy stare sends a nasty shock through my system, and I lean back hard against the couch. “Yes,” he replies coolly.
“Are you sure?” I ask impatiently.
“Eden, it’s fine,” he insists, though I see blankness in his eyes.
One awful thought keeps gnawing at me. Is Nikolai finished with me because he’s no longer interested in me? Because I’m not a virgin anymore? It can’t be that. I hope.
I keep telling myself he’s not that shallow.
But I can’t deny that something has changed. I bite my lip, debating whether or not to confront him. Ineedto know, and I won’t find out by keeping silent.
“Then why are you so distant?” I demand.
