AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nikolai and I are to remain apart—torn apart by the very world that brought us together.
Late that night,Dad drives us to a warehouse in Twin Rivers, where his truck is parked outside. Inside, he changes out of his suit into flannel and jeans, tossing the dark suit into a trash can. He leads me to his truck in silence, and I think back to that night when he dragged me home from my graduation party.
As we pull away from the building, I realize what my father wanted for me all along. The Bratva was always going to find us, no matter where we hid. His strict rules weren’t only to keep me physically safe but to protect my heart from falling in love with the wrong man.
The person I couldn’t have, no matter how much I wanted them.
“Eden.” His voice is rough with buried emotion. “I’m sorry it ended this way for you.”
“Me too,” I reply wistfully. “But I understand now why you did what you did.”
My heart aches for Nikolai, but this is the price we pay for choosing revenge over love. It hurts, but I did experience a life I would never have imagined by staring at pictures on a glossy page.
He nods, his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead. “I’m sorry, Eden. I wanted to hide away, and I hurt you doing it.”
As the traffic thins to nothing, the city lights fade behind us as the truck approaches the suburbs. The familiar streets ofHoltsville come into view, and a sharp pang starts in my chest. There’s no way to get over a shattered heart. I glance over at my dad, and we share something I wish now that we didn’t.
I look out the window, trying to keep the tears at bay.
My memories flood back like a wave going over my head. I remember my first visit to the Met with Nikolai, the painting he bought me. I remember making love in the vineyard, and my cheeks flush at the vivid memory. Every time I looked into his green eyes, it felt like he could see into my heart.
And then I feel it.
And I gasp.
“Eden, are you okay?”
“Th-the baby,” I stammer. “I felt a kick,” I murmur, placing a hand on my abdomen and feeling a sudden flutter beneath my fingertips. My breath catches, and I stare down in wonder. The baby kicked.
Dad’s eyes widen with surprise and concern. “You’re pregnant with Nikolai’s child?” The truck slows down, coming to a stop at a red light. No one else is at the intersection. Dad remains silent. I know he disapproves, but I can’t help myself.
I nod. “I am.”
“Sorokin should be told,” he says. “You’re carrying a pakhan’s child.”
“They issued their orders, Zakhar Sergeyevich.” I shake my head, using that accursed name that reminds me of who my dad will always be. “And we can do nothing other than obey.”
He stares at me in the darkness and struggles with his emotions. He starts the truck again, and we drive the rest of the way in silence.
50
EDEN
CHRISTMAS EVE
A few cardssit on the mantel among a twisty wire of bright lights. The Christmas tree stands in one corner, its branches covered in twinkling lights and ornaments from the attic. For the first time in a long while, the living room furniture is draped in cozy red-and-green throws, and a plush white rug adds to the holiday style. The scent of cinnamon and cloves fills the air downstairs, but none of this is enough to put me in the mood.
The only thing that makes me smile is a sonogram of my baby propped up on the mantelpiece.
Dad sits in the kitchen wrapping gifts. The sound of paper folding and the cut and the hiss of tape being pulled off the spool is calming, like white noise. I stare at the colorful presents crowded under the tree with big loopy bows.
I want to care that Christmas is tomorrow, but I just don’t.
It’s hard to care when I can only think about Nikolai.
“You don’t mind that they’re coming over?” Dad enters the room, picking at a roll of tape, trying to get the end started.
“No.” I shrug. “It’ll be nice to have company.”
