AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When Nikolaiand I arrive home, the penthouse is eerily quiet, as if the entire place is empty, but the staff is always around. Instantly, my gaze goes to the spiral stairs, and another feeling of guilt drives into me. Mercy has been unusually quiet, and I can tell by her cross looks that she feels betrayed by me. She expected to leave the wedding for home and won’t accept my reasons for Nikolai keeping her here.
I don’t blame her.
Unlike me, there isn’t a Prince Charming who’ll storm the tower to rescue her.
I’m her only hope.
Nikolai tugs at his tie as he enters his office, and I approach the open door. I brace myself for the confrontation we’re about to have. It won’t be easy to sway him, but I must say something.I have to try again. Nikolai turns to look at me, and his searing gaze makes my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.
“Eden,” Nikolai’s voice is stern. “She has to stay here.”
“That I understand.” I shake my head at the misunderstanding. “But we can’t continue like this and lose someone else … It has to stop.Ihave to meet with Zakhar.”
“I know you want to save your father,” he speaks cautiously. “But he’s too dangerous. Unhinged. No one can reason with him, including you.” Nikolai looks me in the eye. “I’m sorry, Eden, but I can’t allow this.”
“I’m not trying to save my father.” I sit down on the couch, and when I look up, I notice the painting is gone. Nothing is in its place, and not seeing it makes me feel sick, as if I’ve lost something else significant.
“Zakhar will never change,” I continue. “But I don’t want to feel this way again because of what he has done. Anton’s death can’t be another name on an endlessly growing list of casualties. Who will he kill next?” I stare hard at Nikolai as my voice rises. “Maybe he doesn’t want to kill you. Maybe he wants to kill us all to make you suffer.”
Nikolai’s eyes darken, and the truth of what I said penetrates his mind. “I want this vendetta to be over, but I won’t risk you to do it. Or our child.”
“Please, Nikolai.” I can’t keep the desperation out of my voice. “I need to do this. I must talk to Zakhar … to my father. Give me a chance to make things right.”
He stops in his tracks, bewildered by my words. “Make it right? Eden, you are the last person to blame for any of this.”
My breath picks up, but I have to do it. I’m no longer the little girl in the tower, and I have to take responsibility if I want his respect. Nikolai may be angry, but I can’t wither before his anger anymore.
I have to be strong. I have toleadif I want toendthis feud.
I can’t hide behind mistakes and watch quietly as they turn into lies.
“The night I was shot, I sent a text to my father. I thought I could help by talking to him, but then I changed my mind. I dropped my phone, and when I picked it up …” I stare into Nikolai’s steady gaze. “It’s how I knew you were in trouble. I made an awful mistake. And if anything had happened to you …”
My voice trails off, and he turns his back to me.Be strong, Eden. I stirred the pot, and now, I have to clean up the mess. I concentrate on my breathing to keep myself from breaking down.
Nikolai faces the window. “So that’s why you were there that night.”
I clench my teeth to silence a sound threatening to escape my throat, wondering if I’ve lost Nikolai by sneaking around behind his back. I stare at the tension in his broad shoulders as he stares at the city out the window. My body wants to run to him, but my heart fears what he must think about me. He won’t even look at me.
I can’t take it. “Nikolai, please …”
He turns around, but distress is in his gaze instead of anger. “It wasn’t your fault, Eden. I received a tip on where to find Zakhar.And my intention was to kill him despite the order I had given to my men not to take his life. I thought you were there to stop me.”
I leap up from the couch, and instantly, I’m in Nikolai’s arms. My cheek presses hard against his strong chest. The tears I struggled to hold back are on my face. My strength has been tested too much today.
“I love you, Nikolai. I want my baby to have a father. I want us to be together.” I look up into his loving gaze. “I want us to have a little happiness.” I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “I never thought any of this would happen. I never thought my father would want to hurt me more than he wants to love me.”
Nikolai runs his hand over my hair. “Eden, the stakes are incredibly high. It’s twice now that Zakhar has struck the Bratva so brazenly and gotten away with it.” He lowers his hands and clenches them into fists. “I can’t let Zakhar live, even if he swears to stop and let us live in peace. He cannot be allowed to live. Not anymore. My honor as a pakhan is intertwined with his actions. I must show my strength, and I can’t allow you to step between us again.”
I nod, acknowledging the gravity of the situation.
“But there has to be some part of him that doesn’t want this to continue,” I reply. “I can try and appeal to that. We can’t just forgo that possibility entirely.”
Nikolai’s gaze searches mine, and I see turmoil building into a wall that won’t be breached. He vowed to protect me and keep me safe from danger, but I almost died along with his child. Nikolai grabs my hands by the wrists and pulls them off him.
“Eden,” he says. “Do you think I can’t do this? Because I can.”
I shake my head. “I’ve never doubted that you could.”
