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“Sophia,” she repeated after me. “Do you even like her? I heard she’s a brat. Are you marrying her just to please your brother?”
A smile played on my lips. “Which one should I answer first.”
“Both.”
“I’m not marrying her to please my brother.” That wasn’t a lie because I really wasn’t. I was only marrying her to keep the family safe. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“But I am,” she insisted. “Marriage is a lifetime commitment. You shouldn’t do it with someone you don’t like.”
I chuckled this time. “That’s rich coming from you considering how you and my brother’s relationship came to be.”
Her cheeks flushed and she lowered her gaze to the floor. “That’s…different. Your brother and I fell in love.”
“Sophia and I will do just fine.” I kissed her on the cheeks again and hurried off before she could ask any more questions.
The cold breeze rustled my hair as I walked to my S.U.V. parked outside. I got inside, twisting the key and bringing the engine to life. I didn’t have much planned for today, but there was someone I needed to see.
Someone my heart was longing for.
I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her at the gallery yesterday. The hatred she had in her eyes when she looked at me brought my heart close to crumbling.
The right thing to do was to stay away from her since I had no intention of turning away from my responsibilities. But me and logic had never gone hand in hand. I didn’t care about the right thing. Seeing her, hearing her voice and maybe making her laugh once was all I needed.
I surged the car forward, driving in silence all twenty minutes it took to get to her apartment building.
I brought the car to a stop in the parking lot and then strode to the elevator, impatient as it carried me up to her floor.
Once I reached her door, I forgot how to breathe and then tapped the door twice.
“Who is there?”
I shifted away from the peephole, just in case she saw me and decided she didn’t want to meet with me.
Mariana unlocked the door, sticking her head out of it slightly to look outside. “Who’s…” She didn’t complete her question when our gazes met. “Vlad?”
“Hey.” How come I didn’t know how to react around a woman when I’ve been around women all my life? “Mind if I come in?”
She looked hesitant, but it only lasted a second before she moved away from the door. “Christy went to get a few things from the grocery store. She’ll be back any minute so you better hurry up.”
Ignoring her warning, I stepped inside. The familiar scent of strawberries and lavender hit my nose.
Mariana shut the door behind us. “What do you want?” she asked, crossing her hand over her chest. But the sadness in her eyes gave away that she wasn’t as strong as she was pretending to be.
“I missed you.”
Her chuckle reverberated in the living room. “Missed me? Is this a circus show or something?”
I stepped forward, my hands reaching for her but she moved away from my touch. “You don’t get to come here and say bullshit like you missed me when you’re the one getting engaged to another woman.”
“It’s not as easy as you think it is.” My fists clenched, my chest heaving. “My family depends on this. There’ll be a war if I turn away from this marriage right now.”
“So you’re the sacrificial lamb for your family? Should I then be your mistress while you’re married to another woman?” Her brows furrowed. “Make it make sense.”
Fuck. No.
Mariana was too precious to a mistress. Too important for me to degrade her into taking a position that was less than she deserved. She was supposed to be a queen. Her position was right by me.
Yet, you’re only giving her a piece of you.
