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“Asshole,” I say, placing the phone against my ear.
“That’s ‘Asshole Incredible’ to you, actually.” His dark, silky voice shivers over my skin, even with a phone and God-only-knows how many miles between us.
This is exactly why the Arsen Adamov embargo was in place. Six words, and he’s already threatening to pull me in deep again.
I grit my teeth and feign being unaffected. “Hello to you, too. It’s been a while.”
“Not for lack of trying on my part.”
“Excuse me?” I snap, already failing to maintain my air of nonchalance. “I haven’t heard from you in months!”
“Only because you refused to respond to my texts.”
“Only because you were only sending them so you could later claim that you tried when we both know you didn’t!” I blow out a harsh breath, exhausted by this conversation that’s less than a minute old. “Since it’s the only form of communication you seem to understand, I took the liberty of drafting a new contract for us. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line.”
“I’m not signing anything.”
I jump to my feet. “Why the hell not?”
“Because it’s a ridiculous joke of a deal, and I reject all your demands.”
As if he even had time to read the entire document before he called Gedeon. “They’re non-negotiable.”
“Then we agree: I’m not negotiating.”
“Then I’m not coming back!”
He goes silent. I can’t even hear him breathing, but I know he’s there. I can feel him on the other end of the line.
“You don’t get to waltz in and out of our lives and jerk me around anymore,” I add. “Getting divorced was always the plan, and I’m following through on that. This marriage was only practical, and there’s no longer any point in it.”
“We are not getting a divorce,” he snarls. “If you think we are, then you’re more naive than I thought you were.”
“And you’re more of an asshole than I thought you were. So I guess we’re even.”
“Roza—”
“Don’t yourozame. I’m not yourroza.I’m not your Laila. And as far as I’m concerned, I’m not your wife, either. If you don’t agree to my terms, I’m not getting on that plane.”
My ultimatum is met with a heartbeat of silence. Then a deep, long suffering sigh. “I’m not asking you to come back for my sake.I’m asking you to come back for your mother’s.”
My heart drops. I have to grip one of the chairs to keep from keeling over. “Is she—I just spoke to her yesterday. She was fine.”
“She lied, Laila,” Arsen cuts in. “She’s in the hospital and… she’s not doing well.”
The world spins. Everything that mattered two seconds ago disappears like vapor.
“Okay.” A lone tear escapes down my cheek. “I’ll get on the plane.”
5
LAILA
The sign waving above the crowd of people at arrivals reads,“Queen Laila and Princess Nina.”My stupid, traitorous heart flutters as I look down from the sign to the man holding it and see…
Dominik.
I’m pathetic. A few hours ago, I was determined to never see Arsen again, and yet some desperate part of me was still wishing he’d be the one to grab us from the airport.
