Page 84 of The Pakhan’s Heir

She zips up the bag, then pulls it off the bed. “You might as well go and take your shower,” she says. “I’ll be out of your hair by the time you get out.”

I take a step back from her as she continues to grab her things, darting into the bathroom and getting her toothbrush and the rest of her toiletries. Once she’s done, she takes all of her things and pushes the bedroom door open and leaves. It’s all I can do not to follow her.

This is the right thing to do. In a year when she’s happy and living a nice, normal life and giving our baby a proper foundation, I’ll realize that. I’ll feel better about this decision.

It is for the best.

31

NONA

Ican’t believe him. I can’t believe after everything, all we’ve been through, he really thinks that this is the right solution?

I just had to drag this bag down the stairs. I’ve got two more in the closet in that bedroom, but I’ll have to go back for them in the morning once he’s gone for work or whatever he’s planning on doing tomorrow.

And I shouldn’t care. I certainly should not care. He is right that this was originally my idea… I guess. And for that reason, I shouldn’t give a shit or maybe I should have seen this coming or…

I push open the door to the spare room next to where Yeva’s sleeping. This room is almost completely bare. No sheets on the bed, generic wooden furniture that’s not even painted, plain beige carpet…

It’s just like my room when I came home from college. It’s not identical of course, but… but…

Sobs catch in my chest and suddenly, this whole thing of being strong and brave cracks completely. My knees buckle and I fall to the floor and start weeping into the carpet.

I don’t want to leave. I fought for the right to be at his side, to be his wife, and now he tells me that I have to go? Was everything pointless? Did it all mean nothing in the end?

I hear the doorknob turn slightly and I sit up, feeling terribly foolish. As the doors open, I get to my feet, wiping my face with my sleeve. Standing in the doorway is Yeva. She gives me a once-over with bloodshot, sleep deprived eyes and says under her breath, “Jesus.”

“I’m sorry,” I say to her. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m having…” I have to pause to swallow a sob. “I’m having a bad night. I’ll try and keep it down.”

She rolls her eyes and walks into the room. “Well, I’m up now,” she says as she sits on the edge of the bed. “What did he say?”

I blink. “What?”

“My brother. What did he say to you?”

She’s looking at me expectantly and with a little fire behind her eyes. It kind of makes me think that once I tell her, she’s going to march up there and tell him off.

I shake my head and say, “It’s nothing. Really.”

“You’re standing here in this room with your bags instead of in my brother’s bed where you belong.” She speaks in a measured tone as if she’s explaining the simplest concept. “And you’re crying. Something is clearly wrong.”

I guess I might as well tell her. It’s not like she won’t notice that I’m not hanging around here anymore.

“I have to leave,” I tell her. “We… we talked and Alex thinks that it would be safer for me to not be here anymore. What with his enemies and all that.”

I feel like a child trying to explain this to her, but every word that comes out of my mouth feels like a sin. Being articulate about it just makes it feel all the worse. She raises an eyebrow and leans into me.

“And what did you tell him that you wanted?”

“What?”

She snickers. “Nona… Remember that whole conversation we had about you growing a pair? This is one of those moments where you kind of need to do that with Alex. I told you. Bratva men are bloodthirsty. I don’t believe any of them know how to move unless it’s through conflict.”

“I don’t want to fight with him about every little thing,” I say. “I mean…”

“I’m not saying you’ve got to fight with him all the time. I’m saying you can’t just sit back and take whatever nonsense comes out of his mouth.” She stands up and walks over to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. “Nona, you are a queen in our world. In the brotherhood, there are only two people who can walk into a room full of these muscle heads and tell them what’s what and one of them is my brother. The other is you. You’ve got more power than you think you do.”

“That’s a nice sentiment,” I say. “But your brother doesn’t want me to be his queen anymore. He thinks that it will be safer if I were out of this life.”