AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It wasn’t all an act. It couldn’t be. No one is that good an actor. And I’m not the naïve girl I used to be. He is a Bratva don and I know he has to do awful things sometimes. But the way I see it, he does far more good than bad.
And that, for me, is enough.
“I know it,” I say with conviction.
But Geneva barely hears me. “Listen,” she says urgently, “this actually might work out. I can still try to contact Ravil. He’ll help. Especially now that I know you’re not carrying Kolya’s baby. Ravil has no reason to hurt you.”
I grip her hands tightly. “I need you to hear me, Genny,” I tell her. “I’m staying because I want to. Not because I’m being tricked or used. This is right. I didn’t expect it. I doubt he did, either. But somehow, impossibly, we fell in love. I want to be his wife. And he’s willing to raise my baby as his own. He’ll protect us both.”
“Honey…”
“Genny, please,” I beg. “Trust me.”
She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.. “Okay,” she says. “Okay then…”
“So you’re going to give Kolya a chance?”
A shadow passes over her face. “Y-yes.”
“Good,” I say, breathing deeply as I get back on my feet. “And just so you know, he and I have talked about our… situation. He’s keeping you in the mansion because he wants to protect you, too. But if you want to get back to your apartment, that can be arranged. You’ll just have a little security to be on the safe side. Just in case Ravil tries to contact you again.”
She looks at me a little glassy-eyed, clearly still in the middle of processing everything. “Okay.”
I give her a quick peck on the cheek. “It’s all gonna work out, Gen. I can feel it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to pee now. Get me out of this dress fast.”
Smiling distractedly, she unzips me and I jump out of the dress and run into the bathroom. I pee, check my makeup and hair in the mirror, and then head back out to the room to Geneva.
Except that she’s not here. The room feels eerily quiet.
“Genny?”
I check the balcony, but she’s not there, either. I circle the suite twice before I’m forced to conclude the obvious: she’s gone.
My heart thuds uncomfortably. What mistake did I just make?
I just wanted to tell her the truth. I owed her that much.
Knock-knock-knock.
I grab my discarded robe and pull it on, with a strange ringing in my ears. I cinch it tight at the waist and step to the door.
But when I open it, no one seems to be standing on the other side.
Frowning, I walk out into the hallway. That’s when I spot him: the bodyguard who’d been assigned to stand sentinel outside my door. He’s lying on the dark carpet, bleeding from the head.
I back up, a scream lodged in my throat.
But instead of hitting the wall behind me, I back right into the arms of someone whose face I can’t see. I open my mouth to let that scream loose. Before I can, I feel something sharp and painful slide into my neck.
The scream withers on my lips.
And the world goes black.
49
KOLYA
“How’re you feeling?” Milana asks as she steps up to my side at the altar.
