Chapter 28 – Roman
I lay on the bed, weak from the medication meant to numb the pain searing through my body. It was a flesh wound, and luckily, the bullet had missed my vital organs.
Stripped from the waist up, with a bandage wound around my belly, I managed to sit up, my back against the headboard.
The bathroom door creaked open, and she stepped out in a white satin nightgown. Her bare feet tapped softly against the floor as she strolled over to the bed while drying her hair with a white towel.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw me seated upright, like I hadn’t just been shot a few hours ago. Her lips curled into a radiant smile I’d never seen on her face before, and it did something to my heart. I wasn’t sure what exactly, but I liked how it made me feel.
“Hey,” she called, her voice gentle and sweet.
“Hey,” I answered, almost inaudible.
She draped the towel over the backrest of a wooden chair and walked straight to the bed. “How’re you feeling?”
I hesitated, enjoying the softness of her tone and the sparkle in her eyes. “Never been better.” A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
She sat on the edge of the bed, her gaze dropping to the bandaged wound on my lower abdomen. “Does it still hurt?” she whispered, her eyes darting up to meet mine.
“It never did,” I answered, unable to hold back my smile.
She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, her head lowering by a fraction, as if to hide her flushed cheeks. “You should be resting right now.”
Her quiet murmurs thawed something frozen inside me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The scent of shampoo andher perfume lingered around her, subtle yet intoxicating enough to pull me in.
For the next few seconds, neither of us said a word; we just gazed into each other’s eyes. The longer I stared at her, the more I realized how deeply I’d actually fallen for this woman.
I’d never felt so moved to protect anyone so recklessly. And that was the confirmation that I needed to finally believe that what I felt for her was love. That bullet was not meant for me; it was meant for her.
But in that split second, I made a choice to push her out of the way so I’d take her place. If that wasn’t an act of love, then I didn’t know what was. The only problem was that I wasn’t sure whether what I felt was mutual, though deep down I already knew the truth.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, guilt and remorse lacing her tone.
“For what?”
“Everything,” she answered. “If I hadn’t tried to run away—if I didn’t trust the wrong person—none of this would’ve happened.”
“This wasn’t your fault,milaya,” I replied.
“Yes, it was,” she said. “I should’ve stayed home, but I was just….” Her voice trailed off into silence, her eyes boring into mine. “You hurt me, Roman.”
I swallowed hard, my heart skipping a beat. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I was just jealous when I saw you with that other woman, and I let my emotions get the better of me.”
I reached out and held her hand, my gaze unwavering. “Milaya, nothing happened between Anya and me.”
“You don’t owe any explanation.”
“Yes, I do,” I answered. “I need you to know that I never cheated on you, and what you saw that evening wasn’t what it seemed.”
She hesitated, as if weighing whether or not to say what was on her mind. “She was on your lap. Her hands were all over you.”
I detected traces of jealousy in her tone and found it rather amusing. “She shouldn’t have gotten that close—but trust me, nothing happened that night. And she’ll never bother us again.”
Scarlett’s face lit up with a radiant smile.
“Why were you jealous, though?” I asked teasingly. “I thought you hated me.”
