I was so sure I was carrying a girl that I’d even named her. Of course, I was also using my sister’s name, so it might get confusing when she was born, but it worked for now. Groaning, I crawled back into bed, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, not with the knowledge that Violet was cheating on Alexei.
He deserved to know. My baby moved, rippling the skin on my stomach. “It’s OK, Alessia,” I mumbled to myself. “I know I can’t do that.”
It was like my unborn baby was warning me. I couldn’t tell, Alexei. He couldn’t know where I was, and he sure as hell couldn’t ever find out that I hadn’t miscarried. I had no doubt he would try to take my child from me. He would probably want to raise it with Violet.
Only Violet was sneaking around with Kristoff. She was using him, and he didn’t even know. My head began to pound, and I pinched the skin between my eyebrows to try to ease it.
What happened in Alexei’s and Violet’s relationship was none of my business, so I wouldn’t tell him.
He deserved everything he got.
Both of them did.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Alexei
I didn’t know time could move so fast, but at the same time drag so much. It had been months and months since Amy had vanished. It was almost like she had walked out of that cemetery and disappeared into thin air.
There were several times over those months that I had to mull over the idea that she was dead, but I always shook that idea away. I knew Amy. She wouldn’t have taken her own life. After what was thrown at her, she would have kept fighting.
It was me who was close to giving up—not my life—but any hope of finding her. It had been too long. Amy didn’t want to be found. And sooner or later, I would have to accept that.
I sipped at the vodka in my glass and the strobe lighting of the busy club around me, making it every color but clear. The liquid burned a trail down my throat that I revelled in. I would never accept it. Not until she told me to my face that we were really over. Even then, I wasn’t sure I would be able to walk away.
If the last few months had taught me anything, it was that Amy brought a lightness to my life that I didn’t even know I needed. I missed her. I missed her warmth and her smile.
There were good people in the world, and then there was my wife. And the more time that passed, the more I realized how much she made me happy. Violet didn’t make me feel like that.
I took another sip of the vodka, taking all of it into my mouth and holding it there. My eyes lifted to the scantily dressed woman on the pole without really even seeing her. I didn’t spend my evenings here because I liked the entertainment, but because I wanted to be away from my first love.
Violet was not the woman I remembered. Or maybe she was, and I had been too blind to see her faults before. She wanted us to get married so I could look after her properly. There was only one problem with that. I was already married.
It would take Amy coming up dead or me finding her for a divorce to even make me able to marry again, and truthfully, I wasn’t sure I would ever ask Amy for a divorce, even if it was something my grandfather wanted me to do.
Sighing, I lifted my glass for the waitress to take and refill. God, I missed her.
“I heard she’s been playing him for a fool.” A dark-haired man laughed in front of me. And there was something about their tone that made me stare at them, not that I could see who they were from behind.
“She’s always played him for a fool. Did you hear, she made him let his pregnant wife miscarry.”
Laughter bubbled up from the group, and my head snapped up at the same time. Now they could be talking about anyone, but that was a little too close to home.
“I heard it was Violet herself who pushed the girl down the stairs.”
My eyes narrowed. Now there really could be no mistake. They were talking about me, or more specifically, my situation, and they seemed like they had a lot to say.
Grabbing another drink from the waitress, I ushered her away before she could say my name and give me away. Leaning back, I studied the backs of their heads and listened.
Yes, I could go and demand the truth from them, but sometimes,just listening was the best thing to do. It allowed you to learn things that weren’t otherwise forthcoming, like it was clear they thought I was an absolute moron.
“Didn’t she fall down the stairs and lose her own baby?” someone else asked, his voice raised. Clearly, the group in front of me was inebriated, otherwise they wouldn’t have been talking about my personal life so loudly in a club I owned.
More laughter, deep, throaty chuckles filled the air. It was louder now that there was a pause in the music and the dancers changed.
“Oh, come on,” the other said, laughing so hard that it was hard to make out what he was saying. “Do you really believe Violet was pregnant?”
I did a double-take. Wait what? I wanted to interrupt and ask him what the fuck he meant by that, but he continued because he had no idea I was right behind him.
