That rejection stung like a fuckin’ bee.
“I mean, you said it yourself. There are no nice men in your world. Just liars, looters, murderers, and ridiculously attractive men who take advantage of women but cannot own up to their emotions.”
She was talking about me in the last statement.
Fair enough.
“I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but fuck it—you’re gonna do whatever you want anyway.” She staggered forward, wiping her face with her palms. “I could’ve sold you out, you know.”
My eyes narrowed. However, as usual, I didn’t interrupt.
“Yes,” she added. “I could’ve reported everything I know about your business to Richard because he asked me to be his spy.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “But guess what…I didn’t. Not because I couldn’t. But because I chose not to.” She adjusted the collar of my shirt. “What does that tell you, Adrik?”
At this point, I couldn’t even be mad at her. She’d obviously picked a side in this war. Mine.
“Can you imagine the pain I felt after you accused me of treachery—twice?” She sniffed and staggered past me.
I hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. “When you’ve been betrayed and stabbed in the back—literally and figuratively—as I have, you start to see the world through a broken lens.” I turned around to face her.
She was calmer now, her expression softer than before.
“I didn’t mean to accuse you.” I held her gaze. “I just didn’t want to feel the pain of betrayal again. Not from you.”
She was silent for a while, those tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I’m not going to betray you, Adrik.”
I began approaching her. “I know that now.”
“Look, I get it,” she said, “you’ve been through unimaginable things that turned you into the monster that you are—”
“Ouch,” I teased, a small grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
She mirrored my gesture subconsciously but continued regardless. “…but we’re not all the same, you know. I know you think good people don’t exist, but you’re wrong. We do.”She paused before adding almost immediately, “Not that I’m claiming to be a good person or something like that.”
“You are a good woman, Emika.” I grabbed her by the waist, my hands possessive around her hips.
She melted at my touch, her breathing steadying as I wiped her tears with my thumb.
“I’m sorry about your mother,” I whispered to her. “I didn’t know.”
She looked up at my face. “I thought you didn’t do apologies.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “There are exceptions.”
The smile on her lips was genuine, and it thawed something frozen inside me. She leaned against my chest, her heart and mine beating as one.
In the silence of this fragile moment, I felt like a human being again. Soft. Vulnerable. Emotional.
Even if I hadn’t been sure before, I was now. Emika was the one for me. And I wasn’t going to mess this up.
Chapter 21 – Emika
“He’s beautiful,” Mom said, her gaze flicking toward Adrik for a moment.
That gorgeous smile on her face melted my heart, reminding me of the reason I’d gotten involved with the Tarasovs in the first place.
This was my first time coming to visit her in the hospital since the wedding. And this time, Adrik tagged along. I didn’t ask him to come with me. I simply told him that I wanted to visit my mother.
My best guess was that he’d order his men to escort me to the hospital, given the current situation of things. However, he shocked me when he offered to drive me himself.
