I let out a shaky breath and walked into the room. Nausea returned tenfold. With all this stress. Without any water or food…
The door pushed closed after me.
I stopped in the center of the room and listened to the definitive click of the lock being engaged.
I was still alive.
Still trapped.
Why?
Hanging my head as my heart cracked and chipped into more unrepairable pieces, I let my broken spirit take over.
Why would he spare my life?
Why isn’t he kicking me out?
Why… does it have to be like this?
I dragged myself to the bed and lay down. Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I tried to breathe through the dread and agony, realizing one new fact of life with bitter clarity.
Karma was a bitch.
And I was about to pay for all my sins without a hint of the love I tricked myself into thinking might be within my reach with the furious man I’d betrayed.
29
ANDRE
Icouldn’t stand there and look at her. Seeing the fear and sadness on her expressive face infuriated me. Those expressions weren’t supposed to be there. These emotions weren’t supposed to be tearing us apart like this.
It had felt too real. Too good.
Every kiss she gave me. Each embrace I accepted from her. All those times she’d caved and I’d provided for her. The push and pull of our desire had been growing and leading to something so bright and strong, I hadn’t wanted to consider how wrong I was about her.
But I am.
I’ve been so wrong about it all.
It seemed I still didn’t know what love was. And I might never know. Not with her.
Oleg raised his brows as I exited the room. I moved in tunnel vision, a darkness shrouding my peripheral as my mind raced and my heart crashed against my ribcage.
“Find Renee,” I ordered. He could listen to what I’d recorded later. He hadn’t been duped. He remained mistrusting of her like I should have. The look on my face should be plenty to indicate that this conversation hadn’t gone as I hoped it would. “Have her take Sofia to her former room and keep her there.”
He nodded once. No other questions were asked. No other details were needed. Not now. He’d do as I asked, and so would Renee.
I could trust that they’d secure the liar and spy I’d wanted to love.
While they did, I had to speak to the man I owed an apology to.
The walk to my father’s building was a blur. Nothing registered. Nothing could. Stuck in this dizzying haze of anger and confusion, I could barely stay upright with the pressure of disappointment crashing down on me, dragging my soul lower and pissing me off. If I allowed myself to think back to all those times when I’d wanted to defend her and hope that what we shared was real and not a lie, I hated myself a little more, stoking the fire of self-recrimination.
I found him in his study, seated at his desk and just finishing with a call as he lowered his phone and set it on the desktop. He looked up and raised his brows, giving me the usual silent expectation to explain why I was showing up unannounced. His door was always open to me, but I was typically too busy and on the go working. Or lately, spending all my time with Sofia.
Not anymore.
Fuck that.
