I stood there, chest heaving. Then I started destroying everything.
Files swept to the floor. Lamp smashed to pieces. Expensive pens, delicate ornaments, that fucking laptop worth thousands—all of it obliterated.
I destroyed until my palms bled from broken glass. But I felt nothing.
All I felt was the gaping hole in my chest.
The hole Harper left.
I'd thought she was an accessory. A contract wife to please my grandmother. I'd thought I felt nothing for her. Thought my heart belonged to Genevie.
But now, with her gone, erased from my world—
I realized how goddamn stupid I'd been.
The woman who cooked for me. Who came back to bandage my wounds. Who stayed despite being hurt over and over—
She was the one who actually loved me.
And me?
I locked her in a basement. Rejected twenty-three desperate calls. Left her alone when she needed me most.
Me. Kirill Orlov. New York's coldest kingpin. Just a fucking idiot who couldn't even figure out who he loved.
"Kirill?"
A voice from the doorway.
Genevie stood there in a white dress, blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, looking fragile. Her eyes shone with concern, lips parted like a startled deer.
"Why are you still here?" My voice could freeze blood. "I told you to go to the new place."
She stepped into the study, carefully navigating the debris.
"I was worried about you." Her voice was syrupy. "You haven't slept in days, searching for that woman... Kirill, you're exhausted."
She reached for me.
I shoved her away.
"Don't touch me."
Genevie stumbled, hurt flashing across her face, but moved closer anyway.
"Kirill, I know you're upset." Her fingers crept toward my chest. "But trust me, everything will be okay. That woman... she's not worth this."
"That woman is my wife." Each word deliberate.
"I know, but..." Genevie pressed her head against my shoulder. "But she left, didn't she? She abandoned you. I won't. I'll stay by your side forever, cherish you more than that fat girl ever—"
Fat girl.
The words drove into my skull like a nail.
"Get out."
This time, disgust dripped from every syllable.
