Deceitful Vows (Marital Privileges #2)

54. Zoya

54

ZOYA

T he strong scent of alcohol pumping from Andrik’s pores indicates that something is amiss with him, so I won’t mention the fact he walks up past numerous solid surfaces more than capable of issuing the punishment he believes I deserve.

The meeting places dotted throughout the foyer of the hotel are empty because only the insane stalk the halls at this hour.

That should have been the first indication that I was about to make a terrible mistake.

Nothing good happens at 2 a.m.

I attempt to yank out of Andrik’s hold when he jabs the call button on the elevator panel. I say attempt as his grip is too deadly to dislodge. His fingernails dig into my arm firm enough to mark, and they shred my last nerve.

“I kissed him to force you to react. I wouldn’t have done it if I’d known you were going to take it this far. My god, Andrik, you hurt your brother. Badly. ”

“No,” he denies, his grip firming more. “ You hurt him. Not me. Don’t put your shit on me.”

After I’m forcefully walked into the elevator, I drink in his confused expression in the mirrored wall. He’s angry, downright furious, though that is barely seen through the bewilderment swamping him. There’s so much pain in his eyes, so much hurt.

Their pain convinces me that this is no longer about jealousy. It is about something far more sinister than that. I doubt even an illicit affair will scratch the surface of the betrayal he is currently experiencing, and I have an inkling I am the catalyst of his pain.

“I had no intention of taking your father’s money. I gave him that date and time because I knew he wouldn’t be able to uphold his side of our agreement if I was three thousand miles away. I had no clue he would show up early.”

“Because you underestimated him.”

He doesn’t see my nod. He doesn’t need to. He knows the truth because this isn’t his first rodeo with his father.

“We all underestimated him.” He shakes his head as if disappointed with himself. “But I got burned the most because I was closest to the flame.” When his glassy eyes drop to my arm, he steps back as if it is ravished with as many bruises as his face and knuckles. “I…” A brutal swallow bobs his Adam’s apple and shifts his focus in under a second. “You should have kept his money.”

“No. I should have never bartered for it to begin with,” I immediately reply, my tone announcing his suggestion isn’t up for negotiation.

I screwed up badly spending some of it, but the prize money of the bikini competition meant I was able to recoup the loss of my life-altering mistake.

“He just made me so mad that I fired off a demand before truly considering what I was doing, and then I spent it under the same guise.”

He huffs out a laugh before saying, “You should have spent it all. He owes you far more than 100K, мил —” He stops partway through my nickname, cusses, then jabs at the penthouse suite floor button, urging the elevator to hurry up.

Though the wish to keep our conversation alight is burning my skin, I need time to make sure I don’t make another foolish mistake. I also need to think of something to say to fix the mess I created tonight. Don’t misconstrue. I’m glad it worked, and it is forcing a conversation we need to have, but the tension feels different from the one crackling in the air during our exchange yesterday.

It almost feels like the start of our ending.

“Andrik—”

“Don’t,” he snaps out, his tone pained as he guides me out of the elevator and down the hallway. Like Maksim earlier, he keeps his hand hovering above my skin instead of against it. “This needs to stop. We can’t do this. I can’t…”

With a pfft , he swipes a key card over the electronic lock of the penthouse suite and then opens the door, shocking me that he has access to my room.

After placing the key card on the entryway table like he no longer needs access to it, he pulls an airline ticket out of his pocket and places it on top of the room key card.

“I organized you a flight back to Myasnikov. It leaves in four hours. The rent on your apartment is covered indefinitely. If you don’t want to stay there, I can have someone on my team organize another location. I told Lilia not to expect you back at Le Rogue tomorrow night. Although you no longer work there, you will be compensated as if you do until you find another position.”

I attempt to interrupt the stern rumble I imagine he uses in the boardroom, but I am too shocked to speak.

If this isn’t a see-you-later brush-off, the pope isn’t Catholic.

“The car in your parking bay at your apartment building is yours. The insurance and registration will be covered by KADOK Industries.”

His dismissive tone ends my silence. “I don’t want your money, your car, or your apartment.” I hate that my voice croaks during my next sentence. “I just want you.”

Andrik’s back molars smash together so fast their crack adds extra damage to my heart. “That is not a possibility.”

“Why?” I ask, following his brisk stalk to the door. “If it is the fertility issues, they can be fixed. I could have an operation to lessen the damage, or we could use a surrogate.”

I’m clutching at straws, but I am desperate. Not just to be chosen first, but for him to admit my infertility isn’t the reason he is walking away from me.

I know it is more than that.

It has to be.

“Talk to me, Andrik! Tell me what is going on. Please.”

He keeps walking, and it breaks my heart.

“You said you would always put me first. That you were going to make things right. How the fuck is this upholding any of the promises you made yesterday?”

His fist lands into the doorframe before he grips the crumbling wood like he is struggling to stay upright. I watch his chest rise and fall as he strives to maintain his anger.

Violence isn’t the emotion I want him to display, but it is better than the one he rips through me when he says, “I love my wife. She can give me everything I’ve ever wanted.” When he cranks his neck back to face me, the deceit in his eyes clears away for honesty. “You cannot.”

With my devastation blinding, I snatch up the vase next to me and throw it at the door. It narrowly misses Andrik’s head as he slips into the hallway and leaves without a backward glance.

When my legs pull out from beneath me, I don’t land on the floor with a thud. I fall into the arms of my baby sister, who assures me time and time again that everything will be okay, and that it is now her turn to carry the burden of our birthright.