Page 58 of Forced Mafia Bride
In a brief moment, the heat of her gaze fell to my lips, and her eyes ran back up to my face. Her mouth opened and closed, and she retraced her steps. I saw it, her resolve to not give me the satisfaction by answering.
“I’m going back inside. Congratulations, dear husband, you’ve successfully disrupted the peace.”
Chapter 23 – Rosalyn
I finally met Nadia.
I’d walked in to see her seated at our table with the most elegance. She was decent, at least toward me. Nice, friendly, and warm. Basically everything her brothers weren’t. I hadn’t gotten a chance to meet the oldest Yezhov sibling yet, Egor, but judging from Nikolai’s mannerisms and disciplined work ethic, I suspected there might have been a rub-off from thePahkanof the Bratva. Talking to Nadia had been like conversing with an older version of myself, a more resilient, focused, and successful version. In the short time we spent dining with her, she inspired me, and I was happy when Niko said we’d be seeing her more often.
Now, we were back in the hotel room.
Quietly, he went into the closet to do whatever he wanted to do there, and I walked over to the glass windows, brushing my fingers through the light curtains. I wanted to stop caring, but my heart refused to comply. Fuming, I let my hand drop from the curtains and folded my fingers into fists, digging into the skin of my palm until it hurt.
He didn’t mention he had a sister, but why would he? We were only a married couple on paper, right? Nothing else connected us except the growing baby in my womb. We shared no attachments except the crazy attraction neither of us could get rid of.
A vibration in my purse snapped my attention, and I plucked the phone out. The bold caller ID displayed on the screen momentarily knocked the breath out of my lungs. I put the phone to my ear, his name leaving my lips in a breathless roll.
“Aiden?”
Between us, there had always been that breathless effect. When our eyes accidentally met across the room. When our fingers accidentally touched. When one time, he’d almost kissed me.
It had been one of those nights during my brothers’ rampage. They threw me out and prohibited me from sleeping on the steps at the entrance. I’d roamed the estate, humming to distract myself from the bone-chilling cold. It didn’t work. I wasn’t sure when it happened, but my eyes had opened to meet Aiden’s. He found me passed out on the floor. In his arms, there was a blanket, but after putting the back of his hand on my cheek, he’d changed his mind. If he left me outside that night, I would have probably died from hypothermia.
He snuck me to his room, smuggled a bowl of chicken soup so I wouldn’t die from starvation either, and took off his shirt. That was the first time I touched a man’s pecs. He’d let me, touched my cheeks, and told me it was okay if I wanted to snuggle. Body heat would do a lot of good, he said. Without hesitating, I jumped at the opportunity, hugging him tightly until our lips nearly touched.
“Rosalyn.”
His voice was exactly as I remembered. Hard, but still had that warmth he always reserved for me. He didn’t attend the wedding. Niko had promoted his rank above my father’s men, putting him in charge of conducting business there.
“Aiden, it’s…it’s so good to hear your voice again. How are you?”
It might have been crazy, but I thought I heard the smile in his voice when he answered. “How am I? Let’s see, it’s been hectic here. Didn’t know how much it takes to be at the helm of affairs. But other than that, I’m good. There’s really nothing I don’t think I can’t handle.”
I laughed, running my fingers through my hair. “You’ve always been capable.”
He was quiet for a while. Then, a heavy exhale came through the phone. “And you? How areyou?”
When I was younger, I used to think that no one cared. Aiden, however, always found a way to prove me wrong. When I needed someone to be there, he showed up. And the times he couldn’t…after Hannah’s employment, he made sure she was attached to me. His way of looking out for me. These things, he never said, but I saw the signs. And this phone call was one of them.
“Like you, I’m good.”
Deep down, the solid suspicion that Aiden loved me never left.
“Are you happy?”
And the soberness in his voice confirmed it.
He loved me. He always had.
Tears worked its way up my throat, squeezing my lungs, snatching my breath.
The answer had always been there.
I wiped a tear underneath my eyelashes, chuckling. “I’m not unhappy, but I’m not going to choose, Aiden.”
I will not choose between you or Nikolai.
If he knew what was coming, not even his quiet breathing gave anything away.