Page 71 of Forced Mafia Bride
“What’s wrong? You’re seriously asking me that?” I sat up, pulling the covers tighter around myself and struggling to keep my voice low for the sake of our baby. “You come home at thishour without so much as a text, and you want to know what’s wrong?”
Niko didn’t answer. His face was calm, unbothered, which only made my frustration worse.
“Do you even realize what it feels like? To be sitting here, waiting for you, wondering if you’ll bother to show up at all?” I could feel the heat rising in my chest, my hands gripping the blanket as if that would stop the trembling. “It’s like you don’t even care anymore. It’s been three months, Niko. Three months since I felt you: your touch, your kisses, your presence in this goddamn house.
“What’s wrong?I should be askingyouthat! What’s wrong, Niko? Don’t you want me anymore? Don’t you love me anymore? I mean, it should be simple, right? If there’s someone else out there—”
“Don’t.” His icy time cut me off like a sharp knife. “Don’t finish that sentence.”
Surprisingly, I laughed, feeling myself drown in the pain. “Don’t?I wrote paragraphs, and you’re choosing to respond with one line?”
His eyes never left mine, but he didn’t say a word. Not an explanation, not an apology. Just that maddening silence.
I wanted to scream. To shake him.
How could he just sit there, acting like I wasn’t tearing myself apart trying to understand this? But I knew how this went. I had been here before.
“So, you’re not going to say anything? You’re just going to sit there and let me do all the talking?” I let out another bitter laugh. “Of course you are. That’s how this always goes.”
Still nothing. He just stared at me, his face unreadable, as if he was waiting for me to get it out of my system. That familiar frustration gnawed at me, the one that always came when Irealized I was fighting a battle with someone who wouldn’t even pick up a sword.
Finally, I shook my head, the weight of it all pressing down on me. “You know what? Forget it.”
I laid back down, turning away from him, the silence between us stretching into something colder.
Eventually, I heard him move, the bed creaking as he kicked off his shoes and peeled off his shirt. I knew because I heard the soft fabric drop to the floor.
Typical.
I had just poured my heart out, let all my anger and frustration spill, and he chose now to take a shower? I hated how he always kept that mask on—cool, collected, and unreachable.
For a moment, I thought he was just going to walk away. Just like he always did when things got too messy and he restrained himself from yelling at me. But then, he let out a long, slow breath, the kind that felt heavy with things left unsaid.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been dealing with?” His voice was low, almost too low for the weight of the moment.
I frowned, turning around to face him. My anger flared back up.
“What does that even mean? Don’t turn this around on me, Nikolai. This isn’t about your work—this is about you disappearing for hours without a word and leaving me here wondering what the hell is going on. This is aboutyouneglecting me.”
His jaw clenched, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes—something raw, something deeper than the icy calm he always wore like armor.
Lightning tore through the skies around, leaving a heavy rumble of thunder in its wake.
“I’ve been trying to keep everything from falling apart,” his voice tightened. “Between the Bratva and the Irish breathingdown my neck, I can’t just walk away and pretend things will solve themselves. Every day, I’m trying to make sure we’re not dragged into another war, Rosalyn. I am doing everything possible to make sure you and Cian are safe. I am building a life for us, a life that can guarantee your protection. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean all your father’s men are on my side. Aiden gives reports. Plus, the Mexicans have been stirring trouble. There’s a lot, Rosa, and I don’t get you mixed in because you shouldn’t have to worry about these things. I’ll handle it.”
I blinked, caught off guard by the intensity of his words.
When I opened my mouth to say something, nothing came out. I had no idea it had gotten that bad. Sure, I knew his work was dangerous; I’d seen Ronan act like a crazy person to keep his empire from falling.
But Niko never talked about it. He always kept me in the dark, telling me not to worry. I guess now, it was different.
His eyes were dark, almost wild, and before I could respond, he grabbed me by the waist, pulling me close to him. The suddenness of it knocked the breath out of me.
“Did you say I don’t want you? That I don’t love anymore?Fuck, Rosa. Do you even know how it drives me wild when I think about you?” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion, his breath warm against my ear. “While I’m out there, every second I’m away, you’re all I can think about, Rosa.”
His words, raw and unfiltered, sent a shiver down my spine.
I felt his heart pounding against mine, the tension between us shifting into something electric, something that made the air around us hum.