Page 154 of Ruined Vows
I should be screaming.
Or crying.
Or at least asking who the hell tried to kill me. Instead, I’m nauseous. I’m sure it’s nerves.
I sit in the back of his armored car, the silence between us heavier than the gun’s weight still tucked into his belt.
My hands won’t stop shaking. I know exactly what this means; This is not everyday politics. This is an attempt to seize control of Vukan’s empire.
This is war. And I’m the target.
His hand is warm when it covers mine. I don’t pull away, but I don’t squeeze back either because something cracked in me today. Not because he didn’t protect me—he did. Flawlessly.
It’s because he had to. Because this life, his life, willalwayscome with bullets. And I’m not sure if I can live with that. I never thought much about who I would marry, but I wouldn’t mind a quiet life with a normal man—a routine, a family, a dog, and a white picket fence.
But maybe that’s not me. I stand inside the safe house. He stands by the window, back rigid, jaw set like stone. I watch him, wanting to take me into his arms, and he promises this will end soon.
And I know—if I stay, I’ll have to stop pretending this is a game.
Because Vukan Petrovic may have my heart now, but his world could still destroy me. I’ve been in this world long enough to know this doesn’t end with one bullet.
It never does.
But the ripple is felt, and I want to be ready—I have to be prepared for him. And for us.
And for whatever comes next.
46
VUKAN
NO TIME TO BREATHE
Ipour a drink and don’t touch it. She’s in the next room. I can feel her pain in the air. I need to fix this. But I don’t know how to fix something made of fear.
So I walk in slowly, with my hands empty. She looks up, guarded.
“You okay?” I ask.
She laughs. Bitter. "You really want the answer to that?"
“Yes. Even if it ruins me.”
She says nothing. I drop to one knee, and not with a ring.
“I told you I could keep you safe. I told you I could give you space, freedom, a life outside of this.” I look up at her—at the woman I’d burn the world for—and my voice drops to something hoarse, raw.“I lied.”
She doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. But her eyes—God, her eyes—cut straight through me. No anger. Just a quiet devastation I can’t bear.
“I thought I could fight the war without dragging you into it. I thought I could separate what I do from what we are. But there’s no line, Bianca. Not anymore.”
Still nothing. No tears. No rage. Just the kind of silence that feels permanent.
“I failed you tonight,” I continue. “Not because I didn’t protect you, but because you had to see what it costs to love me.”
Her breath catches, barely. I rise slowly, hands still empty. I don’t touch her. I won’t—not unless she asks me to.
“I won’t blame you if this is too much. If I’m too much. But if there’s even a part of you that still wants this…” I hesitate, my chest tightening. “You don’t have to say anything now. Just—don’t shut the door.”
