Page 84 of Ruined Vows
“Maybe he is real. And maybe he likes you. He probably likes you more than he should. Or, maybe more than what’s healthy for him.”
“I don’t know what to do with that.”
“You don’t have todoanything,” she says. “You just have to stop running like he’s trying to kill you.”
I sigh, staring at the ceiling. But running from men is what I do. It’s safe.
“Was it a good kiss?” she asks.
I press my fingers to my lips and smile before I can stop it.
“Bianca…” she cajoles me.
“It was... devastating,” I moan.
Joanne laughs. “Then, babe, maybe it’s time to bea littleruined.”
23
VUKAN
QUIET MOVES MAKE LOUD STATEMENTS
The thud of a body hitting the mat echoes through the compound’s south training hall.
I step inside just in time to watch my cousin, Emilia, flip one of the new guards flat on his back with a sharp pivot and ruthless elegance—no wasted movement. No apology.
She plants a heel into his chest. “Next time,” she says coolly, “don’t assume a silk blouse means I’m easy.”
The guard groans.
She steps off him like she’s walking off a runway.
I wait until she grabs her towel before I speak. “Enjoying yourself?”
She tosses the towel over her shoulder and glances at me. “It’s called multitasking. Sparringandgathering intel.”
“On?”
“Milan,” she says.
That gets my attention.
She walks past the guard, still struggling to breathe, and joins me by the edge of the mat. Her voice drops, expression tightening. “He cornered David. Tried to feel him out.”
I stay silent, waiting.
“He called Miloš a weak man and said you’re worse. Saidthis empire deserves better. Then told David,you have the name… you just need the nerve.”
My jaw tightens. “Did David answer him?”
“No. He walked off. But Vukan—” she steps closer, her voice now sharp as the blade she keeps hidden in her boot. “Milan’s not testing loyalty. He’s recruiting. Quietly. Calculated. And he thinks he has a chance.”
“Because he’s family,” I murmur.
“Because he’sbitter,” she corrects. “Your father chose Miloš. Then fate chose you. Milan thinks he was skipped. Twice.”
“And now he wants to rewrite it.”
