Page 71 of Cruel Russian Monster
After speaking with her brothers, she should’ve been calm.
She wasn’t.
Close by was an open bottle of wine and half a glass. She downed the rest of her wine in one go, set the glass down hard, then started chopping something on the cutting board that I couldn't quite see, like it’d done something to her. One hand bumped a tomato; it rolled off the counter and hit the floor. She muttered under her breath, picked it up, rinsed it, and poured herself another glass.
Then she opened the fridge to grab some eggs, tried to close it, but something inside blocked it. She kept pushing until she slammed the door harder, her frustration boiling over in a low growl.
I moved toward her, adjusted the container that had been blocking the door. She didn’t say anything, just walked away and poured herself another glass of wine.
After a few strides, I reached out, took the wine from her hand, and set it down on the counter.
“Vera,” I said, concern lacing my voice, “what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered, barely looking at me.
She tried to push past me, but I wasn’t letting that slide.
“Vera. Talk to me.”
She stopped. Her eyes snapped up to mine. “You want to know what’s wrong with me?”
I folded my arms, head tilted slightly, waiting.
“You are what’s wrong with me!”
I stiffened. “Explain.”
Her eyes flickered. “What happened between you and my brothers…that’s the real reason I broke it off with you three years ago.”
My jaw tightened. “Explain,” I repeated.
Vera backed up until she hit the kitchen island, arms wrapping tightly around herself like she was trying to make herself small. A sad look washed over her face. I wanted nothing more than to go over and pull her into my arms. But if what she had to say explained the real reason why she broke up with me, and it wasn't about an ex? I needed to hear every damn word.
Her soft gaze met my narrowed one. “I was in a store shopping one day with Kira and Yegor. We saw you through the boutique window, and then Yegor told us who you were…that you belonged to a rival faction.
“I knew…” she inhaled deeply, voice cracking, “I knew if Artyom found out I was dating you, he’d kill you. No questions asked. So I did what I had to do to protect you.”
I didn’t say a word. I was too fucking stunned by the words she just uttered.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I didn’t have an ex. I’d never dated anyone before you...or after you. You were my first…”
She let the words linger. She lowered her gaze, voice softer as she continued. “I knew I had to tell you something bad enough to make you hate me, to keep you away.”
And fuck, it worked. Vera lied to protect me. Made me hate her to keep me alive.
And while that truth brought some warped kind of comfort, that didn't stop the anger from surging through my veins.
“Dammit, Vera!” I ran my hand through my hair. “You could’ve met with me! Told me the truth! We could’ve worked it out! Found a way!”
“How?” she shot back. “There was no way I could admit to Artyom that I was in love with a rival faction’s underboss! He would’ve killed you, dragged me out of college, and had me married off before your body hit the ground!”
“You should’ve let me decide! You took that from me! You took away my chance to fight for the woman I loved! To fight for us! For our future!”
“And you’re alive because I did!” she cried. “Look at us—three years later, we’re married, and we still don’t know how we’re going to tell Artyom without him going batshit crazy! If making you hate me ripped my heart out, knowing that you died because of me would have killed me.”
Vera began to sob uncontrollably, and I moved then. I held her, and she clung to me.
