Page 238 of Toxic Temptation
“So what?” I say, my throat dry and aching. “You’re going to let him continue butchering children because he’s got leverage over you?”
“This isn’t just about me. It’s about Luka. His future. His life.”
“I love Luka, too!” I cry out. “I love that boy more than I thought possible. But I can’t pretend this isn’t happening. I can’t stand by while children die.”
As I watch, Kovan’s face changes. The defeat hardens into a mask. Into cold, hard armor.
“I don’t expect you to understand. You’re not Bratva. You’re not blood.” His voice roughens to a growl. “And you’re not family.”
I wait for him to take that back, to soften it somehow.
He doesn’t.
“What are you saying?” I squeak out.
He doesn’t hesitate. “I’m saying this—you and me—this was a mistake. Maybe the biggest one I’ve ever made.”
“Yeah?” I spit in his face. “What makes you think you’re anything different to me? I was happy before I met you. I was fulfilled. I was?—”
“You were a ghost,” he interrupts in a deadened voice. “Walking around pretending to be alive. You didn’t have a life—all you had was a schedule. And even that wasn’t enough to save the kids who needed you most.”
My vision blurs, from tears or rage or both or neither, I don’t even know. “You… You’re… You’re a fucking bastard, Kovan.”
“I never lied about what I am.” He steps closer. “You’re the one who convinced yourself this was real. I have custody of Luka now. I don’t need you anymore.”
“Stop.” I force the plea out through numb lips. “We both know this stopped being about custody weeks ago. If you want to end this, then end it. But don’t you dare pretend you don’t feel anything.”
“I don’t have to pretend.” His jaw hardens. “We’re done, Vesper. It’s over. Pavel will come by to return your things.”
“Wait—I have to see Luka. I have to explain?—”
“No.”
I freeze.
“Y-you can’t.” Panic crawls up my throat. “Luka and I, we have a relationship. He’ll want to know why I disappeared.”
“He’ll get over you. He’ll forget you.” Kovan moves toward the exit, not looking back. “I already have.”
The door slams behind him.
And I’m left alone with the wreckage of everything I thought I knew about love.
82
VESPER
When you’re dying inside, you go home to your mother.
I don’t remember driving here. Don’t remember parking or walking up the front steps. But somehow, I’m standing on Mom’s porch, shaking like a leaf, trying not to fall apart completely.
The door opens. “… Vesper?” Her face crumples the second she sees me. “Oh, sweetheart.”
That’s when I break.
Right there on her doorstep, I shatter into a million pieces. She catches me before I hit the ground, her arms wrapping around me like they used to when I was small and thought she could fix anything.
“I’ve got you,” she whispers, guiding me inside. “Mama’s got you.”
