Page 47 of Merciless Promise
Her head snapped back, and she covered her face with her hands. Her entire body began to shake, and I thought she might have been crying, but as I got closer, I heard her laugh. The evil bitch was happy that my brother was gone, and obviously gettinga kick out of taking his life and imagining it had been mine instead.
She finally uncovered her face. “Thisis it, and has been it all along.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You hate me because I took your brother away from you. Even after what he did to me, you?—”
“Princeton never attacked you. He had no need to,” I reminded her. “He was a Brannington for fuck’s sake.”
“Doesn’t make him any less of a would-be rapist.”
Now, I was the one getting angry. “We both know you’d lied about him to save your own ass. Your father likely put you up to it, but I know the truth.”
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you in the ass. Your brother attacked me, and I tried to get away.Hejumped in front ofme.”
“Because you were acting crazy like you are now. You?—”
“You haven’t seen crazy yet, so get the fuck out of my way. I can’t stand the sight of you right now.”
“That makes two of us,” I said as I angrily turned and grabbed my cell phone and keys.
Once I made it to the door, I placed my hand on the handle, and she let out a wry laugh. “You can run all you want, but you’ll never outrun the truth. Your brother paid for his sins, and one day the two of us will pay for all of ours. My being stuck in this loveless marriage of hell is part of my penance. Losing our baby was another. Soon, you will get yours, too. And when you do, I hope it hurts just as much.”
I threw up my middle finger as I exited the loft. Once I closed the door, I rested against it. Ekaterina was wrong about one thing. I was already paying for my sins, and being married to her was just part of the price. Only, I couldn’t tell whether it was the love or hate for her that hurt the most. It didn’t matter. I finallyregained my composure, then brushed Nolan off as I headed to my Porsche. I needed to take a drive to clear my head, if that was even possible at this point.
Aweek had passed since the miscarriage, and while Kingston was back to acting as if nothing was amiss, I couldn’t so easily forget the reality of this situation. I’d hoped that he’d put his brother’s death behind him, but I could see it in his eyes every time he trained them on me.
You think I’m a cold-blooded murderer.
First Princeton, and now the baby. Maybe he had a point, although both were accidents. The latter I hadn’t even known existed. Had it been the hot yoga that day? Or had it been something more? The more I read up on it, a number of things I had felt beforehand were all warning signs that I had naively dismissed.
If only I had known.
There was no use in blaming myself, because my husband did enough of that for the two of us. A sigh escaped as I truly realized I was in a losing battle. Everything had once been so simple. This arrangement was supposed to be a win-win for both of us, but it was more of a colossal failure where I was concerned. Marrying someone you barely knew or even liked, but had explosivechemistry with in the sheets, seemed easy enough. In return, I’d be protected from someone far worse and more evil.
“But the evilest of ones was you,” I said as I stared at a solo picture of Kingston in a frame on his mantle.
For self-preservation purposes, I’d chosen to steer clear of those of him and his brother. Princeton used to haunt me every night for at least the first year, but I eventually accepted what I had done and moved on. Now, it was fresh in my head again, and I had to grieve and mourn all over. But it wasn’t for Princeton. Maybe for the loss of a life at my hands, but never for him specifically.
I picked up the frame with Kingston’s picture, then traced my finger over his face. Even in this one, he was so devastatingly handsome. And arrogant. Those piercing blue eyes and all-knowing smirk. It infuriated me most days as much as it warmed me up from within. This man could make me hot by simply existing, and it was so unfair to be able to have that effect on someone else and with such little effort.
I missed him. The longer I stared down at his smiling face, the more it hit me. I loved the verbal sparring we often did, and the way he would take control in the bedroom. Even when he was being a domineering jackass, I still yearned to submit to him, and did night after endless night.
That had all changed after the miscarriage. Was he actually concerned about me physically? Or was it what happened once we’d gotten home that had him distant, although still here? It was him simply going through the motions. And it fucking hurt. Badly!
What the hell’s happening to me?
I had no idea. One day, I hated the very air he breathed. To have him not want to talk to or be around me should’ve made me so happy. But on other days, I needed to feel his arms around me and have him assure me that everything would be okay. Hecouldn’t do it because the truth was that he might just end this entire charade completely. And if he did, where would that leave me?
I knew, and the very thought of going from one arranged marriage to another left a bitter taste in my mouth. It also pierced the armor I had built around my heart because even it couldn’t stop the blasted organ from shattering. I loved Kingston, and while it hadn’t always been that way, I knew it would never be transferred to someone like Aram. In fact, I wasn’t sure I could ever allow myself to feel anything for anyone ever again.
The sound of the keypad on the outside door jolted me back to the present. Knowing it was Kingston, I quickly put the photograph back on the mantle, then walked to the window where I was standing when he opened the door.
Kingston said nothing as he closed it, then walked into the kitchen. I didn’t need to turn to know that he was watching me. The searing heat from his intense gaze was enough for me to know it. As I continued to stare outside, he grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator and opened it.
Finally, he spoke. “We have an appointment with Dr. Kane today.”
“I know,” I said softly.
