Page 45 of The Bratva's Auctioned Bride
“Yes, you know. The whole reason you were doing this. I’m sure it’s paid off, so I’m happy for you.”
She reaches out to push the door open, and I stop her with my hand on her leg. The connection shoots through me, and I have to pause to gather my thoughts. “Angel, I didn’t do it just for the…”
“It’s ok, Diomid. I get it. Business is business. I had fun, and you achieved your goals. Everyone is happy. Let’s not make a big deal of it or make it weird.” She smiles confidently, then turns away and pushes the door open. I jump from the car to jog after her as she heads up the steps.
“The estate guards are here; you don’t have to walk me to the door,” she assures me.
“It’s polite,” I snap, annoyed with her coldness and how easily she is able to brush me off after all the time we spent together.
She shrugs. “Alright,” and reaches for the door handle, but it opens before she has her hand on it.
Jaroslav grins and immediacy slaps me on the shoulder. “Hey man, good to see you. And Angelika, are you happy to be home?”
Instead of answering him, she rolls her eyes and walks past him.
Jaroslav turns toward me and rolls his eyes as well. “And you had to deal with that twenty-four seven,” he laughs. “Again, thank you. Your patience is better than mine, considering you haven’t torn your own hair out yet.”
“It’s all good, man. Listen, if you need me to step in again, I’m around.”
“That’s great. I’ll hold you to that,” he jokes.
Nodding, my eyes wander into the mansion, searching for her, but she’s already gone.I’m struggling to walk away.
“Well, I’ll be on my way then. I might pop around tomorrow to drop off her things that were left at my penthouse.”
“No worries, we’ll send the driver to collect them.”
“Sure. Sure.” I step back, reluctant, the remnants of her scent still pulling me toward her.
“Good night, then, get home safe,” Jaroslav says, unaware of my hesitance.
I grin, nod, and take a proper step away. I’m acting like a fool.
“Bye.” With one last wave and one last glance at the mansion, I turn and head to my car.
She’s home now.
Whatever this was… It’s finished.
Don’t dwell on it.
Forget about it.
That’s the best thing you can do for everyone involved, including yourself.
Forget about it. But somewhere inside me, something is stirring, refuse to let go. Refusing to accept the finality of this. She’s not the type of thing I can just walk away from.
Chapter 14 - Angelika
The four white walls of my bedroom are even more cage-like now that I’ve tasted a brief moment of true freedom. Dramatically, I flop down onto my bed and growl angrily, with my face pressed into my pillow so the sound is muffled and silenced.
I’ve been back home, without 24/7 security, for four days. And I hate it.
I want to be back in Barbados, sipping cocktails and swimming with Diomid. I want to be laughing with him and pulling faces at him when he tricks me into eating gross things. I want to walk down those colorful streets and watch the sun set, framing yachts over the ocean as it sinks low and the sky turns beautiful colors.
I even want to go to his warehouse again and help out there. I want to handle the mishaps, the random things, the mistakes, the dangers, the quiet moments in between all of that…
But I want to do it withhim.
