Page 30 of The Pakhan's Kidnapped Bride
“She’s in her room, sir.”
Okay. If I move quickly, she might stay there, and I can avoid any drama. I’ll say hello, then get them out of here before anything happens.
I didn’t think Ardalion was cominghere. We discussed dinner in the city this evening, not a visit to the mansion.
I specifically told him I wanted to get out so that he didn’t stumble across Anya.
Fuck.
This certainly isn’t what I planned.
I shower at lightning speed, scrubbing and rinsing and getting dressed all within the space of five minutes. Then I hurry downstairs to greet them.
I can hear their voices as I walk towards the living room. They’re laughing, teasing each other, clearly happy and in love.
It bothers me, even though I want to be happy for my cousin—and I am, I am happy for him. I just struggle to believe in what they have. And I don’t want him to end up going through what I went through. Women can be cruel creatures. I hope he found a good one. If there is such a thing.
“Belle. You look radiant,” I smile as I step into the room. Ardalion stands, setting his coffee mug down.
“Look at you, all pumped up,” he mocks me with the same enthusiasm he always has. He’s the brother I never had. He’s been with me through everything, and we’ve supported each other without question.
But that doesn’t mean I want to put my Anya issues on him.
There is no reason for him to be involved.
“Hey, man, why are you interrupting my workout? I thought we planned for dinner later on,” I say, feigning annoyance that might not be as fake as I’m making it out to be.
“I heard about the shootout at the mall, and I was worried. You didn’t answer your phone last night or this morning.”
“Shit. I left it on silent,” I sigh, pushing my hand through my damp hair. “Sorry, man, I should have let you know I was okay.”
“Well, we’re glad to see it.” Ardalion slaps me on the shoulder, then pulls me into a solid hug, slapping his hand across my back. “Definitely glad to see it,” he repeats.
I lean down to hug Belle, and she gives me a light kiss on the cheek. “We thought we’d come take you out for breakfast?” she says.
Perfect, that’s absolutely the exact thing I want. To get out of the mansion as fast as possible.
“That sounds great. I’m starving. Let me grab my phone, and we can go,” I say with all the enthusiasm in the world.
Ardalion laughs. “You must be hungry. I’ve never seen you that excited to go for breakfast.”
“Hey man, I did a heavy session in the gym now. I need my protein,” I chuckle.
I turn away to get my phone, and my body goes rigid.
“Hello,” Anya says sweetly, walking into the living room. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
She’s holding a cup of coffee and a book, wearing a pair of skinny jeans that hug her ass and a little pink crop top that shows off the tanned stripped of skin across her waist.
“Anya Ilyin,” I hear Ardalion whisper in shock. But then, louder he says, “Hi, I think we’ve met before. I’m Ardalion Pushkin.” He steps forward to shake her hand, and she quickly tucks the book under her arm to free her hand. Her smile is beautiful.
“Yes, I think we have met before. Perhaps at one of the events.”
“This is my wife, Belle. We’re down from Los Angeles for a few days. Coming to say hi to the cousin, make sure he’s not causing any trouble.” Ardalion shoots me a glance, his eyes narrowed.
Belle stands up and greets Anya with a warm smile and a one-armed hug.
“We didn’t know Emmanuil had guests staying over,” Belle says, glancing at me with curiosity.
