Page 182 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

I sit down opposite her, drenching the pool chair in water. She hesitates for a moment before she pulls it out.

I frown. “What is that?”

“It’s a… um, paperweight,” she says. “I think.” She stares at it before popping it back in the box with the slightest of shudders and clamping the lid back on top like she’s trying to stop Pandora’s demons from escaping.

“A paperweight?”

She nods. “Yeah. It used to… belong to me.”

I can’t tell if she’s lying or not. Her body is tense, her eyes furrowed together. There’s more to this hunk of metal than she’s letting on.

“Who do you think sent it?”

She keeps her eyes averted. “Someone from my home, I guess.”

“I thought you haven’t been in contact with your family.”

“I haven’t. Which is why I’m surprised to have received it at all,” she admits. “It’s strange.”

“I’m assuming it has some sentimental value to you?” I ask.

“No,” she replies with another subtle shiver. “Not exactly.”

“Then why send it at all?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. But the gesture lacks conviction ,and her expression is riddled with muted panic.

That warm feeling of contentment that’s engulfed me these past few days turns to ash. I feel the bitterness spread through my limbs like poison.

Elyssa is hiding something from me.

And she’s lying about it.

Too many people have implied that there’s a snake in the grass in my home.

Vitya.

Matvei.

Murray.

Sakamoto.

I’m starting to think that my desire for Elyssa is a luxury I can no longer afford. There’s more at stake here.

“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” I ask point blank.

She looks up at me, startled for a moment. I can see the battle in her eyes.

Prove me wrong, little lamb,I whisper in my head.Tell me the truth.

“No,” she says. “No, there’s nothing.”

I clench my teeth together.So be it. Then your fate is sealed. Time to do what I should’ve done a long time ago.

Disappointment and anger burn together but I keep my expression neutral.

“Where are you going?” Elyssa asks as I rise to my feet.

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