Under the Mistletoe: He Chose My Brother

CHAPTER 6: BITTERNESS

REVA

Levi's touch sent an involuntary shiver down my spine before his stormy gray eyes locked onto mine.

“Well?” he pressed. “Do you want me to have him thrown off?”

“No!” The answer came out instinctively. “I don’t want you to do that.”

I quickly turned away, breaking the intensity of his gaze, and my thoughts swirled as I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded in my lap.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I crossed a line by going against company policy.”

Levi pulled out the chair across from me and sat down, leaning forward.

“It’s okay. I didn’t bring him up to scold you. And for the record, I wasn’t going to do anything about it.”

Relief flooded through me, warm and overwhelming, and I sat up a little straighter. My job was the only thing I had left.

“Thank you.”

His voice softened as he asked, “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Emotions surged inside me in response to the question, and my throat tightened, but I quickly shook my head and forced the words out. “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”

It was a lie, and the voice in my head screamed, "Yes, please, say something," but the awkwardness of the entire situation kept me silent.

Besides, I knew I'd break if I started talking. And despite his claim that he wasn’t my boss right now, I knew it was only temporary. I didn’t want to struggle to face him back at work because I had been such a hot mess at this resort.

“Okay, but you should try the salmon,” he said, and I managed a weak smile that barely moved my lips.

“Can I take it to my suite?” I asked, realizing I had learned something new about my boss today; he could be pretty persistent.

But the emotions simmering beneath the surface were about to boil over, so I needed to get out of here.

“I need to clean up,” I added softly, standing before the tears could betray me, and he nodded.

“Of course. Take it.” He also stood up and handed me the dish.

“Thank you,” I murmured and turned toward the door, willing myself to keep it together, to hold on just a little longer.

All the care he was showing only made everything harder. But then he spoke again just as I reached the exit.

“I’m sorry about what happened, Reva. And for what it's worth, Nikolai is a jerk for doing that to you." His voice was more serious than it had been all this time, and I stopped dead in my tracks, my last fragile thread snapping.

Pivoting sharply, the words flew out before I could stop them… frustrated, and heartbroken.

“I did everything for him,” I said in a trembling voice as I strode back into the room, tears flowing freely. “I held him down when he had no one.” I continued, letting it all out, and Levi didn’t interrupt. Instead, he grabbed a box of tissues and handed them to me.

I took one and sank onto the bed, shaking with the magnitude of my emotions.

“And Hunter? He’s my brother, for goodness’ sake. How could he do this to me?” The words still stung, cutting me open all over again.

“I gave Nikolai everything, and I loved Hunter even with everything that happened with his mother,” I whispered. “And he threw it all back in my face."

I told him everything, and when I was done, the room remained silent except for the sound of my quiet sobs as I buried my face in the tissue, letting it soak up the tears I couldn’t seem to stop.

Levi let me cry without saying a word, allowing me to release everything I had been holding in. When the tears finally stopped, he shifted in his seat and spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Reva. You didn’t deserve that.”

His words reached me, and for a moment, I stayed quiet. Then, almost to myself, I said, “I should’ve let you throw him off the cliff.”

A hollow, bitter laugh escaped me, but when I glanced at Levi, the look in his eyes made me pause. He was still and focused in a way that made the air feel too thick in my lungs. And his eyes weren’t just resting on me; they searched, like he was trying to memorize the angles of my face, the curve of my mouth, and the mess I knew I must have looked like in his shirt.

Swallowing hard, I averted my gaze, a strange heat igniting in the depths of my stomach. “Why are you looking at me like that?” My voice came out softer than I intended, and his answer arrived without hesitation, which certainly didn’t help the situation.

“Because you’re beautiful.”

For the second time in his presence, I forgot how to breathe, and heat rose to my cheeks, spreading quickly across my tear-stained face.

I opened my mouth to thank him and brush it off, but before I could respond, he spoke again.

“I could help you... take back your power.”

The heat dissipated immediately, and my brows shot up. “What do you mean? How?”

His reply made my eyes widen.

“We’ll pretend to be dating,” he said, completely unfazed. “Let Nikolai see that he wasn’t the only one with options.”

For a moment, I stared at him, the words taking a beat too long to sink in. Then I jumped to my feet so fast the sheets nearly tore.

“What?! Make myself out to be a cheater, too? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” He spoke again, but I didn’t hear him. My mind was already reeling. Nikolai and I weren’t just dating; we were married, and we made vows.

“No. Absolutely not… and you’re my boss, for goodness’ sake!” I snapped, telling him Nikolai and I shared sacred vows, but he interjected, saying Nikolai never gave a damn about those vows. That made me pause. It was true, but still. No.

“I would never do something like that. It’s… it’s… it’s not me!”

But then I paused in mid-step as the words "It's not me" sank deeply into my chest. Hunter's eyes as he handed me the divorce papers flashed before my face. Then Nikolai's voice as he spoke behind me, saying he had already signed them, and then continued to stand there while Hunter tore into me.

Bitterness churned in my chest, and then his words came again as he told me how talking to me wouldn’t have helped because I would have cried and begged him to fix things.

He expected me to cry and beg; he was probably waiting for me to show up again; they both were.

My body moved on its own as I pivoted and locked eyes with Levi, a decision forming deep within me, one that refused to let Nikolai win.

“Okay.” The word left my lips with trembling intensity. "It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but let’s do it. Let’s show the bastard something he never imagined he’d ever see.”