Chapter 53 Episode 53
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The hotel is built around some of the natural geothermal hotsprings like the one Belle and I soaked in yesterday. The mainevent room was designed with that selling point in mind,featuring floor to ceiling windows that look out on the naturalpools and towering lava rock formations. Steam ripples off thewater like clouds and reveals subtle designs etched into theunbroken panes of glass.
“Being here is more than enough,” she continues. “You don’tneed to get me anything else. The last few days here havebeen… They’ve been the best gift I’ve ever received.”
Her eyes are glassy with emotion. I know she means it.
“Sorry about what?” she asks, frowning.
I reach into my pocket and pull out a flat, rectangular blackbox. “That I wasted my money on another gift.”
The worry slips off her face, replaced by a half-irritated, half-amused smile. “Nikolai, that is not funny.”
Smirking, I open the box and pull out a gold necklace with alarge ruby set in the center. The colors perfectly match her
“I… I can’t accept that,” she stutters.
“Good thing you don’t get a choice.”
I move around her and slide the chain under her auburn hair.She gently fingers the gem as I fasten the clasp.
“I don’t even know what to say,” she mumbles.
“Then don’t say anything. Let’s dance.”
Her eyes flare. “There’s no music.”
“Don’t worry. There will be.” I grab her hand and lead her tothe center of the dance floor.
The moment I wrap an arm around her waist, I catch sight ofthe orchestra hurrying to pick up their instruments. A fewmoments later, they begin to play.
Belle chuckles. “Do you get everything you want the secondyou want it?”
I tighten my hold on her, molding her body to mine. “I’ve toldyou, Belle: all you have to do is ask. Whatever you want, I’llgive it to you.”
Belle looks up at me. I have a feeling we both want the samething right now.
Her hand clasps down around my arm and her lips part in asoft exhale. It doesn’t matter where we are—the middle of agala, in the corner booth of a restaurant, crammed in anairplane bathroom—this woman does things to me.
Right now, nothing else matters.
But just before I can lean in and make her wish come true, aflash of red catches my eye. I glance over and see I’ve caughtsomeone’s attention.
Someone who was not supposed to be here.
This broken kiss hurts more than anything that’s come beforeit.
Maybe it’s because there are so many people around. On theairplane, in his office, in the hot springs, we were alwaysalone. What we were doing felt like a dirty little secret, ahidden guilty pleasure. No witnesses. Forget about it as soonas it happened.
But here? Now? We’re in the middle of a party, surrounded bymy sister and Nikolai’s employees and God knows who else.
Not that you’d know it by the way he was looking at me upuntil about two seconds ago. If all you saw was Nikolai’s face,you’d think we were the only two people in the room.
Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. I don’t have the wordsto explain what that little sentence did to me.
But then Nikolai looks away. His eyes darken, focusing onsomething over my head, and he shifts away from me.
“Nikolai?” I ask in confusion.
He doesn’t look down at me. His eyes stay fixed on whateverhe’s looking at. “Stay here,” he orders. “I’ll be back.”
I turn and watch as Nikolai crosses the room—and headsstraight for another woman.
Not just any woman, though. I recognize her. The day Rogersurprised me at Zhukova Incorporated, I saw Nikolai in ameeting with this woman and Giorgos Simatou.
She looks much different today. Her dress is flaming red anddips dangerously low across her chest. I’m honestly surprised Ican’t see her belly button. Her hair is slicked back into a tight,posh ponytail, and even from across the room, I can see herlips are slathered in bright red lipstick. She looks like anInstagram model, the kind who’s always posting from privatejets and white sand beaches.
Nikolai grinds to a halt in front of her and starts furiouslywhispering something I can’t hear.
I feel exposed standing in the middle of the dance floor allalone, so I make my way to the edge of the room witheveryone else.
Elise is still standing with the blonde boy she introducedherself to when she arrived, but I can tell she’s watching me,too. Watching us, actually. Her eyes keep darting from Nikolaito me and back again.
“Champagne, miss?” A waiter asks, holding a tray ofchampagne flutes in front of my face, obscuring Nikolai andthe woman from view.
I take one, mostly because I seem to have lost my voice all ofthe sudden, and sip on it as I watch my date talk to anotherwoman.
But when her hand lands on Nikolai’s bicep and then dragsslowly down his arm… I nearly throw my glass across theroom.
He’s mine, I want to scream, beating on my chest all the while.
Except Nikolai isn’t mine. Not really.
A week ago, I hated him. I was going to turn him in to thepolice for embezzlement. That’s laughable now, consideringhe killed a man while we were out to dinner together, andconsidering I know all the other terrible things he’s done, and Islept with him anyway.
If I went to the police, I’d end up in a cell right along withhim. Maybe even a straitjacket.
The woman in red stretches up on her toes and presses a kissto Nikolai’s cheek. My heart clenches so hard I want to vomit.I wait for him to push her away, to pull back.
But Nikolai stands perfectly still.
I look over at Elise. She’s staring at me, her eyes wide. She’sall the way across the room, but I can hear her voice in myhead. You cannot let a man treat you like this.
We aren’t really dating, I want to tell her. Nikolai didn’tpromise me anything.
But then I hear his words in my head, too. Whatever you want,I’ll give it to you.
Well, I don’t f*****g want this.
I grab the train of my gown in my hands and march across theroom towards Nikolai and the woman. I’m burning up fromthe inside out with a fiery cocktail of emotions. Rage andshame, disgust and lust.
But above all, righteousness. What’s that thing they say aboutkids—they’re always watching? I have to show my baby sister—and almost as important, myself—that I’m worthy ofrespect. That I won’t be treated like a throwaway piece oftrash. That women deserve more than to be the playthings ofpowerful men.
Nikolai and the woman don’t look up as I approach, whichmakes this all hurt even more. They’re so wrapped up in eachother that they don’t even notice me. I have to clear my throatto get their attention.
Only then does he look over. But as expected, his expression isneutral. Calm. What would actually ruffle this man’s feathers,I wonder? Nuclear explosions? Pigs in the sky?
“Hi.” I should have thought of something better to say on myway over, but there wasn’t time, so I’m stuck with the lamestopening the history of bitchy, pre-catfightline confrontations.
The woman looks at me now. Her makeup is smudged into aperfect smoky eye and her cheekbones are high and sharp. Shelooks like the kind of woman I’d expect Nikolai to be with.Flawless, just like him.
“Hello,” she drawls, arching a brow like a bug just crawledacross her shoe. “Who are you?”
“Belle Dowan. Who are you?”
Something like recognition flickers over her face. It’s likeshe’s heard my name before. Did Nikolai mention me? Stupidhope flares in my chest at the thought.
“I told you I’d be back, Belle,” interrupts Nikolai. “I’ll explaineverything after—”
“There’s nothing to explain,” the woman cuts in.
Nikolai clenches his jaw. “You showed up unannounced,Xena. That deserves an explanation.”
Xena. Even her name sounds interesting and unique. Exotic.More exotic than “Belle,” at least.
“Is our engagement not explanation enough?”
It feels like someone has poured a bucket of ice cubes downmy back. “I’m sorry… what?”
“Belle.” Nikolai’s voice is a warning. “You need to—”
“You’re en—” I shake my head. “Since when?”
“It’s been in the works for quite a while,” she says with avicious smile. She can see how much this hurts me. I’m notexactly concealing it very well. “But it became official lastweek.”
My vision swims. For a moment, I actually think I might faint.
I’ve been sleeping with a married man. Or a soon-to-be-married man, at least. Nikolai promised himself to someoneelse and then spent a week f*****g me silly.
I guess I really was the dirty little secret after all.
Maybe Nikolai says something just then. I can’t be surebecause my ears are ringing. Blood is thrumming through myveins, and I want to cry.
But I won’t cry here. Not in front of him. Not in front of all ofthese people.
I have to get out of here.
- Writer
