Page 30 of Ivory Oath

My hands slide across the thin hospital comforter, closer to him. I’m not sure if I want to grab his shoulders and shake answers out of him or throw my arms around his neck and hold him until I fall asleep. I could probably sleep for days—longer, if Mikhail was next to me.

“Is it about jealousy?” I feel stupid even suggesting it. He kicked me out of his life just a few days ago. Where do I get off thinking he’s jealous? But it’s all that makes sense. “If it was, you should know I did not want to be there.” I lift my bandaged wrists as proof. “Did you think it would look bad for the Bratva? I guess me marrying you and then turning around and marrying your brother, who everyone thought was dead, could be a bad look.”

He snorts, mumbling under his breath. “It’s a worse look for the Bratva that I’m here right now.”

“Then you should go.” It might be easier that way. For both of us. He saved me and now, he can go back to the mansion and Dante… Pain twists deep in my chest, but it’ll be worse the longer Mikhail stays.

His jaw flexes. “I can’t.”

“You can do whatever you want.” Finally, I find the courage to close the gap between us, my fingers brushing down his bicep. “So why are you here?”

“Because letting you leave that night was a mistake.” Mikhail jerks to his feet, his hands opening and closing at his sides like he isn’t sure what to do with them. I’m not sure what I want him to do with them, either.

“We didn’t even know Trofim was alive. How could you have known he’d come for me?”

“Fuck Trofim,” he grits out. “This isn’t about him. It’s about—” He spins towards me, his eyes electric blue and wild. “You’re all I’ve been able to think about for days. I’ve been a fucking wreck. Even before I heard about Trofim, I couldn’t sleep. There was this constant ache in my chest like I’d lost something. And when I found out that Trofim was alive and he—” Mikhail can’t even finish the sentence. He’s about to combust. “I had to come get you. I couldn’t leave you there, Viviana.”

I wish he’d stop saying my name like that. Like he cares. Like nothing has changed.

Everything has changed.

If he’d said any of this a couple weeks ago, I would have melted into a puddle at his feet. I would have thrown myself at him and begged him to say it all again. To whisper it against my skin as he carried me to his bed.

Now, it feels like he’s poking at a still-open wound. It hurts.

“What does your new wife think about all of this?”

He checks the clock on the wall. “As of three hours ago, she became my new ex-fiancée.”

Silence. Stunned, gasping silence.

“What?” I breathe at last.

“I skipped our wedding to rescue you.” He smirks and the curve of his lip does dangerous things to my insides. “I doubt Helen will handle that insult with grace.”

“But… war,” I blurt. Speaking of not having grace.

“Wars have been fought for many reasons.” Mikhail’s eyes drift slowly over to me. “And as far as I’m concerned, there’s never been a better one.”

He’s saying all of the right things. I want to lean into the comfort he’s offering right now, but I can’t. Not if that comfort won’t still be there next week, next month. I can’t lean on Mikhail now if he’s not going to be there for the rest of my life.

Because that’s what I want from him, isn’t it? Forever?

With one child and another on the way, I need to know he’s going to be there.

The words coming out of his mouth should mean that I’m safe. So why do I feel like I’m in more danger than ever?

13

MIKHAIL

Viviana is steady on her feet as she climbs out of the hospital bed. The fluids are gone and Dr. Hamilton cleared her to be released, but I hover close by just in case.

The trash can is overflowing with the wadded-up remains of her would-be wedding dress. Viviana stares down at it, one hand holding her hospital gown closed behind her.

“Are the hospital gowns complimentary?” she contemplates, worrying at her lower lip with her teeth. “Because if not, I’d rather walk out of here butt naked than put that dress on again.”

I’m tempted to tell her that stealing the gowns comes with a mandatory life sentence for that very reason. I still haven’t recovered from the image of her topless, standing in a puddle of her shredded wedding dress. She’s been through a lot and I’m more than capable of controlling myself… but fuck me.

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