Page 33 of Twisted Princess

But what if the real lie was what she told Vinny about not caring for me?

That thought fills me with a hope I’ve hardly dared entertain since I left Boston.

Vinny could have killed me that night. And I know she said what she did to try to save my life.

But Vincent Kelly’s proposal was also a far better one than I could ever give her. The man’s immeasurably more rich and powerful. He could have provided her with a life of luxury. The best I have to offer is comfort and a small sense of security. So I believed she preferred him over me—at least until she found out he wouldn’t let her keep Gabby after they got married.

“Gleb… say something,” Mel pleads, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

13

MEL

Gleb reaches up to wipe the moisture from my cheek with the pad of his thumb, prolonging the silence that’s positively agonizing.

“All this time, I’ve thought my feelings for you were one-sided,” he murmurs. “I’m a broken person, Mel. I wasn’t raised for this—for sharing emotions or understanding happy relationships. I figured that’s what you were running from. And I could hardly blame you.”

My heart aches at the desolate emptiness in Gleb’s voice. And at the same time, my pulse quickens because he just told me he has feelings for me. He has all this time.

Does that mean I haven’t broken what’s between us beyond fixing?

Please tell me that’s what it means.

Shaking my head vehemently, I cradle his angular cheekbone as I try to comfort him. “You’re not broken,” I insist. “And this… whatever this is between us, it isn’t one-sided. I like you, Gleb. A lot. I’ve had feelings for you since the moment we met. And while I know I scare easily, I don’t think it’s you I’ve been running from. It’s… what I’m scared you could become.”

The last part comes out as a whisper because it’s truly terrifying to admit. If I say it out loud, it feels as though I might breathe life into my fears.

Gleb’s eyes grow troubled, his brows pressing together in the shadow of a frown, and a heavy silence falls between us. His body tenses beneath my palm as he grows unsettled by my observation.

My heartbeat turns erratic, fluttering desperately against my ribs like a bird in its cage.

“What do you think I could become?” Gleb asks, his deep voice flat and dangerous.

Biting my lip, I search for the right way to put it. “All men seem to want is to control women,” I breathe finally, my eyes dropping because I can’t bear to see how my words will affect him. “I just don’t want to learn you’re capable of becoming that, too.”

“Mel, look at me,” he commands, and when I don’t, he gently hooks his finger under my chin, guiding it upward until I have to meet his tumultuous green eyes. “I don’t want to control you. I never will,” he assures me, the confidence in his tone unwavering.

A sad smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “But you told me I couldn’t go back to the modeling gig tomorrow. It wasn’t even a discussion. You just decided I had to stay home.”

I don’t want to start an argument. Especially when we seem to be managing such a meaningful conversation. And after knowing he intends to stay home to protect me and the Veles family as well, I can’t disagree with him. But it’s the way he went about it that I need him to see. It’s that kind of stuff that triggers my fight and flight instincts almost simultaneously.

Gleb sighs, and I brace for the frustration that’s sure to follow because I’m being obstinate. I’m nitpicking unnecessarily. Who cares how he delivers the message when the only reason he’s doing it in the first place is to protect me and Gabby? Right?

“I could have handled it better,” he says, halting my retort before it has a chance to leave my mouth.

“W-What?” I stumble across the question, I’m so shocked by his response.

“You’re right. I should have given you the bigger picture before expecting you to listen. I’m just so used to giving orders to my men, and I hadn’t thought you would object since I made the decision for your and Gabby’s safety.”

“I… Thank you,” I breathe, unsure of how to proceed when this conversation continues to be more reasonable than I had ever anticipated it being.

It feels like, in the past, Gleb and I were constantly fighting. Could I have avoided all the mess I’ve made of my life if I’d been brave enough to have this conversation with him the first time?

I’m not sure I could have reasoned myself into it three years ago when I ran.

I was still freshly out of the trauma of being sold off to Mikhail—who then kidnapped me again, after I thought I’d been given a new lease on life. Gleb saved me from a horrible fate twice in a matter of months. So, I wasn’t ready to trust any man at that point.

Not even Gleb.

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