Page 97 of Emerald Malice

For the first time since I let her inside, she raises her chin proudly. I see a flash of the devil-may-care Mila I know. “Every woman deserves to have some secrets. And I’ll keep yours. Anything you tell me from this point on is off-limits to Andrey, I will take to my grave.”

“That requires a lot of trust on my part.”

Mila nods. “It’s asking a lot, I know. Especially after what I’ve done. But you can trust me, Nat. Like I said, every woman is entitled to her secrets.”

“Including you?” I ask slyly.

“Yes, including me.”

I can’t deny that it makes me feel a little lighter hearing her say that. It also gives me the courage to broach the little secret I’ve suspected Mila of keeping for the last few weeks.

“So… is it Leonty?”

Her smile gets a little wider. “How did you know?”

“No offense, but the two of you aren’t exactly subtle.”

She giggles and I’m amazed at how young and innocent she sounds. It’s not such a bad look on her. She’s too young to be so jaded.

“It started with flirting. And then—” Her eyes turn dreamy. “—he walked me to my wing of the house one night after we had dinner here. We had our first kiss right outside my bedroom door.”

“Must have been some kiss.”

“You’d think, but no.” She sighs. “He was such a gentleman. Just a little peck and then he walked away.”

It’s painfully obvious that very few men have ever walked away from Mila satisfied with something as innocent as a goodnight kiss.

“It was only meant to be a fling, you know? It was never meant to be…” Her eyes go misty again and the smile slides off her face. “I finally understand what you meant when you said you wanted something real, Nat. I just didn’t get it before because—well, I’d never had serious feelings for anyone. Until now.”

“Your husband’s cousin,” I can’t help but whisper. “You sure picked a doozy to start with.”

“I know.” Her eyes flit once again to the open windows. “Like I said, I’ve made a mess of my life.”

“Marriage doesn’t have to be forever, Mila. You can divorce Viktor if you really want to.”

Mila is shaking her head before I’ve even finished speaking. “Maybe that’s true for some people, but this is the Bratva. Marriage is for life.”

“What if you asked Andrey?—”

“There’s no point. He’ll never allow me to divorce his brother in order to be with his cousin.” She sounds so damn sure, so resigned to her fate. I hate that for her.

“So, you’re just gonna stay married to Viktor but continue to have an affair with Leonty?”

Mila looks at her lap dejectedly. “It’s the most we can hope for. We’ve both agreed: if we can’t have each other wholly, then we’ll settle for parts. We’ll live for stolen moments rather than nothing at all.”

How my heart aches for her, for them…

But even as I acknowledge the hopelessness of their love story, I register a stab of something piercing the center of my chest.

At least they’re both in it together.

At least they have each other.

“Nat,” Mila’s voice is barely audible. “Are we okay?”

Swallowing my own heartache, I nod. “We’re okay.”

“Thank—”

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