Page 80 of Romi

Eventually, my belly rumbled loudly as if suddenly reminding itself it hadn’t had food in days.

“Oh, babe, you must be starving. I’ll go make you something,” Sonia cried, jumping up. With a peck on my cheek, she was gone before I could protest.

My heart swelled at the sight of her hurrying to take care of me. I truly loved that woman.

Leaning back against the pillow, I closed my eyes, planning to take a nap while Sonia was gone.

The sound of the door opening again roused me. Prising my heavy eyelids open, I smiled, expecting to see Sonia returning, but I was surprised to see Miki, Ash, and Marko entering the room.

“Glad to see you’re awake,” Marko said, and I nodded to him as he leaned against the wall.

Miki moved across the room and stood looking out of the window, his back to me. Ash stepped towards my bed and halted at the foot, looking uneasy.

My eyes flickered between the two. They’d better not be here to tell me that even with the marriage off, I couldn’t be with Sonia, or I swear to god, I’ll kill them. I fumed silently, waiting to see what they had planned.

“Romi,” Ash said before taking a deep breath.

“It’s difficult for me to think of my baby sister with any man, but finding out about you and Sonia felt like the ultimate betrayal. It was against all our codes, and I was livid that you, our cousin, and Blood Brother would have a fling with her,” he said, holding his hand up to silence me as I started to speak.

“I know you love her,” he stated.

“I didn’t believe it at first, but you saved her from Siri and took a bullet for her. You also allowed us to beat the crap out of you when you could easily have fought back. So, all things considered, it’s pretty bloody obvious you love her. It’s also obvious how much she loves you, too,” he said, sighing heavily before continuing.

“I should have known your feelings would have to be strong for you to get involved with her. So, if there must be a man in Sonia’s future, then I’d want it to be you. I’m sorry, I should have given you a chance,” Ash said, looking sheepish.

Before I could say anything in reply, Miki turned around to face me just as Sonia slipped into the room carrying a tray of food.

After placing the tray on a table near the bed, she turned to face her oldest brother, hands on hips, eyebrows raised.

“Well, what have you got to say for yourself?” she asked, her pinched expression clearly showing her annoyance with him.

She wasn’t going to make this easy on him. I held back a grin. That was my Little Miss Trouble!

Miki took a steadying breath, ignored her attitude, and turned towards me, obviously determined to say whatever he’d come here to say.

“You betrayed me, Romi. Not only did you go behind my back to pursue a relationship with my sister, but you did so even after I’d arranged for her to marry our ally. You put me and Glowacki in an awkward position at a time when neither of us can afford to look weak. We have unknown enemies lurking in the background, just waiting to cause us more trouble. We cannot have any more dissension in our ranks,” he fumed.

“You shouldn’t have arranged the marriage in the first place,” Sonia shouted at him.

“I wouldn’t have if I’d known about the relationship. You were obviously involved well before I agreed to the arrangement,” Miki shouted back.

“You’re right. We should have told you. It was my fault we didn’t. I knew you’d all have issues with it. I knew you’d see it as a betrayal, so I tried to deny my feelings for Sonia. I’d only just admitted them to Sonia when you made the arrangement. We couldn’t tell you then without enflaming matters. So, we decided that finding an alternative solution first would be better. I asked Uncle Maxim for help with that, but he couldn’t come up with anything,” I tell him.

“I am aware,” he said, frowning, obviously having spoken to our dyadya.

“However, a suitable alternative has been found now,” he continued.

“Glowacki will marry Aunt Marta.”

“We know, Nonna told us. What made you think of that?” I asked.

“I hope you didn’t make that arrangement without asking her permission first!” Sonia cried angrily.

“Of course not. I’ve learned my mistake,” Miki replied, huffing out an exasperated breath.

“About time!” Sonia said, lifting her chin in indignation.

“So, how did you persuade them to agree?” I asked, genuinely curious.

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