Page 98 of Sinful Games

?Charles Dickens

Caia

I opened my eyes to the faint glow of lights caressing my skin and felt the warmth of Alexsei's breath against the back of my neck. His arm was snug around my waist, his body pressed intimately close to mine. Not even an inch of air separated us, and I knew his arms wouldn’t let me break free, even if I wanted to.

After the disastrous end to our evening, Alexsei drove us home, and we both stayed silent, lost in our thoughts. I took a long shower, spending a good twenty minutes having a mental breakdown, questioning why, out of all themen in Moscow, I had to run into Slavoy Sadiek—the man who had destroyed me and taken so much from me.

Eventually, I dried off and climbed into bed, wearing a simple gray babydoll, and fell asleep almost instantly. Alexsei must’ve joined me in my room in the middle of the night.

As I remembered his shocked expression and the anger in his dark blue eyes from the night before, a part of me wondered if he really didn’t know everything. But uncertainty lingered. Maybe he was just playing me, trying to humiliate me even more.

His breathing changed, followed by a low groan, as he pulled me tighter than I thought possible and nuzzled his nose into my hair, releasing a heavy sigh. Bracing myself for his questions, remarks, or judgments, I closed my eyes. But to my surprise, nothing came.

Instead, he dropped a kiss on the crook of my neck. "Slept well?" he asked, his voice still groggy from sleep, deep and velvety.

I whispered back, "Yes. You?"

Another kiss landed softly on my neck. "Always when I sleep next to you."

Warmth blossomed in my chest, but I quickly pushed it aside, choosing to stay silent. Honestly, after last night, I expected to be haunted by nightmares and have a restless sleep. But with Alexsei’s arms wrapped around me, I felt almost …safe, and I hated that feeling. It bothered me that the man who had upended my life was now the one giving me comfort.

"Turn around, Caia," he murmured, kissing my shoulder.

As I debated whether to comply or just get up and leave the room, I grew tired of constantly running away. With a determined sigh, I chose to turn around and face him, causing the bed to shift slightly as I moved.

His eyes still held a hint of sleepiness, but they remained captivatingly deep and piercingly blue. He gently stroked my cheek, holding my gaze captive. "Tell me everything."

I shook my head slowly, closing my eyes and biting down on my lower lip to hold back tears. "I can’t?—"

He pulled me closer, his chin resting above my head. "I just want to help, baby."

I’ve never confided in anyone about Sadiek, except Valeria. It’s a weight I’ve carried for so long that it’s become a dull ache, like an event from my past that hangs over me. I’ve kept my head down, hoping it would fade away into nothingness.

Of course, my useless father knows about it; he's the one who set it all up. But even he, I doubt, knows the full extent of it.

There were days, especially afterthatnight, when the pain was unbearable. It was raw, relentless, and ever-present. Just getting out of bed, taking a shower, or even eating felt impossible. I tried to distract myself by diving into work and uni stuff, basically overloading myself. It gave me some temporary relief, but sometimeshisvoice, face, or touch would flood my thoughts, leaving me suffocated. When that happened, I'd jump into a freezing cold shower to snap out of it and focus on something else.

"You can’t help me, Alexsei."

The past is the past. Nothing can change it now.

He sighed heavily, the vein in his neck pulsing faster under my cheek. "I’ve known Sadiek for a long time, Caia. I know the man’s greatest weaknesses and secrets. Don’t think for a fucking minute that I’m not going to make him pay for what he did to you."

I pulled away, seeking some space, and sank onto the edge of the bed, my back turned to him. “Why bother with him?” I scoffed, my throat tight. “It’s not like you care about me andmy feelings. If you did, you'd never have forced me into marrying you in the first place.”

Silence lingered for a few moments, with only our breathing filling the space between us. I knew Alexsei was probably just playing games with me. But discovering that his now-wife was a …whore must have rattled him. In this world, it seems women are only two things—either whores or dead.

I've been forced into the former, but inside, I felt like the latter.

"I need to know everything, Caia. And I want to hear it from you, not from that bastard's mouth."

I turned slightly to face him, my gaze cold. "And why should I tell you anything? What difference does it make to you?"

"Because I need to make it right."

I shook my head in disbelief, incredulous at his words. "Make it right? How can you possibly make anything right now?"

“I can and I will. Because I am your husband now.”

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