Page 93 of Unbreakable Vow

Because that’s who he is.

The man in charge.

The man who holds my life in his hands.

Not to mention my heart.

If I’m going to be able to fight him, I have to shove those feelings down. They’re not welcome here, not with him.

“Sergei,” I say when the silence gets heavy.

“How did the job interview go?” he asks, taking a small step away from the window.

It’s not a surprise he knows where I was. His men are forever loyal to him.

“I’m pretty sure I blew it.”

He tilts his head. “Why? What happened?”

“The woman interviewing me recognized me. She asked if I was your wife.” I fold my arms over my stomach. “Apparently, she had a really nice evening with you once last summer and is still waiting for you to call her.” I press my lips together.

He winces.

“I never promised to call.” He doesn’t even know who the woman is, but I’m sure he made it a habit to never make that promise. He may keep information close to his chest to get what he wants, but he doesn’t make promises he can’t keep.

“Anyway, it just got really awkward after that. I mean, why would Sergei Petrov’s wife need a job anyway, right?” I sigh. It’s not his fault my afternoon didn’t go well.

He is who he is.

Or was.

He’s not like that now.

I’m too tired to work my way through defending the man who holds my heart in his clenched fist.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

He means it.

“I can help you get a job if you’d like, but you also don’t need to. Focus on your studies for now—” He cuts his words off, snapping his mouth shut and looking away from me.

He takes a deep breath.

“I need some water,” I say before I give into this insane urge to run to him and wrap my arms around his waist. I miss his embrace. I miss his glowering at me when he thinks I’m getting close to the line with my attitude. I miss his grunts of approval,and the way he can put my whole world at ease just by being in the room.

I hurry to the kitchen, snatching a glass from the dishwasher and filling it from the tap.

“Cora.” My name is harder this time. Urgent even.

I spin around.

“Sit. Please.” He points to the kitchen chairs. “We need to talk.”

My stomach clenches.

He’s going to send me away.

That’s what the Petrovs do when they decide they can’t be married anymore. They send the woman away and they live completely separate lives.

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