Page 81 of Unbreakable Vow

“It’s dangerous to fall for someone like him,” I say instead. “This is temporary, and he’s never promised me anything other than what he’s given me. It would be stupid to assume that this will turn into anything other than what it is.”

She squishes her lips together.

“You’re working really hard to convince yourself of that, aren’t you?” She pops a popcorn kernel into her mouth.

“It’s true. It’s just…” I let the words trail off; it takes more energy than I have to lie to myself.

“It’s just what?” she prods, poking me with her foot.

“One minute he makes me feel like I’m important to him. That he wants me, and not just so he can keep his grandmother’s company. And then the next, he pulls away, leaving me to wonder if I did something wrong.” I chew on a piece of popcorn. “Maybe I did something wrong at the benefit. I mean he spent all that money on the dress, and he even put up with the press taking pictures of us. Maybe I didn’t do something I was supposed to.”

Krista screws her face up like she’s just eaten an entire bag of sour patch kids.

“No.” She shakes her head.

“It doesn’t matter. None of it does. This marriage isn’t real. Nothing about my life is real. I just have to deal with this until it’s over. Then I can move on.”

Krista scoffs. “Yeah, no. You’re not going to just be put on a shelf and wait for your life to begin.” She moves the bowl of popcorn out of the way and climbs off the couch. Grabbing my wrist, she pulls me with her.

“What are you doing?” I follow her, letting her drag me from the media room and down the hall toward the front stairs.

“I’m taking you up to your room where we will both change. Then we’re going out.”

“Out?” I look over my shoulder. No Sergei in sight. “Where?”

She drops my hand once we’re on the stairs and I’m jogging to keep up with her.

“Kraze.”

I come to a stop. “You want us to go to Sergei’s club?”

She giggles and nods. “Yeah. We’ll for sure be able to get in, and we won’t have to pay for the drinks.” She flings open the doors to my closet, letting out a low whistle. “Shit. You weren’t kidding. Did he buy out Michigan Avenue?”

I step into the closet and stare at all the clothes he bought me. The cotton pajama pants and t-shirt I’m wearing suit me fine. These things are too elegant, too much for me.

She picks a black dress off the rack and turns toward the full-length mirror standing in the closet. Holding it up to herself, she grins.

“I’m gonna wear this one.” She drapes it over her arm and goes shopping among the racks for another dress, pulling out a deep purple one. “For you.”

I take it from her. “I can’t wear this, Krista. I don’t think he intended me to go out wearing it.” When I’d stepped out of the dressing room with it on, his gaze clouded over with arousal and he shifted in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

“Why would he buy it then?” She pulls two pairs of shoes from the rack.

“He said it was for when we had dinner at home.” My cheeks blush over the sultry way he’d said it. After he’d made the remark, he ordered me back into the dressing room to take it off.

Krista turns around, a conniving grin playing on her lips. “Then you are definitely wearing it tonight. Here’s the shoes.” She hands me a pair of silver strapped sandals on her way out of the closet with another pair of heels dangling from her hand.

I look down at the dress again. He’d hate for me to wear this to a club.

“Cora? You coming or what?” Krista calls from the bedroom.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

“I want this finished!”I slam my fist into my desk making the papers dance.

“It’s almost done,” Andrei sighs from the corner of my office. “Did you explain to her what’s going on?”

I drag my eyes up from the documents in front of me.

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