Page 48 of Cruel Promise

“Who are you?” Nikolai barks at him.

Jason jumps. “Uh … Jason Smith.”

I can see the realization on Nikolai’s face. Nikolai knows Jason. He must know because he did a background check on me. He knew I went to Yale.

He must’ve known the friends I had there.

A man as powerful as Nikolai always knows.

“What are you doing here?” Nikolai growls at him.

“I was making sure Ava was ok. I was coming to save her.”

Somehow, I doubt that.

Jason squints at Nikolai. “Who are you?”

“I’m her husband.”

“You’re … the husband?” Jason scoffs. “That’s just great. Of course, she’d choose some Chad over me.”

Nikolai frowns. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I walk over to Jason and put my hand on his arm, and Nikolai zeros in on the touch. “You need to go.”

Jason pulls away from me. “Don’t tell me what to do. I poured my heart out to you, and you stomped on it. I always thought we were going to be more than friends.”

“You were only ever my friend,” I make a point of saying. Jason doesn’t know the dangerous situation he’s in. I know in my gut that Nikolai will kill him if he doesn’t go right this moment.

“Way to rub it in deeper,” he mutters.

“Jason, just go. Please. For your own safety.”

He turns his eyes onto Nikolai. “Are you hurting her? Did you do that to her face?”

Nikolai only looks at Jason without saying a word. It’s unsettling.

“You don’t deserve her, you know,” Jason continues. “She deserves to be with me. Ava, I’ve been waiting for months for you to wake up and see me as more than a friend. Why couldn’t you?”

Because I was too scared to be in a relationship because of how my father made me feel, is my first thought. My second thought is:Because I never liked you that way.

That’s the truth. Jason was only ever my friend because I thought he truly was my friend.

Now, I see that even that was a lie.

Jason has joined the lineup of men who have only hurt and disappointed me. It’s sadly becoming a long list.

“She’s my wife now,” Nikolai finally speaks. “So, I would suggest you stop running your mouth if you want to live.”

“Jason, go,” I say more firmly.

Slowly—so slowly—he starts to realize that something dangerous is going on. “What do you mean ‘if I want to live’?”

When Nikolai steps right in front of him, I have no choice but to step out of the way. “If you don’t leave right this second, I will kill you.”

Jason’s eyes widen. He has to know Nikolai means what he says. The darkness radiates from him. It’s in his bones.

“Ava?” Jason asks, keeping his eyes on my husband.

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