Page 36 of Captured By the Russian Wolf

"I came here for revenge," I admitted, my voice shaking. "I didn't know that Alexei had betrayed you. I came here for thewrong reason. I see that now. I was blinded by grief, by anger, but it's different now. My feelings for you are real."

Nikita's expression hardened, and before I could say anything else, he leaned in close, his breath hot against my cheek, and I could feel the rage radiating off him in waves.

"You think I care about your feelings?" he growled, his voice low and menacing. "You think saying you love me is going to make any of this better? You betrayed me, Lily. You fucking lied to my face, night after night, and now you want me to believe that suddenly everything's changed?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. I had no defense. Nothing that could undo what I'd done.

His grip tightened, and I could see the fury burning in his eyes, barely controlled. "You've been playing a game from the start," he snarled. "And now you're losing, and you think you can just change the rules? Tell me, Lily, did you ever stop to think about what would happen when I found out?"

"I didn't want it to get this far," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I stopped wanting to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" His eyes blazed with anger, his voice a harsh whisper. "You think this is about hurt? No, Lily, this is about betrayal. You came into my life, pretended to care, all the while plotting to destroy me. And now you want me to believe you were just confused? That you didn't know what you were doing?"

"I was confused," I insisted, my voice breaking. "But I'm not anymore."

He let out a bitter laugh, releasing my arm and stepping back, his eyes never leaving mine. "You were never confused, Lily. You knew exactly what you were doing."

I stared at him, my heart racing, fear clawing at me. The truth was out now. I had laid everything bare before him, and still, he looked at me like I was nothing. Like I had never meant anythingto him. My stomach twisted with guilt, with shame, and I wanted to scream.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "So, tell me," he said, his voice dangerously low. "What was your plan, Lily? After you destroyed me, what were you going to do? Were you going to run? Were you going to disappear and start over somewhere else?"

I shook my head, tears spilling over. "No… I didn't know. I didn't think about what would happen after."

He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a sneer. "You didn't think? Or you didn't care?"

His words hit me like a slap to the face, and I flinched, my body trembling. I wanted to say something, to defend myself, but I couldn't. Because deep down, I knew he was right. I hadn't cared. Not at first. I had been so blinded by my need for revenge, by my grief for Alexei, that I hadn't thought about what would happen after I finally made a move against Nikita.

"And now what?" he demanded, stepping closer, his voice a low growl. "Now that your precious truth is out, what do you expect me to do, Lily? Forgive you?"

I stared up at him, the tears streaming down my face, my heart breaking. I had no answer for him. I had no excuse for what I'd done. All I had was my confession and the hope—fragile, foolish hope—that somehow, he would understand.

"Tell me, Lily," he hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "What do you think I should do to you now?"

I could barely breathe under the weight of his words, my chest tightening with fear as he stared me down. Nikita was ruthless—he'd always been ruthless—and now that he knew everything, I could see the cold fury in his eyes. He didn't care about my tears, my regret, or the pathetic hope I clung to that maybe, somehow, he could forgive me.

But he wouldn't. I knew that now. There would be no forgiveness.

"I…" My voice cracked, barely a whisper as I struggled to answer him. What did I think he would do? What could I expect from a man like Nikita after I'd shattered his trust? I had no defense, no excuse that could absolve me from what I had done.

"I don't know," I choked out, my voice breaking. The tears spilled freely now, but they didn't move him. He didn't flinch. He didn't care.

I felt like I was drowning in his presence, suffocated by the intensity of his anger. His lips curled into a sneer, but there was no humor in it.

"You don't know?" he repeated, his voice thick with contempt. "Let me help you, then."

My heart skipped a beat as he reached out, his hand grabbing my chin roughly, forcing me to look up at him. His grip was hard, unyielding, and I winced at the pressure, but I couldn't look away. I couldn't escape the fury burning in his eyes.

"You lied to me," he said, his voice low and venomous. "You deceived me. You came here with a plan to ruin me, to destroy everything I've built. And now you're standing here, crying, expecting me to believe that you've changed? That you suddenly care?"

I opened my mouth to respond, to try to explain, but his grip on my chin tightened, silencing me.

"No," he growled, his voice harsh. "You don't get to speak anymore."

The cold finality in his words crushed me, and I felt the last bit of hope I had crumbling away. There was nothing I could say, nothing I could do to change this. Nikita would never look at me the same way again. He would never see me as anything but a liar, a betrayer.

He released my chin, shoving me back onto the bed, and I gasped, the sudden movement knocking the air from my lungs.He stood over me, his dark eyes burning with fury, and for a moment, I thought he might strike me. But he didn't.

Instead, he leaned down, his face inches from mine, his voice dripping with cold menace. "Do you know what I do to people who betray me?"

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