“Hi. Are you hungry?” She wiggles away from me and I frown.
“Sure,” I sigh.
“You can sit out on the deck. I’ll bring it to you—with some coffee?”
“I’ll make the coffee,” I say, wanting to be near her.
She is still being off. I had a lot of hope that after last night—whatever that was—she would be feeling more open towards me. But apparently, that is not the case.
The air between us is still thick with tension. A heaviness settles over my heart. I can’t push her to tell me what is going on. I might have to be patient and wait for her to be ready to talk to me. I just hope that whatever it is—we can find a way to solve it together.
The getaway is over too quickly, and I did not achieve what I wanted to achieve. When we get home, Anya is just as distant—if not even more so. For some crazy reason, it seems that the nicer I am to her, the more it bothers her.
I’m filled with frustration and clueless about what to do to fix it. I’ve never had to deal with a woman on this level before. I’m out of my league. I can handle business with irate clients and missing shipments. I can handle rivals and allies—but I can’t seem to handle my own wife.
The next morning, I have no choice but to go to work.
I’ll try and speak to her again tonight.
If I have time I think I should stop at the jeweler and buy her something beautiful.
During the day at work, I can’t stop thinking about her. It’s a huge problem.
Chapter 22 - Anya
The holiday getaway was so romantic. He went out of his way to make it special and all it did was confuse me even more.
My heart is sinking deeper and deeper into him.
I’m falling for him and it terrifies me.
The entire time I was away with him, all I wanted to do was just blurt out that I’m pregnant. But I have a horrible feeling that as soon as he finds out, everything will change.
He will have exactly what he wanted—an heir—and my purpose will be fulfilled as his wife. He will push me away, only interested in the pregnancy—and when the baby is born, I imagine he will hardly even speak to me.
The thought makes me ill.
How did it happen?
How did I fall in love with this man so quickly?
I’m so stupid to have taken that risk.
I sigh heavily and push the teacup away from me.
My stomach flips between starving and disgusted by the mere thought of consuming anything. And it’s getting more and more difficult to hide the morning sickness.
I don’t want to just besexfor someone. I know—I agreed to marry him and it wasn’t for love—but since then, my heart has changed and I wanted to believe in something else.
“Anyone home?” Raisa’s voice calls out from the entrance hall. I didn’t even hear the gate notification when they let her in. Shit. I am so lost in my own head I don’t know what’s going on around me.
“I’m in here,” I call from the living room. It’s rude, but I can’t find it in me to stand up and go greet her.
She walks in, full of smiles, holding her stomach, which is growing larger by the day. I watch her with fascination. She is glowing. She looks as happy as anyone could possibly be.
Will it be like that for me?
No—it won’t if I don’t have a husband who loves me like Oleg loves her.