Page 70 of Embracing the Dark Side

When Jolie felt his gaze, she shifted away. Adrik clenched his teeth. She needed to get a stronger backbone if she was going to stay with him.

Is she staying? Is that what I’m deciding to do?

Fucking her had been necessary, he realized. But it was like taking only a sip of water when he’s dying of thirst. It made him want her more. The momentary lapse in pain quickly became an addiction. It was better than any drug. If he could drown in her, he could forget the loss of his brothers.

It was a sign that even with her betrayal, Adrik was going to forgive her.

Eventually.

That was an odd thing for him. Usually, he had no problem letting go. But it made sense, didn’t it? He may not know if he loved her as deeply as Alexei, but on some level, he felt something that wouldn’t allow him to give her up.

Trevor approached, and Adrik controlled his eye roll. Desperation was repulsive but needed in business. To his surprise, the boy stopped to lean into Jolie’s ear. She pulled away from it, eyeing him with revulsion, but Trevor rested a hand on the back of her neck to keep her still as he whispered something.

Adrik sipped his drink, watching with disinterest while his stomach clenched. The boy was putting his hands on something that didn’t belong to him. Adrik swallowed the liquor, letting it burn his throat to keep himself from reacting.

Trevor pulled away, and with a head nod to Adrik, he walked back to his group of friends, and they laughed at his story.

Jolie kept her head down, her hands clenching her drink.

Adrik pushed off the bar, and though he heard Jolie whisper his name, he wasn’t about to stop. He approached Trevor and his buddies. They sobered slightly, but Trevor’s smirk never faded. Adrik stood beside him, both of them looking at Jolie when she glanced over her shoulder.

Trevor waved as if she was looking athim.“She’s hungry. Look at her.”

Adrik asked, “What did you say to her?” and he took a sip.

The boy cackled. “Just letting her know there’s more Russian dick available.”

Adrik nodded. “Hold my drink.”

Trevor took it without much thought, and Adrik slapped a hand on the boy’s shoulder. He punched him hard in the stomach, and the kid bent over with a groan. Adrik pulled him up straight, even as he struggled tobreathe. “Don’t spill my drink,” Adrik reminded Trevor before he punched him again. The boy gasped, groaning through tight-knit lips. Adrik straightened him up once more and leaned in. “You insulted my brother, and you insulted my daughter’s tutor. Leave my house and tell your father you will never be more than a fucking errand boy.” Adrik took back his drink, downing it. Onlookers whispered behind their hands and stared with wide eyes, and Adrik returned to the bar, ordered another drink, and didn't give a fuck who said what.

Jolie stared, wide-eyed, at the bar top. She bit her lip, a rush of desire flooding into her. She wanted to be mad at him, not crave him. But this was what Vincent failed to do. Adrik had a power that Vincent could never possess. It was something that could be taught. Such strength was ingrained in Adrik from the day he was born.

Six weeks without him, Jolie almost began to think Adrik was a figment of her imagination. All his little quirks and comments were on repeat, but still, it was like a fantasy she couldn’t get out of her head. But here he was, real, tangible, and everything she ever wanted. And he was still out of her reach.

Didn’t he understand how she needed him to heal everything that broke inside her? She lived in fear every day. She stayed for him, for his daughter. Didn’t that mean anything? Or was her one mistake going to ruin them?

Jolie pushed off the bar and headed for the exit. When a guard blocked her path to her bedroom, she stood stiff and turned her gaze to Adrik. He was watching her from across the party. His blank look was beginning to piss her off more than ever before. Perhaps he could see themisery in her face, because he nodded to his soldier, and Jolie was allowed through.

In her room, she showered and changed into her pajamas. But she wasn’t going to sleep. She was gonna find out what he planned to do with her, because she was done waiting. After feeding Tae-Tae and giving her a little love, Jolie left her room. “Bring me to Adrik’s room,” she ordered the soldier at her door.

Jolie followed behind him. There were stairs at the end of the hallway leading to the backside of the house. And he brought her up to his private section. The soldier let her in, leaving her to stand on the flawless white carpet, and then shut the mahogany double doors.

It was a suite like his mother’s, with a living room, a wet bar in the back, and another set of doors leading to his bedroom. The whole room smelled like him. The servants kept it clean and pristine. There was only one picture on his vanity, and it was him holding Helina. The only smile she’d ever seen captured on film. She sat on the couch and waited.

Chapter thirty-three

Rejuvenate

The guard told Adrik that Jolie was waiting in his room. He wasn’t about to leave the party to argue with her. Why tonight of all nights? He could barely enjoy himself, only getting drunk enough and high enough to take the edge off but not silence the thoughts.

Plastered was the only way to deal with the constant barrage of people wanting his attention. He had to pull off two women who tried to corner him. They were worse than car salesmen. And what excuse did he have for not fucking those girls? Absolutely none. Even in grief, mafia men fucked. It was how they channeled their emotions. He wasn’t about to have a sit-down conversation about all his inadequacies as a boyfriend.

Adrik didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with Jolie. His attention was already divided up in a dozen different directions. His family took the biggest piece because what they saw right now was a weak leader who allowed a woman to beat him, a low-level soldier to destroy him, and his brother to betray him. In the coming weeks, he’d have to re-earn his place. Taking out a few members of the family did nothing to sedate them. If anything, it would fracture more. They wanted forgiveness for their role in Vincent’s momentary takeover, which waslaughable. They would soon find out how he felt about forgiveness.

Adrik sat on the couch, tired, staring at Alexei’s gigantic face. He questioned if staying in the game was worth it. Maybe it was time to cut his losses and run. But if he did that and gave up his power to his uncle, he’d never get Helina back.

As people began to trickle out, Adrik left the party and finally went to his room. There was a distant hope that maybe they could just fuck their problems away, and only for that did Adrik enter his bedroom.

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