Page 45 of Innocent Bratva Hostage

I’d expected more from him, and because of that, I’d been hurt more. Men like Andrei weren’t capable of love. I should’ve known that, but I thought it was different. I thoughtwewould be different.

And I’d been fucking wrong.

It hurt even more that he didn’t care to explain. He didn’t deny it either because he knew it was true.

A part of me still wanted to believe that he cared for me beyond needing me to find the shipment, but I knew he didn’t, and I didn’t want to put myself through that pain again.

He remained silent.

For a moment, the only sound in the car was the hum of the tires against the pavement and my own unsteady breathing.

“I’m sorry you heard that,” he finally said after a moment of silence. His voice was quieter but no less intense.

My chest tightened, and a dull ache spread across my ribs.

Sorry?That was all he could say?

He wasn’t sorry for what he said or for manipulating me that way; all he was sorry about was that I’d heard him.

“You’re such a jerk, Andrei. I shouldn’t have trusted you.” My voice cracked, but I managed to push through. “To me, you’re no different from Gavril. You’re both heartless bastardswho’d do anything to get what they want, whether it’s killing someone or using and manipulating that person.”

The car swerved slightly as he turned abruptly onto a secluded road and slammed the brakes.

I gasped as he turned to face me fully, his blue eyes burning with something raw. “You think I’m like that son of a bitch?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion. “You think I only wanted you because I need to find the shipment?”

I pursed my lips. “Do you not want to find the shipment?”

He exhaled loudly. “I do, but that isn’t the only reason I wanted you, Giselle. I doubt a day will ever come where I won’t want you.”

I let out a dry, humorless laugh. “Liar. You’ll toss me to the side when you get your hands on the shipment.”

He leaned in dangerously close. “I’ll want you, even after I get my hands on that shipment. Nothing will change between us, Giselle. I mean that.”

My pulse quickened, my chest fluttering as I heard him say he wanted me and would still want me regardless of the shipment.

Was there a chance he felt the same way about me? He’d come all the way here to save me and killed the man who hurt me. Maybe it wasn’t all a lie, and he felt the same way about me, but that was only a possibility, a chance I didn’t want to take a second time.

I wanted to believe him, but I knew deep down that everything he said could be nothing but a lie to keep me wrapped around his finger until he got what he needed from me. I’d be a fool to trust him again.

I looked away, shifting my gaze to the streetlamp outside my car window. “Bold of you to think I would fall for that.”

“You think I would lie to you?”

I whipped my head around to glare at him. “It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

He heaved a sigh as if bubbling with frustration. “I’ve never lied to you, and you know it.”

“Do I?” I shrugged and shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

Our gazes remained locked on each other for a moment. Neither of us was ready to back down, but we’d only get more upset with each other than we already were if we chose to continue the argument.

Finally, Andrei retreated. “Fine, I won’t force you to believe me.”

“Thank you. That sounds a lot better,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. It was better for me to keep my guard up than to believe him and get hurt again.

“I heard from one of the maids that you asked her to get you a pregnancy test,” he said calmly. There was no anger in his voice, and it wasn’t demanding either.

My period had been delayed for two days, and there were signs of pregnancy—my boobs hurt, I had crazy mood swings, and I was eating like a starved horse. Those sometimes happened to me for some months; the difference was that I hadn’t had unprotected sex so close to my ovulation period those times.

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