Page 57 of Forbidden Vows

“I’m sure you don’t,” he hisses before disappearing into the crowd in the opposite direction from which Anton quickly emerges.

“You missed him by a literal hairline,” Laura says.

“He knew the deal when I extended the invitation,” Anton growls, clearly furious. “He was to keep his distance from you. What did he say?”

“He just wanted to bring me up to speed regarding my stepsister and their potential wedding. You know, since my family couldn’t be bothered to inform me.”

“Oh.”

The flatness of his tone makes my blood boil as I narrow my eyes at him. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Yikes,” Laura quips. “Let me take you out on the terrace for a bit, Eileen. I think you need some fresh air.”

I stare at Anton for a long minute, furious. But this is a public setting. A Bratva event. I won’t embarrass him or myself, not after Sergei Kuznetsov basically laughed in my face. Laura is doing the smart thing by leading me outside.

“Don’t let them see us divided,” I mutter as I let her accompany me out of the ballroom.

We leave Anton behind, his gaze burning into the back of my neck.

He knows a conversation is coming.

Chapter 20

Anton

“Still in the doghouse?” Andrei greets me with his usual debonaire smirk as I walk into my office the next morning.

At least he brought coffee and bagels.

“It’s bad this time,” I mutter, taking my seat behind the desk. “Really bad.”

“How bad?”

“I slept on the couch bad.”

He sighs and pushes a coffee across the desk. I take it with a thankful nod and help myself to a long, hot sip. “Sorry, brother, but I did warn you.”

“Yes, you did.”

“You should’ve told her. The minute you knew Ronan offered Ciara to Sergei, you should’ve told Eileen. Especially since Ciara has been keeping up with her no-contact policy.”

“Yes, I should’ve. You’re absolutely right.”

Andrei gives me a startled look. “Since when does the mighty Anton admit when he’s wrong?”

“Hey, I’m allowed to grow, to change for the better,” I reply with a faint smile. “I struggled with the decision. I wanted to tell Eileen, but seeing as she’s already in such a delicate situation and I’m still trying to figure out a way to get through to her, I didn’t want to upset her. Besides, that stepsister of hers can be such a pig-headed brat.”

“I’ll say it again. You’re whipped.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Who’d have thought?”

“Remember when we were just getting started in the organization? What did you tell me?”

“Don’t accept drinks from a bottle you didn’t open.”

Andrei rolls his eyes. “No.”

“You don’t have to pay for sex?”

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