Page 135 of Beautiful Deception

“But I lied.”

“I know you did. But I know you’re innocent. I realized that when I saw you like… this. I realized my mistake. I let my pride and stubbornness get the best of me. And you paid the price for it. But sweetheart, I don’t blame you. I’m not mad at you anymore. I know you lied just to protect yourself.”

“I really did fall in love with you,” I say. I can’t believe Viktor is telling me he forgives me. It’s what I wanted. And yet… “But how can we make this work if you don’t trust me? I betrayed you. And you… betrayed me. You promised to always protect me…”

He hangs his head. “I know. I know I did. Why don’t you take time to get better? I’m not going anywhere. We have things to work out, yes. But I want you to know, Inessa, that I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere ever again. I’m not mad that you lied about your real name or who your dad is. I know I love you. I know I fucked up. And I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you how much you mean to me. I’ll never let you get hurt again. Not like this. If you’ll still have me.”

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out.

“Don’t say anything now,” he says. “Just let me be here for you. Let me take care of you. Ok?”

“That does sound nice,” I admit.

He gives me a smile – a genuine, happy smile. “I’m just glad you’re alive. It was pretty dicey for a moment. You were in surgery for a while. You had some internal bleeding but the doctors were able to stop it. I’m sorry, baby, that it took you almost dying for me to put my pride aside. It wasn’t fair to you. It’s not fair. I don’t deserve you.”

“I felt like I didn’t deserve you.”

“You do. You deserve everything. And I’m sorry I couldn’t see that in my anger.”

“I did betray you,” I say. “I did lie. I don’t blame you for being upset over that.”

“Let’s just focus on getting you better. But I want to start again, If you do. Put everything in the past and focus on our marriage now. Think on it.” He kisses my hand. “I should inform Dante and Erik that you’re doing well. They helped bring you here.”

I grip his hand before he can leave. “You’re coming back?”

“I’m coming back.” There’s so much truth in his words, I believe him instantly.

Julia remains at my side once Viktor leaves the room.

“What happens now?” I ask her.

“Now? There’s a lot of uncertainty, I think, with Viktor and Erik and Dante. I’m worried peace won’t be achieved.”

I hold out my hand and Julia takes it. Despite the uncertainty, I feel more safe than I have in a long time.

Viktor

When I find Erik and Dante in the waiting room, I’m surprised to see another man with them. Matteo Conti. A Mafia man who used to work with Dante before he went into hiding after he killed a Bratva man, Sergei Belov. Sergei was Erik’s wife’s father.

I always hated Sergei – the man was too controlling and abusive towards his daughters – but I was still pissed when Matteo killed him. A Mafia man killed a Bratva man. There needed to be justice in that and yet, none was served.

And now Matteo is back it seems.

“What’s he doing here?” I nod at Matteo.

“He’s here because I told Erik that I wanted my second in command back,” Dante explains. “It’s been two years since he killed Sergei. Enough time has passed. And to signify peace between me and Erik, Erik is pardoning Matteo.”

I snort. “I bet he is.” I glare at Matteo. “The price should have been death.”

Dante crosses his arms. “We’re not here to talk about Matteo. We’re here to talk about you and Aria. Your wife survived the… incident.”

“Her kidnapping, you mean,” I snap.

“I don’t know why you’re getting prissy with me. I had nothing to do with it.”

Erik steps forward. “What Dante is saying is that Inessa is alive. Which is great news. But you still promised to marry Aria Romano for peace. Are you still willing to do that?”

“No.” There’s no hesitation. “I love my wife. I made a mistake in coming to you men. I never should have agreed to marry Aria. It was a moment of weakness.”

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