Page 20 of His Wife

I sense Alexius’ frustration toward his brother and slip myself between them, facing Isaia. “I’m sure you’re right,” I say to him calmly. “But since she has a million other things to worry about, let’s help her by keeping the little things like smoking in the house to a minimum.”

Isaia scoffs, his dark brows arched. “You act like you care.”

“I do care.”

“Bullshit. The only reason you’re here is because our dad forced Alexius to take a wife, and—”

“Isaia,” Alexius snaps. “Stop your bull—”

“No! You stop.” Isaia points right at him, then lowers his glare to me. “Both of you can stop. It’s over, Leandra. You no longer have to be here. Now that our dad is dead and buried, Alexius doesn’t need a wife anymore.” He takes a step back, his expression hard. “Your deal with my brother is done. So, do us all a favor and leave.”

“What the fuck is your problem?” Alexius rushes past me, but he’s out of reach when I try to grab his arm to pull him back. He plucks the cigarette from Isaia’s mouth, tosses it to the floor and grabs him by the collar, jerking him closer. “I get that you’re angry, brother. But I will not let you take it out on her.”

“Why? Because you care?” Isaia challenges. “You didn’t want a wife in the first place, remember? You made it very clear that you do not need a wife, nor do you want a wife, and the only reason she’s here is because you wanted to grant a dying man’s wish.” Isaia clenches his jaw, bringing his face closer to his brother’s. “Well, you granted it. And he’s dead now. So, you can send her on her way.” He smirks. “Unless you like fucking her too much, which is my guess. Can’t say I blame you. She’s a nice piece of ass.”

Alexius rears back and swings, slamming his fist into Isaia’s face. I’m frozen as I watch Isaia fall back, blood gushing from his nose. I scream. At least I think I do. It’s hard to hear anything other than my panicked heartbeat echoing in my ears.

Isaia strikes back, and I watch as Alexius stumbles back, but it only takes a second for him to retaliate, pounding a fist into his brother’s gut, forcing him to double over.

“Stop!” I yell. “Please stop this!”

But Alexius is relentless, landing another punch, sending Isaia stumbling backward before Alexius pushes him back against the wall. Alexius’ expression is cold, and it scares me, not knowing what he’ll do next—what he’s capable of.

From out of nowhere, Nicoli grabs Alexius’ arm and shoves him to the side, putting himself between them. “You two fuckers can kill each other tomorrow. But not today. You hear me? Not today!”

The tension between them is thick and already wrapped around my throat as I swallow hard. Their eyes flash with anger, their red-hot glares powerful enough to tear each other apart. I take a step back, and another, until I feel the cold wall behind my back.

“I’m so sick of your fucking bullshit!” Alexius seethes at Isaia. “I’ve put up with your asshole attitude because I know this is what you do when you’re in a bad place, but you’ve gone too far. Pull your shit together, man. Or I swear to God…”

Nicoli stomps up to Alexius and leans his head to the side, nostrils flaring as he forces his twin brother to look him in the eye. “Let it go. This is not the place or the time.”

Alexius’ chest rises and falls with each rapid breath, but I can see the moment he realizes Nicoli is right, the rage slowly withering.

Isaia wipes at his busted lip, his nose covered in blood. “You know what? Fuck you,” he says to Alexius and Nicoli, then looks over at me, his expression completely blank. “Fuck all of you.”

An eerie silence settles, followed by his heavy, angered footsteps as he storms out the front door, slamming it hard behind him.

Nicoli sighs, leaning his head back with his hands buried in his hair. “Fucking hell. I knew this was a goddamn ticking time bomb between the two of you. I just didn’t think it’d explode today of all days.”

Alexius wipes at his lip with his sleeve. “What ticking time bomb?”

Nicoli’s blue gaze cuts in my direction. “That ticking time bomb.”

Now both of them are looking at me, and heat flushes up my neck to my cheeks. “Me?”

“Yeah,” Alexius breathes out, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What about me?”

Nicoli cocks a brow, staring at me from under thick, black lashes. “The fact that our little brother is in love with you.”

ChapterNine

ALEXIUS

“He’s not in love with me.”

Both Nicoli and I stare at her.

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