Page 64 of Savage Love

If anything happened, I’m sure Isabella would have called me. But sure, man. I know you’re far away. I’ll go check on them.

Thank you. I was about to hop on a plane and fly back tonight.

No need for that. I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll let you know.

I toss my phone onto the bed, reaching for another shot of vodka from the minibar. This time, I drink it directly from the bottle.

I won’t be sleeping until I hear back from Niall. And if anything is wrong—

My hand tightens around the small bottle, nearly cracking it in my fist. What Viktor said to me tonight could change things. I need time to think, time to consider—but for the first time, I find myself truly wondering if I’ve been wrong about all of this.

What if it’s too late?

Elena

Levin is gone by the time I come down from the shower. No kiss goodbye, nogoodbyeeven, and I have a feeling it has something to do with Isabella when I walk downstairs, and I’m immediately greeted with the smell of breakfast—specifically things battered and fried.

“Levin told me you’ve been keeping food down,” Isabella says cheerfully as I walk into the kitchen, sitting down heavily at one of the barstools by the large island in the center. “So I made you your favorite.” She strides across the kitchen to the island, setting a plate with French toast, bacon, and cheesy scrambled eggs in front of me, along with water and orange juice. “I’m not exactly the cook we had growing up, but I think I do alright.”

“Levin’s been trying to learn to cook breakfast for me.” I don’t know why that comes out of my mouth, but I blurt it out as she hands me a fork. “He’s terrible at it, but he’s been trying.”

Isabella looks at me as she fills a plate with food for herself, letting out a small sigh. “You don’t have to try to sell me on him, Elena. I see what’s going on, and it’s not endearing him to me. It’s also not making me feel any better about you being married to him.”

“What do you see?” My tone is sharper than it should be, but I’m feeling on edge. The whiplash from the quick, hard, lustful fucking followed by him leaving without so much as a goodbye is hitting me harder than usual, knowing he won’t be back for two days.

It’s the kind of behavior I’d expect from a friend with benefits—worse than that, actually, I’d expect a friend to at least tell me they were leaving. Not that I’ve ever had one—and I never will. My own husband is determined to treat me like a one-night-stand, and—

“Elena.” Isabella snaps her fingers. “Are you alright?”

“As well as I can be.” I cut a piece of the French toast. It’s delicious, and I’ve never been so glad that I seem to finally be able to keep food down. “You didn’t answer me.”

“I tried to, but you weren’t listening. You were somewhere else.” Isabella sets her own fork down with a sigh. “He’s trying to mollify you. He’s trying to do just enough that you aren’t miserable, while still trying to keep up this whole thing that he can’t help being one foot in and one foot out of this marriage.” She frowns. “Niall doesn’t tell meallhis business, but he tells me enough for me to understand what’s going on. And I don’t like this, Elena. Let me guess, he fucks you once every couple of weeks, pretends that it’s to keep you happy, but actually, it’s because he can’t stand anyone else having you, even if he doesn’t want you?”

My mouth drops open, and tears spring instantly to my eyes. Isabella has never said anything so bluntly hurtful in her life. I feel them welling up, spilling over before I can stop them.

“Oh, shit.” Isabella’s face falls. “I’m sorry, Elena. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I just—” She clenches her jaw momentarily, pushing her plate away as if her appetite is entirely gone. “I’ve been seeing this for weeks. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ve been trying not to say it for so long. I just—you’re my little sister, and I can’t stand this. Marriage is so long, Elena. Having a baby with someone is years and years of something really fucking hard. It’s hard even when you love them to absolute distraction. And I see this happening to you and how Levin is acting, and I just—you deserve so much better.”

Isabella sucks in a breath, stopping herself. “Look, I don’t want to spend these two days fighting with you. I’m looking forward to getting uninterrupted time with my sister.”

There’s a long silence, and then I let out a breath, deciding to be the one who makes peace. I’m not sure that I want to be the one to do that right now, but I also don’t want to spend these two days fighting with my sister, either. I want to enjoy her company. I know once the baby comes, I won’t get to see her as often.

“You’re right, too,” I tell her quietly. “We shouldn’t fight. What do you want to do today?”

We toss a few ideas around and finally settle on going into the city. I haven’t been since before I was put on bedrest, and I’ve been feeling a little stir-crazy. If Levin were here, he’d probably come up with a reason for me not to go, worry me back into bed—or at least into staying in the house—but he’s not here, and this is the one good thing that I can see coming out of it.

So we settle on shopping and lunch.

“I need to get some things for Aisling,” Isabella says as we settle into the back of the car. There’s no chance of us driving ourselves—the two security guards who insist on coming along with us make sure of that.

“I should probably pick up a few things for the baby,” I manage as the car pulls into traffic. “We have the basics, but not everything yet—”

“We should do some shopping for ourselves, too,” Isabella says firmly. “I can’t remember the last time I bought myself anything.”

“I don’t really need anything—”

“It’s not aboutneed, and you know that.” Isabella flashes me a smile. “Let’s have some fun. I know Levin isn’t going to care if you spend a little, and neither will Niall. It’ll be good for us both to relax.”

She’s right, and I know it. My doctor would tell me the same thing—that stress isn’t good for the baby. I should try to enjoy the day, the time with my sister, and not think about how much I miss Levin, or that I don’tneeda shopping trip, or anything else weighing on my mind.

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