Page 43 of The Mobster's Forced Marriage

“Well, what are the options?” I step into the room and, keeping an eye out for any sign of protest from Sasha, take a seat at the foot of her bed.

“Mom says I have to eat cereal.”

“And what do you want?”

“And I want pizza!” Misha purses his lips, looking at her from the corner of his eye, and Sasha rolls her eyes.

“We don’t have pizza. Or do you want to ride in a car for twenty minutes to get it?” She looks at him with raised eyebrows, but Misha confidently nods a few times.

“Yes, I do.”

“Oh, teddy bear…"

"Wait, but what if we do this?" I raise a hand, and they both turn to me simultaneously with the same curious look. "I order pizza by phone, Misha and I drive there to pick it up, and then we have breakfast together at home. What do you think?"

"Yes!"

Yeah, it doesn’t take a lot to get Misha on my side. I look at Sasha, and after a moment of thinking, she shrugs. "I wouldn't mind having an hour to myself."

"Then it's decided." I clap my palms against my lap with a chuckle while Misha gets down on the floor and heads straight to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sasha looks at him with a frown, and Misha, already holding the door handle, turns to her with quite a patronizing expression.

"Didn't you hear, Mom? I have to get dressed."

With that, he leaves, and both Sasha and I chuckle. It's funny to watch a ten-year-old act with such confidence—I don't want him to ever change.

Still smiling, I turn back to Sasha, and our eyes meet again. My heart tightens for a moment, and even though I know I have to leave as well, I look around, looking for a reason to stay. "So…how are you? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

She seems thoughtful and rather distant, staring down at her blanket with a frown. Is that a hint that it's time for me to leave? Probably. I mean, why would she want me here in the first place?

"Well, I guess I have to get ready, too. See you later." I raise a hand in an awkward goodbye—god, why do I feel like an idiot—and move to get up, when Sasha quickly looks up.

"Wait, I think—I want to talk to you."

Oh? I didn't expect that, but I guess after yesterday there are some things to discuss. So I nod and sit back down, thinking about what to tell her. Should I ask her about Nikolai? Should I tell her not to be so careless again because she's important to me and—

"Louis…I'm sorry," Sasha murmurs, and all my thoughts come to a halt. Huh? I look at her with a frown, but Sasha still keeps her eyes on the blanket, frowning at her thoughts and looking unexpectedly vulnerable. "I can't believe I trusted Father more than I trusted you. And for years, god, fornine years, I blamed you for Mom’s death and dreamed about killing you."

Oh, so she’d been planning her attack for a while, huh? Well, after what I learned yesterday I can't be mad at her, so I sigh and shake my head. "It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"But Ishould'veknown." Sasha curls her hands into fists and raises her head with a look of remorse and anger at herself. "I should've known you'd never do something so horrible."

"But hadn't I betrayed you before ?" I chuckle joylessly, avoiding her gaze. It doesn't feel right to listen to her apologies because I know for sure Sasha was not the only one to make a mistake nine years ago. "Hadn't I treated you like an asshole? I broke your heart and refused to even talk to you about it. Honestly, you had every right to hate me."

"I don't know." She sighs and shakes her head with a sad smile on her lips. "Everyone goes through a breakup, and…maybe if I knew how to handle it, Mom would still be alive."

"What do you mean?" I frown, turning on the bed to face her properly. "She didn't come to us because of you."

"She did." Sasha swallows and looks at me with torment in her eyes. "She wanted to find you there. She wanted to make things right between us."

What? I blink. No, what…what the hell?

"Why would she do that?"

Sasha shrugs and looks away, pretending to be careless, but I see that the question hurts her heart. "I told her how much I loved you and how perfect we were together, and I guess…I guess she cared about me more than her own life."

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