I stand frozen in place, not sure what I just heard or if I heard it correctly.
Maybe my mind is playing a trick on me. Maybe none of this is real and I’m dreaming.
I’ll wake up soon, right?
I close my eyes so hard they sting then I open them again. Unlike what I foolishly hoped for, I don’t wake up.
Instead, my mind is assaulted by the words I heard as I stood by the door.
By the end, I want both the Irish and the Russians destroyed.
Kyle said that, among other things I’m unable to wrap my mind around.
He usually notices my presence even before I step into the room. Not this time, though. He hasn’t shown any sign that implies he knows I’m here. It could be that his medication has dulled his senses, or that I’m too silent.
Or maybe he’s too focused on his destruction plan to notice I’m here.
The fact remains, he said those words.
This is not my imagination.
This is not a nightmare.
This is reality.
The man standing on the balcony, the one I took as a husband and whose ring I’m wearing, has been plotting my family’s demise.
For a second, I’m unable to breathe or think. Should I barge in there, confront him, and possibly get myself killed? Or should I step away and pretend I heard nothing?
Pretend I didn’t come back because I got the DNA tests from Katia and they said in big fat letters that he’s not Igor’s son.
Pretend I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his games all over again after seven years of swearing to never be a fool.
I was doing just fine, getting used to him being my husband. I was ready to forgive him and put everything behind us.
But how long would I have lived in that pipe dream before the bubble burst? Before I saw Kyle for what he truly is?
A mastermind of destruction.
A man who will ruin my family.
Unlike what I thought, Kyle didn’t marry me to help make Igor the boss—he did it to destroy the entire brotherhood.
The bitter taste of betrayal explodes in my mouth, and I bite my lower lip until I taste metal.
While he’s still speaking on the phone, I step back and try to be as quiet as possible.
He told me once that I shouldn’t trust him, that when I trusted him, I would be dead. Did I listen to that? Did my foolish heart listen to that? It didn’t. Instead, I fell deeper into his web of secrets and lies. He dragged me with him into a darkness so black, it’s impossible to see the light anymore.
I don’t close the door because the click might alert him to my presence.
If he knows I heard everything, he’ll change his plan, and I won’t be able to thwart it.
As I stand in front of the room I’d started to call ‘ours’, tears sting my eyes. I wipe them away with angry hands.
It’s all over now.
He thought that he could hurt my family and me, but it would’ve been better if he’d just disappeared. It would have been so much better if I hadn’t seen his face.
But he went ahead and committed the most unforgivable sin of all.
Fuck my heart. I will crush it and Kyle before anyone is able to harm my family.
A rustling sound comes from behind me before a male voice speaks in a noticeable accent. “Looks like you heard something you shouldn’t have.”
And with that, he grabs my throat from behind and twists my neck.
My vision gradually goes black as I fall to the ground with a thud. Large hands grab my feet and drag me away.
My eyes slowly close and a tear slides down my cheek as a frightening type of void grips me in its clutches. While I blackout, Kyle’s words keep playing at the back of my head.
Rai is nothing. I’ll just leave her behind.
TO BE CONTINUED
