Beautiful Revenge (A Good Wife #1) - Sienna Blake Page 0,12

that I deserved this. The third miscarriage in five years. I thought three was a lucky number. Third time’s the charm, isn’t that what they say in English?

Perhaps this is God’s way of punishing me. Perhaps this is my body’s way of punishing me.

So be it. I deserve it.

A broken heart in exchange for the heart I broke…

9

____________

Alena

Five years ago…

Dimitri kicks open the door to our apartment, me still over his shoulder. He dumps me on the carpet where I immediately retreat a few steps, just to get some space from him. I am breathless, my throat raw from screaming at him, my hands bruised from beating at his back. He kicks the door shut behind him with a bang.

He stands there, glaring at me, a vein in his temple throbbing. His hands are tight fists at his side. He’s more furious than I’ve ever seen him. His eyes have become two whirlpools, anger and disbelief frothing in those dark blue depths. I suck in a breath, preparing myself to yell at him for the way he just manhandled me.

“You lied to me.” The pain in his voice slides under my skin like a splinter.

Guilt cuts a hole in the bottom of me and the fight drains out of me. It’s the first time I’ve ever lied to him.

I should have told him I had signed up with Isabelle’s agency. I should have told him I was going to their grooming and deportment classes. But I knew he wouldn’t have let me go. I just wanted to see what would happen. I just wanted to know what the possibilities were. I shift, uneasy on my feet. “I was going to tell you.”

“When?” he barks out, making me wince.

My stomach churns as a seed of doubt weaves through my mind. Am I doing the right thing?

Be brave, Alena, I tell myself. I did this because I want a better life for us. He’s angry because he doesn’t know how good this opportunity is. I just have to make him see. “I was going to tell you tonight. Isabelle made me an offer…”

Dimitri’s nostrils flare.

I barrel on before he can speak. “There’s a wealthy gentleman. He’s English. He picked me out. Me, specifically.”

His lip curls up. “Let me get this straight.” His voice is low and deadly. “You want to marry a man who picked you out of a fucking line-up?”

I wince at his curses. He hardly ever curses in front of me. He thinks it’s rude and disrespectful.

Do I want to marry this stranger? Of course not. I love Dimitri. I’ve loved Dimitri from the moment I set eyes on him two years ago. I don’t want to marry a stranger. I want what this marriage provides us.

I don’t want to starve anymore. I don’t want to freeze. I want a better life. More than anything. I want it so badly it hurts. I want it so badly I can taste it.

“We get five million pounds. Five million, Dimi, can you even imagine that?” Five million pounds. My head still spins with this number. It means good food. A proper place to live. A ticket out of Russia. We need this. We have a chance at a better life. I will take it for us even if he is not brave enough. I will hate myself forever if I give up this opportunity.

Dimitri’s face has turned to stone. He says nothing so I keep going. “I’ve had you written into the contract. You’ll come with us to England, live with us. You see, I told them you’re my brother.”

He doesn’t react. I think it’s sinking in. I think he’s coming around. There’s just one tiny bit that might be hard for him to swallow.

“All I have to do is…give birth to a son.” Dimitri’s eyes flare, his breath coming in short, hard bursts. He’s like a pot about to overboil. He’s trying not to explode. I move towards him, palms out, speaking fast. “I’ll make sure that he gets wild cotton in his food so his sperm count will drop. Don’t worry, the baby will be ours. Once we have the five million, we can disappear, you, me and our baby, to America like we always dreamed.” I slide my hands onto his arms, begging him with my eyes to see the vision dancing before us. A wonderful life. No more worries. No more suffering. He can start his own company. I can write. “We’ll be rich. We’ll never have to