“Pretend like nothing ever happened? Just like that?”
He snapped his fingers. “Like it never was. You forget, I’m a hobbyist at this. Women are nothing more than repositories to me.”
He might as well have taken one of his prized daggers and driven it straight through my heart. It would have hurt less.
“And if I was your first mark, which again, I highly doubt,” he said, shoving his face into mine, “let me give you some free advice. Don’t ever get emotionally involved with your mark. That’s an occupational hazard.”
My lower lip quivered. “So, I was just a notch on a bedpost to you? No different than all the rest?”
His lips thinned. “You may have lasted longer than anyone else, but your pussy took my cum just like all the others. If I hadn’t made this deal with your father, you wouldn’t have lasted beyond the first night you put my cock in your mouth.”
My hand cracked against his cheek.
My palm stung from the slap, but he didn’t even flinch, the son of a bitch.
“Idi k chertu,” I whispered. Go to hell.
He hissed back, “Ya uzhe tam.” I’m already there.
He backed away, holding his arms out to the sides. His once beautiful amber eyes were devoid of life. “Take a long, hard look. This is what a walking corpse looks like. How many men have you left rotting in your wake, Alexia? How many have you condemned with your lies and deceit? How many have you pulled in with those ocean blue eyes before they eventually drowned in their depths? Huh?” He was shouting now. “How. Many!”
Thank God he’d managed to anger me enough to push my pain to the back burner. I wouldn’t have been able to respond otherwise. Wouldn’t have been able to pry my feet off the floor to even move if he hadn’t pushed this button.
With a raised eyebrow, I shut down all emotions on my face except for contempt. My eyes crawled over him with disgust, sending me back to the very beginning of our relationship. We’d come full circle, it would seem.
“Just one,” I answered. “But you can’t condemn those who are beyond redeeming.” I met his eyes. “And this one wasn’t even worth trying to save.”
His lips parted. I thought I might have glimpsed hurt—maybe even shame—flash across his face as I delivered my final blow.
And I truly hoped it did hurt. Because he had inflicted more pain with his words than I would have ever thought possible. I wanted to say it was only because I was pregnant that made the sting of his rejection that much sharper. But deep down, I knew my heart would have felt trampled on by a herd of elephants even if there was no baby.
Because I’d already fallen in love with him before I’d taken that test.
Wanting those words to be the last ones echoing in his ears, I left the room and marched up the stairs to my bedroom with business-like steps. I had more important things to concern myself with than whatever bullshit lies had poisoned his mind. I had life growing inside of me now that I needed to care for.
This baby would come first.
And I wasn’t going to wait for Nico to drag the two of us out of his home and kick us to the curb like garbage. I was going to walk right out that door of my own volition and never look back. I may not have had much of a choice when I entered into this marriage. But so help me God, I would leave it on my own steam.
I was pulling my suitcase down the driveway and through the gate twenty minutes later. I didn’t see Nico on my way out and didn’t care where he’d gone. Probably to his booze bunker to sulk in his own imaginary self-pity.
The taxi cab was already waiting for me on the curb. As the driver placed my luggage into the trunk for me, I opened the back door and looked up at the mansion I had called home for seven weeks.
“Do svidaniya, mudak,” I murmured to myself. Farewell, asshole.
When I got into the cab, I did it with my middle finger pointed at the security camera in the corner of the gate.
Oh, and by the way, I’m pregnant with your child.
I may have been carrying the fruit of Nico’s loins inside my womb, but he didn’t deserve to know about it. I would do this on my own. I didn’t want