Page 77 of Marrying My Ex's Brother
For a moment, I think she will refuse.
Then she inclines her head. “As you wish.”
She walks past us slowly, the cane tapping against the floor. As she passes me, her perfume cuts through the air, expensive.
She pauses just long enough to look at me. “Do not mistake discomfort for injustice, girl. Appearances are not decoration. They are armor.” Then she continues down the hall.
I watch her go. When she’s gone, I turn back to Yaromir. “Is that what I am now? Armor?”
His jaw tightens. “No.”
“A weapon?”
He says nothing.
That silence answers more than he wants it to.
I laugh quietly, but it comes out uneven. “Of course. You’re A Volkov, after all.”
“Anya.”
“No.” I step back from him. “I should have known.”
“You should have known what?”
“That the man in your study was just another negotiation tactic.”
Something flickers in his eyes.
Anger, maybe.
Regret, maybe.
I don’t know him well enough to tell the difference.
“You think I lied to you?” he asks.
“I think you gave me just enough truth to get me here.”
His face hardens.
Let him be offended. I’m offended too.
He steps closer, but not enough to crowd me. “You will not be forced.”
“Then say it clearly.”
His voice drops. “You will not be forced.”
My chest rises and falls too quickly.
I want to believe him. I hate that I do.
“Then why didn’t you say that in front of her?”
His silence is brief this time, but still there.
Long enough.
