Page 83 of Marrying My Ex's Brother
“Because you should know.”
Her eyes flash. “And what? You expect me to agree?”
“No.”
“Then what do you expect?”
I set the cloth down. “Nothing happens tonight unless you want it.”
Her breath catches. She searches my face like she doesn’t trust the answer.
I don’t blame her.
I walk to the dresser and open the top drawer. There’s a small silver letter opener inside. I take it and close the drawer.
Anya turns at the sound. “What are you doing?”
I don’t answer immediately. I press the blade against the side of my finger and cut.
Her eyes widen. “Yaromir?—”
Blood wells quickly, bright against my skin. I walk to the bed, pull the top sheet back, and press my bleeding finger against the white fabric. Once. Then again, smearing just enough to make the lie believable.
Anya stares at me.
I look at her. “Because no one in this house gets to ask what happened in my bed.”
Her lips part, but no words come out.
I press one more mark into the sheet, then wrap the cloth around my finger and tighten it with my teeth. “There,” I say.
She looks from the sheet to my hand, then back to my face. “You don’t think I’m a virgin?” she asks.
I say nothing.
There is no good answer. Silence is safer than insulting her with another assumption. For a moment, she looks young and furious and far too beautiful for the amount of restraint I have left tonight.
Anya watches me for a moment, and I can see the exact second something shifts in her. The hurt is still there, but anger rises over it.
She takes one step toward me. Then another.
“Of course,” she says. “I was engaged to Dmitri, so everyone assumes.”
“Anya.”
“No.” She stops in front of me, close enough that I can smell the soap on her skin. “Let me understand. If I’m untouched, I’m something to prove. If I’m not, I’m something to shame.”
My jaw tightens. “That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what everyone thinks.”
I don’t deny it.
Her eyes drop to my mouth.
I should step back.
I don’t.
