Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Yeah, for you to fuck him up the ass.”
Confident I’ve pissed him off as much as his insinuation did me, I skirt by him and make my way home. I could return the bag of food he purchased for me, but since it will keep my father and me fed for days, I won’t. Furthermore, despite his beliefs my father owes him something, in my eyes, it is the opposite.
I make it halfway home before Alek’s anger catches up with me. “If he’s so fucking great, драгоценный, where the fuck is he? And why does it look like you haven’t eaten in months?”
My empty stomach adds to my dizziness when I spin around like a whip. “Because it isn’t his job to take care of me. It’s—”
“Mine!” Alek bangs his chest with his fist. “It has always been mine.”
He takes a staggered step back when I shout, “When it suited you. Other than that, I was left on my own.”
“I came as soon as I could.”
“But it was too fucking late! You didn’t make it on time.” My voice cracks on a sob during my last sentence. “She was already gone.” Hating that he’s rehashing memories I want to forget, I wipe away the stupid tear clinging to my cheek before refusing his proposition. “I don’t need your help. I’m fine on my own.”
“драгоценный,” he yells when I pivot back around and race down the cracked sidewalk.
I ignore him.
It is a horrible trait that will one day backfire on me.
Mercifully, that day is not today.
5
ALEK
“Told you. She’s as stubborn as fuck.”
Yev switches his headshake to a nod when I ask, “Did you deliver the rest?”
The groceries Ana left the store with won’t be a drop in the ocean compared to the ones Yev delivered while I embarked on a verbal tirade with Ana on the sidewalk.
People from these parts didn’t bat an eyelid at our shameful spectacles. Our tussles were so vocal during our relationship they went unnoticed. We didn’t have shit to fight about. We just enjoyed the make-up sex too much to realize we were bitching about anything that would cause a rift.
I fucking loved fighting with her.
It was better than any sex I’ve had since she left.
Needing to get my head back into the game, I ask, “What about the landlord?”
I sling my eyes to Yev when he answers, “I could only pay half.” He laughs at my shocked expression before revealing just how badly in debt Ana’s father is. “He was a year in the hole. Since I think I know you a little better than you know yourself, I told Pete I’ll be back with the rest this afternoon.”
Nodding, I agree with him. Not the part about him knowing me better than I know myself. About me wanting to pay all Ana’s father’s back rent. “Bring back double.” Yev’s you’re-so-fancy whistle rustles through his teeth when I add, “And another twenty K in small denominations.” This fucking sucks to say. “She might accept if she thinks the funding isn’t coming from me.”
Yev wipes his sweaty palms onto his jeans. “I reckon you would have hooked her if you hadn’t mentioned her returning to Sicily.”
I scrub at my jaw, tracing the tic there. “I couldn’t fucking help it.” I only stayed away from Ana the past four years because I thought she was living the high life. Shows not everything you see on social media is real.
I shift my focus back to Yev when he tugs on his seat belt while murmuring, “I reckon you were also on the money about your other comment too, though.” I arch a brow, silently demanding he spill the beans. With a laugh, he says, “That she was doing him up the ass with the strap-on.” When my jaw grits, hating the idea of Anastasia with anyone, he laughs louder. “What? You saw the pictures. He’s totally batting for the other team.” He nudges me with his shoulder before firing up the ignition. “That’s why you let him live, right?”
It is, but I’m not going to tell him that. “We need to stop by Polina’s store.” Now it’s Yev’s turn to be confused. “Because once you convince Ana to accept my proposal, she’s going to need to look the part of a woman willing to lose twenty Gs in a friendly game of cards.”
“A pretty little number will also keep their focus off the number of times she bluffs.” When I shoot him a riled look, suddenly wondering if this is a good idea, he shrugs. “She bluffs a lot.” He pulls onto the busy street before murmuring, “You should know that better than anyone.”
I know what he’s referencing without him needing to spell it out. He’s talking about the time Ana told me she didn’t love me anymore. I refused to let her leave until she said it to my face. She complied without fucking flinching.