24. Fia #2
Luka’s eyes glint in the darkness, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
“Like I said, Fia, your relationship with this man is built on foundations of abuse. He forced that ring on your finger because he couldn’t stand the two of you being apart,” says Luka.
“And while Emil claimed to be in love with you, the empire I helped him build was starting to crumble.
I warned him several fucking times, but he was never interested.
A few months before your coma, I decided to abandon my efforts and stop picking up the pieces every time things went to shit.
Emil stopped caring completely, his infatuation for you growing more each day.
He pauses, then continues. “He kept meeting me with ignorance, never fucking giving me anything in return. I wanted to make him pay for how much he had overworked me,” says Luka, resentment swimming in his eyes.
“I turned to a new leader who actually fucking had his head screwed on, losing hope in Emil completely. The man I met long ago was gone, his dreams stolen by a woman who never even wanted him in the first place. Constantly cleaning up after someone, taking care of their dirty walk, is so fucking exhausting, and Emil refused to learn the lesson I was desperately trying to teach him.”
I narrow my eyes. “What lesson was that exactly?”
“You play with fire, you get burned. Emil was acting recklessly, murdering people to protect the woman he should have killed long ago.”
I take a step back, the space between us charged with his anger.
“I was so fucking close to overthrowing him, and then you decide to insert yourself in business affairs, sniffing me out, confronting me, just like you’re doing now.” Poison fills Luka’s eyes as he rises from the table, stepping forward.
Ice creeps into my bones, rendering me frozen. I wiggle my fingers, desperate to get some feeling back into them, but I’m running out of time. Luka is approaching, seconds away from doing what he failed to do last time. The knife glinting under his belt has my name written on it.
But not just my name. My twins also die, and they deserve to live more than anything else in this world.
Luka follows my gaze, laughing when he sees me looking at the knife. “You think I want to kill you?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “After that ridiculous monologue, yeah.”
“I’m sure Emil will take care of that for me when he becomes completely out of touch with reality,” says Luka, standing all but a few meters away. “Let me give you a few words of advice, Fia, seeing as though we were friends for a while.”
“We have very different definitions of friendship.”
At least I can rest assured knowing that Chloe is innocent. I knew she would be. Real people are honest, unlike people in the Bratva who move like snakes.
“Emil isn’t worth risking your life for,” says Luka.
“After everything he’s done, you should think twice about sticking up for him, trying to save his Bratva.
He deserves death, not a chance at a new beginning, after breaking up countless families over the years, leaving them devastated.
A person who breaks down other people can’t expect to build something of their own.
” Luka shakes his head, disappearing into the corridor, taking his leave.
“Alas,” he calls from down the corridor, “the truth has finally come out. Can I trust you to pass on the message to your dear husband about my plans, or will you be hesitant like last time?”
Anger, sadness and anxiety merge together in my stomach, forming one raging ball of fire. Tears prick my eyes, but on the contrary, my hands are itching for vengeance, wanting to rip out Luka’s throat and kill him.
Luka is the reason I’ve been walking around like a headless chicken for weeks. While I was blaming myself, confiding in him about the amnesia, he fucking knew the truth. Everything was fake.
The door groans open, letting me know that Luka has taken his leave.
“Luka,” I hear Emil acknowledge from down the corridor.
I roll my eyes. Trust Emil to return at this time.
I bite my lip. Speaking to Emil right now is the last fucking thing I want to do.
When he walks in here, he’ll warp the facts with his handsome face.
I can even feel myself making excuses for him now, his presence strong enough to alter my brain and turn feelings of hatred back into love.
My head craves his shoulder to cry on, even though he’s responsible for my tears. He’s indeed the problem and the solution bottled up into one.
I make a quick escape up the stairs as the men share one word and go their separate ways.
This is the perfect time to confront Emil about the forced marriage, to tell him about Luka, but the nauseating feeling in my stomach thrusts me upstairs.
I’ll tell him tomorrow when my head is clearer, when I can actually hear myself think.
“Fia?” he says, his voice hitting me like a bullet in the chest.
I hold onto the banister for dear life, turning around, my voice croaky. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry for blaming your friend.”
The pleading look in his eye is devastating. Pain cuts through my chest. Even though my head is still a blur from the amnesia, the pain feels familiar, like my heart has been torn in this exact same place before.
I smooth a hand over my baby bump, giving myself the courage to do what needs to be done.
Emil will always be with me so long as I have the twins, and that makes what I’m about to do next feel easier.