Page 89 of House of Lies
“Can’t I? I know you think you don’t know me very well, but everything I said to you was true, even when I was pretending to be Mattia. You’re mine. No one touches what’s mine. Ludovic is already dead. I’ll hunt the rest of his men down.”
Kaz intertwines his fingers with mine, keeping me anchored in reality. I swallow, allowing the thought to sink in. Ludovic is dead.
“If there’s anything you want to know, ask me now. I don’t want to speak about this again.”
Initially, I didn’t want to speak about it at all, but keeping everything bottled up inside would not help.
“Did Mattia say anything to you?”
“Not really. He swore a lot.” I look up at him, remembering. “He told me that no one was coming for me. That the world thought I was dead.”
“I’ve never stopped looking for you, Caelia.”
The memories are too raw and powerful, and I fight to remember that he’s not Mattia. He never was. I want to ask him why, but he’ll only remind me I’m his, and I’m not sure it’s a reason good enough.
“I didn’t know about you back then. Mattia didn’t mention anything. He only said that Kazimir Mordvinov killed his wife the same night he killed his father, but he didn’t get into any details. I had no idea what he was talking about.”
I scoop closer to him, my head resting on his arm. There’s an entire universe in his eyes, and it’s full of death and violence.
“Would you have done anything differently if I told you the truth sooner?” I could lie and try to send him on a guilt trip, reminding him he could’ve spared me the nightmares so many months ago. But I don’t want to take that road again. “Would you have stayed?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I want to say that I would’ve done many things differently, but I’m tired of lies, Kaz. So, so many lies. I understand why you did it.”
I might not have understood that night in the hospital when he told me the truth, but I know now. I wasn’t a part of his plan. He didn’t know me. He didn’t trust me. He might not trust me now. And I wouldn’t blame him for that, either.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“One year. Give me one year.”
“To do what?” My voice breaks a little.
“You’ll come back with me. As my wife, in case you need any clarification there. Not my slave, not my whore. My wife. In one year, things will calm down.”
“And then what?”
“I’ll give you ten million dollars. You’ll have a new identity to settle wherever you want.”
His words make no sense.
“Are you mad? Do you want to play pretend with me again? Don’t you remember how it ended the first time?”
“No stabbing,” he smirks. “The rules will be different this time. There will be no secrets or lies. Just remember that if you say no, plan A still stands.”
“What’s plan A?”
“Kidnapping. You can’t stay here, Caelia. Benedetti’s associates will hunt you down and kill you. You’re not safe here. I know you don’t want to return with me, but I can protect you.”
I laugh, my eyes landing on our hands trapped between our bodies. The cold metal still binds us, and I think that even in its absence, we’ll always be bound by the invisible thread pulling us toward each other. I know he’s right. I will die if I stay here, but this is a crazy plan.
“Why do I have to pretend to be your wife? Can’t I just come back with you as your friend?”
“Things in my family are not very stable at the moment. My grandpa will feel threatened if I bring back home an outsider, but he won’t be able to do anything if you’re my wife.”
“Six months.” I can’t believe I’m saying this.
“You think you’re in any position to negotiate?” He’s more amused than mad.