Page 120 of Koroleva

Offending others was among my commandments. The problem arose when the offense was against myself.

Having slept with Romeo, when on another occasion I would be giving my life to hunt down that daughter of China, Wang, only evidenced what I already knew—that I was starting to make room for my husband under my skin, and that was a boundary I had not been willing to cross.

I was losing my focus over a box of memories and a few flings. I wasn’t concentrating on what was important and was neglecting my goals.

Maybe Romeo hadn’t been behind the Mentium incident, but I couldn’t rule out Massimo and now, the Chinese.

Who was screwing me over, besides my husband?

"The thing about practice making perfect is as true as a temple. Every time I’m with you is better than the last, I don’t regret our exclusivity pact at all," my husband celebrated, hugging me against his chest.

Soft lips molded to my neck to rub his beard and cause me to shrink. He liked that reaction in me, that uncontrollable impulse that made me tense up. His scent was embedded in my skin and every touch inevitably shook my emotions.

I had to distract myself with whatever was at hand. I couldn’t give him power over me. I was not willing to give up my personal territory for him to colonize.

"I love how you smell."

"It’s called sweat, and if you like it, you should get that checked out..." He laughed against the space between my neck and shoulder.

"I like everything about you, even that."

"Then you’re sicker than I thought. I’d see a psychologist if I were you."

He turned me around, and there was that resolved smile that turned my insides to lava.

"Do I have to get checked for liking my wife?"

"Your wife is a sociopathic murderer with delusions of grandeur who only intends to take revenge on you and your entire family."

"Keep saying those things and I’ll fuck you again..." I exhaled. Truth be told, his attitude towards my virtues also turned me on immensely.

I looked away so I wouldn't devour his mouth and end up as Romeo predicted.

At the end of the counter, I spotted a large envelope that I didn't remember being there when we arrived.

"What’s that?" I questioned, pushing it aside.

"They call it an envelope; it’s used to put papers of certain kinds in and send them, though now, with new technologies and the deforestation of the planet, they’re used less and less," he joked.

"Ha, ha, ha!" I replied sarcastically. "I know what an envelope is. What I want to know is what’s inside that one." I walked to the end of the counter and read the letterhead. I was outraged as soon as I saw the sender. It was from the clinic we had visited with Adri. "When were you planning to tell me that the results had arrived?" He shrugged.

"You were so overwhelmed, I thought it was better to relax you."

"Is that why you fucked me against the counter, to delay this?" I waved the envelope between my hands.

"Don’t be ridiculous. Ana María gave it to me as soon as we entered the kitchen, you didn’t even hear her say that a courier had left it for us. I haven’t hidden information, I just postponed opening it because I believed it wasn’t what you needed, given the circumstances."

"Of course, it was much better to have me against the wall, ‘given the circumstances,’" I retorted sarcastically.

"Well, I didn’t see you complaining... And this isn’t a wall, it’s a counter."

I disdainfully took a knife from the drawer and sliced through the flap sealing the envelope.

I was angry and very fired up. Not because of the envelope itself, but rather due to my emotional imbalance, which even made me overlook that conversation that had occurred right in front of me.

I skimmed the documents. Romeo gave me my space, he didn’t even come close, he waited until I was done and watched me with a serious expression as I looked up. I had just read the confirmation I was waiting for.

I was the one who gathered the papers in my hands, closed