With This Ring

I watched her and felt disturbed. This was not my wild mustang! Where had all her confidence disappeared to? Her docile shift was strangely painful. I could only hope she wouldn’t remain in that state for long. Despite the fact she’d held a gun to my head, and threatened to kill me, I would rather have her tearing down the world than for her to be beaten by it. “It was strictly not your fault. I should have let you fall on your ass.”

She lifted her head then to meet my gaze. She bit her lip. “I agree. I deserved it.”

I smiled. “Yes, you did.”

She licked her lips and took a step forward. “How are you doing?”

I glanced towards the bandaged wound on my chest. “Okay, so far. Apparently, I was very lucky.”

A strangled sound escaped her.

I didn’t want her pity. That’s the last thing I wanted. “I’ll be alright and very soon. They’ll be releasing me from here in a few days and everything will be back to normal.

“I’m so sorry, Maxim,” she apologized again.

I sighed. I hated seeing her like this. “I’m fine. Let it go.”

She nodded then and I saw the longing in her eyes. She wanted to come closer… she didn’t want to leave.

I hoped that she would take the leap, but there was a light tap on the door and Levan put his head through. “Time’s up. My father’s on his way.”

She gave me one last look then turned around and walked away quickly.

Chapter Forty-Five

Freya

Three days passed and it felt like I was losing my mind.

Given Maxim’s recovery, I was no longer a target of the Ivanovs, but it still didn’t give me the pass to show up in front of any of them without expecting some form of hostility or revenge even.

Bianca kept tabs on his recovery for me when he had returned to his home, and countless times I almost had to tie my hands behind my back to stop myself from calling him.

But then I broke.

I’d been so lost with thoughts of Maxim I was staring emptily at a bottle of beer in my hand. It was only the honk of a car in the street outside that startled me back to life. The world around me came back into focus again. I shook my head in wonder. Unable to hold back anymore I found my phone and hit his number.

To my surprise, he immediately picked up. My stomach flipped a bit.

“Uh … it’s … it’s me, Freya,” I stuttered.

“I know.”

Silence.

“I wanted to check up on you. Er … how are you doing?”

“Okay,” he replied.

“Oh, that’s good.”

I wanted to see him more than anything, but it seemed like that was an impossibility. All marriage talks were gone. Not that I was leaning towards it, but it would have been a good enough excuse.

“Alright,” I said. “Take care.”

“You too,” he said and ended the call.

I threw the phone in the trash can by my desk.

Twenty minutes of fuming later, and I picked it back up and called Britney. It was time for me to move on with my life. The way it had been before he came into it. But Britney didn’t pick up.

Chapter Forty-Six

Maxim

Bianca and Levan’s wedding was in three weeks and their rehearsal dinner was being held at Rice and Gold, a restaurant with stunning views of the Brooklyn bridge.

The candles, the flowers, and the music created a very romantic ambience. It was expected to be a fairly quiet evening with about seventy of our closest friends and associates in attendance. However, they were also some of the most powerful men in the world so the restaurant was also crawling with guards.

I was happy for Levan as I stood nearby and took in his regal appearance. He was wearing a white tuxedo suit and on his arm was the woman he was ready to give his life up for. The bliss in their eyes was unmistakable. It made the troubles we’d all endured to make their union possible seem more and more like a small price to have been paid.

Bianca seemed extremely nervous. She kept touching the heart shaped necklace around her neck while her eyes darted around the room as though she was expecting someone. Finally, they settled on me.

I took a sip of scotch. “Gift from Levan?”

“No, it’s from Freya,” she replied. “I’m going to be wearing some pieces from her collection to give her some publicity.”

I asked no further questions, as I knew that Bianca would take the reins all by herself for whatever she was trying to do.

“She’s actually meant to have arrived here already.” Her voice lowered. “I sent her an invitation. I hope you don’t mind.”

My whole body felt like it was on fire, but I kept my face stoic. “What if my father walks in?” I took another sip of my drink. “Will you be able to protect her?”