After Nikolai had calmed me down, he had gotten me a glass of water and helped me wash my face. I had a faraway look as stared into a distance. I knew I was in denial but I wasn’t ready to address the issues that were going through my mind at that point. “ Brie? “ Nikolai called out in a soft voice. I blinked repeatedly and looked at my surrounding. There were men going in and out of the mansion like they belonged there. I had never seen that many people in the estate. “ Did you say something? “ I asked when I saw him looking at me expectantly. “ The officers want to talk to you about what happened, “ he said as if it pained him to say that. I knew if he could help it, he wouldn’t have let me talk to them. “ If you want them gone I can-“ “ I will talk to them, “ I said, my voice quivering. I blinked back the tears I felt threatening to gather in my eyes. I commended myself for keeping it together as I recounted the events of the night. Starting from the moment I went to Lily’s r

“ What’s this I hear about Lily’s mother pointing a gun to your face? “ Nikolai asked, as anger flashed in his features. The guards must have told him what I didn’t see the need to tell him. Judging from the look he was giving me, he was disappointed by my actions. “ Yeah, but she didn’t shoot. Your guards saved me. “ I said as I took off my heels and coat. We were staying at a hotel before we went back to Italy. To be honest, I dreaded going back there because I knew that death hung in the air. Not just any death, but the death of a woman I loved dearly. “ Why didn’t you tell me this? “ He asked and I saw that he was getting angrier by the second. “ Because she is a woman who is coming from a place of hurt. She was looking for someone to blame and that person just so happened to be me. I understand. “ I defended for Lily’s sake. Despite all that her mother had put her through, it was no secret that she loved her mother dearly. She always called her hoping that one day Claire woul

I had expected a bad reaction from Nikolai for cutting my hair without telling him but to my surprise, he had liked it. He told me I would look good even if I had shaved my head. I had joked about doing it and then laughed at the horrified look on his face.“ What do you want me to pull when you’re giving me head? “ He’d asked, getting me all flustered.“ You look happy, “ Corinna, my new assistant, remarked as she entered my office.She had been doing a great job and I was glad I had hired her. I wiped the smile off my face and turned to look at her.“ That’s what happens when you’re happily married, “ I said, making her laugh. The smile was back on my face.“ Yeah, I know exactly what makes you happy,” she said, and I blushed knowing what she was talking about.I cleared my throat and tried to think of anything else other than Nikolai and I doing the nasty. However, it was hard because Corinna had already planted that thought in my mind.“ Here are the papers you asked for. Oh, and

Nikolai held me to stop me from falling to the ground. I cried all the tears that I had been holding in while soothed me. “ Why don’t you trust me? “ I asked while sobbing. “ Shh, baby. Don’t cry because of me. I trust you. I just let my anger rule my decisions. I’ll never do that again.” He promised. I shook my head and tried to pull away from his grasp but he wouldn’t let me go. “ Please, Brianna, forgive me. I knew that you wouldn’t do such a thing but I didn’t want to believe it. I have been betrayed so many times by people I love. I don’t know who to trust. “ He said. He wouldn’t let me go no matter how hard I tried to wiggle from his grasp. His words were just an excuse that I was tired of listening. “ You don’t trust me! Let me go, Nikolai! “ I screamed with tears in my eyes. He finally let me go and watched as I pulled my suitcase out of the closet. Before I could reach the door, he was right in front of it. “ At least let me clean the wound on your hand. It won’t heal

Romano and Maximo had left before dinner since they needed to get to Milan for business. I had noticed that Nikolai and Maximo seemingly bonded and bordered friendship.Despite not agreeing, I trusted Nikolai’s judgment.If he thought that Maximo was a good guy who only made a few bad decisions then I thought so too. No one knew to read people more than Nikolai.Then again, Maximo looked like he was very hard to read. In fact, I knew that he was hard to read because his face always had a neutral expression.“ What are you thinking about?” Nikolai asked.I shook my head and turned to face him. I had been applying oil to my legs when he interrupted me. I was wearing a flimsy nightdress and he was shirtless and in his pajama pants. Lately, he was sleeping in bed with me which made me happy.I put my arms around his shoulders and his hands went to my waist.“ You smell so good, “ he whispered into my ear.I raised my toes to bury my head in his neck because I loved the comfort and warmth