Page 40 of Forced into a Bratva Marriage
“Hmm. Smells delicious,” I said, rising from the couch.
She gave a small smile, watching me closely as I walked to the tray. The freshly brewed coffee was still steaming, vapor curling upward.
I grabbed the cup by the handle, lifted it, and took a sip. It tasted even better on my tongue. While savoring the flavor in my mouth, I stared down at the scrambled eggs and homemade bread on the plate. Tantalizing.
It wasn’t until after the third sip out of my cup that I noticed her lingering gaze. Slowly, I turned around, and she looked away, avoiding my eyes.
My head tilted, and my brows furrowed. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” she said, gazing down at the floor.
Definitely something. I could sense it, and it piqued my curiosity.
I set the cup down. “Okay, spill.”
She swallowed hard.
“I…I don’t…I…” she stuttered, her head still lowered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her fingers tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Don’t bullshit me, Agata,” I said, staring right at her. “If you have something to say, say it.”
A pause.
“I’d—I’d rather. It is not my place to speak.”
“Huh?” My brows arched.
“You’re not the same woman you were last week,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “You’re the boss’s wife now, and that means there are lines I cannot cross.”
My head snapped back, disbelief coloring my eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
Silence.
Eager to hear what she wanted to say but couldn’t, I devised another way to make her talk.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, as your boss’s wife, you have my permission to speak.”
She slowly raised her head. “I really shouldn’t.”
I rolled my eyes. “Agata, you’re starting to piss me off.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that…I don’t understand why you can’t see how lucky you are,” she said, managing to meet my gaze.
“Lucky?” I asked, surprised. “You call being married to the man who kidnapped me lucky?” My face twisted into a faint scowl.
She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Yes.”
“Unbelievable,” I mumbled, shaking my head.
Agata was the closest thing I had to a friend around here. So hearing her downplay my pain like that hurt even more.
“I know you’re angry—”
“Do you, though?” I cut her off, my voice low and venomous. “It’s easy for you to stand there and pretend you understand what it means to walk in my shoes. You don’t.”
She paused. “Maybe I don’t. But I do know that your situation would’ve been worse if Karik hadn’t gotten to you first.”
I let out a quiet scoff. “He put you up to this, didn’t he?”
