Page 6 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not
Goran looked away first, his hazel eyes catching the gold in the sunlight.
“Lani… if this is truly what you want, I won’t fight you. I’ll accept whatever punishment comes for me because I love you enough to die for you. But understand this…your father will retaliate. He will take everything you love away from you. Not just money, but all the dreams you’ve worked so hard for. I’ve never deserved you, and I never will. Dimitri will never be okay with you marrying a lowly soldier who has nothing to offer. One day, you’re going to see that. I just hope you don’t regret this moment or me when you do.”
Goran’s words landed like a blade between my ribs. He stood, turning toward the bedroom.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not hungry,” he said, closing the door behind him.
The tears quietly slid down my cheek. Not because I regretted marrying him, but because for the first time, I was afraid he might regret marrying me.
The jet hummed beneath my feet as we lifted into the dark. I’d decided it was best if we left, rather than staying another night. Vegas fell away in a wash of lights, the city shrinking until it was nothing more than a glittering lie against the desert. I watched it disappear through the small window, my reflection faint against the glass.
Goran sat across from me, seatbelt fastened, posture rigid. He hadn’t touched me since he woke up in the suite. Not my hand. Not my knee. Not even by accident.
The distance felt deliberate, and I told myself it was temporary, but I quietly feared that I’d broken us by forcing this marriage.
The cabin lights were low, the interior all leather and quiet power, and my thoughts ran wild. We were jetting back to a life that would look at us differently, one that would try to pull us apart and destroy us.
“Can I see the marriage certificate,” Goran asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Are you going to burn it?” I cocked a brow as I opened my purse.
“No…never.”
Those two words made my heart jump. I handed over the folded paper, and Goran opened it slowly, staring for a long time before looking up at me.
“You changed my name to Mikhailov.”
“I did,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Goran pinched the bridge of his nose, and I bristled.
“We can take your name if it means that much to you,” I huffed, crossing my arms.
“It’s not that…it’s just…never mind.” Goran refolded the paper and handed it back. “When we land, we act normal. I need time to figure out how to talk to Nathaniel about this, before anyone else finds out,” he said, voice steady like he flipped a switch and was once more all business.
I nodded.
“No announcements, posts, or suddenly grabbing my hand at dinner and making a proclamation,” he ordered, locking eyes with me. “I mean it, Lani…if we have any chance of making this work, and me not getting killed, you can’t go off script because your father pissed you off that day.”
“Yes, I know,” I said with a sigh.
“And no telling your friends, Fawn, Fiona, no one. No mistakes.”
I almost smiled. “I don’t make those.”
His gaze held something unreadable.
“And one more thing.”
Goran held up his hand, tugging off his wedding ring.
My heart lurched, but then he put it on his right instead. Nodding, I looked down and slowly slipped the gold band off my finger. I felt the ache of its loss deep in my bones. Unclipping my necklace, I added it beside the gold horse charm of Atlas’s head.
I tucked the chain into my shirt, and rubbed at my bare finger. I might have only worn it for two days, but he’d placed a ring on my heart long ago.
Goran shifted over to the seat beside me. He didn’t say anything but held open his hand. Linking our fingers, I squeezed, drawing strength and conviction from his touch.
