A Treacherous Killer-Dark Bratva Romance

eight

Nadia

My head is pounding and every time I try to move I feel like being sick all over again. Igor gave me medicine last night to help me sleep and I didn't stir not once until the high afternoon sun peaked through the gap in the drawn curtains.

I was embarrassed, ashamed even for acting so foolishly. I had been upset and angry and acted out because of it. I had worried the people I cared about for my own selfish reasons. I should have smiled and congratulated Caine and Maeve on their engagement even if the prospect killed me inside. It wasn't them who suffered a loss, it was me.

I had thought that I was doing okay. I was feeling more and more like myself everyday, but when Leo all but blurted out Maeve and Caine's secret, I lost it. I lost the sanity that I had been holding onto by a thread. I hadn't even considered their reasoning behind not telling me. I just wanted to explode on them and then ran away like a coward.

My cowardice had lead me to stupidly falling for the tricks of a man who hid a darkness behind his dashing smile. I allowed him to woe me with drinks and seductive whispers. As a result, a man I despised had carried me from the club and had wiped vomit from my face.

I remembered Maks slapping the drink from my hand and picking the guy up by the neck of his shirt. A rage had simmered off of him like the blistering heat of flames. He had snarled in the guy's face and I think he would would have killed him right there in front of everyone if I hadn't called him off.

Just like the night Alexei had died, he carried me and treated me with the gentleness of a lover. He's seen me in the some of my darkest times, but hadn't blinked an eye. He was a mystery that I didn't think I would ever have the patience to solve.

I roll over on my side and face away from the sunlight, not wishing for it to warm my already blazing face.

Maeve had been in and out of the room since I had awoken. She hadn't mentioned the events of last night, she only offers me comforting words and checks to see if I need anything. I pray Simon had the sense enough not to mention my escapades to our parents. That would only give them more reason to marry me off to someone who had the ability to outshine my poor decisions.

"How are you feeling?" Maeve sounds from the doorway. She's holding a tray with a cup of herbal tea. I can't help but recall when she had awoken from her tranquilized infused sleep to find me standing there offering the same remedy to quell her suffering.

I sit up in bed and accept the cup of tea from her, giving her a small smile. "I'm okay. I just wish my nausea would subside." I take a small sip of the tea, the flavors of lemon and honey coating my tongue.

"Maybe a bath would help," she offers. She helps me to the bathroom and I sit on the toilet seat as she pours the water. I wave away the scented bath salts she offers to pour in the water, not wanting to risk the smells triggering my nausea.

I undress and slip under the water. The warmth of it helping to ease the soreness of my muscles.

When I emerge from the bath a while later, I wrap a towel around me and find Maeve fixing the rumpled covers on the bed. I go over and sit down on the end and she joins me.

"I'm sorry," I say. I needed her to know I wasn't a selfish bitch, that I cared for her more than I cared for most people in my life and I was truly happy for her, regardless of the way I had reacted last night.

"I should be the one apologizing. I should have called you the moment Caine proposed. You were the first person I wanted to tell but I knew you needed time to yourself and I didn't want to overshadow your grief." She picks at the threads on the comforter, a distant look in her eyes.