Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 118309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Cockiness is the first emotion he expresses.
It is quickly changed for deceit.
“We need our marriage to appear legitimate.” His eyes ping-pong between mine for a handful of seconds before he says, “I will organize someone to move your things to my suite by this afternoon.”
He waits for me to nod before he farewells me with an awkward forehead kiss, and then he heads for the door.
Just before he exits, he twists back to face me. “Riccardo’s drug of choice was Ketamine.” My pulse races through my body so fast I almost miss what he says next. “So although your actions were not your own for the first hour or two of our exchange, you were alert and responsive for several hours before you became my wife.” His smirk is more confident than arrogant. “You said last night was the first time your heart has won. Perhaps your lack of memories this morning is your head’s way of fighting back.”
He waits until I read the message the menacing glint in his eyes is relaying—that he has no intention of going down without a fight—before he finalizes his exit.
Half a second later, Zoya pops her head into the room. “How dead am I?”
I purse my lips before answering, “Critical enough that I don’t think even I can save you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Still freaking out?”
As Zoya flops belly-first onto the sunlounge next to me, I stop admiring the way the midday sun reflects off the diamonds of my engagement and wedding rings and put all my focus on my “supposed” best friend. The title is negotiable after last night. Her hair is wet and flopped on top of her head in a messy bun, and the tropical paradise she missed yesterday since she was shaking her ass on a stage has removed almost all her makeup.
She could still stop traffic, though.
“A little,” I reply, being honest. “I’m more worried what Gigi’s reaction will be than anything else.”
“I think I can help with that.” She breathes out slowly before saying, “Tell her you did it for me. That I made a deal I had no intention to keep, ran with the money negotiated for said deal, then convinced you it was a good idea to marry a sugar daddy so you could lend me the money to pay back the fool I tried to swindle.”
I laugh, assuming she is joking.
I’m so far off the mark my dart doesn’t even hit the board.
“Z—”
“I fucked up. I got cocky thinking he wouldn’t go through with it. Then when he did, that was a lot of money to walk away from.”
“So you walked away with it instead?” When she nods, I give her my best motherly scold. “Zoya.”
“It’s okay. It isn’t as bad as it seems. Now. Maksim is squaring everything up as we speak.” When worry flares through my eyes that I’ll owe Maksim far more than the six figures he’s already shelled out to pay off my credit cards, she says quickly, “I spent hardly any of it. I just upgraded our flights and paid for us to stay in the penthouse. I’m sorry.” She pushes out a sob when she can’t miss the disappointment on my face. “I wanted to make Aleena’s hen night special.”
“What’s that got to do with first-class tickets?”
I want to remain angry, but she makes it almost impossible when she replies, “I was hoping you’d sleep. You were coming off a double, and I knew you wouldn’t rest in economy since you’d be freaking about the germs, so I splurged a little.”
“Z…” This one is nowhere near as scolding as my previous one. I love how much she loves me. I just wish she’d do it in a less dangerous manner.
She looks up at me with begging eyes like the cat in Puss N’ Boots. Her stare is pleading but also filled with remorse. “Do you hate me?”
“No. I could never. I just wish you would have told me.”
“I had planned to come clean last night.” She lowers her eyes to the wedding set on my left hand. “We all know how that turned out.” She laughs at my rolling eyes before saying, “He picked well. That set is gorgeous.”
My pulse doubles when my sluggish head clicks on to what she just said. “Maksim picked my rings?”
She rolls over and rests her cheek onto her folded hands before nodding. “Uh-huh. He said something about a carat for each lie he believed.” Her breathy giggles echo even with the cabana’s walls being made of material. “He must have trusted the wrong people.” If life was a cartoon, love hearts would bounce from her eyes as she says, “Because that is a heap of please-forgive-me carats.”
“Please-forgive-me carats because he thought I should have been a part of the malpractice suit he’s planning to pursue against Myasnikov Private?”