Wild Billionaire Romance - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

DESTINY
“When you asked if I was ready to leave, I thought you meant the party, Marat,” I said, hardly believing I was sitting aboard a private jet, flying to the east coast for the first time in twelve years.
“Oh,” he murmured. “I told you we’d live in New York.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect to leave so fast,” I replied.
It was really fast. Like category five hurricane wind fast.
In less than forty-eight hours, Marat Volkov had completely turned my life upside down.
Enri had called me crazy when I told him what was happening. How my one night stand with the Devil turned into me waking up married and moving across the country. But at least my favorite bartender wished me luck.
Other than him, there was no one else to call. I had no close friends in town. My ex-roommate had already left.
Marat took care of my landlord and hired someone to box up the items I wanted to keep. I packed a small suitcase of my clothes, toiletries, and cheap jewelry I’d collected. But there was nothing really keeping me in Vegas.
No roots. No ties.
The thought should have been depressing. But I was still vibrating from the last time Marat had fucked me stupid, so I made an executive decision to just hold on and enjoy the rollercoaster ride that my life had suddenly become.
“You’re okay, right?”
Silly man. Asking if it was okay that he tossed me into the literal lap of luxury. Like I was complaining.
“Yes. I’m okay. I guess I’m nervous about meeting your brother and his family.”
“Don’t be nervous. They’re going to love you,” he said, going back to his laptop.
Apparently, maintaining the Volkov brothers’ billionaire status meant Marat actually worked. A lot. I napped for a little while on the plane. But now I was awake, and my thoughts were heavy.
They’re going to love you.
His words repeated in my brain and my chest grew tight. It was the first time he’d said the l word and the sound of it left me craving more.
I knew better than that. We weren’t a love match. We were just an intense physical attraction. I looked at him as he worked, traced his features with hungry eyes, as I realized I was in big trouble.
“Why did you marry me?” I blurted.
Marat’s gaze flashed to mine, but I could read nothing in the dark depths of his irises. He blinked twice, his unfairly long eyelashes brushing against his cheekbones.
“Because I wanted to,” he said, as if that summed up everything.
“Yes, but what if you fall in love with someone someday,” I said, trying not to choke on the words.
Marat blinked again, and all the hopes and dreams I hadn’t even realized I’d been building froze in place.
Seconds ticked by like hours as I waited for him to respond.
“You have nothing to worry about, Dumplin’. I’ve never been in love, and I don’t expect I ever will be.”
He turned his black gaze to the screen of his laptop, efficiently dismissing me. I’d asked him earlier what he was doing, and he’d said something about mines and the environmental impact of certain techniques.
He mentioned eastern Europe and Asia. But I admit, I was too enamored by the fact he was even talking to me about his work to pay attention to the details.
I’d done my own Google search on Volkov Industries, and I knew enough that most of their business was in mining rare earth minerals, whatever the fuck that meant.
I sat there stunned for a whole minute before excusing myself to the restroom. It was a very good thing my husband was so intent on his work.
That way, I knew he never saw the first tear drop roll down my cheek. I could keep some of my pride intact.
It was cold comfort, but it was something.
Inside the tiny stall, I sobbed in silence, fixing my face as best I could after I’d calmed down a bit.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
The Devil tricked me into marriage, that was what. And instead of fighting him, I just went with it.
I was even dumber than I thought.
After everything I’d been through in my life, I still thought fairytales were possible. But this wasn’t a storybook. There would be no happy ever after ending for me.
Stupid, Destiny. How can you still be so damn naïve?
Marat would never love me. That was the cold, hard truth. I’d married a man with the perfect exterior, but it was just a shell. Inside he was a black void. Incapable of feeling.
I sucked in a sharp breath. I knew going in he didn’t love me, but somehow hearing it out loud made it so much worse.
But what did I expect?
This was a man who barely had to crook a finger for a line of willing women to form. All of them desperate to be at his beck and call.
I should have been flattered.
I mean, out of so many possibles, he’d picked me. Only, I wasn’t flattered. I was rattled. I was confused.
What kind of woman allowed a man to simply take her from the place she’d called home for the last dozen years, completely uprooting her life, and all on a whim?
Me. I was that kind of woman, apparently.
Sometime during the last forty eight hours—had it really only been two days—I’d begun imagining myself a heroine in my very own romance novel.
I’d been wasting time on pipe dreams and fantasies, pretending this whirlwind romance was real. Two days was not enough time to fall in love with someone.
That would be ridiculous.
Don’t do it, Destiny. It will be the end of you.
My inner voice was always full of good advice. Usually, it was too late. I didn’t love him. Not yet.
But I was starting to.
And when Marat walked away—and he would, I knew he would, it was just inevitable—it was going to crush whatever parts of my soul I’d managed to salvage over the years.
It was going to hurt like a sonovabitch.
I closed my eyes and sat on the closed toilet seat. I took a deep, cleansing breath. And another.
I was still in the restroom when my phone buzzed, alerting me to a text. It was from my brother, and I frowned.
Shit. I guess I did have someone else to tell about my move. I read through his text and sighed. He needed money.
Of course he did.
That wasn’t kind of me. He was providing for our mother, the woman who’d pushed me out of her life years ago, but I was the one who told him I’d help.
I’d just sent him two hundred dollars a couple of days ago. At the time, it was all I had. But circumstances had changed.
I wouldn’t touch the money Marat had put into my account. My new husband apparently did whatever he wanted, and he’d transferred the ridiculous sum without even asking me.
Even if we stayed married, I wouldn’t take his money. I never wanted him to question why I was with him. I would not admit I loved him. Not even to myself.
But I did care. I cared a great deal.
I was a hopeless romantic. And I wanted to embrace this rollercoaster ride and shout my impending fall to the world. But now that I knew he didn’t believe in love, I had to keep that piece of me buried.
I sent my brother a reply. I told him I was on a plane and would be able to see him in person soon. Just the thought had my stomach twisting in knots.
I hadn’t seen my brother, or any member of my family, in twelve years. Maybe it was time. To see him and my mother.
Biting my lip, I started making plans in my head. I would need a job once we got settled. Then I could figure out a way to help with my mother’s care more regularly.
I opened the door to the bathroom and finished sending the text. So engrossed in what was doing, I almost walked right into Josef.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
I blinked up at him. Like Marat, he was tall and imposing. His bearded face seemed to always be frowning. But unlike Marat, he didn’t offer me any hint of kindness.
“You were looking at your phone. Talking to someone?”
“What? Oh, yeah. These things are dangerous,” I replied, smiling tightly as I scooted past him.
It was funny to think I’d first thought Josef was the safer one between him and Marat. But right then, the look in his cold eyes was enough to chill me to the bone.
I returned to my seat beside Marat, complying when he reminded me about my seatbelt. Then I leaned back and closed my eyes. We had a few hours left, and I could use a nap. Clutching my hands together, I listened to the sounds of Marat’s fingers clicking away at his laptop.
After a few minutes, I drifted off into a restless slumber as an uneasy feeling settled in my soul. A loveless marriage was not what I’d envisioned when the beautiful billionaire tricked me into marrying him. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I didn’t see how I had any choice.
I should have paid more attention when we made those ground rules. I should have thought about my feelings. But it seemed too soon to bring up love, and it was too late to make amendments now.
Hope fluttered inside my chest like a dove with a broken wing. I wondered how long we could continue together. How long could I stay with someone who I now knew would never love me?
“We’re landing. Put your seat up, Dumplin’,” his whispered words penetrated my slumber, and I woke with a start.
Sadness filled me as I opened my eyes and watched Marat’s perfect profile as he put away his laptop. He was colder now somehow. Distant.
I put my chair upright and made sure my seatbelt was buckled. Going through the motions of landing like my heart was not breaking inside my chest. I’d been such a fool. Tears tracked down my cheeks as the plane touched down.
Where was my inner optimist now?