by Tee, Marian
"Because I'd beg if you wanted me to."
Tahey's heart nearly stopped beating.
"Actually..." His throat tightened. "I'm begging right now—-" But when he tried to reach for her, she jumped back, a look of such fear on her pale, lovely face that he froze in shock.
"No." Tahey was white-faced in her terror. "No."
"I wronged you, Tahey." And this time, he heard his own voice turning rough with emotion. "I was blind with grief and bitterness. And I wronged you—-"
"Please s-stop—-"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you—-"
Tahey shook her head wildly. "Stop it—-"
"I know I don't deserve to ask you this," he forced himself to say, "but please come back. Please—-"
"I c-can't."
"I love you, Tahey."
Tahey gripped her chest. Oh God. It hurt so, so much. Once, she'd have done everything to hear those words. But not anymore.
"That's just guilt," she whispered. "But you don't really love me, Dmitry. I don't think you ever can."
The finality of her words ravaged him, and Dmitry could barely breathe at the pain of it. "Tahey, please..." He could feel his own eyes stinging, but he couldn't even feel embarrassed about this, was too terrified of losing her that he couldn't think of anything else. "Please—-"
"Thomas will always be between us—-"
"Listen to me, please."
And to Tahey's shock, Dmitry dropped to his knees in front of her. Her proud Dmitry, kneeling in the middle of a stable, and her heart just couldn't take it. "Don't do this, Dmitry, please—-"
"I went to see your father."
The rest of Tahey's words died.
"And he's the reason why..." Dmitry swallowed hard. "I'm working hard to forgive him, Tahey."
A sob caught in her throat.
"Talking to him, I realized...I was lucky. Because when I started Strakh Inc., it only took a short while before I became desensitized to all the death. It became all too easy to get used to playing judge and executioner. It's a slippery slope, when you think you know what's best, and if I didn't have Sasha and the others...if we didn't have each other..." Dmitry's jaw clenched anew. 'It would've been all too easy to fall into the same trap your father did and start thinking that the ends would justify the means."
Tahey's tears were falling nonstop, but this time...
Oh God.
She clutched at her chest. It was hurting more than ever, but the pain...
"We were lucky," Dmitry repeated forcefully. "We had someone to pull us back before any of us could ever cross the line. But your father...he didn’t have anyone. You were too young, and after losing your mother...he made a mistake. A mistake that killed my sister and so many others, but..."
Dmitry waited for Tahey to say something, but all he could hear was her sobs, and he wondered if perhaps...
God.
What if he was the fucking exception, he thought dully, rather than the rule?
What then?
He tried to imagine a life without her—-
God.
And it was just fucking impossible.
Just fucking impossible.
And he could only squeeze his eyes shut at the pain of it.
God.
He hadn't prayed for years, but for his Tahey...
Please God.
Please.
And when he opened his eyes—-
Tahey was kneeling in front of him.
Crying.
And he could only ask in a voice raw with fear and regret-—
"Am I too late, baby?"
Her arms wrapped around him. "Never." Her arms tightened, and it was then he heard God answer his prayer as Tahey choked out, "I love you."
He closed his eyes. Thank you. And then his own arms wrapped around his heaven-sent gift. "I love you, Tahey. I love you. I love you."
Epilogue
It was the last Sunday before Christmas, and Tahey had just lied to her husband. She had told him she was flying to Wyoming for a quick visit, but in truth, she had taken a commercial flight to Arizona.
Unlike before, Tahey was now certain of Dmitry's love, so certain that she knew Dmitry would never say a word against her father again, much less keep her from seeing Thomas anytime she wanted.
But all the same, she wanted to cause as little pain to him as possible. She knew, even without him saying a word, that Dmitry - along with Sasha and Drake, too, who used to date their little sister - would always grieve his sister's loss. She knew this because her heart had never healed from losing her own mom.
So even though Dmitry kept telling her he and Thomas - with the help of a grief counselor and an Anglican priest - were making strides on their attempts at forgiveness and reconciliation, Tahey had only nodded but never allowed herself to ask about it.
It was enough, she always told herself, that she had both men back in her life. This alone was more than she had ever hoped for, and to ask for anything else would be the definition of greedy.
She had a gorgeous, loving husband in Dmitry, and in Thomas...
"Hey there." The warden at Thomas' prison greeted her with a smile. "Does your pa know you're coming?"
"Nope. Let's keep it that way, though. I want to surprise him." She was about to head to the visitors' room when the warden shook his head.
"No, that one's closed."
It was?
"You can head over to the room down the hallway." Warden Joe pointed her to the right direction. "Last door on your left. Just give me a minute, and I'll get someone to take Thomas to you."
She gave the older man a grateful smile. "Thank you, and in case I forget - Merry Christmas, Warden."
"You have a Merry Christmas, too, kid."
Tahey couldn't help glaring the moment she turned her back on the warden. Sheesh. The man had just greeted her a Merry Christmas, and here she was, already close to bawling her eyes out.
Get a grip on yourself, T.G.!
Because if she didn’t, then she was likely to put on a grand show of waterworks the moment Thomas showed up.
Tahey took a deep, calming breath.
No tears, T.G. No tears.
By the time she reached the room Warden Joe had directed her to, she was somewhat composed, and her fingers barely shook as she tried the knob. It turned easily, but the room inside...
Huge was Tahey's first thought.
And dark was her next thought.
A sense of déjà vu struck her, but Tahey shrugged this off.
Nah.
She fumbled for the light switch—-
Pop! Pop! Pop!
—-and nearly had a heart attack as party poppers exploded in a noisy shower of confetti.
In front of her were all five men of Strakh Inc...
And right in the center was Thomas.
Oh God.
She glared at all of them.
Oh God.
But it didn't work.
And in a second, Tahey had burst into tears, and all six of them actually laughed at her.
Thomas was the first one who hugged her, and she found herself crying so hard that she knew it would be impossible for her to speak. She could only hug him, hoping that he could hear what her heart had to say—-
And he did.
"There's nothing for you to be scared of anymore," Thomas said gruffly. "The worst is over, and we might still have our ups and downs, but it won't change a thing. One day, it will be just as you dreamed. You, me, your mom and your man...we'll be together again on the other side."
The other men of Strakh followed.
Stelios flirted with her outrageously, Bastien greeted her a Merry Christmas in his usual gruff voice, and then there was Drake, who made her cry anew when he told her he, too, was working hard to forgive Thomas.
When it was Sasha's turn, the younger Adrianov didn't even get to say a word, with his sister-in-law throwing herself in his arms.
"You're our guardian angel and Cupid all in one,"
Tahey whispered, "and I can never thank you enough."
Dmitry's brother shook his head. "You're the one I can't thank enough. Dmitry was becoming less and less human over the years, but you brought him back to us. So thank you."
And finally—-
Finally—-
It was the love of her life.
Beautiful. Sexy. Dangerous.
The ultimate man of mystery—-
The man who first had hatred and vengeance in his heart when he met her...but now...
He was the one who loved Tahey the most, and when he took her in his arms, she just couldn't help it.
Standing on her toes, she cupped his cheeks and kissed her inhibitions goodbye as she covered his mouth with hers.
I love you.
She showered his face with kisses.
And thank you.
When she rocked back to her heels, she looked up, and it was then she saw that it was really Christmas.
Behind them, she heard the billionaire's friends curse in shock.
Because Dmitry's lips were curving.
"Well, damn me," she heard her dad mutter. "My daughter told me the man had dimples, but I thought she was just hallucinating."
A deep flush stained Dmitry's high-boned cheeks, but to his credit, Dmitry managed to take the higher road and ignore everyone's laughter.
"I love your dimples, Dmitry," Tahey couldn't help saying dreamily. "They're so beautiful." While the words were sweet as fuck, it was unfortunately something the other men heard as well—-
"Fuck."
Tahey peeked at her husband's expression. Oh no. She had been hoping his F-bomb was the I-find-you-hot-kind-of-fuck, but the way he was now eyeing her neck...
"I'm sorry," she said in a rush, "and I love you so, so, so much, and please don't forget that you love me, too?"
"Fuck." But this time, Dmitry was cursing himself in resignation. He was Dmitry Adrianov, the leader of the world's most powerful vigilante organization, and yet when it came to his small, beautiful wife, he instantly became the world's biggest pushover.
He cupped her chin, and doe eyes filled with fear and love gazed up at him.
Fuck.
Who the hell was he kidding, thinking he could ever get mad at Tahey again?
"Tahey..."
She stopped breathing, waiting for the axe to fall.
"Merry Christmas, baby."
The other men in the room groaned, but this time Dmitry had no problems ignoring them. Because the moment he saw Tahey's eyes fill up with tears, it was then he heard a voice he had never thought to hear again—-
Merry Christmas, big brother.
And Dmitry's own eyes began to sting.
I never wanted you, Sasha, or Drake to do anything about my death.
Only thing I wanted was for you to be happy.
So please...stay that way.
The feel of Tahey's fingers touching his cheek made Dmitry open his eyes.
"Dmitry? What's wrong?"
He caught her hand.
"Nothing's wrong."
Kissed her fingers one by one.
"On the contrary, everything's alright."
And as he pulled Tahey close, he closed his eyes for one last moment—-
Merry Christmas, Paige, and you have my word. We'll stay happy for the rest of our lives. So you be happy too, and if you can, give the big guy a hug for me.
The End
Author's Note
05 October 2020 Monday
Manila, Philippines
Hello everyone. Thank you so, so much for grabbing a copy of Bedded and Deceived, which is the first book of a brand new series. When I wrote this book, I only intended it to be fun, naughty, and just a little angsty. I was inspired by all of the "hero uses heroine for revenge" books I used to and still read.
What I ended up with, however...well, suffice to say, I cried buckets in the latter chapters, and I can only hope I was able to touch your hearts as well.
Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to earn in this world. I'd say, in most cases, it's a lot easier to earn your first million than get someone to forgive you. But as the saying goes, to err is human, and to forgive divine. The people around us, even the people we love...any of them can hurt us. There will always be people who'd hurt us. But we just have to learn how to forgive. To be kind. And to keep hoping and loving.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE, it's Week #I-Lost-Count of the pandemic. One of the top specialists here in our country says we can expect really promising news soon about the vaccine. I truly hope so, if only to see the world come alive again. I used to feel frustrated with the heavy traffic in our city, and I used to hope that the roads could be a little less packed. Now, the roads are almost always empty, but the price was all too high. In my books, my characters often learn this lesson a little too late: be careful what you wish for, or they might just come true.
I guess it's my turn to (re)learn that lesson, and it's one I'll work hard never to forget again.
If there's anything this pandemic taught me, then it's to treasure what we have. You just never know what tomorrow will bring.
Anyway, that's it for now. Please flip to the next page for excerpts of my other books in Kindle Unlimited.
Until our next journey,
Marian Tee
P.S. If you enjoyed Bedded and Deceived, I would so love if you could write a review for it or - failing that - Amazon now allows readers to rate a book without a review. Thank you so much in advance!
P.P.S. Please visit my website for more information about my other characters and books. And if you'd like to drop me a message about anything, please don't hesitate to use the contact form on my site. Last but not the least, please do subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates and exclusive sneak peeks of my upcoming works. Thank you again!
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