Heart of My Monster (Monster Trilogy, #3)(39)

What…?

Sister-in-law?

“What the fuck happened to you?” Konstantin walks in from the entrance and stops at the view of Kirill bleeding and barely standing.

He holds Kristina by the waist and kisses the top of her head.

“A little dispute,” Kirill says in his usual provocative yet amused voice.

My mouth is open, and my hand drops from the back of my pants.

It’s safe to say I don’t have the slightest clue about what the hell is going on here.

“Sasha.” Konstantin grins with contagious happiness. “You’re alive.”

“Sort of,” I whisper.

“And I was wondering why Kirill didn’t have demons whirling around him by the dozens.” He walks toward me and pats my shoulder. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks.” I stare between him and Kristina. “Are you guys…married?”

“Yeah.” They look at each other with a deep sense of affection that slices my heart open. Probably because I used to give Kirill that na?ve look before he stabbed me in the back.

“Wasn’t Kristina…supposed to marry Kirill?”

“He plotted that whole thing to bring us together,” Kristina says softly and looks at Kirill with deep gratitude.

Someone is actually grateful to the monster.

I must’ve landed in an alternative reality.

And yet I can’t help the sense of relief that washes through me at the knowledge that he never married her. She’s not pregnant with his child, and she loves his brother.

The asshole knew this all along, but he still enjoyed playing with my emotions. It’s probably a test of sorts for him.

It’s always a test with Kirill.

Everyone and everything is.

“Congratulations.” My low voice carries in the entrance, and it actually sounds as if I’m being honest.

And I am.

I just don’t know what to make of the situation anymore. All this time, I’ve held on to the sense of his betrayal as fuel for my hatred.

Every night, I’ve dreamed about him at that altar with Kristina. I’ve had nightmares about their happy lives together after I was out of the picture.

But now that I’m seeing for myself that they were never a couple, I have no clue how to keep my hatred and rage at the same level.

A significant amount has been purged from my system, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to restore it in the foreseeable future.

“Kirill!” Konstantin leaves his wife’s side and catches his brother just before he falls to the ground.

I lunge forward but only manage to stop myself a few steps in. Yes, old habits die hard, but why the hell do I still view myself as his protector?

Even after I put a bullet in his arm?

Konstantin holds his unconscious body upright with difficulty. Karina jogs to them, her expression morphing from contempt to worry in no time.

Kirill’s face is pale, and his lips are changing color. Not only that, but the blood has also soaked the bandage and is dripping on the floor.

An illogical part of me is uncomfortable, and I’m not sure if it’s due to Kirill losing consciousness or the fact that I’m the reason behind the scene in front of me.

I release a long breath.

No. I’m not doing this anymore. I’m just not.

The only reason I’m here is to save my brother.

Once that’s done, I’ll leave Kirill in a heartbeat.





While Kirill is getting treated in the clinic, I go to search for my brother in the basement where Kirill usually keeps the prisoners.

My hands shake when I pass by the room in which we got married.

The room was both my nightmare during that captivity period but also the place for the happiest time of my life.

I keep searching, but the entire basement is empty. There’s no trace of Anton, or anyone else, for that matter.

If Viktor isn’t here, then my brother isn’t here either.

I know there’s a warehouse where Kirill prefers to torture people for answers, but since I’m aware of its location, I doubt he took him there, either.

God forbid the control freak miss any detail. When I go back upstairs, I expect to find Karina since she refused to go to the clinic with Konstantin and Kristina despite having a trembling chin.

However, the person who greets me is none other than Anna. She’s carrying a stack of clothes and standing near the stairs as if she was waiting for me.

It hasn’t been that long since I last saw her, but she’s gained a few wrinkles, and her eyes have lost some of the sharp gleam that was a massive part of her personality.

“Hi, Anna,” I say slowly.

“Don’t hi me, young lady.” She pushes the clothes into my hand. “Here are some of Mrs. Kristina’s clothes that she asked me to give you. She figured you’re closer to her in height and body type than Miss Karina.”

My fingers tighten around the clothes. “Thanks.”

I guess that means Kristina is the one who alerted her about my arrival.

Anna reaches into her apron pocket and retrieves a key. “This is for Kirill’s master bedroom. He’s kept it locked for two months and only gave me the key so I could oversee the cleaning.”

He…kept his room closed for two months?

She places the key on top of the clothes. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but he better not turn back into whatever bloodthirsty demon he was after you left.”