Kira stiffened.
For a split second, he didn't move.
His hands remained suspended at his sides as he stared down at the woman who had spent so much time trying to escape him.
What was she doing now?
Had she finally decided to abandon Jiro?
Or was this another one of her performances?
His anger had already reached its breaking point. Seeing her with another man had only made it worse.
Yet the moment she pressed herself against him, the fury raging inside his chest faltered.
Not disappeared.
Just faltered.
"Don't think that hugging me will make me let you go to that man."
His voice was low and dangerously calm.
"If you think you can use me as a shield today and return to him tomorrow, you are mistaken."
Eden's heart clenched.
She shook her head against his chest.
"No…"
Her voice came out muffled and broken.
"No, I don't want to go to him anymore."
Kira's expression darkened.
He didn't believe her.
How could he?
He had listened to her defend Jiro countless times. He had endured her coldness, her unreasonable demands, and the countless moments when she had made it painfully clear that her heart belonged to someone else.
He had given her time.
He had given her space.
And he had given her far more patience than anyone would have expected from a man like him.
Yet she had continued to hurt him.
Now, after discovering Jiro's betrayal, she had suddenly returned to his arms.
Was she choosing him because she loved him?
Or simply because she had nowhere else to go?
Eden didn't know how to answer that question yet.
All she knew was that she regretted everything.
She regretted the way she had treated Kira.
She regretted every cruel word, every cold glance, and every time she had made him feel as though he were merely an obstacle standing between her and Jiro.
Most of all, she regretted that it had taken another man's betrayal for her to finally open her eyes.
Kira Petrov was not the man she should have been trying to escape.
He was the man she should have cherished from the beginning.
He was handsome, powerful, wealthy, and admired by countless people. He could have had almost any woman he wanted.
Yet he had chosen to marry her.
And she had repaid his sincerity with nothing but indifference.
How could she have been so blind?
The realization made her tears fall harder.
She clutched his shirt in her fists, afraid that if she loosened her hold, he might disappear.
For once, she didn't care what Jiro or Trisha thought.
She didn't care about saving face.
She only wanted to hold on to her husband.
After a long while, her sobs finally began to subside.
Eden slowly lifted her head.
Her eyes were red, her cheeks wet with tears, and her voice trembled as she looked directly into Kira's dark eyes.
"Hubby…"
The familiar endearment escaped her lips.
Kira's gaze flickered.
She rarely called him that so tenderly.