Page 100 of Sadistic

She's at her parents' house.

Her mother let her in. Looked... displeased.

Great.

Now her parents will hate me even more.

I try to focus on work, on wedding preparations, on anything but the memory of her face when she left—Hurt. Betrayed. Disappointed.

After an hour, I crack.

I ignore my mother's advice and call my assistant, order wine—the expensive Pinot Noir she likes—and cupcakes from the boutique bakery near her parents' house.

Maybe a peace offering will help.

I write the note myself:

Something sweet, since you already have a sour attitude.Ilove you, little wolf.

Perfect. Light, teasing, reminding her of what we have.

Mikhail texts twenty minutes later:

Gift delivered.

It’s not long after I get another update:

She... threw the cupcakes at the door. The wine she kept.

Fuck.

My phone rings. Rhiannon.

"You absolute fucking idiot," she starts right off the bat. "That note? 'Sour attitude'? Are you trying to get her to call off the wedding?"

"It was meant to be light?—"

"It was meant to be condescending, and that's exactly how she took it." I hear noise in the background. "I'm at Runes’ house. Revna showed me the note. She's ready to kill you."

"Is she okay?"

"She's hurt, you daft bastard. You made a major decision without her, then sent a passive-aggressive note dismissing her feelings."

"That wasn't?—"

"I don't care what you intended. I care that my future sister-in-law is crying in her childhood bedroom because my brother is emotionally stunted."

"She's crying?"

"What did you expect? You showed her she has no voice in this marriage. That's her worst fear brought to reality."

"Fuck." I sit down heavily. "What do I do?"

"Grovel. Actually grovel. None of this alpha male bullshit where you explain why you were right."

"But the strategic value?—"

"Fuck your strategy! This is your wife. Your partner. The woman you've been obsessed with for years." Her accent gets thicker with emotion. "You finally have her, and you're fucking it up over a business deal?"