Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
She looks away.
"Who was it?" I growl.
"I don’t remember."
She’s lying.
Why the fuck is she covering for them?
I step closer, my voice a razor’s edge. "You know I’ll find out. There’s no point in lying to me."
She still won’t look at me.
"Anissa."
Nothing.
Then finally, so quietly, it almost doesn’t reach me, “I’m not worth starting a battle over, Matvei.”
The laugh that escapes me is dark and vicious.
I kneel on the bed beside her, grip her chin, and force her to look at me.
"That’s where you’re wrong," I murmur. "You’re worth the fucking war."
Her eyes fill with tears, and she tries to blink them away.
She fails.
"Why me?" she whispers.
I give her the simplest answer because I don’t want to tell her how much she means to me.
"Because you’re mine."
I pause.
"You know I’ll find out who it was, and easily.”
If it was someone in our alliance, I’ll fucking—
She exhales. "I really don’t know. But I could find out." Her lips twitch. "Forgery is my specialty, after all."
Again, she doesn’t meet my eyes. "What if I’m not who you think I am? What if—"
"I told you. You’re mine. I’m not under any delusion that I know you perfectly or that we’ll never have struggles, nothing to figure out. But what I do know about you?" I tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at me. "You’re fearless. Brilliant.” I smirk. “Kinky as hell. And you were meant for me.” My voice drops, dark and certain. "I know that. You’re my woman. And anybody who laid a fucking finger on you is dead."
Her breath catches.
"I’ve killed for a fuck of a lot less than this, woman."
Her eyes light up, and that wicked little smirk curves her lips.
My little witch.
Casting her spell on me, magic sparking in her gaze.
"Come here."
She fists my shirt and yanks me toward her.
I shake my head. "I want you to get some sleep. I have work to do."
She props herself up on her elbows, watching me thoughtfully. "I’ll try…" She pauses. "Back in my apartment—did you fuck around with my sleep meds?"
I meet her gaze head-on. "I did. I gave you something that would make you think you were hallucinating."
She shakes her head, muttering, "You’re one psycho fucker, you know that?"
I smirk. "I know."
Her eyes narrow. "What else did you do?"
"I’m not telling you."
"You’ve already admitted to writing on my walls." She glares. "Did you fuck around with my playlist? Did you put a Russian lullaby on it?"
I shrug. "Maybe."
She scoffs. "You rearranged my clothes, didn’t you?"
I shrug again.
She shakes her head but is already scrolling through her phone. I watch as her fingers fly over the screen.
She’s searching for someone.
Aria.
It’s six hours earlier in America—she should be able to get her attention at this time of day.
"You took my blonde wig," she says suddenly, her eyes locked on mine.
I exhale sharply. "Do we really need to go through all this? Can’t we just let bygones be bygones?"
She crosses her arms. "Fucking around with my bank account was a low blow, Matvei."
I arch a brow, already opening the door. "I never fucked with your bank account."
She stares at me, brow furrowing.
Who the fuck touched her money? Was someone else fucking around with her?
Fucking who?
And then my phone pings.
Goddamn, I have to take this call.
Aria.
Chapter 23
ANISSA
I wake from my dream with a start.
This time, I don’t remember what happened. I just know I was running; someone was chasing me, and it wasn’t Matvei this time.
Who was it?
I blink, trying to clear the fog from my mind.
Instinctively, I pat the bed next to me to feel his reassuring warmth and heat.
He’s not there.
I sit up, glancing at the corner of the room, where fairy lights glow softly against the walls.
My cage.
I wonder if it can be repurposed into a daybed.
Nah.
I keep looking, hoping—because I need to see him.
But he’s not here.
Instead, he’s left me a tray of snacks, and there’s a mini-fridge stocked full.
I quickly make myself a plate of cheese and crackers, grab a drink, pop the top off some seltzer, and settle into bed with the tablet.
But as I scroll mindlessly through a show, my mind keeps circling back to his words.
"I never messed around with your bank account."
A chill runs down my spine.
If he didn’t… then who did?
I stand and cross the room, moving to the large window that overlooks the grounds.
I think about the look in his eyes tonight when I told him about what happened to me.
About the assault.
I didn’t tell him the repercussions of that assault.
I can’t.
If he finds out the truth… will he still want me?
The thought of losing Matvei fills me with a strange kind of grief.
The kind that should only come with death.
For the first time in my life, I feel wanted.
Seen.
Understood.
I never could’ve imagined this chain of events.
I exhale and follow the sound of his voice, but… it isn’t just his voice now.