Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
VIKTORIYA
T hings are tense when I come down for breakfast the following morning. Sofiya refuses to talk to me while Mila keeps her distance. Mikhail ignores me, but that’s not unusual. He can’t stand me.
As for Gleb, he’s the only one who seems happy to see me, which I’m not sure I like.
“Good morning, Viktoriya,” he says warmly.
“Hi.” I grab my plate from Diana and sit down at the table. Scrambled eggs. The sight makes me want to throw back up again. I push the plate away. “I know you’re not happy with me,” I say to Sofiya.
“I’m just eating my breakfast,” she responds.
“I’m marrying Gleb. I made my decision. You can’t punish me for that.”
Gleb looks between us. “What’s going on?”
“They’re in an argument,” Mikhail explains. “One in which I am not happy with Viktoriya.”
“What’s new?” I say.
He throws me a glare before standing up. “I have work to attend to.” Resting his hand on Sofiya’s shoulder, he asks her if she’ll be all right.
She nods. “I’m fine.”
With a final stern look in my direction, Mikhail takes off.
“Mila,” I say. “We should go practice.”
“I’m not in the mood today. Sorry, Vik.”
My mouth drops open. “But you need to be ready. The performance is in a few months. You need to have your steps down perfectly.”
“No. That’s what you want.” She gives me a sad look before standing up. “I’m going to my room. Please don’t bother me.”
I watch my baby sister walk away, leaving me with a weight in my stomach. I know she’s upset over Gleb, but I think that’s ridiculous. He wants me . Not her. Me.
“I was thinking,” Gleb says, clapping his hands together and making me startle. “We should throw an engagement party to celebrate. You can invite your friends from New York to come.”
“What friends?” Sofiya says snidely.
My face flushes. Sofiya knows ballet has been my life. I haven’t had time to make friends. But I could invite Vera and her friends. I hate all those bitches, but I can’t let Sofiya think I don’t have anyone to come to my own engagement party. “I’ll invite them,” I tell Gleb.
“Good. Hopefully, they can come soon. I just can’t wait to celebrate my engagement to you.” He grabs my hand and squeezes it. I resist the urge to pull away.
“Good luck with your party,” Sofiya says, getting up from the table.
“Sofiya,” I start to say, but she’s already walking out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Gleb.
He smiles at me.
I don’t smile back.
Putting my pride aside, I call Vera and invite her to Moscow for the party.
“Why me?” she asks in her fake voice. “I would be so flattered. So, you’ve found a man willing to marry you?”
I want to throw my phone across the room, but I like my phone too much to do that. “As a matter of fact, Vera, yes, I have. I had multiple men vying for my attention. Gleb was the one I chose. I would like you at the party.” A lie. “Bring the other women with you. I’ve missed you all.” Another lie.
Vera laughs, making me grit my teeth together. “We’ll be there. My husband was originally from Moscow. It’ll be fun to see where he grew up. Toodle-loo, Viktoriya.” She hangs up before I can gag from her goodbye.
“Ugh.” I settle for throwing my phone onto the bed instead.
I look up and down the hallway after I open my bedroom door, checking to make sure Sofiya isn’t in sight. I don’t need another argument right now. I know I’m right. Sofiya is wrong to be mad at me.
Gleb steps out of Mila’s room, shocking me. He startles when he sees me. “Viktoriya.”
I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Checking in with Mila. I wanted to see how she was doing, being here and all. It is my job to protect you two from now on.”
Right. “Ok. But maybe don’t go into her room alone. People will talk.”
“Seems they’re already talking. You and your sister.”
I roll my eyes. “Sofiya is making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“Of course, she is.” Clearing his throat, he runs his hands down his shirt. “Now, I need to be off. I need to prep this place for the party.” Once he’s gone, I approach Mila’s door and knock.
After a moment, she opens it. “Vik.”
“What did Gleb want to talk with you about?”
She stares down at her feet as she answers. “He just wanted to make sure I was doing ok.”
“Good. And … are you? After last night …”
“I’m fine, Vik. Everything’s fine.”
That’s exactly what I said. But there’s something in Mila’s expression I don’t like. Fear—it looks like fear.
But fear of Gleb or … fear of me?
“You can talk with me about anything,” I remind her.
“Can I?”
Her words are a slap to my face. “Of course, you can.”
Mila nods once and starts to shut the door. “I need to practice my steps, remember?” She closes the door before I can get another word in.
Something is going on, and I don’t like it.
Everything will be fine once I’m married. That’s what’s important. My marriage. Me happy.
Everything else will fall into place.
The engagement party happens sooner than I want it to, but there’s no use being upset now. I need to show my guests that any man would want me. Mainly, I need to show Vera and her other ladies.
Vera texted me last night, letting me know she, Darya, Olga, and Jasmine had all made it into the city. I texted a smiley face back—not meaning it at all.
Mikhail’s penthouse has been transformed into a swanky party with waiters delivering bite-sized foods and glasses of champagne. A lot of the guests are men Gleb invited—men I’ve never met before.
As I walk down the stairs, my eyes land on Aleksander. Of course, he’s here. He’s always just right … there . Annoying me. Making me doubt everything.
He’s wearing a navy suit, and it looks good on him. The color brings out the darkness of his hair and the blue of his eyes. He’s striking—not that I would ever tell him that.
I’m wearing one of my best dresses: a deep red evening gown I know makes me look like a Hollywood starlet. All the eyes in the room turn to me as I descend the stairs. I resist looking in Aleksander’s direction and keep my eyes locked on Gleb at the foot of the stairs. He also looks good in his dark suit.
Just not as good as Aleksander.
“You’re stunning,” Gleb tells me, capturing my hand in his.
“I know. but I always appreciate a compliment.”
His lips thin out momentarily before his easy smile crosses his face. “Shall we mingle? It is our party, after all.”
“I love a party that celebrates me.”
“Viktoriya,” a high-pitched voice calls out. Grimacing, I turn to Vera and plaster a quick smile onto my face.
“You made it,” I say to her.
“I did.” She gives me air kisses. “I brought all the ladies with me.” Darya, Olga, and Jasmine approach as if on cue. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“Having a fiancé is a good look for you. Brings out the natural beauty in your face.” She waggles her fingers toward my face, and I resist the urge to slap her hand away. “Being single was not a good look for you, honey.”
I grab a champagne glass as a waiter walks by and take a large gulp. “Well, I’m not single any longer. In fact, I had multiple men wanting to marry me. One of my other prospects was just over there.” I point at Aleksander. “Him.”
Vera raises an eyebrow. “Him? Wow, he’s definitely handsome. If only I’d met him before I met my husband.” That gets a laugh from her friends.
It only makes me grind my teeth harder together.
“She chose me in the end,” Gleb says, slipping my arm through his. I try to pull away, but he doesn’t let me.
Vera eyes Gleb over. “You’re a handsome man. Viktoriya could have done worse.”
Gleb frowns. “I work with your husband, Vera. We’ve met before.”
“Have we?” She shares another laugh with her ladies. “Oh, well. It was nice talking to you, but Viktoriya was just going to share how it felt to finally find a man.”
“I was?”
“Yes, you were.” She motions Gleb away.
“I’ll go talk to some other guests,” Gleb says, kissing my cheek. I hold very still until he’s gone.
“Do you not approve of my fiancé?” I ask Vera.
“Whatever do you mean?” She could win a supporting actress award for how good she is.
But she’s not as good as me. I’m the main actress in this movie. Always have been, always will be.
“You said I could have done worse, Vera. That’s not exactly a compliment.”
“Wasn’t it?” She sips her champagne. “I’m happy for you, Viktoriya. Your fiancé isn’t as good as my husband, but what can you do.”
I know exactly what she’s doing. By dismissing Gleb, she’s dismissing me in the process.
My eyes land on Sofiya and Mila, who are across the room, talking together. There’s an entire room’s distance between us. It feels even bigger than that—more like an entire ocean keeping us apart.
Sofiya catches my eye, and I quickly look away. She’s the one who started the fight with me. She can apologize.
In my effort to look away, I accidentally catch Aleksander’s gaze. He uses that as permission to walk over.
“Viktoriya.” He nods at me, then turns to Vera. “And who are these? Your friends?”
Vera basks under Aleksander’s attention while the other three smile widely and flutter their eyelashes. All these women are married, but they’re not acting like it around Aleksander.
Sure, fine, he’s handsome. I’ll admit it.
But have some respect, ladies. I’m an engaged women, and I’m not hurting myself to get Aleksander’s attention. In fact, I would rather not have his attention at all.
“Viktoriya’s best friends,” Vera says, holding her hand out like she’s the Queen. Aleksander shakes her hand like they’re in a business meeting. Vera frowns and snatches her hand away.
“It’s nice to meet friends of Viktoriya’s. There’s still a lot I don’t know about her.”
“And you’re not going to find out,” I snap. “Because I’m not marrying you.”
“True. But I never got to ask—which wedding dress did you choose? I’m curious.”
The one he picked out for me, but there’s no way I’m ever telling him that. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” I pause. “Oh, wait, no. You’ll never see my dress because you’re not invited to my wedding.”
“I bet it’s upstairs right now. I could go into your room and see it.”
“You will not. You have no permission to go into my room.”
Vera clears her throat loudly, making Aleksander and I step away from each other. I didn’t even realize we were standing so close. “What’s your name? I like to know the names of men who look like you.”
Aleksander smirks, throwing me a wink—which makes me roll my eyes—before turning back to Vera. “Aleksander, ma’am.”
Vera huffs. “I am not a ma’am. I’m barely thirty years old.” A lie. Vera is at least forty-five, if not pushing fifty. No amount of Botox can hide that fact.
“My apologies.”
“So, what was wrong with Viktoriya that she didn’t choose you?”
I blanch at Vera’s abrupt question while Aleksander takes it in stride. “She didn’t like that I don’t come from wealth.”
“Oh, Viktoriya, don’t be such a snob.”
I can feel myself glaring at Vera before I straighten my expression. “I just know what I’m worth, and I didn’t feel like Aleksander was worthy of me.”
“That’s why it took you so long to find a husband,” Darya says, speaking for the first time. “You’re too picky.”
All the women nod.
“It’s true,” Vera says. “Way too picky.”
“So, you’re all saying you settled for your husbands?” I fire back. “That’s not something I’d be proud of.”
Vera’s cheeks grow red while she laughs. “Oh, Viktoriya. You’re so … quick-witted.” Something tells me she wanted to use a completely different word than “quick-witted.” Something more along the lines of “bitch.”
“Cleary, she didn’t want to settle for me,” Aleksander says.
She runs her hand down his arm. “A mistake, in my opinion.” I hate the sight of her hand touching him.
But Aleksander isn’t mine. I shouldn’t care who touches him.
“I’ll leave you ladies for the evening,” he says, pulling away from Vera. Good.
Vera pouts. “Do you have to?”
“If I want to make it out alive, then yes. Viktoriya might kill me if I talk to her any longer.” He grabs my hand and kisses the back of it before I can react. “Viktoriya.”
I open my mouth, but no words come out. He’s left me speechless.
No one ever leaves me speechless.
My hand still tingles even after he lets it go and walks away.
Vera and the other women glare at me.
“Shall we go talk to my sisters?” I ask, leading them to Sofiya and Mila. “Sofiya, look, my friends are here.”
Sofiya’s eyes widen before she plasters a smile on her face. “Hi. I didn’t realize Viktoriya had friends.”
“Not friends, really,” Vera says. “But we were happy to come.”
I try not to flinch. Vera is determined to embarrass me, while Sofiya is determined to punish me for our argument.
It only leaves me feeling more alone.
“Excuse me,” I mutter, hurrying toward the bathroom. I lock it behind me and then bend over the toilet and force myself to throw up again. I can’t have anything in my stomach. Not if I want to dance again.
Dance is the only good thing I have going for me. I cannot lose it. I will not lose it.
A knock on the door makes me jump. “Someone’s in here,” I call out.
It’s then I’m aware of how I must look in my beautiful red evening gown, bent over the toilet, throwing up.
No one can see me like this.
But I don’t have the strength to move. I ignore the person on the other side of the door, who keeps knocking and remain in the bathroom for the rest of the party.
Since no one likes me anyway, no one will miss me.
“Where were you?” Gleb demands after the party is over and everyone has left. Gleb is the only one still up, waiting for me in the living room.
“Something didn’t settle well within me.”
“You were in the bathroom all night?”
“Yes.” I run my hands through my hair, subtly fixing it. “Now, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, Gleb.”
“Actually, I was thinking we could go out.”
I frown. “Go out? Where? It’s like … midnight.”
“Think of it as a surprise wedding gift. I want to show you something. Something exciting.”
So, Gleb wants to do something nice for me. I’m not going to stop him from doing that. I love it when people do nice things for me—it reminds me of how great I am.
“What is there to do at midnight other than go to a club?”
“It’s a surprise. Come on.” He holds his hand out. “You’re going to love it. I want to dote on you, Viktoriya. This is one way for me to do that.”
I don’t think Aleksander would ever dote on me. He’d probably just spank me for the rest of my life.
With that in mind, I take Gleb’s hand, holding on tightly.
“Where are we going?” I ask once we’re in the car.
“A surprise, Viktoriya. Remember that.”
Moscow looks so different at night. In some ways, more beautiful. In other ways, more terrifying. Seeing the empty streets devoid of life reminds me I’m alone. I’m sitting right next to my fiancé, but I know in my heart that I am truly and utterly alone.
Gleb eventually pulls up to a nondescript building. It’s more of a gray block than anything else.
“What is this?” I ask.
“Come along.” He runs around the side of the car and opens my door for me. He can be a gentleman. I doubt Aleksander would open my door for me.
Gleb leads me inside, and everything is dark.
“What is this place?” I whisper. I’m not sure why I whisper. My gut tells me to be quiet.
A bright light shines right into my face, blinding me for a moment.
And then I feel hands grab me.
“What is this?” I scream, pushing the hands away. “Let me go!” The light is taken from my eyes, and I can start to see my surroundings. It looks like I’m backstage at some theater. I’ve spent almost my entire life performing on a stage. I know what a backstage looks like.
Two men have their hands on my arms and are dragging me toward …
“What is this? Gleb!”
He holds up a hand, halting the men. Even though they stop dragging me, they don’t let me go. Gleb’s expression turns dark. A type of darkness I’ve only seen once before—in the eyes of Boris when he tried to kill me.
“Did you honestly think I would want to marry you?” he asks.
I flinch. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?” I try tugging my arms from the men, but their grip is too strong. “Gleb?”
“I was going to do this in New York, but then you came here, and I had no choice but to do it here.”
“Do what here?”
“You see”—he fixes his cufflinks like he’s at a business meeting— “I need money. A lot of money. I was raised in wealth, but I lost a lot of it to gambling. When Boris told me to take care of you and your sister in case he died, I saw it as an opportunity. A way to make my millions back. Because what’s better than buying an untouched virgin worth at least a million dollars?”
I blink as his words slowly get through to me. “You’re … selling me for money?”
“I am.” The way he says it so bluntly shocks me to my core. “That’s why I couldn’t have you marrying Aleksander. I needed you for myself. I knew once you were his, he’d never let you go. But you chose me.”
“What if I’d chosen him? What would you have done then?”
“I would’ve just sold Mila instead. But I like her. She’s sweet. Actually, I wouldn’t mind marrying her. So, once I sell you and get my millions back, I’ll marry Mila, and all will be right in the world.”
I can barely breathe. Air doesn’t make sense to me right now. Nothing makes sense to me right now.
“Why are you doing this to me? Why not find someone else?”
His expression turns from dark to pity, filling me with more fear. “Because you’re the most egotistical, annoying bitch I’ve ever met. You think you’re so much better than any other man. But you’re just a woman, Viktoriya. A woman who doesn’t know when to watch her mouth. Now, have fun out there.” He nods at the men holding onto me and walks away.
“Wait!” I scramble after him, but the men drag me away. “Wait!”
The men say something in Russian to each other, giving me a nasty look that makes my skin crawl. I don’t need to know exactly what they said to know it isn’t good.
They pull me through a doorway, and there it is—a large stage. The curtain is down, so I can’t see what’s on the other side. But what I can see is a single line of women standing on the stage. They all have a collar around their throats attached to the floor. They’re not going anywhere.
They’re being sold just like I am.
“Let me go!” I scream, but the men ignore me. They force me onto the stage and wrap a collar around my neck. I choke when it digs into my throat. I try chasing after the men, but the chain draws me right back into place. I’m not going anywhere.
Not until I’m sold—to who, I’m not sure.
I wanted so desperately to be back on a stage. but not like this.
Never like this.
I chose to trust Gleb. I chose him because I can’t stand Aleksander. I chose him because I assumed he would be the easy option.
But he was playing me all along.
I’m an utter fool. Maybe Vera and Aleksander and Sofiya were right—I’m not worthy of anyone.
I glance to my right and see a young woman standing beside me, shivering. She can’t be older than eighteen.
“Help me,” she whispers.
I wish I could, but we both know I can’t.
Then, the curtain is raised, and blinding lights shine into my face again. I can’t see, but I can hear, and what I hear is clapping. We have an audience.
Once my vision clears, I see I’m in a large theater filled with men holding auction paddles.
I’m not just being sold. I’m being sold to the highest bidder.
Gleb is in the audience, smiling smugly at me. He’s going to get millions from selling me, and I’m going to be stuck with a man who bought me for money like some cheap whore.
A man who looks like a car salesman walks onto the stage. He first speaks in Russian and then in English. “The bidding will start at five hundred thousand dollars for this beauty.”
The salesman drags the shivering girl next to me toward him by her chain. “Let us start.”
And the men do.
They bid on her like it’s nothing. Like she’s not a human being when, in reality, she’s a scared girl who can’t be older than eighteen. She’s like Mila.
If I’d chosen Aleksander, Gleb would have taken Mila here and sold her. She came to me for help about Gleb, and I brushed her off. I thought she was trying to ruin my moment for me.
The moment I finally marry and make my dead father proud.
But she was trying to warn me that Gleb couldn’t be trusted. I knew the first moment he stepped into our house he didn’t belong. I should have listened to that voice.
Instead, I let my hate for Aleksander get the best of me, and now, look where I am.
I’m all alone. No one here can save me. No one here wants to save me.
Once I’m sold, I’ll be lost to the man who buys me. I should be terrified.
But all I feel is sadness.
Sadness that I’ll never see my sisters again. That I let my father down. That I let Mila down.
That Aleksander was right—I should have watched my attitude around Bratva men. Because the Bratva has come to collect. Because I belong to them, and I can never escape.
That’s what hurts most of all.