Joy
I’m all for being handcuffed to a hot guy’s headboard as he talks dirty to me.
But he’s crossed the fucking line.
I didn’t move out at eighteen to make a life for myself, just for it to be taken away a few years later.
“I’m not marrying you.”
“I didn’t ask you a question,” says Valerian, still holding my chin in place.
I tighten my jaw, trying to snap my head away from him. But he pinches harder, forcing me to keep looking at him.
The more time I spend looking into his eyes, the wetter I’m getting. The heavy breathing. The dark, masculine scent. The giant body, which puts me entirely into shadow. Everything about him is too much.
I wonder what else he’s done with those hands, besides hold me in place against his bed. Punch people in the face? Snap bones? Murder?
I don’t know anything about organized crime. But I can take a guess, now being in the same room as a crime boss. They really are quite exquisite to look at. And I can see why Valerian would be the leader. He looks undefeatable. He’s definitely been in quite a few fights.
And won them all.
“I could report you for—”
“You won’t want to do that,” says Valerian.
“Let me give you a word of advice, seeing as though you’ve never been in this situation before: never go to the police.
Not unless you want your body to waste away at the top of the San Bernardino mountains.
And there’s quite a few species of vultures up there. ”
“Okay. No need to go on. I get your point.”
“Great,” says Valerian. He finally releases my chin, sitting back down on the bed. “I’ll give you the rest of the day to pack up your life. I need you here tomorrow at eight a.m. Sharp. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
And I don’t like people having autonomy over my life.
I shake my head, scoffing. “All of this because Igor betrayed you?”
“Yes,” he says. “Igor seems to have forgotten just who his father is. It’s time I remind him. Punishment applies to everyone who breaks my trust. It doesn’t matter who they are.”
“Punish him another way. I’m innocent in all of this.”
The dangerous look Valerian flashes me suggests he doesn’t care about innocents, and won’t let them intervene with his plans.
There really is no soul behind his eyes. Just a face and a body. And a very expensive suit. That I’d still like to remove.
I decide to suck up what he’s saying, just to get out of these handcuffs.
“When we’re married, you’ll stay with me here.”
I nod, knowing full well that won’t be happening.
Because I won’t be marrying him.
I need to find a way to get out of this.
“You’ll be taken care of, all meals and finances provided,” he continues. “There’s no pressure to consummate the marriage. But if I find out that you’d like that, we can come to an arrangement.”
An arrangement?
Valerian reaches over me, key at the ready to finally set me free. “I’m warning you, Joy. If I hear of any funny business from now until tomorrow morning, you’ll pay.”
Right. Just not with those five thousand bucks.
Valerian slots the key into the handcuffs, releasing me. I sigh, taking back my wrists.
“Eight a.m. sharp,” he reminds me.
Like I could forget.
“Up.” He snaps his fingers, and I scramble off the bed. “Come here.” He yanks me to his side. “I’ll see you off the property.”
I look around as he guides me out of his bedroom, into a long hallway that leads to the staircase.
A grand staircase.
I note the chandeliers and all of the portraits lined along the walls. All of them are men. Maybe they’re the previous Bratva leaders?
I grab onto the banister as he brings me downstairs. This whole place is huge. Just walking through the foyer makes me feel like a fish out of water.
We cross the foyer together, his footsteps ringing through the open space. I glance over my shoulder, expecting to see a head on a spike. A dead body.
Nothing is too inhumane or big for Valerian. He made that clear when he forced a woman he doesn’t even know into marriage.
I mean, he knows those last a lifetime, right?
He guides me outside through the courtyard. The sound of gushing water captures my attention. I turn and see a four-tiered stone waterfall a little bit away from here. Beside it is a swimming pool, the water glistening a vibrant shade of blue.
The air turns perfumed as we pass the flower garden. The smell makes me nauseous. This estate has everything you could ever possibly want in life.
But it doesn't have my freedom.
And I want that more than I need a place to live after the breakup.
I will find a way to get out of this. Even if it ends with my dead body wasting away in the San Bernardino mountains for those five different species of vultures.
I step out of the car Valerian arranged for me, and walk the rest of the way to Lila’s apartment in Venice beach.
I didn’t want to accept the car. But I didn’t have much choice. Valerian lives right at the top of Beverly Hills. I’m limited on cash. Transport isn’t something I can afford to splurge on, and the ride Valerian organized for me was free. So, I begrudgingly accepted.
I take out my keys, unlocking the door.
I’ll miss living in Malibu, waking up to ocean views every morning. But Venice Beach is nice. It also means I’ll be seeing more of Lila. She was kind enough to let me stay with her while I find a new place to live.
I discard my keys on the side and collapse straight into the couch. What a fucking day.
I stare into space. Time to put an action plan together on how I’m gonna get out of this marriage.
Firstly, Valerian doesn’t know where I’m staying. Maybe I’m off the hook. Maybe the guy was just fear mongering. Mafia bosses must get bored. Valerian could’ve tied me to his bed to make the time pass. That’s one thing people like him aren’t short of.
The door flies open, snapping me from my trance.
“Hey, girl.” Lila steps into the apartment balancing grocery bags in her hand.
I jump off the couch, and take some from her hands. I start unpacking them, frowning when I come across two containers of my favorite Erewhon ice cream—the one with the almond milk and organic berries. They cost an absolute fortune.
I swizzle around, facing her. “Care to explain why you’ve spent fifty bucks on ice cream?”
Lila shrugs it off, helping me unpack. “I thought we could have a movie night together. Sorry, I’ve been held down with work so much. We haven’t spent any quality time together. And you need to get over this breakup.”
Safe to say I’m already over it.
“With ice cream?”
“Yeah. It’s all organic ingredients, so you’ll feel good eating it. Nobody wants to wake up the next morning feeling heartbroken and bloated.”
“Thanks,” I say. “But honesty, Lila, the last thing I am is heartbroken over Igor.”
“But you were in love.”
“Yeah. But I’m more angry than in love.”
Lila slots some things away in the pantry and turns over her shoulder. “Did you burn the documents?”
I come to a halt. “Not exactly.”
“You’re kidding?” Lila huffs. “He was home, wasn’t he?”
I bite my lip. I wanna tell Lila all about the day I’ve had, and I will. Just when I’ve put all of this to bed.
“Yep. He threw me out.”
“Oh my god, he’s such an asshole. I can’t believe he was trying to frame you for offshore tax evasion.”
“I know. But I’m tired of talking about Igor. Let’s talk about something else.” I pull the receipt out of the last bag. “Like why you spent over three hundred bucks on groceries.”
“Duh. Because you’re living here now.”
“Yeah. But only until I can find my feet.” I pop open my purse to hand Lila some cash. Turns out Valerian took my other hundred, too.
I hate him even more than his son.
“I’ll transfer you,” I say, shutting my purse. “When I get paid from the magazine.”
“Don’t stress it,” says Lila. “And there’s no rush to move out.
After living alone for so many years, I like the company.
” Lila trashes the bags and perks up. “Hey. I’m going to Pilates with your mom this evening if you wanna join.
Reformer strength. You know the one? It might take your mind off everything. ”
My chest clenches when I think about earlier. The blindfold. The handcuffs. The very hot man.
“Yeah, okay,” I say. “Sounds good.”
I could do with getting Valerian off my mind.
But first, I open my laptop, type his name into the search bar and hit enter.
I need to do some research.
The search results load. And there he is, at the top of the page, suited and booted like he was earlier. Except here, he’s smiling, flashing a full set of white teeth.
I click onto his website, my breath catching as I’m hit with more photos of him standing outside of malls, office buildings, attending ribbon cutting ceremonies with the builders. He wears a helmet and a high- vis vest in one of the photos.
It suits him. Everything does.
He owns a commercial real estate business. I guess Igor wasn’t entirely lying about being a realtor.
This must be their business front. Every organized crime family has one, per the movies.
I scroll down the page, seeing achievement after achievement. A small smile toys with the ends of my lips. He’s in the public eye. I could use this to ruin him if I really needed to.
Only, I don’t have any evidence.
I scroll through a few more photos. Surely, he was bluffing earlier.
Valerian probably just likes to scare people for fun.
Some people in this world just like to make others feel small.
“What are you looking at?” Lila joins me on the couch and gasps. “Valerian Sokolov?”
“You know him?”
“Not personally,” scoffs Lila. “But I wish I did.”
“What?” I slam the laptop lid down and set the device aside. “I’m so confused.”
“He’s in commercial real estate.”
Like the internet keeps telling me.
“You know, sells buildings and shit?” continues Lila. “He has a nice face, right?”
“Right.” I screw up my eyes, trying to make sense of this.
“Did you see him today?”
“No,” I spit. “Someone just… mentioned him.”
“Yeah. He’s done a lot of stuff in and around Los Angeles. I don’t really know what. It all goes over my head. Anyway,” Lila shoots off the couch. “We should get ready for Pilates. You know how the instructor gets when we show up late.”
A few extra lunges as punishment doesn’t sound as bad when I compare it to what Valerian has in store.
“Sure. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
I open the laptop when Lila disappears, scrolling through the website, narrowing my results down to Igor. He’s nowhere to be seen in any of this. Valerian owns the business. He’s the only one showing his face. I guess that’s because he wants a good reputation.
I continue mulling him over when I get to Pilates.
I’m finding it harder than normal to control my breath. My heart’s been hammering in my chest ever since this morning. And for two very different reasons.
“Pulse!” shouts the instructor.
I imagine myself in this position over Valerian, squatting on his cock. Working new muscles. If he’s as big down there as the rest of him, I’m screwed.
I focus on pushing him out of my mind with each rep. But he finds a way to edge back in. It’s those eyes. You see them once. You see them forever.
But there’s one thing more powerful than his eyes. His reputation. He’s Bratva royalty, which means he can do whatever he wants.
What if he’s deadly serious about the wedding? And the reason I think he’s bluffing is because I can’t conceptualize how someone would do that. You don’t force people into marriage. That’s not normal. Not where I come from.
“Joy?” Mom interrupts me from my thoughts when we’re wrapping up the class. “You’re quiet this evening. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Just the breakup.”
Lila, two reformers down, shoots me a puzzled look.
“Oh, I know, honey. Come here.” Mom flings her arms around me, bringing me into a tight hug. “I couldn’t move for weeks when I divorced your father. The pain was too much. You’re already miles ahead of me.”
I know she couldn’t move. I was the one trying to move her. My father was a liar. And a cheater. The absolute scum of the earth. And for years, Mom let him walk all over her. She kept letting it happen until she could afford to divorce him.
“Let's get you some fried chicken.”
“After just working out butts off for fifty minutes?” interjects Lila. “No way. I have organic ice cream waiting for us back home in the freezer. We’re having a movie night.”
“I don’t want a—”
“Tough. You’re eating ice cream and my homemade lasagna. It’s gonna be a blast.”
My stomach fills with nerves as we walk back from Pilates. I’m not sweating with exhaustion. But anxiety.
Could this be my last night of freedom before—?
No. I kill that thought before it kills me. What happened earlier today was a fever dream. And I won’t let a man ruin a nice evening with my two favorite people.