18. Sofia
18
SOFIA
I hum as I float around my apartment, still riding the high from last night with Nikolai. The way he touched me, the intensity in his eyes—I can’t stop replaying every moment.
“Get it together,” I mutter, shaking my head as I arrange wine glasses and snacks on the coffee table. Tash will be here for our movie night in an hour, and I need to focus.
I head to the kitchen to grab the bottle opener from the drawer but stop when something catches my eye. A glint of metal behind my favorite coffee mug. Frowning, I reach up, and my fingers brush against something small and hard.
Ice floods my veins as I pull out a tiny camera, no bigger than my thumbnail. It’s expertly hidden and positioned to capture the entire kitchen.
“No, no, no...” My hands shake as I examine it. This isn’t some cheap spy camera—it’s professional grade, expensive. The kind used by people who know what they’re doing.
My mind races. How long has this been here? Who put it there? I scan the kitchen with new eyes, spotting another one tucked into the corner molding.
The wine glasses clatter as I set them down too hard. My sanctuary, my private space has been violated. I wrap my arms around myself.
My hands tremble as I move through my apartment, scanning every corner with new suspicion. I find six more cameras affixed to picture frames and tucked into my bookshelves, even one in my bedroom light fixture.
“This can’t be happening.” I dump them all into my desk drawer, slamming it shut. The metallic clink makes my stomach turn.
Sinking into my Italian leather sofa, I massage my temples. A memory surfaces—when I searched everywhere for my favorite black lace thong last week. The week before, my silk hair tie vanished from my bathroom counter. At the time, I’d blamed my scattered mind, too busy with the gallery to keep track of things.
But now...
“No.” I shake my head, refusing to follow that thought to its conclusion. Nikolai’s intense gaze flashes through my mind. How he seems to know things about me that he shouldn’t. How he shows up at exactly the right moments.
My fingertips brush against the mark he left on my neck last night, and I shiver. The cameras feel like accusatory eyes, even locked away in the drawer. The timing of their appearance, professional quality, and missing items all point to one person.
I grab my phone, thumb hovering over Nikolai’s contact. But what would I even say? “Hey, are you spying on me through hidden cameras?” The thought makes me laugh, though it sounds like a choke.
Instead, I shove my phone away and curl up on the couch, trying to ignore the growing certainty that the man I’m falling for has been watching my every move.
My phone buzzes with a text from Tash saying she’s almost here. Do I tell her? Should I call the police?
The doorbell rings, making me jump. I hastily wipe my eyes and smooth down my hair, trying to compose myself.
“Coming!” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat before opening the door.
Tash stands there in her signature red lipstick, holding up a bottle of wine. “I brought the good stuff. That Bordeaux you—” She stops mid-sentence, her smile fading. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I force my lips into what I hope is a convincing smile. “Just tired from a busy week at the gallery.”
She narrows her eyes, stepping inside. “Sofia Henley, I’ve known you since Columbia. That’s your ‘everything is definitely not fine’ face.”
“Really, I’m okay.” I take the wine from her, busying myself with opening it. My hands shake slightly as I work the corkscrew. “How was your day?”
“Uh-uh.” Tash crosses her arms. “Don’t try to deflect. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I pour the wine, watching the dark liquid swirl in the glasses. The drawer containing the cameras feels like it’s burning a hole in my consciousness.
“I’m fine,” I insist, plastering on an even bigger smile. “Just... processing some things from work. You know how it gets.”
Tash takes the glass I offer her, but her expression remains skeptical. “If you say so. But remember what I always tell you?—”
“‘You can’t bullshit a bullshitter,’” I finish with her, managing a small genuine laugh. “I know, I know.”
She settles onto the couch, patting the spot next to her. “Well, whatever it is, nothing that a good movie and better wine can’t help, right?”
I sink beside her, grateful for her presence even if I can’t tell her the truth. Not yet. Not when I’m still trying to process it myself.
I curl deeper into the couch cushions, pretending to watch whatever romantic comedy Tash picked. On-screen, the leading couple shares their first kiss, but I can only think about Nikolai’s hands on my body last night—the same hands that must have placed those cameras and violated my sanctuary.
My skin crawls. How many times did he watch me? Getting dressed, dancing around my kitchen while cooking, crying over a bad day at work? All those intimate moments I thought were mine alone.
The wine turns sour in my mouth. Last night, I gave him everything—my body, my trust. And the whole time, he’d been watching me like some twisted voyeur.
“Earth to Sofia?” Tash’s hand dances before my eyes. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”
“Sorry, just...” My phone buzzes against my thigh, Nikolai’s name lighting up the screen.
Thinking of you, malishka. Still taste you on my tongue.
My fingers clench around the phone. The words make me want to throw up. Or throw something. How dare Nikolai act so intimate with me while secretly spying on me?
Another text follows.
When can I see you again?
The phone slips from my suddenly numb fingers. Heat floods my face—not from desire this time, but pure rage.
“Sofia?” Tash’s concerned voice barely registers. “You look like you’re about to murder someone.”
If only she knew how right she was. I want to storm over to Nikolai’s penthouse and confront him. Demand answers. But the cold calculation behind those cameras stops me. This isn’t just about desire or control—this is something darker.
My phone buzzes again. I don’t look at it. Can’t look at it. Each message feels like another violation, another reminder that the man I thought I could trust is really a predator. A dangerous one.