Chapter 4 - Victoria
Roman Lukov…
The name started reverberating in my mind from the moment it was said to me, sinking in like icy fangs.
He’s the one who did this to me...the one who kidnapped me and forced me into marrying him on the spot…
As we remain there together, realization simmers within his features, slow yet unavoidable.
Before, his gaze had been sharp and unreadable, but now, confusion takes up that space and seems to reflect my own.
Mutually at a loss, we both remain there in that obscenely nice living room, unable to utter a word.
Suspended in that state of bewilderment, even while my heart races, I can’t find anything to say. My thoughts are loud and riddled with questions, but I can’t voice them yet.
As Roman puts my ID down, he keeps his eyes on me, his brows fixed into a tight furrow.
“…You truly don’t know what the Bratva is?”
“No, I don’t,” I mumble, still trying my hardest to keep my pulse steady despite how it pounds in my ears. My palms feel clammy while I shake faintly, trying to fight off the tunnel vision trying to take hold. “…I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about…You got the wrong person.”
His eyes remain on me, and his lips are slightly parted, allowing a quiet breath to escape. That silence lingers from him before something almost seems to shift in him. The faintest twitch of his jaw and the slip of his domineering gaze give away that understanding as it seems to flood his system.
Whether he wants to or not, he must believe me.
It seemed impossible before, but apparently, he can be convinced.
“My intel was wrong…” he says lowly, almost to himself, while he scrubs a hand down his face. “How…”
“I don’t know, but I was trying to tell you this from the start,” I manage, pulling in a breath that helps smooth me out to some degree.
If he believes me and knows he made a mistake, he can surely fix it. He may have forced this impromptu ceremony on me and completely upended my night, but it’s fixable. It can be done one way or another.
As Roman takes a step away while his posture deflates, some of that weight lifts from my chest, and I silently reassure myself that it will all be fine.
He knows, and he gets it. That means it’ll be over sooner rather than later.
Pulling in another deep breath to try and calm those anxious feelings, I focus on slowing my heart rate like I learned to several years ago.
Anxiety isn’t anything new to me given everything I experienced growing up, but after making so many changes for myself, I managed to get a grip on it. I made it more bearable; more than anything, I needed to regain that control again.
Sitting in a stranger’s mansion…and one who has more influence than I’d ever expect…certainly doesn’t help the situation.
Still, I glance at him with hope lingering in my chest.
“That’s it then, right?” I ask quietly, hoping for the chance to be set free as soon as possible. “You can get the marriage annulled and move past this mistake?”
Part of me expects him to give in right away and agree—maybe even to reassure me that he’ll get on it right away to make the process as painless as possible.
But his serious expression doesn’t waver.
“No…you’re staying.”
My stomach drops, and I freeze. “What?”
“You’re staying here until further notice,” Roman echoes, lacking any warmth in his voice. Regardless, he keeps his gaze resting on nothing in particular.
Another streak of fear moves through me, and it takes everything in my power not to break down then and there.
“…You can’t force me to stay here…not when you know I’m not the woman you were looking for.”
Everything in me wants to run and escape, but I have every reason to believe he’d catch me before I even had the chance to leave the living room.
His eyes harden further. “I can do as I please…I never intended to endanger someone innocent of my world, but now that you’re involved, I need to figure out how to handle this without getting you or my family hurt.”
As that panic spikes in my chest again, I shake my head in pure refusal. Everything about that idea makes my blood run cold. “I’m not part of this, Roman…I had nothing to do with it. As you said, I’m innocent.”
“And that’s exactly where my problem lies,” he utters, looking somewhat irritated with me, but more so with himself. “If you weren’t, then I’d already know what to do with you. But it’s too late now.”
I blink back at him, trying my hardest to understand what he’s talking about and how this situation could unfold for me.
“You’re acting like this is some kind of war strategy…”
“That’s because it is,” Roman counters, stormy eyes glaring back at me while he takes several steps forward.
“I had a plan, and it backfired, and because of it, I need to tread lightly. You’re in my house, you know my name, and now you legally share it with me.
You know more about this than you ever should have, which is why I can’t let you leave. ”
My heart feels like it’s about to burst as I stare back at him in absolute disbelief.
It feels like such an easy fix…such a quick solution. But to him, I’m a liability now.
When I don’t say anything, he takes up another step, getting closer than I’d like him to be.
“Do you realize what that means for you? Having my name next to yours?”
Averting my gaze, I shake my head.
“No…of course you don’t,” Roman murmurs, vaguely softer than before. He sighs, almost like part of him might actually care about my safety.
I do everything in my power to try and meet his gaze, but it’s so intense…and as a newfound understanding trickles in, I find it harder to do so knowing what his intentions are. Knowing who he is.
“It doesn’t matter what it means,” I manage despite how tight my throat feels. “You made this mistake. You dragged me into this all for your supposed plan, but it’s your mistake. So fix it.”
Seemingly caught by surprise from my subtle demand, his brow cocks, and he scoffs to himself.
“This is me trying,” Roman murmurs with a surprisingly gentle edge to his words. “You need to give me time.”
The way he speaks to me makes me feel like I’m some kind of wild animal prepared to bolt…which, in all fairness, isn’t far off. That’s exactly how I feel.
With the pressure of his intentions weighing on me, I can feel my thoughts splintering. That fear in me comes to life all over again.
Looking at him, I try to search for the right words—ones that will get my urgency across, or help him see that I can’t just be holed up somewhere because he says so.
But all of it chokes me up, and I swallow hard before forcing the words out. “You can’t keep me here…I have a life.”
“I can and I will,” Roman says, unwavering in his decision. “I need to know it’s safe.”
“Safe?” I echo, well aware of the near devastation in my voice, as I stand to meet him halfway. “Safe for who?”
“For you, obviously,” he returns without missing a beat, revealing something beneath his cold exterior.
It isn’t necessarily warmth, but…reluctant duty?
Maybe even a sliver of care? “And for my family, as I said. You’re involved in this regardless of me making a mistake.
If I don’t make the correct moves now, you could become a target.
Now, anyone could use you for their gain. ”
Breath feels hard to come by, and it’s almost like the sedative has been given to me all over again.
“I’m not a criminal,” I murmur, unable to stop my voice from cracking. “I’m not like you.”
Another flicker of irritation reaches his eyes, but he relents. “I know…and that’s exactly why I’m doing this to protect you.”
Roman says it like he’s doing me some kind of holy favor…like trapping me in his house, and everything to do with his life is something I should thank him for.
It seems he believes it, too.
But for better or worse, I know a cage when I see one. The bars might be as expensive as can be, but it doesn’t change a thing.
“This is insane…you’re insane.”
Completely unaffected by my words, Roman doesn’t flinch.
“If I let you go right now, someone out there could easily discover what happened here tonight. They’ll find you and track you down just like I did…
they’ll know you’re legally my wife, and they’ll use that to try and get to me.
I might make it out of that situation unscathed, but you won’t. ”
The heat rises in my chest, burning with the sheer panic I can’t shake. “I wouldn’t be in that position if it weren’t for you!”
His jaw tightens, like he knows I’m right but doesn’t want to admit it. “I can’t let them find out…they can’t think I’m capable of making mistakes.”
“Clearly you are,” I snap back, stuck between flux and flow of wanting to cower and needing to fight back against him. “So what am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you to tell me the coast is clear of your enemies?”
I expect him to lose his mind on me and to put me in my place, but Roman doesn’t say anything.
Immediately, it’s obvious that’s all the answer I need.
My hands are trembling with every overwhelming emotion coursing through me, and despite surely seeing that tension in me, Roman doesn’t say anything about it.
After a moment, he sighs, then gestures to his left. “Come on. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
My brows furrow at his dismissal, but despite my fear and pain due to everything that has happened, I can hardly muster the energy to continue fighting him.
In a way, having somewhere to go to get away from him sounds appealing.
My legs feel weak as I follow behind him, absently looking around the place that seems far too nice for me to stay in. With my head full of static, it takes all of my remaining strength to put one foot in front of the other and not collapse while heading up the stairs.
At the very least, the long hallway he takes me down has more than enough expensive things to hold my attention and keep me vaguely distracted. Everything from the occasional wall hanging to the luxurious rugs and all the finishings in between screams just how wealthy he is.
He really is as powerful as he seems. Which leads me to believe his supposed enemies can’t be too far off.
Eventually, after what feels like a lifetime, Roman stops outside of one of the doors and opens it before stepping aside and looking at me.
Regardless of his earlier slip, his eyes have become unreadable again, but I can tell he’s assessing me in some way.
Even with my guard up and the voice in the back of my head begging me to get away somehow, I can’t help but hold his gaze. To take in those hard yet appealing features of his.
Pulling myself out of it before I can get too lost in the moment, I glance into the room to find myself at a complete loss.
It appears to be a spare, yet the single room is bigger than my entire apartment. The bed is neatly made with silk sheets and lush blankets. There’s a black velvet chaise lounge beneath the window that looks like it’s from a period piece, and subtle yet comfortable decor.
All of it looks too perfect. Too put together.
“I’ll have some food brought up soon,” Roman says as neutrally as ever, despite my circumstances. “Someone will be posted outside the door if you need anything.”
I bristle as I step into the room. “Just like a guard dog…”
Roman doesn’t say anything. Instead, he releases a breath, then turns and closes the door behind me.
The click of the lock echoes in my mind, making me freeze in place. That sound is enough confirmation that my situation is more real and dangerous than I ever wanted. It isn’t some nightmare. I’m not enduring some kind of psychosis.
It’s real, and I’m locked in a room in a criminal’s house. An organized one, at that.
Left alone in that massive room, it starts to feel smaller and smaller as my lungs ache and my legs might as well not even be attached to me.
The space is suddenly far too quiet, leaving me with far too many opportunities to get lost in my own mind.
Breathing slowly, I try to calm down. To keep my heart from imploding. But it doesn’t work.
Instead, tears prick my eyes while I hobble over to the bed and lean against it before slowly sinking to the floor.
That fear…the crippling terror refuses to let go.
With shaky breaths, I use the sleeve of my cardigan to wipe at my eyes and try to think rationally. To come up with some kind of plan to get out. But the more I think about it, the more devastated I am.
Hand over my chest, I heave in as much air as my lungs allow and fight to keep that panic down.
Still, try as I might, it’s a losing battle.
Roman took me, forced me to marry him, and now he expects me to sit and wait.
To hope and pray he’ll be merciful and let me go.
If he ever decides to.