Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lily
Today wasn’t just any shopping trip. We were shopping for Anya’s wedding dress. Daniil pushed her, and that left me to hold on to Timothy’s hand and try to keep him amused. Like any little boy surrounded by fluffy white dresses, he got bored within a few minutes.
Not that I minded taking care of him. It gave me a chance to see Daniil interact with his family, and as always, he seemed like a completely different person, just like he had with me earlier that day.
He was always softer and kinder when he was around them. It seemed like the icy wall he had built around himself came down. I liked this Daniil.
“Lily.” Timothy’s small hand tugged on mine, forcing my shoulder down, and I glanced down at him. He had a tiny little frown on his face that made him look so much like his dad that I couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s up, little man?” I asked. He didn’t answer, but anyone with eyes could see he was growing more and more uncomfortable. Crouching down on my heels, I brought our faces to the same level.
“Are you bored?”
He nodded his head, chewing on his lip the entire time.
“Wanna get out of here and go and get a burger or ice cream?”
This time, when he nodded, it was more enthusiastic. Grinning at him, I straightened and brushed my other hand against Daniil’s forearm. He turned to me instantly.
“I’m going to take Timothy to get some ice cream. If that’s ok?” I added quietly because it had sounded for a second there like I was telling him and not asking.
He looked down at his son’s eager, grinning face and nodded. “Yes, but please don’t go far, and keep your phone on you. Security will keep a distance, but they will be watching.”
I frowned. “It’s just ice cream, Daniil. What do you think is going to happen?” Shaking my head, I forced myself to smile. “I would never let anything happen to him, Daniil. You know that.”
At least I hoped he knew that.
Daniil’s face softened. Stepping into my space, he cupped my face between his hands and brushed his lips against mine. “I know that. But he is my son, and I have so many enemies. I worry about something happening to him.” Another kiss. “I worry about something happening to you as well.”
I grinned against his lips.
“If you need to go anywhere, come back and take my car. It’s safe, and the roads are icy. I don’t want you in a cab.” He was cute when he was worried, but it really was unnecessary. Except I knew his wife had died in a car crash. Daniil had every reason to be worried.
Reaching up on tiptoes I pressed my lips to his, ignoring Anya’s smirk. “We won’t need to drive anywhere. I’ll just be down the block.”
Kissing him out in public felt weird but kind of natural, like I didn’t mind anymore if people knew about us. But then again, our arrangement hadn’t purely business for a while.
Sliding Timofey’s gloves and hat back on, I led him out into the busy New York street. Hand in hand, we wandered down the block. Timothy laughed every time I slipped on a patch of ice.
It didn’t take us long to find the ice cream place I had been thinking of, and surprisingly, there was a long line even though the weather was atrocious.
More than one person turned to look at us when we joined the line.
I tightened my grip on the little boy’s hand.
A prickle of unease tingled up my spine.
“Stay close to me,” I whispered. “Don’t wander off.”
He nodded like he felt it, too. I glanced behind me, hoping to see the security detail that Daniil had promised would be following us, and came back blank. There was no one behind me.
There was no looming threat either. No one was looking at us anymore. It was just my imagination.
“So what—“ I paused, the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
The voice was instantly recognizable and very, very unwelcome. Pulling on Timothy’s hand to tuck him into my side, I half turned to face Greg.
“What are you doing here?” My hand shook around Timothy’s.
Greg shrugged. “This is my favourite place, and the cold helps,“ he motioned to his badly bruised face. Both eyes were blackish-purple, and his lip was swollen.
Daniil had done that. I looked away quickly.
“It wasn’t like I was following you or anything,” he added quickly in a tone that told me he was lying.
“Hey.” Greg’s voice turned friendly and fake as he crouched down. “And who do we have here?”
I wanted to scream at Timothy not to answer, but before I could, he spoke. “I am Timothy Popov,” Timothy said in a very serious voice and held out his hand, the perfect little copy of his father.
Greg’s eyes darted up to me. “He has a son? Did you know?” He turned his attention back down to the little boy. “You look just like your dad.”
“What happened to your face?” Timothy asked with childlike innocence.
“Your father,” Greg said. “Your father did this. Did you know he’s a fucking monster?”
There was so much anger in his voice that I tried to push Timothy behind me.
“My papa is kind. He is kind, isn’t he, Lily?” He turned his tear-filled eyes in my direction.
“Of course he is. Stop this, Greg,” I ordered. “Timothy doesn’t need to hear this.”
“Of course.” He continued to stare at the little boy, and I couldn’t read his expression.
I just knew I didn’t like it. “I know the owner. What do you say I get you a special bowl of ice cream just for you? Let’s go and see.
” He held out his hand, and before I could tighten my grip even more, Timothy took it.
“Don’t—“ I rushed to grab hold of the little boy, but someone got there quicker, moving so fast he was a blur. Danill grabbed Greg’s shoulder and spun him around, sending him crashing into the arms of one of his men.
“Fuck,” Greg cried out.
Daniil scooped Timothy up, his eyes darting back and forth over his son’s face as he checked for injuries. “Go and stand with Anya outside. I will be out in a second.”
Timothy looked at me. Daniil did not. Scampering, he ran out to his aunt, leaving me with a man who seemed to be vibrating with anger.
“Daniil.” I reached for his arm, and he tossed my hand off angrily.
“Don’t,” he snapped. “Don’t you dare fucking talk to me.”
I swallowed hard, my hand dropping to hang loosely at my side.
“Did you plan this?” he asked. But before I could speak, he grabbed me. His hand curled around the back of my neck and roughly tugged me into him, not in the sexy, animalistic way he usually did. This was pure rage.
Customers around us turned in shock. Their mumbles and grumbles were loud at seeing a man manhandle a woman in public.
Daniil ignored them all. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?
Gain my trust so you could hand over my only son to a monster who sold your body.
I should have followed my gut when it came to you,” he spat in a low, menacing voice.
“I knew you were too good to be true.” The hand curved around the back of my neck, flexed, and I cried out.
It felt like he was going to crush my spine. Staring into his dark, bottomless eyes, I felt a rush of fear. This was the real Daniil, a monster with soulless eyes.
Gone was the sweet family man. Gone was the passionate lover of this morning.
I didn’t know this Daniil, but it looked like he was ready to snap my neck at any second.
I opened my mouth to tell him he was wrong and that it was nothing like he was thinking at all, but he pushed me away from him with so much force that I almost fell down.
“Get out of my sight.”
Tears sprang up in my eyes. “Daniil, it wasn’t like that. It’s not. Please just listen to me.”
He glowered at me. “You’re a whore.” A flicker of unease swept across his face, almost like he didn’t mean those words, but he didn’t apologize. “Nothing but a whore.” He doubled down.
Tears sprang into my eyes.
“I no longer have need of your services,” he continued, and gasps went around.
My cheeks flamed. Humiliation tightened my chest.
“Leave.”
I took a step towards him, my hand outstretched.
“Get out of my sight.”
The growl in his voice made me freeze on the spot. He was being so cruel.
“Our arrangement is at an end. I do not want to see you at my property or around the people I love ever again.” Dark, brooding eyes met mine, and I reeled back at the hate I saw reflected there.
Only a few hours ago, it had been adoration. Now it was pure hatred. I swallowed hard. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Greg stumble from the store and rush down the street, and I was sure that I saw a grin on his face before he disappeared from view.
Had he planned this?
I shook the thought away. He couldn’t have. Could he? He had no way of knowing where I was unless he was tracking my phone. That was really easy to do. Greg was a genius. He could have done it in his sleep, and it made a lot of sense.
I opened my mouth to try to explain to Daniil, but he spoke first.
“Get out.” He didn’t shout it. His voice was icy cold. And deadly. I swallowed hard.
“Now,” he hissed, his very tone promising violence. “Before I forget that I cared for you once. I never want to see you again.”
And there it was. Daniil was done with me just like I knew he would be. I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon or over something that wasn’t my fault. Wrapping my arms around myself, I hunched my shoulders and nodded. “Ok,” I whispered.
I walked away, shuffling out into the frigid cold of the street, and I didn’t feel any of it. The coldness in me had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with him. I moved around Anya and Timothy without saying a word. Even when they both called out after me, I didn’t turn around.
My time with them was done. I’d miss them, but I wasn’t going to give Daniil any other excuse to humiliate me.
“Where is she going, Daniil?” I heard Anya say.
“I don’t know.” His voice was closer than I expected, so he had followed me out.
“Don’t let her just walk away, Daniil. Do something. Stop her.”
I picked up my pace. My arms tightened around my middle as I forced myself not to cry. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t cry, and I wouldn’t beg.
“Lily,” Daniil shouted after me. “Wait.”
I dropped my chin to my chest and ignored him. He wanted me gone, so I would leave. Daniil had made his thoughts very, very clear.
Rounding the corner, I finally let a sob rip its way out of my throat and sucked in a deep breath.
Daniil hadn’t followed me. He hadn’t sent any of his men to either.
I was free.
“Lily.”
My head whipped around. Greg was in a car, leaning across the console to open the passenger side door. “Get in, I’ll drive us home.”
Hesitating just for a second, I glanced behind me and sighed. He wasn’t coming after me. Daniil meant every word he had said.
I slipped into the warmth of the car, and Greg pulled us into slow-moving city traffic.
“He’s right, you know,” he said softly.
I turned my head slowly. Too slowly. I didn’t even have a chance to bring my hands up to protect myself before his fist smashed into my face.
“You really are a whore.”