Chapter 6 #2
Disoriented, I blinked several times before realizing I was lying at an awkward angle across the mattress, one leg still hanging over the edge of the bed.
I pushed myself upright, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
The digital clock on my phone illuminated the room as I picked it up.
2:00 a.m.
My eyebrows shot upward.
“What...”
The word escaped in a whisper.
I had slept straight through the evening.
Panic immediately crept into my thoughts.
I hadn’t checked the locks.
Hadn’t even made sure the windows were secure.
The estate appeared safe enough—wealthy, secluded, and heavily protected—but caution had been woven into me since childhood.
Growing up in the Bratva meant never assuming you were truly safe.
Then another realization settled heavily in my chest.
Romeo hadn’t come home.
Or if he had...
I hadn’t heard him.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, disappointment mixed uncomfortably with relief.
Before I could make sense of either emotion, a faint sound drifted through the silence.
I froze.
Voices.
Low. Muffled.
Too distant to make out the words.
Every instinct sharpened at once.
Holding my breath, I slipped quietly off the bed and padded barefoot toward the bedroom door.
The muffled voices became even louder
The closer I got, the clearer the voices became. I still couldn’t make out what was being said, but there was no mistaking that someone was downstairs.
My pulse hammered against my ribs.
For a brief moment, I considered locking the door and pretending I hadn’t heard anything.
But curiosity—and fear—won.
Summoning what little courage I had left, I wrapped my trembling fingers around the doorknob, eased the door open, and slipped silently into the hallway.
The bungalow’s open layout meant the living room was only a few steps away.
Soft light flickered across the hallway, accompanied by the muted sound of a television.
I slowed as I approached the living room.
A romantic movie played quietly on the large screen, its warm glow illuminating two figures seated on the sofa.
For a heartbeat, my exhausted mind refused to make sense of what I was seeing.
Then recognition hit.
Yarina.
And Romeo.
My breath caught painfully in my throat.
It felt as though someone had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart until it stopped beating.
This...
This was supposed to be our wedding night.
Granted, there was nothing romantic about our marriage. It had been forced upon both of us, sealed with resentment instead of affection.
But this was still our first night as husband and wife.
Yet Romeo had brought another woman into our home.
My sister.
Neither of them acknowledged my presence.
They continued watching the movie as though I didn’t exist, as though I were nothing more than another piece of furniture occupying the room.
The realization stung far more than I wanted to admit.
I cleared my throat.
The sound broke the silence.
“It never occurred to me that we were free to entertain members of the opposite sex on our wedding night.”
Neither of them reacted.
I folded my arms across my chest, refusing to let my unease show.
“If I’d known that was permitted,” I said coolly, “I would have invited my friend Egor over to keep me company tonight.”
Romeo’s head turned sharply.
His expression remained unreadable, but something dangerous flashed behind his eyes.
Beside him, Yarina shifted closer until her thigh brushed his. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips as she rested one hand possessively on his leg.
The gesture lasted only a second.
Without looking at her, Romeo calmly lifted her hand and set it back in her own lap.
He didn’t touch her. He didn’t encourage her.
They hadn’t been sitting close before I’d arrived, either. A respectable distance remained between them on the sofa.
Oddly, that should have comforted me.
Instead, it only confused me.
Because despite the distance...
Despite rejecting her touch...
He had still chosen to bring her here.
That alone was humiliating enough.
“This is my house,” Romeo said at last.
His voice was quiet, but every word carried the weight of a command.
“I decide who walks through those doors. And no man will ever cross this threshold for you—not while I’m forced to look at your face every fucking day.”
He rose to his feet slowly, his gaze locking onto mine with chilling, murderous intensity.
“So I’m held to rules that don’t apply to you?” I asked, refusing to look away even as my pulse hammered.
A humorless, cruel smile twisted his mouth, full of pure contempt.
“You don’t have rules, wife.” He spat the word like it tasted rotten. “You have orders. And you’ll obey every last one of them.”
He took a slow, deliberate step toward me, his presence radiating raw hatred.
“You seem to have forgotten exactly what this sham of a marriage is.”
His voice dropped into a dangerous growl, thick with loathing.
“This isn’t a marriage. It’s your goddamn punishment. A contract I’m forced to suffer through for two years. Until those two years are over, you’ll obey my every word without question. Defy me even once... and I’ll break you so savagely you’ll wish I’d just killed you instead.”
My stomach plummeted.
Ice-cold terror flooded my veins as I stared at him, my chest heaving with shallow, panicked breaths.
This man hated me with every cell in his body—resented my very existence, my blood, the forced ring on my finger.
His eyes promised he meant every word.
If I pushed him, he wouldn’t hesitate to destroy me slowly and painfully.
My hands trembled at my sides as I fought the overwhelming urge to step back, to run, to disappear.
But I knew there was nowhere to hide. I was trapped with a monster.
Yarina rose from the sofa and drifted to Romeo’s side as though she belonged there.
Folding her arms, she lifted her chin with quiet satisfaction.
I looked directly at Romeo. “This marriage may be a contract, but I refuse to be a prisoner in it. I won’t beg for your attention, your affection, or your approval. You can keep all three.”
My gaze shifted to Yarina.
“But don’t expect me to put my life on hold while the two of you play house. So if, one day, I make choices that don’t sit well with either of you, don’t expect me to apologize. And don’t you dare complain.”
Without waiting for a response, I turned toward the hallway.
I had to leave.
Before my composure slipped. Before either of them saw the cracks beneath it—before the fear choking me became visible.
“Dare to walk away from me?” Romeo’s voice sliced through the silence like a blade, low, lethal, and dripping with icy contempt.
“Take another step and I’ll ensure you beg for death before this night is over. I’ll drag you back by that pretty hair and snap your bones one by one until you fully grasp how much I resent being chained to you.”
“You’ll scream for mercy that will never fucking come—because your pain is the only thing that makes this forced marriage tolerable for me.”
I froze mid-step, my heart slamming violently against my ribs.
My legs trembled, threatening to give out as cold sweat prickled across my skin.
This wasn’t just anger — it was the promise of prolonged, sadistic suffering from a man who already despised me with every breath he took.
One more move and he would unleash hell.
I could feel his eyes burning into my back like branding irons, waiting — almost hoping — I would defy him so he could unleash the monster I knew lived inside him.
My legs felt rooted to the floor, terror coiling tight in my chest.
Slowly, I heard him unlock his phone. A few taps. The soft click of a message sent.
Then silence.
I frowned but didn’t dare turn around.
Before I could find the courage to speak, the front door swung open.
I turned instinctively.
Keegan stepped inside, keys dangling from his hand, his face as unreadable as always.
His sharp eyes swept the room, instantly reading the suffocating tension.
From Romeo...
To Yarina...
Then finally to me.
“Take her home. Now.” Romeo ordered, his voice cold steel that left no room for argument.
Yarina stared at him, her perfectly composed mask shattering. “What?”
A shaky, nervous laugh escaped her. “We’re not finished talking. Besides, I planned to stay here tonight—”
For a long moment, Romeo simply looked at her.
His expression softened — just barely — in a way I had never once seen directed at me. It wasn’t warmth exactly, but it was patience. Consideration. Something human.
“Yarina,” he said quietly, “go with Keegan. We’ll talk another time.”
The contrast hit me like a slap.
That softness, that patience... it would never be for me.
To him, I was nothing but filth he was forced to tolerate. Something to break.
Without another word, he flicked his gaze to Keegan. The underboss moved immediately.
“Miss Sokolov,” Keegan said respectfully, “it’s time.”
“No.” Yarina shook her head, stepping back. “I’m not leaving.”
“Yarina.” Romeo’s voice stayed calm, but the dangerous edge returned. “Go.”
She looked at him for several painful seconds, then exhaled in frustration. “You’re choosing her over me now?”
Romeo’s expression hardened instantly, all traces of softness gone.
His eyes flicked toward me for a split second — filled with such visceral hatred and resentment that my stomach twisted in fear.
I saw it clearly: no matter how much he might tolerate Yarina, I was the one he truly wanted to destroy.
“I’m choosing to end this conversation,” he said flatly. “Go.”
The ruthlessness of it chilled me to the bone.
Even the woman he actually seemed to care about was dismissed the moment it involved controlling me.
If he could toss her aside so coldly... what would he do to me — the wife he openly loathed?
Reluctantly, Yarina turned toward the door, shooting me one last poisonous glare as Keegan escorted her out.
The door clicked shut behind them, leaving me alone with the monster who had just proven exactly how little mercy existed in his world.
I remained rooted where I stood, unable to tear my eyes away from him.