The Billionaire I Shouldn't Love

Prologue

Five years ago

“Mom, I’m home!” I call out for my mother as I walk through the door, like I do every day, but she doesn’t answer...

I head to the kitchen, but she’s not there either. Suddenly, I hear a scream from upstairs. I throw my backpack on the floor and race up the stairs as fast as I can.

“After my stepfather cheated on my mother, she sank into depression and turned to drinking and smoking. I’ve endured this for years, watching her battle her demons.

She attempted suicide twice, which scarred me forever.

When she finally decided to get a divorce, she found out she was pregnant, making it impossible for us to leave.

She met Vladimir in Germany, where we lived.

He seemed like the perfect man, but everything changed when he decided to move back to Russia.

From then on, our lives became a living hell.

I grew up fast, taking on responsibilities no one my age should have to bear.

I split my time between school and caring for my mother and sister, which was an enormous challenge.

But I was determined to graduate and give the three of us a better life, far from that house and everything we’d been through.

After the betrayal, things got worse fast. The abuse started, and I felt powerless to protect my mother and sister.

I’d lock myself in my room with my little sister in my lap, trying to muffle the sounds, but it was impossible not to hear.

That’s when I decided to tell someone about everything I was going through at home.

I confided in my teacher Olga and showed her some audio recordings I had on my phone.

She was the only person I could trust. I remember how she’d always pull me aside to talk, worried about how sad and withdrawn I seemed.

But I’d never told her the real reason for my pain—until that moment, when I finally found the courage to open up.

It was an enormous relief to share my secret with someone who seemed genuinely concerned about me.

That’s when she offered to help, and I accepted without hesitation. The fact that her husband worked for the Federal Police gave me a glimmer of hope. I started devising a plan to escape that house and that country—a plan to start a new life, free from the abuse and suffering.”

I reach the top of the stairs and see Elena crouched down, crying with her hands over her ears, trying to block out the terrible sounds coming from the bedroom my mother shared with her wretched husband.

My heart clenches seeing my little sister like this, so small and innocent, exposed to so much pain and suffering.

I bring my little sister to her room and tell her to stay quiet.

Elena, only four years old, obeys without question, going into the bathroom and sitting on the floor—exactly what I always have her do to protect her from the bad sounds.

Patiently, I explain that I’m going to get Mommy so we can leave.

She looks up at me and smiles, and in that moment, I make a promise to myself: today will be the day I get them both out of this hell.

I quickly leave Elena’s room and lock the door behind me.

I run to my room and, with trembling hands, grab the knife I’d hidden under my pillow.

I also grab my phone and call Olga, my teacher.

Everything has to go right. I take a deep breath, then burst into the room where my mother is.

Without hesitating, I lunge straight at Vladimir, plunging the knife into his back.

He turns slowly, pulling out the blade with a disturbing coldness in his eyes.

In that instant, I know something terrible is about to happen to me.

That’s when he grabs my hair and throws me onto the bed, forcing himself between my legs.

Desperate, I struggle, trying to escape or hit him somehow, but he’s much stronger than me.

My mother lies motionless on the cold floor, her eyes wide.

She tries to get up, but she’s too injured—the effort is futile.

“Today, you’re going to learn to respect me, you little bastard.

I’ve been tolerating you and putting up with your presence for years.

The only reason I never touched you was because you didn’t interfere in my business with your mother.

” He has one hand on my chin, the other pinning my arms. Then suddenly, he moves his hand from my face down between my legs.

I start crying hysterically. This is the end!

“Cry all you want, you little slut. I’m going to show you how to obey me. ”

He rips off my panties with one hand, brings his fingers to his mouth to wet them with saliva, then shoves them inside me all at once.

I scream, terrified by the pain consuming me.

I’m going to be raped... in the worst possible way, by this wretched monster!

The tears come harder, and I can’t stop sobbing.

Panic and fear are eating me alive. In my mind, my soul cries out for salvation, begging for help to arrive as fast as possible.

“So tight and warm, you slut! I’ve had my eye on you for a long time.

I was just waiting for you to turn eighteen so I could send you to one of my clubs.

A virgin would’ve gotten me good money!” He lets out a laugh.

“But... since you weren’t a good girl, I’m going to teach you a lesson, right here and now. ”

“No... no, please, don’t do this... let me go... I don’t want...” My voice breaks between sobs.

“You think begging is going to make me let you go? You’re dead wrong, you little whore. Cry and scream all you want. You misbehaved, so now you’re going to learn the hard way.”

He pulls his fingers out of me, and I feel a burning pain as desperation takes over. He starts unfastening his belt and opening his pants, pulling himself out. Just as he positions himself at my entrance, we hear a noise. I lie there frozen, barely registering when he’s yanked off of me.

I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling my nerves pulsing and my muscles tense, when a sweet, calm voice called out to me. It was my guardian angel, there to rescue us from the hell we’d been living. We were taken to the hospital, where we stayed for a week under police protection.

Vladimir was convicted of international trafficking in drugs, weapons, and women.

The director-general of the Federal Police, Olga’s husband, had conducted a lengthy investigation and was finally able to close the case thanks to the help I provided.

With all the support we needed, we were able to leave the country and start our lives over.

We abandoned everything: clothes, jewelry, money.

None of it had any value; our only desire was to forget everything we’d been through.