Chapter 9 - Roman
I wish I knew what the hell I’m supposed to do with Victoria.
As a leader, I’m used to people listening to me. Following my orders and cooperating as expected. But with her, it’s a completely different story.
It has been just a few days, yet she’s acting like I’ve been holding her hostage for half her life already. She’s being a pain in my ass, and I have the feeling it’s only going to get worse.
She’s under my skin, scratching at my nerves and making me second-guess myself. Still, I can’t treat her like she’s a problem to be solved—not if I want this to work.
It hasn’t been long enough for her to fully adjust and come to see me as more than my work yet, but I’m not feeling as patient as usual. That self-control takes effort even on the easiest of days, but at this moment, it’s a challenging task to contend with.
Something instinctive in me wants to lash out at her, but I have every reason to believe that’ll only make matters worse.
Victoria has hardly eaten since staying at the house. She has hardly spoken outside of arguing with me. She spends most of her time watching and listening, and while she’s been doing her best to defy me, I still catch the way she shakes faintly.
I know fear when I see it. I’m no stranger to recognizing it, navigating it, and using it to my advantage.
But her fear feels different in a way. It’s quiet and almost wound-like. It makes her seem unpredictable to me.
I’m not fond of anything being unpredictable…and I certainly don’t want her to go into cardiac arrest just because of the circumstances.
I know I need to be understanding of her situation to help things move along more smoothly, but I can’t deny how I’m struggling to hold that frustration down. I’m not one to focus too deeply on anyone’s emotions outside of my family, but now that she’s my wife, I can’t continue that streak.
If I want her to trust me even slightly, then it’s necessary.
Finishing brunch alone, I checked in and saw some last-minute tasks to pass the time, but with the afternoon approaching, I decided to call it a day.
After Victoria stormed off, I wanted to give her some time to pull herself together. And with that time, I hoped she would be ready to head out. Maybe she’d even have a bit of a change of heart.
It might be wishful thinking, but here’s to hoping.
Heading inside, I make my way to the bottom of the staircase and adjust my rolled cuffs.
“Victoria!” I call out to her, letting my voice carry through the house. “We’re going.”
As that silence lingers, I stand there and wait.
Another moment passes, and I don’t hear anything. More silence.
“Did you hear me?”
When she doesn’t respond, I clench my jaw and force out a breath.
Of course…why would she make it easy for me?
Victoria said before she wasn’t going to go anywhere, I asked her to—not against her will, at least. But something in me hoped she would fold anyway.
It seems she isn’t in the mood to be passive.
If she isn’t going to come to me, then I have no choice but to go to her.
Not my ideal situation, but necessary, apparently.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I move down the hall and eventually reach her room, throwing the door open.
Admittedly, the faintest hint of worry streaks through me when I don’t hear from her, but it immediately fades the moment I find her lying out on the bed, curled up on her side.
“I said…we’re leaving,” I mutter, feeling as my expression hardens again. More irritation creeps into my tone. “Get up.”
“No…I’m not going anywhere.”
While her voice is calm, that spark still manages to come through anyway. That fire of hers is both intriguing and inconvenient.
“Did I say you have a choice? Get up…don’t make me repeat myself,” I demand of her, losing even more threads of patience.
“I’m not your prisoner.”
“And that’s what I’m trying to tell you. If you want to get out of here so badly, then walk out with me.”
Regardless of it being a perfectly reasonable request, Victoria doesn’t move.
And now, she’s truly grating against my nerves.
Be calm…don’t add fuel to the fire…
Taking a breath, I try to level myself out again.
“Victoria…you can be angry with me, you can hate me. Whatever you want. But we’re leaving, with or without your cooperation,” I say slowly, not giving her the chance to say I didn’t warn her.
A scoff leaves her lips. “What, you’re going to force me to do that too?”
“I don’t want to…I’d prefer it if you just did what I asked. But if you force my hand, then so be it.”
Keeping her back to me, she doesn’t move. “I don’t care who you are; you can’t control me.”
My brows furrow, and I take a few steps towards her, well aware that my self-control is slipping and that her constant refusal is only making matters worse.
“You’re only making this worse for yourself, Victoria,” I tell her, trying so hard to keep my composure despite how she continues to push. “I’ll only say this one last time…get up. We need to go.”
Silence again.
As my remaining patience slips, I take up that last bit of distance and reach for her.
Fast enough not to give her the chance to slip away, I wrap my arms around her legs, hoisting her up before resting her over my shoulder.
A sharp breath leaves her as the sudden shift seems to settle in, and then Victoria grounds out an irritated sound.
Her voice comes out shrill and loud as she tries to squirm. “Put me down!”
Despite pinning her against me and not allowing for any wiggle room, I keep my grip light enough, as if I’m carrying something fragile.
She pounds her fists against my chest and tries to swing her legs, but I leave the room and continue down the hall anyway, undeterred.
She might be feisty and willing to put up a fight, but I’m still bigger and stronger.
“No,” I mutter, carrying her down the stairs and through the foyer. “I warned you. Now you have to face the consequences.”
Regardless of her struggle, I continue, choosing to ignore her shouting and grumbling.
As I take us both outside with my arm firmly wrapped around her back, able to feel her warmth, several of my men linger in the area and watch.
But even with her noise, they don’t move a muscle to intervene. Instead, they carry on with whatever they’re doing. They’ve seen worse, after all.
Victoria still sounds just as shrill when I reach the car, and the driver pops the back door open for me before returning to his side.
She tries to claw at my shirt, voice raw with her unrelenting anger and panic.
“You’re insane!”
“Likely,” I murmur, lowering her onto the seat while I block the way out.
But even then, she puts her feet against the edge of the seat and refuses to move back any further. She glares at me with a new kind of desperation I have yet to see from her.
“What about my life?” She asks, eyes wild like a prey animal using whatever energy it still has to fight back—hoping for the chance to escape. “My job…my coworkers? They’ll all notice I’m gone…so what then?”
“They won’t,” I answer simply, giving her a blank expression while trying to urge her back in the seat despite how she resists.
“The necessary work has already been done. Your resignation has been sent, and nobody is expecting you back there. As far as they know, you moved away to do some soul searching, or whatever the hell else they want to believe.”
Victoria gapes at me then, seemingly having a hard time wrapping her head around that idea. “…you forged my resignation?”
“Yes, I did. And you signed it.”
Her brows furrow. “I did not.”
“Yes. You did. When you signed those marriage papers, you also signed your resignation,” I tell her, getting straight to the point. “You were likely too focused on trying to get it all over with to pay attention.”
Her eyes flare with anger. “That’s not fair, and you know it.”
I hold her gaze, letting a hint of a threat shine through. Placing my hands on her knees, I pin her to the spot, halting her thrashing. “You know what’s not fair? Having to put up with your noise .”
Victoria grits her teeth as she glances down at my hold on her before meeting my gaze again. “Then just let me go, and you won’t have to deal with it anymore!”
Fixing my mouth into a line, I let my hands slide a bit higher, unable to escape that temptation before I ease her further onto the seat. “No.”
“No? That’s it?”
“Yes…’ no’ is exactly what I’m saying,” I utter, finally getting her in one leg at a time.
Despite her anger, Victoria’s skin pales as the realizations all seem to hit her at once, sinking in while her eyes widen. She looks moments away from hyperventilating.
She swallows hard, then keeps her entire focus on me, almost like I’ve devastated her to a point of no return.
Her voice comes out almost pained and small. “You’re out of your mind.”
She’s probably right…I’m using far too much effort to keep her around and to make her do as I ask, but I don’t see any other option for myself.
I need to keep her around, even if she doesn’t see that I’m trying to protect her.
With my hands still on her, I move a bit closer and keep my voice as level as I can make it.
“Think what you will, but I’m being kind, Victoria,” I murmur, never pulling my gaze away from her. “You may not believe me now, but one day, I hope you’ll understand. This is me being kind …you should remember that.”
With wet but furious eyes, Victoria tightens her lips and stares at me like I’m nothing more than a beast.
I half expect her to slap me or do anything, but she just pulls her legs in, situates herself on the seat, and looks out the opposite window.
Her silence leaves me to stand there for another moment, only able to watch while she seemingly can’t bear to even look at me.
Then, I get in after her and close the door behind me with a thud that seems to punctuate the tense air in the back seat.
I don’t say a word as the driver pulls out of the driveway and starts down the highway, leaving the two of us to sit in that stifling quiet.
It’s clear Victoria isn’t ready to warm up to me yet, and something tells me it’ll take more time than I’m willing to wait for just to get there.