Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
My father was ordered to raise me as his own, which of course he never did. He made sure I paid every single day for my mother’s betrayal. That was her punishment to see my life ruined day after day, because she had fallen in love. It was just another reason why Adelaide would never have a soldier near her.
“What about him?”
“You and Slavik are married. I think it’s time Ive has a woman of his own.” Ivan sat back, running a finger across his lip.
“I thought you had women picked out already?” I asked.
Ivan smiled. “No. I like to make sure the women I choose for my men are tasteful. Those women would not make it in this world.”
I didn’t even have a fucking clue why he picked Adelaide for me, but poor Ive. If Ivan was going to marry him off, I didn’t know who I felt sorry for more.
Chapter Four
Adelaide
I was fucking bored. I was so bored that I had even given boring a new name.
The curtains were open, and that meant a perimeter was nicely built around the penthouse suite. I’d already tried to ask my guard for one day out of the penthouse without Andrei knowing. Was I given that luxury? Nope.
Moving into the kitchen, I opened and closed the doors to the fridge, then the drawers. I glanced at the notice board and saw a marker. Without thinking, I grabbed said marker, made my way toward the edge of the penthouse, as far as I could go, and got to my knees.
I drew a line, and then I carried on, until I had gotten across the room to the far wall. The moment I had done it, I realized I had drawn on a very expensive-looking wooden floor, and my heart started to race. Andrei hadn’t given me permission to change anything.
I didn’t have a cell phone. Even the phone in the bedroom didn’t work. I couldn’t find a laptop. The outside world was cut off from me, unless you counted the guard at the front door, who wouldn’t even tell me his name.
This sucked.
I hated it.
Rushing to the kitchen, I grabbed a cloth, wet it, and got back to the line I’d just drawn across the floor.
“Stupid fucking thing,” I said, rubbing the cloth back and forth across the line. Of course, it was permanent.
Great. Now I was going to look like a child and any hope I had of getting out of this apartment was fading, and fast. Sitting back on my heels, I pouted, and I had a sudden overwhelming need to cry.
We’d been married nearly three weeks. He’d propositioned me a few weeks ago. A single kiss. Could I kiss him? I’d never been kissed before my wedding.
Covering my face, I cried out. Did he want me to go insane? Was this part of his plan? To drive me crazy so he could divorce me, because all he needed to do was ask. I was happy to end this farce. This was not love. This was not a good marriage. It was a fucking nightmare for me.
The sound of the front door opening and closing made me panic. Getting to my feet, I spun around, quickly shoving the cloth behind the pillow on the sofa to hide it.
I expected to see Andrei home. He rarely came home early, but it had been known to happen.
It wasn’t Andrei. It was Ivan Volkov.
“Hello, Adelaide.”
“Mr. Volkov,” I said, bowing my head. Did I look like a moron? I don’t know Bratva rules. I don’t know anything. Did this have to do with my father’s business? Get one of his men married to the daughter, drive her crazy, kill the family in some freak accident, and take claim of the company? My paranoia needed to be put in check.
“Ivan, please,” he said, moving toward me.
He grabbed my hands, lifting them to his lips. His gaze landed on the floor and he tilted his head up to look at me. “Decorating?”
“I … no. I don’t suppose you know how to get marker out of the floor?”
“Why would you draw a line?”
I take a deep breath. “I have a fear of heights. It’s crazy and stupid, but I’ve had it since I was a little kid.” I pull my hands from Ivan’s. He might seem like a nice guy, but every single sense was going off in my head to be careful. “Would you like something to drink?” I stopped and spun toward him. “Am I allowed to give you something to drink?”
“Do you plan to poison me?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“You’d be surprised how many people close to me would love to see me dead,” he said. There was a sadness in his eyes. It was only there for a fleeting second, and if I’d not been looking at him, I’d have missed it. I saw it.