Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“You’re not going to say anything. I understand. I’m guessing you’re not supposed to be here.” She laughs and it’s a wicked sound. “Poor Arsen really fucked up when he took you as his wife. He would’ve been happy with the girl we had picked out for him. A nice, obedient Armenian girl. She would’ve given him lots and lots of legitimate heirs. Instead of some disgusting half-Russian hybrid.”
She presses against her bonds. Anger surges in me. Why does this woman hate Russians so much? Why does she hate me, in particular? I had basically nothing to do with any of this. Arsen’s the one that turned his back on his arranged marriage and took me as his wife instead.
But clearly, Sona needs someone to blame, and it might as well be me.
She struggles again, rocking the chair so violently I think she might fall over. Then she stops, breathing hard.
“Still there, Russian bitch? If Arsen only knew the truth, he’d never have married you. But that’s the thing with families, isn’t it? We’ve all got skeletons in the closet. I think Arsen’s going to kill me soon, but maybe I can get the last word before I go. Maybe you should go looking around my old bedroom in those passages. You might find something interesting about your husband. You rotten Russian slut.”
I bang my fist against the wall, unable to help myself. Screw her, that nasty old woman. She’s trying to goad me, and it freaking worked.
She jerks sideways in surprise and the chair suddenly topples over. Her body hits the ground with a grunt. I scramble backwards as she lets out a horrible shriek and flops sideways on the floor.
The guards bang open the doors to check on her, but I’m already racing back toward the library.
What the hell did she mean back there? What does she know about Arsen? Obviously, Sona’s just messing with me, but my curiosity’s going insane. This family is filled with dark secrets, and I get the sense I’m only scratching the surface.
Only problem is, I can’t tell Arsen about any of this.
He’ll be pissed that I disobeyed him again and risked my safety. I want to find out which room was Sona’s, but there’s no real way without Arsen figuring out what I was up to. Which means I’ll either ignore Sona’s weird little challenge back there, or I’ll have to search every single passageway, one after the other, painstakingly trying to find—
I don’t even know what I’m looking for.
Arsen’s brushing his teeth in the bathroom when I slip back into our room. He looks at me with a strange frown as I settle myself under the blankets. I’m nervous and my head’s spinning, and I flinch when he sits down beside me.
“Can’t sleep?” he asks.
“Took a little walk.”
“Getting into trouble?”
“No. Never.”
He reaches down and brushes my hair. Then he frowns at his hand.
There’s a cobweb in his fingers.
We look at each other for a long moment. Then I give him a big, manic grin, and he only sighs and shakes his head like there’s not much he can do, and I don’t tell him where I was when he gets into bed.
But Sona lodged an idea in my obsessive little head, and there’s no way I’m going to stop thinking about it until I’ve figured out her secret.
Chapter 34
Arsen
The diner’s completely empty when I step inside.
Normally, this place is crawling with people, but this morning, there’s nobody. Only a lone woman in the kitchen looking extremely uncomfortable.
Garen’s sitting at his usual table. He’s facing the door, like always. Sona would normally be in the booth across from him, but today she’s missing.
Because she’s tied to a chair in my house.
Guards lurk behind him. Five men, just like we agreed on last night. Tigran’s with me, and four more of our most trustworthy soldiers fan out into the room.
“Coffee,” I tell the lone waitress. “Please.”
She grunts at me like this is an everyday occurrence and goes to pour it.
Garen glares as I approach. His jaw twitches and his hands rub together. He keeps shifting his weight like he’s trying to keep himself from standing up.
“She’s not hurt,” I tell him. “Mostly, at least.”
“Your own fucking aunt,” he says, tone trembling with rage. “You kidnapped your own fucking aunt.”
“She stabbed me.” I sit across from him and slide in to make room for Tigran.
“He should’ve killed her,” Tigran says, smiling like we’re having a normal family conversation. He slouches back and runs a hand through his hair. “I would’ve.”
“You’re a brainless idiot,” Garen snaps at him and looks at me. “How do I know she’s safe?”
I make a call to the guard stationed in Sona’s room. He holds the video around to face Sona. I show it to Garen.
“I’m coming for you,” Garen says to his wife. “Stay safe. I’m coming.”