Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Valerie trusted me.
She trusted me more than I trusted myself…
She believed in me more than I believed in myself.
Vows had been broken.
Promises were shattered.
The scars were deep rooted within, and I didn’t know how to mend them, how to unbreak our hearts.
My gaze fell on her pale face once again. Her lips were swollen, the wound was red where Valentin had bitten her. The marks he had left on her body mocked me. And the Devil laughed. My shoulders curved inward at the heavy weight and my ribcage crowded my lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
The Devil wouldn’t leave. He made himself comfortable on my shoulders and continued his whispers in my ears.
It found ways to cut through my hardened skin, through my veins and finding its way into my heart.
My heart—an organ that was once steeled. A man who once was heartless.
A merciless killer.
A man with too much power in his hands.
He walked with shoulders straight. His name came with money and power.
With Alessio Ivanshov on his left, he was a god amongst men.
And now…
Viktor Ivanshov was just a mere human, bleeding and hurting like everyone else.
He was weak. His armor held cracks, and no glue was strong enough to hold the pieces together.
Once upon a time, my father gave me a warning. Words I refused to believe because I was invincible…unbreakable. I was on top of the survival chain, and I’d look down at the people.
But my father’s words were true.
The bigger you are, the more powerful you are…the harder you fall.
And I fell.
I fell without meaning to, and it became my undoing.
Valerie stirred in her sleep, shaking me from my thoughts. My lips feathered over her right temple, and I breathed in her scent. She smelled of peaches. Clean.
And underneath the heavy sweet scent, I smelled me.
In her sleep, her eyebrows were furrowed.
Was she hurting…was the darkness chasing her even in her sleep?
I placed a kiss between her eyebrows, soothing the tensed muscles there. Her face relaxed, and she released a breathy sigh. The side of her lips twitched, as if she wanted to smile.
I wanted more…
Are you worth it? the Devil hissed in my ear. Worthless and weak.
Fuck. You.
I gritted my teeth and ignored the hissing voice. Fuck off.
“Viktor.”
My eyes snapped down, and I looked into Valerie’s hazel eyes. “What’s wrong?” she inquired sleepily.
When I was sure her eyes were on my lips, waiting and watching, I spoke. “I am okay. Go back to sleep.”
She struggled into a sitting position and laid a palm over my face. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders. She looked like a fallen Angel. Beautiful. Exotic. Mesmerizing.
Forbidden in ways I couldn’t have.
Yet I had already touched and kissed her.
I made love to her sweet body, and I fucked her savagely.
I tainted her.
Heaven be damned. I was pulling us both into hell.
“Why are you not sleeping?”
There was a thick ball in the base of my throat. Swallowing, I tried to find my voice again. “I have to meet Valentin. He asked for me.”
Her eyes clouded over. “Are you okay?”
I let out a dry laugh at her question. “Are you asking me that?”
Valerie chewed on her lips nervously. “Yes. I am. Why is that so shocking?”
“Baby, I believe you are the one who just had one hell of a fucking night,” I said, my voice shaking with anger.
“I am fine,” she replied quickly, her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m fine.”
I watched her eyes for any lies, but I saw nothing. “Are you?”
Her thumb brushed over my cheek, and she cupped my tensed jaw into her hands. “Viktor, please believe me. I’m okay.”
Valerie’s voice cracked, and she stopped speaking. Reaching toward the nightstand, I took the glass and handed it to her. She gulped down the water with a relieved sigh. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
I placed the empty glass on the nightstand. “You’re welcome.”
“You might not believe me, but…”
I entwined our hands together when she paused. “What is it?”
Valerie looked away from my face, her gaze landing on the furthest wall. “Valentin has defiled me in many ways and many times. This wasn’t new to me. It hurts to say, but I’m used to it. I know what to expect, and I know how to strengthen myself from it. I know how to move forward. I force myself to forget, and I’d like to focus on you…on us.”
Her words slammed into my chest like a heavy fucking train.
“How…how can you get used to this?” I whispered, knowing full well she wouldn’t hear me. My voice was heavy and cracked under the weight of building emotions.
“I’m stronger than you think, Viktor. I have survived seven years before you, and I can survive many more.”
She met my eyes again, her next words pulling at my heart strings. She played me like a puppet, forcing me to feel things I never wanted to feel. “I am strong…and as long as you’re beside me, I am stronger.”